WHAT SEA CREATURE HAS THREE HEARTS ? WHAT COLOR IS THEIR BLOOD?

Smithsonian Magazine : Ten Wild Facts About Octopus 

TEN FACTS !

Excerpt:  Two of the hearts work exclusively to move blood past the animal’s gills, where it releases carbon dioxide and gains oxygen. Then, the third heart circulates that oxygen-rich blood to the organs and muscles, giving them energy. But the latter heart actually stops beating when the octopus swims, explaining the species’ penchant for crawling rather than swimming, which exhausts them.

WAITING

 

KILLER WHALES AFTER BLUE SHARK : HE GOT AWAY BECAUSE KILLER WHALES NO LIKE

YAHOO NEWS : Sacramento Bee : Enormous sea creatures investigate a ‘startled’ blue shark off California 

Excerpt:  This CA140B pod of orcas, known as Louise’s family after their matriarch, are regular visitors to the Monterey area and are seen several times a year, Talty said. Most killer whale sightings take place in April and May near Monterey.

“What a rare and lucky encounter today between two unique species!” Monterey Bay Whale Watch said on Facebook.

Orcas are the largest members of the dolphin family, according to the World Wildlife Fund. They can reach up to 32 feet and more than 12,000 pounds.

Orcas can live up to 90 years and are a top predator, with 100 teeth. They feed mainly on other marine mammals and fish, along with seabirds and marine turtles.

Blue sharks can reach up to 13 feet long and weigh more than 450 pounds, according to Brittanica. They feed mainly on fish, squid and crustaceans.

BLUE BLOBS ON THE BEACH ARE STING-Y COLONIES OF INDIVIDUALS

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY   These blueish blogs that appear to have a sail aspect of their bodies are usually not able to live much longer once beached.  They sting.

Excerpt: 

These are marine hydrozoans, a group of animals closely related to jellyfishes. Interestingly, what might look like a single animal is actually a colony of multiple individuals working together. This is similar to the Portuguese man o' war, which is also a colonial hydrozoan. By-the-wind sailors feed on planktonic organisms using tentacles that have harpoon-firing cells called cnidocysts, just like jellyfish.

WHEN WHALES COULD WALK : NOVA DOCUMENTARY

The whales is a mammal that breaths air, but evolved on land.  This documentary follows the discovery of a mammal that originally was thought to be a lizard, and there's fossil evidence in the desert of Egypt. THE HIPPO IS THE CLOSEST LIVING RELATIVE TO WHALES>

NOVA WHEN WHALES COULD WALK

Excerpt:  In Egypt’s Sahara Desert, massive skeletons with strange skulls and gigantic teeth jut out from the sandy ground. This fossil graveyard, millions of years old, is known as the “Valley of the Whales.” Now, paleontologists have unearthed a whole new species of ancient whale dating to 43 million years ago, and this predator wasn’t just able to swim – it also had four legs and could walk. Follow scientists as they search for new clues to the winding evolutionary path of mammals that moved from the land into the sea to become the largest animals on Earth.VIn Egypt’s Sahara Desert, massive skeletons with strange skulls and gigantic teeth jut out from the sandy ground. ...

CHANNEL ISLANDS MARINE SANCTUARY : TWENTY SEVEN DIFFERENT SPECIES OF WHALES AND DOLPHINS and PINNEPEDS GALORE!

CHANNEL ISLANDS NOAA MARINE SANCTUARY 

• Twenty-seven different species of whales and dolphins visit or call Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary their home including the world's largest congregation of blue whales. Other species include fin, humpback, and gray whales. Common dolphins, orcas, and Risso's dolphins also frequent the region.

• Five species of pinnipeds, including California sea lions, elephant seals, and harbor seals depend on the sanctuary for feeding and breeding.

• Sixty species of seabirds including the rare Scripps's murrelet and California brown pelican nest, feed, and migrate here.

DON'T PICK UP THAT SEAL LION PUP ! MOM IS OUT HUNTING!

SEAGRANT : OREGON STATE EDU : SEA LIONS AND SEALS IN OREGON 

Lots of good information here!

Excerpt:   People often find harbor seal pups on the beach and pick them up, thinking the pups have been abandoned. Usually, they are not abandoned. The mothers are just out hunting or watching nearby. Human handling has caused many seals to be orphaned. There are no rehabilitation facilities in Oregon for seals, so if you find a seal pup—or any marine mammal—on the beach, the best thing you can do is leave it alone. If you see someone harassing a seal, call the Oregon State Police.

SEAGULL

MAURICE and MARALYN IS A RIVITING SURVIVAL STORY and a PAGE TURNER by SOPHIE ELMHIRST

A WHALE A SHIP A LOVE STORY

Halfway to New Zealand, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey's boat got struck by a sperm whale and from then on they struggled to survive. This is a riveting story of of how much humans can endure. Yes, they were rescued, which was improbable after so many ships passed them by without seeing them in the inflatable dinghy that had become their home.  At that point they were skeletal and near death, though they had captured turtles and sharks by hand and had also used the flesh as bait to catch fish. 

Their adventure began in March of 1973. Seven years earlier they'd considered giving up their ordinary suburban lives, their average jobs, to sail instead.  To do so they would sell their house, quit their jobs,  move into a rental in the Southhampton port area, take other jobs, and learn to sail by making runs across the English Channel and such. They were sensible as they made progress to their goal.  Well researched, Maralyn stocked the boat with enough food, rationed, to last their journey, most of which they would not be able to get into the raft or dinghy when the time came. Maurice studied books on life at sea and wanted to navigate by the stars as mariners had done before there were radios. They made a plan that would involve sailing the Pacific to New Zealand, going to the Canary Islands, the Caribbean Sea, and also the Galapagos. They knew that they would find themselves alone without another vessel in sight for days and would have to rely on all their knowledge and personal resources. They had to believe they were ready for the adventure. Their first stop was to be the Canary Islands.

But the challenge they could not have expected came when a sperm whale, likely surfacing, hit their boat. The sperm whale was about forty feet long and had a tail that spanned about ten feet.  Their boat, the Auralyn, was a thirty-footer. The collision between boat and whale was likely fatal for the whale who was bloody and in obvious pain when it dove back down into the ocean. The hole in the boat below the water line was not massive but it allowed ocean water to flood in. The couple quickly took action to seal the hole but their efforts didn't work. As the boat rapidly flooded, they realized they would have to get off their boat or sink with it. Quickly they got the life raft and the dinghy loaded with fresh water and other survival supplies, including nautical navigation tools. Maralyn managed to have her camera and diary. The boat sank before their eyes. 

The couple spent 118 days adrift on the Pacific Ocean and the experienced challenged them in every way, physically, mentally, emotionally.   They lived to get another boat and sail again.

C 2024 Book Review  Siren's Link to Sea

MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM RESEARCH INSTITUTE : INTO THE DEEP : SEA CREATURES IN THE MONTEREY BAY

 There are remote cameras in the bay operated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium....

The many creatures are named and listed are the depths they are found. Lots of squid and jelly.

EARTH DAY : MOSTLY OCEAN

 

CABRILLO MARINE AQUARIUM 2024 YOUNG SCIENTISTS PROGRAM ICEBREAKER : FIND OUT MORE ABOUT IT!

Interact with Aquarium staff and past participants to learn all about THE YOUNG SCIENTISTS PROGRAM requirements, application process, program timeline, and more

SATURDAY APRIL 27th, SUNDAY APRIL 28th, 2024

10 am to 2 pm

High school Students interested in the YOUNG SCIENTISTS PROGRAM must attend this entire event as part of their admission process.

For more infromation

cabrillomarineaquarium.org/rsearch

https://www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org/research.asp

https://www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org/research/marine-research-library.asp

The YOUNG SCIENTISTS PROGRAM is free, and an independent research program. The commitment for this program is one day a week from June 2024- March 2025.

SPACE IS LIMITED so RSCP...

E-mail: aquaticnursery.research.cmaqua.org