JOURNAL ACTIVITY 1

Lauren Sinclair
October 30, 2007
Envsc 204
Journal Activity 1


AQUARIUM TRIP

I decided to take my journal activity to the aquarium. I have been wanting to go lately and if I can go and get credit at the same time I see a great situation! I also think it really relates to environmental science and what we have been talking about with fishing, pollution, biodiversity and much more. I had been there once or twice before but many years ago so the information was all new to me.
I thought the whole set up and arrangement was really interesting. I first walked into the area that was called “Sound in the Mountains.” Here there was the mock river and lots of information about water around the globe. I liked that we were able to see the river from a side perspective and see both the upper action of the surface as well as what was happening beneath the water. Of course my favorite part of this area was where the northern fur seals were living. It was great to be able to see them so close up. I also thought it was smart of the aquarium to design the tank so that we could see the upper level of the seals habitat where they rested out of the water and also be able to walk down stairs and see them swimming deep in water. I learned that these furry guys, on average, live to be about 26. That is much longer than I would have guessed. I also learned about how the male seals fast during mating season for one to two months! After I did a little more research on these animals I read about how, “The 2000 IUCN Red Data list considers the northern fur seal to be Vulnerable.” [1] The northern fur seal has been hunted for fur since the 18th Century, and in 1911, the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention was founded. I understand now the importance of the food webs these animals live in and the impacts that arise if any species is altered. I know from learning in my environmental class that especially the animals that are higher on the food web are less in abundance on a natural level and generally reproduce at smaller rates than those of say producers or primary consumers. I suspect that this is true for the seals which is why it is easily believable that they could have been vulnerable to extinction if hunted. I hope things are being turned around today to stop this possible issue.
Next I went to the “Puget sound fishes.” There were so many types of fish here and so much information. It was a little time consuming to go through all of the wall postings but well worth it. I thought it was fascinating to learn that there are actually more than 200 different types of fish in just the Puget Sound. There was a type of clingfish in here that one of the staff persons pointed out that was really cute and was suctioned to the wall. I thought it was interesting that they actually use their pelvic fins to suction themselves to rocks. I looked up some more information about clingfish and learned that a clingfish's suction cup does double duty. When the tide goes out, a clingfish's pool might be left high and dry. But the cup holds in moisture, so the fish can still breathe. Tucked safely beneath its rock, the clingfish waits until the tide rolls back in again. [2]
I read about a fish called Prickle Backs which are generally found inshore and at the bottom. They can frequently be found in tide pools. I found research that told me in most species, all the dorsal rays are strong, sharp spines (the source of the name 'prickle back'), although some species have a few soft-rays at the posterior end of the dorsal fin. Prickle backs feed on a variety of invertebrates, larvae and algae. From the knowledge I have acquired from my current environmental class I would guess that these would be maybe primary consumers based on the food they eat. There are about 65 species with 11 found here. This family is common in Puget Sound. [3] Seeing the jellyfish and cowfish were also highlights of the fish area.
After the fish I went into the whale section. This was probably the best part of the tour for me because Orcas are my favorite animal of all time! I thought the life-size dorsal fin of the orca in the ground was neat because we were really able to understand directly what the size of those really are. I also really liked that there was a wall hanging that discussed “heroes” for the orcas. The information described different people that had contributed to the whales’ success in our waters. I think it’s so sweet how these whales like in groups are much like families and how important it is to them to take care of their community and calves. I also thought the information about specific orca pods was interesting. I had learned about these things a long time ago but I had forgotten it and was happy to read about it again. I am glad that it is illegal in the U.S.A for the hunting of whales because their species are not in abundance and should be valued and respected in the waters and how they too have their own niche in the ocean. A really cool piece of information I found when I was researching online was that, “Killer whales are often compared to wolves because both species are top predators, maintain complex social relationships, and hunt cooperatively.” [4]
Lastly I visited the area that had tide pools and touching pools. It was called “Life on the Edge.” The information and facts were impressive and I had never heard of most of them. I liked being able to touch the animals like the starfish and anemones. Some of the hermit crabs were among the biggest I have ever seen in my life. I think it’s pretty funny that I, and almost everyone I know, call ceratin animals “starfish” when they are actually sea stars and not fish at all. When I researched the sea star I found a plethora of interesting information that I had never heard about before. One interesting fact is that sea stars actually have their anus located on top of their body. Also, I read that the sea star uses a hydraulic water vascular system to feed, transport waste and move around. [5] This aspect of the trip showed me another world in the large, complex oceans and I have great appreciation for this part of the waters.
I thought overall the experience was informative and worthwhile. I am glad I went and I gained a lot of new knowledge. One thing that still sticks out in my mind about the trip is the idea of watershed. When I found the answer to the question about whom the biggest influence on watershed I was at first surprised to learn that the answer is people and myself. I even ran into a wall that had the exact question painted on it and the answer was an arrow pointing to a mirror (meaning you). That was when I realized how much we really affect our planet and it showed me how that information directly related into the common topic of global warming. It just made me even more motivated to turn this mess around and take care of our beloved ocean and world. I have always had an interest in the oceans of our world and to learn about the destruction and damage we are doing in great masses really makes me want to change how things are. I genuinely believe that education is key to reform in this world and I think I am a prime example for this as well as our classmates.


Sources:
[1]http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/174.shtml
[2]http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/living_species/default.asp?hOri=1&inhab=418
[3] http://artedi.fish.washington.edu/FishKey/index.htm
[4] http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/NMML/education/cetaceans/killer1.htm
[5] http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/sw/seastarfacts.php