Common Sea Star

The Common Seastar have spiny skin and come in colors such as brown, tan, or olive. They are classified as Asterias forbesi. It’s domain is Eukarya, kingdom is Anamalia, phylum is Echinodermata, class is Asterodid, order is Forcipulatida, family is Asteriidae, genus is Asterias, and species is forbesi. A behavioral adaptation for the Common Seastar is that this organism can smell different smells and can locate the source of the odor to find food. A structural adaptation of this organism is that the Common Seastar can grown arms if it loses them. A functional adaptation is tubed feet to help grip onto different things. Its prey is worms and ocean crustaceans. This means that the Common Sea Star is heterophic. It fears sharks, rays, crabs, and other sea stars. A fun fact is that the Common Seastar is that the female Sea Star can lay up to 2.5 million eggs! The Common Sea Star is ectothermic and is radial.

Picture inspired by http://m.blog.daum.net/sinhye2003/2145

Common Seahorse
Hippocampus kuda

This Common Seahorse is a very majestic animal. It comes from the scientific name of Hippocampus kuda. It lives inshore, Pacific Ocean to Indian ocean. More specifically, domain is Eukarya, kingdom is Anamalia, phylum is Chordata, class
Actinopterygii, order is Syngnathiformes, family is Sygnathifoms, genus Hippocampus, and the Common Seahorse species is kuda. The Common seahorse has a horse like head and a trunk, and it comes in many different colors. One of its structural adaptations is that it can change colors to blend in with it’s surroundings. A behavioral adaptation is that the Common Seahorse’s tail acts like an anchor. A functional adaptation is that the male seahorse has a pouch instead of the female. They feed on anything that moves and they fear penguins, most fish, and humans. A fun fact is that they are poor swimmers. 

Picture inspired by https://www.tumblr.com/search/common%20seahorse

The Blue Crab
Callinectes sapidus

The Blue Crab is a beautiful crab that is either bright blue or dark blue. The female is usually darker than the male. The Blue crab can live anywhere from Cape Cod all the way to Uruguay. This organism is classified as C​allinectes sapidus.​M​ore

specifically classified to: domain is Eukarya, kingdom is anamailia, phylum is Arthropoda, class is Malactraca, order is Decapoda, family is Portunia, genus is Callinectes, and species is sapidus. A behavioral adaptation of the Blue Crab is it is very aggressive when it is threatened. A structural adaptation of this organism is they have pincers so the Blue Crab can defend itself and grab things more easily. A functional adaptation is that the Blue Crab can go down thirty six miles deep in the ocean. The Blue Crab eats mussels, clams, oysters, and vegetables. This means that the Blue Crab is heterophic. It is threatened by the Red Drum Fish, Atlantic Croaker, herons, sea turtles, and humans. The blue crab is​e​ctothermic and bilateral. This means that if you cut the Blue Crab in half and fold it, it would line up evenly. 

Snowy Egret

Egretta thula

The snowy egret, scientifically named Egretta thula lives in North, South, and Central America. It also lives in the caribbeans. One of its habitats is the estuary. The classification of the snowy egret is domain Eukaryote, kingdom Animalia, and phylum is chordata. Also, its class is Aves, order is Ciconiiformes, family Ardeidae, genus Egretta, and finally its species is Egretta thula. The snowy egret has bilateral symmetry, it is endothermic, and heterotrophic. It is a very social bird, very white, and has a wingspan of about 100 centimeters. A behavioral adaptation of the snowy egret is that the walk upright so they can make quick changes of direction to catch prey. Two structural adaptations are that it has a long beak that can fit into tight places to catch prey and that it has long legs to help it run fast to catch prey or run from predators. An interesting fact about the snowy egret is that they are very engaged in self maintenance behaviors and one particular one is bathing. It has predators such as Alligators, sharks, and racoons. Its prey would be small fish. This is a beautiful organism and I have enjoyed researching it.

                                                                                       

I found this image from: http://veniceaudubon.org/gallery/snowy-egret

Pipefish By Eleanor Pope

Pipefish

Syngnathus fuscus

An organism that we caught on the field trip was the pipefish.  Pipefish live in estuaries, reefs, and lagoons.  The pipefishes domain is Eukarya, the kingdom is Animalia, the phylum is Chordata, the class Isconderiethi , the order is Sengathi, the family is Syngnathidae, the genus is Syngnathus, and the species is Fuscus.  Pipefish are long, skinny, and are shaped like a pipe.  Pipefish are 6 to 8 inches long.  A behavioral adaptation is pipefish are not active - they don't swim much. A structural adaptation is they camouflage themselves to blend in with seagrass and some species of pipefish can change colors.  Pipefish can only live up to a year. A pipefishes diet is plankton and small shrimp.  A predator of the pipefish is a human.  Pipefish can be overfished due to the belief that it has medicinal purposes.  Pipefish are heterotrophs and are ectothermic. The image is from www.calvertmarinemusem.com.

Striped Burrfish

(Chilomycterus schoepfi)

This species are commonly found in grass beds of the northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil. The domain this organism belongs to is the Eukarya. The Striped Burrfish is in the kingdom of Animalia and a phylum of Chordata. This animal is also recognized in the class of Osteichthyes and an order of Tetraodontiformes. The family this organism is known in is the Diodontidae. Also, this species is found in the genus of Chilomycterus and the species of kuda. The Striped burrfish has bilateral symmetry, meaning that if you divide the fish from the middle of its eyes, down the stomach, and through the tail, the two halves would be a mirror reflection of each other.This fish is oval shaped and has large spikes. They also have a dorsal fin, two pectoral fins, and one caudal fin or commonly put to words as tail. This species also have dark colored stripes. A structural adaptation that the Striped Burrfish has is it has large spikes to scare predators away and not get harmed. Another structural adaptation this organism includes is it’s beak mouth to chomp down hard on prey. The last adaptation this species has is a behavioral adaptation. The behavioral adaptation the Striped Burrfish shows is how this organism blows up, like a balloon, when alarmed by predators. An interesting detail I researched about this organism is how it swims by squirting water out of its gills, like a jet. This species diet is crabs, shrimp, mussels, and crustaceans. Their predators are mostly humans. This animal is heterotrophic, meaning that they consume other plants and animals, and ectothermic, or commonly put to words as cold-blooded, or changing body temperature when the environment changes temperature. By: Meredith M.

Picture on the right from:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzj4H4jkql6RZ3G0_wMaESYhwDI9qOgqMkBYA-7eYQCcgeairEokuqChNCvD1cTzhP5mBWEVrYZ6m_dRgaAVBacVs7dOrxRAfc-HUTcM7tASDflA4hazvoF2yWkhcSiiDqxYwpYXUWDBM/s1600/IMG_0235.JPG

Picture on the left from:

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=striped+burrfish&view=detailv2&&id=F8D284ED71137C41C1AFDD93CF3A02C98A6E9D8C&selectedIndex=6&ccid=9ul5jfrG&simid=608000682197845308&thid=OIP.Mf6e9798dfac6e1f19d7802e40e971c7ao0&ajaxhist=0

great egret

(Adrea alba)

the Great Egret is a big bird that roams estuaries and marshes or any form of water. Its Domain is Eukaryote and its Kingdom is Animalia. Phylum Chordata and its class is aves. Also, the Great Egret’s order is Ciconiiformes and lastly, its family is Ardeidae. Finally, the Great Egret’s Genus and species are Ardea, and Ardea alba. the Great Egret has bilateral symmetry and their average wingspan is 1.5 meters long. They are about 1 meter tall and weigh about 912 to 1140 g. On average, the females are smaller than the males. They both have all white feathers, a long yellow bill, and long, dark gray legs. A behavioral adaptation is when they fly, they keep their necks in as S shape. Another behavioral adaptation is their legs that are dark gray to match the water so their fish prey wont suspect them there. they eat small mice, snakes, fish, frogs and other small animals in this category.
picture from www.pbcgov.com

                                                         Great Egret
                                                        Ardea alba

  
The habitat of the Great Egret ranges from Oregon, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts south to Florida. The Gulf of Mexico and most of South America. The domain, kingdom, and phylum are Eukarya, Animalia, and Chordata.

Alexandra Ewing

                                                                                                           9-21-15

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

The Bottlenose Dolphin’s scientific name is Tursiops truncatus.  Bottlenose Dolphins live everywhere except for polar waters and they swim in the sunlit zone of the ocean and live everywhere except for cold waters.  This organism belongs to the Eukarya domain and the Animalia kingdom. The Bottlenose Dolphin is in the phylum of Chordata and the class of Ray-finned Fishes.  The Bottlenose Dolphin’s order is Cetacea along with its family; Delphinidae. The genus and species of this organism is Tursiops truncatus.  This organism has bilateral symmetry and is an endothermic organism.  A structural adaptation for the Bottlenose dolphin is that it is blue and uses camouflage to blend in with the water.  A behavioral adaptation for this organism is that it migrates up the East coast.  Another behavioral adaptation is that the Bottlenose Dolphins swim very fast to catch prey.  A fun fact about this organism is that when one dolphin is sick or injured they take turns helping him get to the surface for air.  A few prey that the Bottlenose Dolphin eats is small fish, occasional squid, and crabs.  Some of their predators include Bull Sharks,  Tiger Sharks,  Dusky Sharks, and Great White Sharks. The Bottlenose Dolphin is a heterotrophic because this organism eats autotrophs and heterotrophs.  This multicellular organism is blue with three fins that help them to slice through the water.  Overall Bottlenose Dolphins are the coolest creatures around!

I got this picture from http://www.namepajr.net/bottlenose-dolphins/

  About the Great Egret (Ardea Alba)  

I am going to do my blog on the Great Egret because of the beauty of the animal and the cool way they grab food. The Great Egret has beautiful feathers that flow in the wind when they fly. ( The Great Egret’s scientific name is Ardea Alba.) The habitats of this wonderful bird are marshes, lakes,bays, and estuaries. On our field trip we were in an estuary. The Great Egret was the first thing we saw. The bird was slowly walking around trying to find prey. The Egret was trying to find a tiny fish or crabs to eat without disturbing the creatures. The organism eats frogs, tiny fish, tiny crabs, snakes and crickets. Overall I loved the trip and seeing all the different kinds of organisms, but I think the Egret was the most outstanding.

Striped Burrfish-By Mia Hellman

Striped Burrfish 

(Chilomycterus schoepfii)

The Striped Burrfish(Chilomycterus schoepfii) live in the estuaries and coastal areas. It is  in the domain Eukarya, kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Actinopterygii, order Tetradontiformes, family Diodontae, genus Chilomycterus, and, the most specific, species schoefii.These are dark yellowish green colored fish with dark brown wavy lines cover its body, and spikes cover it too. A cool fact is that striped burrfishes camouflage with their surroundings under water due to their color. Their predators are mullets, seagulls, and humans. Their prey is small fish and crustaceans. They are heterotrophic organisms due to its diet. A functional adaptation this animal has acquired is its jaw, the beak-like jaw helps the fish chomp on their prey. A behavioral adaptation is when the burrfish is scared it puffs up (this also scares predator away). A structural adaptation is the spikes on the burrfish’s body to help and make it harder to eat. The fish is ectothermic and has bilateral symmetry.

Picture from www.aqua.org

By: Mia Hellman

Snowy Egret

Egretta thula 

Domain-Eukarya

Kingdom-Animalia

Phylum-Chordata

Class-Aves

Order-Ciconiiformes 

Family-Ardeidae

Genus-Egretta

Species-thula 

Habitat- Salt-marsh pools, tidal channels, shallow bays and mangroves.

The Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) has bilateral symmetry. It's a medium sized bird with orange around its eyes and on its legs and feet with white feathers. They are most active at dawn and dusk and have flying capabilities but do not swim. Males protect the nesting territories.Snowy Egrets will hover and then drop to the water to catch prey in their bills.They will use one foot to stir up the bottom, flushing prey into view.It uses its long beak for catching prey and uses its long legs to get its prey to come towards it.The  Snowy Egret is a highly social bird that engages in group foraging with other species. Populations seem to be declining along the Atlantic coast due to pollution and competition with other bird species. Predators are raccoons, great Horned Owls, Barred Owl, American Crows, American Alligators, Grey Rat Snake, and Black Hawk. Its prey are amphibians, reptiles, fish, insects, mollusks, and terrestrial worms. The Snowy Egret is heterotrophic and endothermic. 

HORSESHOE CRAB
(Limulidea pholyphemus)

By: Raegan Propes

This organism is the horseshoe crab also called by its scientific name, Limulidae Pholyphemus. This organism can be found in shallow areas with a soft bottom. The domain of this organism is Eukaryote, the kingdom is Animala, the phylum is Athropod, the class is Merostmato, the order is Xiphosura, the family is Limulidae, the genus is limulus, and the species in Limulus Polyphemus. Horseshoe crab shells are brown or black and the underneath is most of the time brown as well.(structural)Its shell is shaped like a circle, with its eyes on the top.(structural)It also has a long tail coming out of the bottom of its shell where the horseshoes body is(structural) Horseshoe crabs are bilateral symmetry, which means they can be divided into two parts that are mirror images of each other. Horseshoe crabs are very smart and feeds at night when most animals are asleep. This animal is a heterotroph and is also endothermic. Its prey are worms, small molluscs, and algae. It doesn't have any predators but some humans might eat them. A horseshoe crab has bilateral symmetry, which means that it is fact about this organism is that the boys have different front legs than the girls to actually hold onto the girls during mating season.

the great egret

great egret

Ardea alba

the Great Egret is a big bird that roams estuaries and marshes or any form of water. Its Domain is Eukaryote and its Kingdom is Animalia. Phylum Chordata and its class is aves. Also, the Great Egret’s order is Ciconiiformes and lastly, its family is Ardeidae. Finally, the Great Egret’s Genus and species are Ardea, and Ardea alba. the Great Egret has bilateral symmetry and their average wingspan is 1.5 meters long. They are about 1 meter tall and weigh about 912 to 1140 g. On average, the females are smaller than the males. They both have all white feathers, a long yellow bill, and long, dark gray legs. A behavioral adaptation is when they fly, they keep their necks in as S shape. they eat small mice, snakes, fish, frogs and other small animals in this category.

By Delsy Daly
Mrs.Cook     6-3
10/21/15

                                                             Marine Lab Reflection

     The whole class went on a field trip to Grice Marine Lab and are guider was Mr.Pete. We went seining and found cool species. For example, we found a Pipefish, Stripped Burrfish, Kingfisher, Laughing Gull, Snowy Egret, Anchovies, Bottlenose Dolphin, and so much more! I went out in the freezing water but it refreshed me, I loved it. The ones that we caught in the ocean we put them in a container with water and we classified them. After we collected all the species on the beach, we headed to the Marine Lab. First we looked at this North American Octopus. It was a bit purple and a little bit of a dark pink. I have never really seen an octopus around the coast even though it was dead. Then Mr.Pete let us explore the different species that have collected for some time. It was amazing to see them, since some of them had been there for years in a jar. It was cool but also it sort of creeped me out because everywhere I turn I see something dead and also some of the species had big eyes. I don't like big eyes! At least I got to see some friendly specie(s) like a seahorse and just regular fish. Next, the class went into this room where the scientist collected different organisms, we some of what they did there and why. Finally, the class was going over to the touch tank. I held a Horseshoe crab, a Sea urchin, a Blue crab, and a Knobbed Welk. It was an amazing experience! If I could come here again, I would! 

                                                             Bottlenose Dolphin

                                         Turiops truncatus                         
                                                                by: Maddy Ethington-Carl

habitat: most of the world's oceans except the arctic and subarctic regions

domain: Eukarya

kingdom: Animalia 
phylum: Chordata
class: Mammalia
order: Cetacea
family: Delphinidoe
genus: Tursiops
species: Truncatus

 The Bottlenose dolphin's symmetry is bilateral. Its characteristics are that it's gray on the top and white on the bottom. They are usually 6.6-12.8 feet long. They have many adaptations. Some structural ones are that their tail goes up and down to help it dive up to get air. Another one is the shape of their fins which helps them glide through the water. The third one is the dolphin's teeth, which helps it catch fish. An interesting fact about the Bottlenose Dolphin is that they can stay under water for 15 minutes. They eat fish and squid. Their predators are Bull sharks, Tiger sharks, Dusky sharks, and Great White sharks. They are heterotrophic and endothermic.                     

Dog

Canis familiaris

Dogs live all over the world because dogs are usually house pets to humans.  The dog’s domain is Eukarya, the kingdom is Animalia, the phylum is Chordata, the class is Mammalia, the order is Carnivora, the family is Canidae, the genus is Canis, and the species is Familiaris.  The dog has a bilateral symmetry and is endothermic.Dogs are loyal and can be trained to hunt. Dogs characteristics from the way they were raised by their owners.  Dog's functional behavior are strong scents, fur or hair, and can hear very high noises. Dogs come in many different colors, shapes, and sizes a structural behavior. The greyhound breed was developed in Egypt 5,000 years ago and has the best eyesight of any breed of dog.  A predator of the dog is a human.  Foods dogs usually eat are fruits, vegetables, fish, and red meat.  Dogs are heterotrophs and are amazing creatures.          
http://www.dogslovewagtime.com/

Bottlenose Dolpin Turiops Truncatious

The Bottlenose Dolphin lives throughout the world’s oceans especially in warm climates but don’t live near the Arctic ocean. They can also be found in estuaries. Its domain is Eukarya and its kingdom is Animala. Its phylum is Chordata and its class is Mammalia. Its order is Cetacea and its family is Delphinidale. Last but not least its genus is Tursiops and its species Turiops Truncatious. The Bottlenose Dolphin has a bilateral symmetry. What that means is if I were to cut the Bottlenose Dolphin in half and fold the halves together it would be the same length on both sides. The characteristics of the Bottlenose Dolphin are their months are carved and give the appearance of a friendly permanent smile. It is a sleek swimmer and they can reach speeds of over 18 miles an hour.  They also travel in small groups and communicate with each other by a series of squeaks and whistles. Amazingly, the Bottlenose Dolphin can hold it breath for 12 minutes while diving. Like other marine animals they have adapted their breathing system to conserving oxen making them able to dive for a longer period of time. One interesting fact about the Bottlenose Dolphin is its ability to sleep with one eye open! The main predator of the Bottlenose Dolphin is a shark. On the other hand, its pry are often squid and fish. Additionally, they are warm blooded endothermic animals.      

Forbes Common Sea Star

Asterias forbesi

The Forbes Common Sea Star, also known as the Asterias forbesi, is commonly found close to the shores of North American Atlantic.  It is in the domain of Eukarya and the kingdom of Animalia.  This organism belongs in the phylum of Echinodermata, the class of Asteroidea, and order of Forcipulatida.  The Common Sea Star is in the family, Asteriidae, genus of Asterias, and lastly the species, Forbes.  The Forbes Common Sea Star has a  bumpy, dark red and orange skin. The sea star has 5 limbs (arms) and very small feet on their underside.  Their stomach is hidden but comes out from the Sea Star’s body when the organism is going to eat.  The Forbes common Sea Star does not have blood, but instead has a water vascular system.  Predators of the sea star include Sharks, Manta Rays, Alaskan King Crabs, and other Sea Stars.  Prey of this organism includes Sea Stars, Clams, and Scallops.  The Forbes Common Sea Star is a heterotroph.  The Forbes Common Sea Star is Bilateral Symmetry and is exothermic.  Thank you for reading i hope you learned something new about the Forbes Common Sea Star

~Caroline Butz    

     

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

By: Dorothy

The Bottlenose Dolphin is scientifically classified as Tursiops truncatus. The order of classification is: domain is Eukarya, kingdom is Anamalia, phylum is Chordata, class is Mammalia, order is Cetacea, family is Delphinidae, genus is
Tursiops, and the species is truncatus. This organism lives everywhere but the polar waters. The Bottlenose Dolphin has front flippers, a dorsal fin, and flukes. One of its structural adaptations is it has a limber body, so the Bottlenose can turn and move easier. A behavioral adaptation is this organism can swim up to thirty miles per hour. A functional adaptation is the bottlenose has echolocation, this helps them find fish. This organism eats small fish and squids. This means that the Bottlenose Dolphin is heterophic. Some of its predators are bull sharks and tiger sharks. A fun fact about the Bottlenose Dolphin is that it has extremely sharp teeth. This animal is bilateral and is endothermic. 

Picture by:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/4395454/Dolphins-prepare-food-like-chefs-before-eating.html

Alexandra Ewing

                                                                                        9-21-25

Striped Burrfish Chilomycterus schoepfi
The Striped Burrfish is scientifically known as the Chilomycterus schoepfi.  It is most commonly found on the east coast and in grass beds.  The domain of the Striped Burrfish is Eukarya and the kingdom is Animalia.  The phylum of this organism is Chordata and the class of the Striped Burrfish is Ray-finned Fishes. The order of the Striped Burrfish is Tetraodontiformes and the family that this organism belongs to is Diodontidae.  The genus and species of this organism is also the scientific name which is Chilomycterus schoepfi.  This organism eats heterotrophs and autotrophs so therefore is a heterotroph.  The only predators the Striped Burrfish is humans because of its large spikes that are hard to eat.  A few prey of this organism are shrimp, mussels, and crustaceans which are primarily invertebrates.  An interesting fact about the Striped Burrfish is that they swim by squirting water out of their gills and zooming in the water. A structural adaptation would be A behavioral adaptation would be when this organism puffs up to scare the predator away and to hide from it which helps it survive.  A functional adaptation for this organism would be that their beak like jaws that chomp down on their prey which help him survive.  The Striped burrfish is a small fish that puffs up into a large spiked ball when scared.  It is yellow with brown stripes and spikes on different places of its body.  This organism has bilateral symmetry and is endothermic.

Common Seahorse

(Hippocampus kuda)

This animal Is usually found in estuaries, reefs, and mud slopes in the Southeast Asia, Japan, and Australia. The domain this organism belongs to is the Eukarya. The kingdom it belongs to is the Animalia. Common Seahorses also belong to the Chordata and the class of Actinopterygii. This organism is in the order of Syngnathiformes, family of Syngnathidae, genus of Hippocampus, and species of kuda. This species has bilateral symmetry. Meaning that if you cut the Common Seahorse in half vertically, the two halves would be the exact same as each other. The Hippocampus kuda has a curled tail, bony body, and a long tube-like nose. It also has the features of a dorsal fin, and being very small. They use their curled tails to latch onto objects so when they are feeding, they won't blow away. An example of a behavioral adaptation is how they use their tube-like mouth to suck in prey. The last and final adaptation that the Common Seahorse contains is the functional adaptation. They call to each other when they need help or give other signals such as dancing. Did you know that the Hippocampus kuda has one layer of skin stretched around its whole body. And that instead of the female getting pregnant, the male does? The predators of this organism are penguins, fish, and humans. The prey are plankton, fish, shrimp, and crustaceans. This animal is a heterotroph, which means it gets energy by consuming other plants or animals, and is also endothermic, meaning that it is warm-blooded or not changing body temperature when the temperature of the environment changes. 
By: Meredith Mooney
Picture from:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3339/3643774785_85716c0e26.jpg

Snowy Egret~ Egretta thula ~~~~Mason Nistad

Mason Nistad

The Snowy Egret

Egretta thula

The Snowy Egret is a beautiful white bird with a black beak, black legs and black feet. The scientific name of the snowy egret is Egretta thula. The Snowy Egret is mostly found in North, Central, South America, Caribbean. More specifically, shallow bays and marshes. The Snowy Egret belongs to a domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. It’s domain is Eukarya, the kingdom is Animalia. the phylum is chordata, its class is Aves, its order is Ciconiiformes, its family is Ardeidae, its genus is Egretta and its species is thula. The Snowy Egret has many adaptations but some of them are very interesting. One of the snowy egrets' adaptations is its wings. The snowy Egrets wings are very tight against  its body to make it easier to hunt for pray. Another adaptation is its fast flying ability. The last adaptation is its upright position. The birds' upright position helps the bird move faster and fly faster to do daily tasks. A fun fact about this fascinating bird is that it looks a lot like the great egret but the great egret happens to have a yellow beak unlike the snowy egrets black beak. The snowy egret eats smaller animals like fish, frogs, worms, and insects. The birds' predators are owls, hawks and racoons. The snowy egret is a heterotrophic organism which means it uses energy from other organisms for its food. The snowy egret has bilateral symmetry; that means that when you were to fold the organism in half vertically it would watch up perfectly. The snowy egret is an endothermic organism which means mammals and birds maintain a constant body temperature, regardless of the temperature of the surroundings.

This picture is from www.veniceaudubon.org

Tursiops truncatus

Bottlenose dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

The bottlenose dolphin scientifically named Tursiops truncatus lives throughout the Earth’s oceans except the Arctic ocean. Its domain is Eukaryote and kingdom is Animalia. Also its phylum is Chordata, its class is Mammalia, and its order is Cetacea. Lastly, it’s family is Delphinidae, its genus is Tursiops, and finally, its species is  Tursiops truncatus. The bottlenose dolphin has bilateral symmetry. It is very social and highly intelligent. Tursiops truncatus is also grey and has an average mass of 400 kg. It has a behavioral adaptation of almost always swimming with another bottlenose. It also has two structural adaptations one is that they have up to 28 teeth to chew their food and they use there fins to swim through the water to catch prey. An interesting fact about the bottlenose dolphin is that they are extremely intelligent and very loud. They are predators to small fish and squid. However their predators are bull sharks, tiger sharks, and dusky sharks. Tursiops truncatus are also heterotrophic and endothermic. I have loved researching this amazing organism. 

this picture was found at:

http://www.asturnatura.com/especie/tursiops-truncatus.html

Grice Marine Lab Reflection By Eleanor Pope

This field trip to the Grice Marine Lab was amazing.  We got to see and learn about so many organisms.  For example the Kingfisher, Pompanos, Striped Burrfish, Anchovies, and 37 other organisms.  My favorite organism was the Bottlenose Dolphin.  First we got to go seining with our guide Mr. Pete.  Each time we pulled the seine in,  there were new organisms to discover and new facts to learn about those organisms.  One example is the Pipefish.  Apparently the Pipefish is a close relative to the Seahorse.  I never knew that!  We saw organisms on land as well, like the Snowy Egret.  After the fun time seining, we piled into the bus and went to the Grice Marine Lab.  The Grice Marine Lab was filled to the brim with organisms waiting to be seen in tanks, preserves, the touch tank and more. Mr. Pete showed us a room full of organisms that were preserved.  Mr. Pete surprised us with a preserved North American Octopus.  Then we learned so many cool facts about Octopi.  An example is how one species of Octopi can change shape to form a Lionfish to protect itself from predators.  Our last stop was the touch tank.  There we got to touch so many cool organisms.  I touched the Sea Urchin, a Sea Star, and Sea Whip.  At school we researched 5 organisms of our choosing.  An organism that I chose was the Laughing Gull.  I found out that the Laughing Gull has no taste buds.  Overall I had an extraordinary time on the Science field trip and recommend it to anyone interested in learning about organisms that live in the sea and on land.  #GriceMarineLabFieldTrip 

By: Eleanor Pope           

10/7/15 Today we went seining with Mr. Pete from the Grice Marine Lab. We caught many different organisms, some including Anchovies, a Striped Burrfish, Pompinos, a Mud Crab, and even an unidentified fish. We saw a Great Egret, some Bottlenose Dolphins, a Snowy Egret, and a Laughing Gull. The water was FREEZING when you first stepped in, but you sort of got used to it. Every time we brought the net to shore we uncovered a new organism. It was like exploring the ocean without going under. Once we went seining about five times, we went to the Grice Marine Lab, where Mr. Pete taught us about marine organisms. First he taught us about preserved organisms which were classified and sorted in the preservation room.  He showed us a dead North American Octopus that he found right in Charleston! He talked about the adaptations, structural, and functional features that the octopus had. After that, he let us explore the collection of deceased marine organisms. It's amazing that there are so many living things in the ocean. When you go swimming, you never think that there are millions and millions of organisms right underneath you. After that, we got to go to the wet lab where the marine scientists take samples of plants, and hold different organisms to study and research. Then we got to go to the touch tank. We learned about Blue Crabs, Horseshoe Crabs, Pufferfish, Knobbed Whelks, Sea Urchins, and Sea Whips. It was amazing! After that, Mr. Pete taught us about the organisms in the touch tank. We got to hold them. The Blue Crabs gave us "high fives" and the Horseshoe Crab was so cool to hold because it would wiggle in your hands. We had such a good time and we all hope that we can visit Mr. Pete and the Grice Marine Lab soon! -Mia and Docofo