Seattle Aquarium Field Trip

Sea animals and adaptions

Part 1

Barnacle:

• avoids desiccation using a combination of a bisected and cylindrical shell to seal itself away
• Adapts to wave action by firmly anchoring itself to a surface in infancy and spending its entire life there
• Filter feeder! They use their feathery gills to filter tiny organisms from the water

Sharp nose crab:

• Avoids desiccation by keeping out of the sun and spending time in the water or under rocks when possible
• Adapts to wave action with grabby legs to hand on and a low, flat body to reduce resistance
• The sharp nose crab eats small fish and invertebrates it catches with its claws

Chiton

• Avoids desiccation by firmly clamping eight armored plates to a rock to seal its body under
• Adapts to wave action by firmly clamping eight armored plates to a rock to seal its body under. It also uses a muscled foot like a snail to stick to things
• Uses radula to eat algae from rock surfaces

Sculpin

• Avoids desiccation by hopping from pool to pool as tide pools dry until next tide
• Adapts to wave action with a streamlined, muscled body to swim against currents and waves. Sculpins also have specialised pectoral fins to grip substrate
• Eats insect larvae, crustaceans, fish fry, fish eggs, and small fish.

Part 2

Name at least 2 ways shorebirds use beaches, cliffs, and rocky shores

Shorebirds use their habitats to scavenge for food at low tide, and raise their young in a food-rich environment.

Explain how shoreline modification and coastal erosion could have an impact on shorebirds

Without adequate breeding grounds, shorebirds will be forced into a smaller range, reducing their numbers. As people expand coastal development and the shore erodes, shorebirds and humans will be forced closer together. Humans widely consider wild birds to be pests and don't want them near their homes. 

Part 3

Name at least 3 hazards Pacific salmon face

• Fishing by humans
• Natural predators
• Flooding

Part 4

I got to see how aquatic animals managed to evolve to live the way they do, where they do, with the predators and food sources they have. It was helpful to see live examples of specialised traits that have appeared and adapted over time.

This field trip speaks to my strengths and future career so going is always a treat. I was surprised to see how knowledgeable the volunteers were and that the diver was a volunteer. I learned that sturgeon developed barbels independently from catfish.