Aquarium Adventure

On Thursday, November 22 my Biology 11 class and I traveled to the Vancouver aquarium in search of a better understanding of the biological world of certain organisms. What we learned the week before our trip was all about different types of animals that vary in types of phylum and the way they inhabit there habitat. At the aquarium, we got to experience different types of jellyfish and sponges. I saw jellyfish that were from Cnidarian phylum. Also in the week previous to our trip we learned about the Porifera Phylum which consists of aquatic invertebrate animals that compromises the sponges. The reason for this trip was to get a visual experience to go along with the knowledge that was gained in the classroom. We got to see, first hand, the environment that which these unique creatures inhabit. When we went into the hands-on room, we got to touch some different types of ocean critters. Some of them were sea cucumbers, sea anemones, sea urchins and starfish. The creature I found the most interesting to touch was the sea anemone because when I touched it, it felt sticky and non-harmful. This is because the harpoons the anemone shoots out are not strong enough to break through human skin and sting us, so they just feel sticky when touched. Overall the trip was a success and I gained a lot for knowledge when I left from when I arrived.

 

The symbiotic relationship between the Clown Anemone Fish and sea anemones is that the Clown Fish defends the anemone from polyp-eating fish like the butterfly fish which it chases off, and it return the anemone protects the Clown Fish from predators by letting it  live in it. The anemone protects it by stinging the predators as they approach. 

Sea otter spend so much time cleaning their fur coats because that is what keeps them warm. they have to avoid letting oil and other polluting substances in their fur because then its insulation is effected.

At first, in the 1900's, sea otters were found mostly in Alaska and California, but they were a popular attraction when it came to hunting because of there fur. It was made illegal to hunt these animals until the late 1900's when they were reintroduced in Alaska and California.

The colours of the sea anemone's were green,purple and red.

My favorite marine invertebrate is the jellyfish. Jellyfish solely rely on there tentacles for protection, attacking and transportation. the jelly fish use their tentacles to sting predators when being attacked or prey when attacking. they also use them to move around in the ocean.

The scientific name for a beluga whale is "Dolphinapterus Leucas". There are 2 at the Vancouver aquarium.

The Potbelly Seahorse uses its tail to move around, it swings back very quickly as it transports in the water.

This is Brain coral and it looks very similar to the human brain.

This is a starry flounder. This flounder has pigments that allow it to change colour which benefits it when it comes to camouflage. Another adaptation it has to help camouflager itself is the ability to make its tail flap dirt on itself which hides it from predators.

The movement of the moon jellyfish could be described as flapping inside out and pushing the water behind it. The adaptation they have when feeding on plankton is that plankton land on the jellyfish's mucus and get stuck and the jellyfish feeds on it.

The purpose of those white suction cups is to help the octopus feel and taste, it uses those suction cups to catch prey and it then uses its beak to eat the prey.

The different feeding types of the steller sea lions are squid and fish. These sea lions eat approximately 5% of their body weight each day.

The Caiman came from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

The Caiman is a blackish/brown colour and I think this is a good colour for it because it helps it camouflage when it is sneaking up on prey before it attacks.

the largest fish in the aquarium is the Arapaima.

This fish is the Tamabaqui, it is a vegetarian fish that feeds on zoo plankton.

Piranha's are a big threat to humans when humans are swimming in waters infested with these flesh eating fish.

sharks are composed of zero bones. Instead they have a structure made up of cartilage.

Some other animals that were found in the shark tank were Stingrays, Green Sea Turtle, and Red-Tail butterfly fish.

The Giant Red sea urchin which has the scientific name of Strongylocentrotus. The urchin has pointy spikes that point away from it that keep predators away.

Archer fish catch their food by going up to the surface of the water and bringing down insects by spitting on them.

The name of the Sea Turtle in the tropic zone is Chelonia Mydas.