Aquarium by Solace

March 04, 2018

Aquarium by Solace

SEATTLE AQUARIUM Field Trip

I went to the Seattle Aquarium on the 28th of February 2018 with other members in the class. We all met on campus at around 9:15 am and arrived at about 10:05 am at the aquarium. It was really cold on that day unfortunately but since our field trip was indoor, we had no problem. The reason why I chose this field trip in the first place is that, firstly, it is an indoor trip, It fits my schedule perfectly, I did not want to drive there because it was in Seattle which I hate driving around in Seattle, and also I was very curious to see the aquarium for myself since I haven't been there before. I wanted to see all the organisms we talked about in class and lab for myself, I wanted to touch them to feel their skin; whether it was smooth or a rough skin.

Figure 1. Sea stars grouped in one tide pool

Life on the Edge is the only chance to get close to many fascinating creatures that are in the tide pools. These pools are filled with creatures such as sea stars, sea urchin, calcareous tube worm, hermit crabs, sea cucumbers, sea anemone, e.c.t. Some organisms like sea stars cling to the wall or anything stuck in the ground to avoid the wave from sweeping them to a different place. Sea stars do feed on mussel and other tiny shell like organisms. Other organisms likes shrimp do not get affected by the wave at all because they float with the wave. They just move along with the wave. Some organisms like the calcareous protects themselves with their skin in the wave. They use their feather-like structures at the top of their tube shelters to grab plankton. When touched, they pull the feeding tentacles into their protective tubes. Shrimps on the other hand closes its shell whenever there is a wave toward it.

Sea urchin feeds mainly on algae. It was really amazing to see what these organisms eat. We waited for so long to watch how sea stars grab their mussels and feed on it. But unfortunately, they just weren't ready to eat. They usually push their stomach out of it body and into a mussel or whatever they have to eat, secreting enzymes that digest the food. The liquefied mussel is then absorbed back into the stomach. One interesting thing about them that, their sizes depends on what they eat but not their age just like humans.

We saw something in the tide pool which looked like a worm but it was actually a poop of a sea cucumber. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of it but I do have a picture of this beautiful sea cucumber. One volunteer said, many people usually do think the poop of this fascinating creature really is a worm. They are asked to touch it to feel it and once they are told what it is, they feel gross which is funny to see kids do. I personally never knew there was an organism named a sea cucumber. Once I got to see this organism, I was amazed by how it had looked.

Figure 2. Sea Cucumber

This exhibits illustrates how different types of birds share shorelines. Rocky shorelines are the perfect homes for several species of marine birds. Birds with different bill shapes can share the same beach by specializing in different foods.

Shorebirds come in many shapes and sizes but all of them share certain traits. Most shore birds are carnivores and eat a range of insects, mollusk, worms, larvae and similar preys. Seabirds mostly spend their time diving in the ocean then during nesting season, they return to shore. Black oystercatchers are generally shorebirds with straight bills strong enough to pry clams, mussels and oysters (Figure 4). This kind of bird spend most of its time on rocky shore. And even during nesting season, they nest on rocky shores.Most of the threats faced by shorebirds are caused by humans, pollution, litter, oil and chemical spill. These birds lose their habitat due to threat caused by people. We can all help by picking up litter and disposing of it properly, and also keeping ourselves away from shorebirds and their nest.

Figure 3.

Figure 4. Black Oystercatcher

Salmons also do undergo similar habitat loss just like the birds. Some human activities on land, in water and the ocean can degrade habitat that's important for salmon health such as water withdrawal, storage, water pollution and diversion for hydro-power and flood control. These activities have degraded and remove large areas that were once prime habitat for salmon. When these happened, it also changes fundamental things they need to survive such as changing nutrient flow and food availability. It can also affect these salmon by increasing water temperatures which causes fish stress.

This field trip was so much fun. I really learnt a lot from it. Everything I saw there was really beautiful in its own way. One interesting thing I encountered myself with was "Octopus Zena" (figure 5). Unlike other octopus, Zena's life span is about 3-4 years. Octopus live their first life searching for food, sleeping and they spend their last life laying its eggs. During this periods, they do not eat again because they protects its eggs from other organisms. They wait until their last eggs are hatched then they die. That was the most sad story to have heard on that day. I took a picture of one beautiful jellyfish (figure 6) in the aquarium with other organisms that look so amazing. I really enjoyed this trip. I was able to finally grasp all what we had talked about in class with these organisms. I had never seen them before until I went to the aquarium. Another interesting thing I learnt over there was how there were these tiny fishes of whom their job is to clean other fishes. They basically just make sure other fishes are clean. These fishes are known as cleaner wrasses (figure 7). I never knew there was such a thing. Other fishes known as host typically perform specific movement to attracts the attention of the cleaner fish.