Life forms around black smokers.

Deep below the surface of the oceans, beyond the levels reached by sunlight, live abundant and diverse communities of animals. Tiny microbes or bacteria called Archaea, fantastic red-tipped, white tube worms, gigantic clams, mussels, crabs, shrimp, starfish and deep-water skates all live at deep sea hydrothermal vents.

http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/expeditions/blacksmokers/life_forms.html

Black smokers.

You've probably seen or heard of natural hot springs on land, like Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. Similar phenomena occur under the oceans within midocean ridge volcanoes and are called deep-sea hydrothermal (hot water) vents. They are known as black smokers.

These black smokers are chimneylike structures made up of sulfur-bearing minerals or sulfides that come from beneath Earth's crust. They form when hot (roughly 350¡C), mineral-rich water flows out onto the ocean floor through the volcanic lava on a mid-ocean ridge.

Where are they?

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents occur along the midocean ridges. Several different vents have been discovered since the first site was found in 1977 near the Galapagos Islands by earth scientists in the small research submersible ALVIN.

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents support extraordinary ecosystems deep beneath the surface of the oceans. These ecosystems are the only communities on Earth whose immediate energy source is not sunlight. Life on Earth, and even possibly on other planets, may have formed in environments similar to these.

The photo seen below are tube worms near a black smoker. Each of those tube structures is actually a worm. Tube worms are one type of life that is found near hydrothermal vents. Tube worms vary in size depending on where they live.

http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/expeditions/blacksmokers/black_smokers.html

Butterfly kisses.. the Manatees.

Here's a short clip of two Manatees giving butterfly kisses to each other =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGJAofqTF7A

sea creature of the week: The Manatee

Manatees are large, fully aquatic marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. Manatees inhabit the shallow, marshy coastal areas and rivers of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, the Amazon Basin and West Africa.

Diet:
Manatees are herbivores and eat over 60 different plant species such as mangrove leaves, turtle grass, and types of algae, using their divided upper lip. An adult manatee will commonly eat up to 9% of its body weight (approx 50 kg) per day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manatee#Population

Vanishing sea ice.. The North Pole

National Geographic also has an interactive site relating to the North Pole.
It focuses on the Arctic's vanishing sea ice and the life its affecting, including polar bears, walruses, seals and gulls.
It also has photos of the estimated sea ice size levels in 2050 and 2100.
Enjoy!
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/06/vanishing-sea-ice/sea-ice-interactive

Discover Antartica.

National geographic has now an interactive link to discover the bottom of the Earth.
It includes videos, a ton of pictures and an interactive quiz.
Did you know.. the average temperature of the Antartic is -46C, more than 250 days a year.

Q. What is Antartica's largest land animal?
A. Wingless Midge (an insect which is approx. 12 mm) The harsh environment on land can only support the life of small insects.

Q. Ice covers what part of the Antartica?
A. 98%

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/antarctica/index.html

hermit crabs continued..

Reproduction.

The reproductive organ of hermit crabs are located near and just below the crab’s heart and open to the outside at the base of the last pair of walking legs in the male. In the female, they are located at the base of the middle pair of walking legs. Female hermit crabs usually lay their eggs shortly after copulating, however they can also store sperm for many months.

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/vanessap/hermit/cs/cs_gender.html

Life cycle:

The life cycle of the land hermit crab is unique. It starts by the release of eggs into an ocean tide pool, where the zoea go through a series of moults and development stages. A baby hermit crab zoea will be a part of plankton until it grows and starts to resemble hermit crab form. Once they have developed to maturity, hermit crabs leave their watery home, making the long journey to land to find a shell for the protection of the soft abdomen

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/vanessap/hermit/biology/lifecycle.html

Sea creature of the week: HERMIT CRABS

Since I'm starting to run out of ideas for blog posts, i decided to add in a weekly blog called SEA Creature of the Week =)


this week's creature is the Hermit Crab.
Here's a great site with everything you ever needed to know about hermit crabs.
http://www.thecrabbagepatch.com/crabanatomy.html


did you know, hermit crabs have a sweet tooth? and as pets they enjoy the occasional banana, apples, kiwi and mangos.


Here's a link to a video of a hermit crab changing its shell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri-FoUq4e0o&feature=related
and two hermit crabs in a food battle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3FvPOwSDV8&NR=1

seaweed is good for you?

While searching for healthy new recipes, I found an article in my mom's Women's health magazine explaining that seaweed is a great source of nutrients and helps speed up your metabolism. A lot of daily foods seaweed(dolse) could be added, including soups and salads.

Tasty Seaweed Soup
Take 1 pint of fresh cold spring water, and add 1 desert spoon of Marigold reduced salt bullion, finely chop and throw in ¼ oz (7g) each of Dulse, Wakame, and mixed Sea Salad, heat gently to near boil and simmer for 7-10 minutes. Serve with croutons, toast, or fresh buttered bread.
from http://www.seaveg.co.uk/recipes.html

Gulf of mexico facts.

While doing my bibliography I found another interesting site related to facts about the Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.gulfmex.org/index.htm

DID you Know!

1. More than 500 tons of trash washes ashore each year along the Texas coast alone.

2.Each year 40 to 60 square miles of Louisiana’s wetlands disappear due to natural and human induced impacts.

the gulf of mexico.. a dead zone

The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone is a large region of water that is very low in oxygen, and therefore can't support life. I found an interactive site, showing exactly where the dead zone is, what it is, and who does it effect.
http://www.smm.org/deadzone/top.html

the DEAD ZONE

while doing research on the Gulf of Mexico for my oceans project, I found a you-tube video taking about how the pollution from the Mississippi runs down into the gulf, making it ultimately a dead zone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vKHQ43RGp8
The movie is kind of corny, but enjoy =)

Lawrencetown

Thanksgiving weekend I went hiking in Lawrencetown to do some research for another class. I took some nice pictures of Lawrencetown beach and a few drumlins. Enjoy!

Artic Climate change.

While looking on the Smithsonian website, I found an interesting article related to climate change and the melting of the ice caps. Within this article, there was a link to a video talking about a small village in the Northwest Territories. The short movie is about the villagers that are a direct witness to climate change and how it's affecting their life.

Enjoy!

http://forces.si.edu/arctic/video/eyewitness.html