Benefits of sea grasses

5 benefits that seagrasses provide for the marine ecosystem and man:

1-is an essential habitat that offers shelter and food to more than 40,000 fish.
picture:http://katlynbritneylori.edublogs.org/files/2010/05/med_seagrass_beds_pgVI.jpg

2-it filters both harmful toxins and pollutants
picture: www.teachoceanscience.net/images/seagrass_flow_diagram_lge.png

3-seagrass meadows lessen the effects of of harsh currents
picture :http://www.teachoceanscience.net/images/seagrass-aerial1_lge.jpg

4-binds sediment which helps to prevent erosion
picture: http://www.seos-project.eu/modules/coralreefs/images/Ecological%20values.png

5-providing a home to so many fish creates an essential place for fisheries to find fish
picture:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5kobvMEzcc5mp6Wm1nYFN8L9Deu72UZ8Opip4vfB7DFaDOPhboAv0pP5dUDzTg0oTStsaq-UjQx0lUvDvzyD6-gRxrQhRmiVrzq37ukEVCjTV8H_VUXi7cX2MaV_bknkWlDz-ZV3K0O7/s1600/1_222-2254_IMG_adj_Steven+Lutz.jpg

Marine Video Issue

The video "Investigating Ocean Pollution" by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California explores California's Bay. A research team is investigating industrial pollution at 6 different places in the Bay. Led by Demitri Deheyn, tests a common species of starfish from clean ocean water into the bay full of pollutants, and garbage. The video goes through all experiments made and how and why each step in the procedures were taken. Deheyn explains how the Brittle Stars did not survive very well but did not die. He also explained that the pollution sunk into and was absorbed by the sediment. If the pollutants cannot find sediment to attach to, it will find an organism. This video explains how industrial pollutants effect specific species of animals. It was extremely informative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjI7etw5rME

Pollution

Problems caused by plastics in the ocean:

monofilament: Monofilament fishing line entangles animals strangling and killing them.

(picture:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Filet_de_pêche_DSC00632.JPG/220px-Filet_de_pêche_DSC00632.JPG)

entanglement: Over 267 species have been found to be harmed from entanglement. Entanglement can be from fishing line, plastic bags, 6 packs, etc. It causes suffocation, drowning and starvation.

(picture: http://www.crimemuseum.org/element/humpback.jpg)

Plastic bags: Many animals ingest plastic bags thinking they are food, killing around 100,000 animals a year.

(picture: http://bagitmovie.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/plasticbag-turtle-web.jpg)

Ghost fishing: Ghost fishing is when old pots and nets catch fish, but since they cant get get out, it kills them.


(picture: http://whalesandmarinefauna.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/a-green-sea-turtle-entangled-in-a-commercial-fishing-net.jpg)

Plastic Pellets: Small pieces of plastic broken off of large

(picture: http://oceanmotion.org/images/impact/confetti_plastic_pellets.jpg)

Benefits of mangroves

The Benefits of mangroves:

1. Nursery: Mangroves provide a Nursery and safe home for baby fish and a variety of other marine animals.
2. Nutrients: What falls from the mangroves is called leaf liter, that breaks down into nutrients and is the begins the basic food chain.
3. Sediment: Mangroves hold the soil down stabilizing the sediment on the shoreline
4. Toxins: Mangroves filter toxins and nutrients.
5. Buffer System: Mangroves act as a buffer system to the land, lessening the strength of waves caused by storms
6. Ecosystem Corridor: Provides habitat and a connecting zone in the ecosystem

1.http://mit.whoi.edu/cms/images/oceanus/mangrove-600_81252.jpg

2.http://www.nhmi.org/mangroves/pic/w59.jpg

3. http://www.ozcoasts.gov.au/conceptual_mods/processes/images/sediment_process.jpg

4.http://soilquality.org/images/filtering.gif

5.http://ncp-dev.stanford.edu/~dataportal/invest-releases/documentation/current_release/_images/BeachProfile.png

6.http://www.rivercare.org/local/upload/ckresized/73/corridor_map.jpg

adaptations of mangroves

Adaptations:

1. Stability: The Red Mangroves Prop roots and the Black Mangroves widespread roots give the mangroves the stability it needs in the water and on the shoreline.
2. Salt: While most plants cannot live in environments with extremely high salinity, mangroves salt tolerance allows it to thrive in extreme amounts of saline.
3. Oxygen-poor: Mangroves grow in waterlogged soils which do not contain much oxygen. They have an adaptation of specialized roots that get gasses and air to the underground
4. Viviparous: The seeds of the tree remain attached to the tree and germinate before they drop. It grows propagules and drops into the water until it can find soil.
5. Seeds: Some mangroves have an adaptation of producing seeds that float, the tide carries them away and it avoids young plants being too close together 

1.http://w3.shorecrest.org/~Lisa_Peck/MarineBio/syllabus/ch6producers/producerwp/cw/roots.gif

2.http://www.asknature.org/images/uploads/strategy/0ef4cce98e84127a384ff963259e4724/a3222d98ecae0afb0bd8758c7cea7a9c.jpg

3. http://ecology.hku.hk/jupas/Mangrove/Pneumatophores.gif

4. http://campus.albion.edu/florida08/files/2008/03/red-mangrove-seedling-propagule.jpg

5. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/media/estuar07d_600.jpg

Arowana

Common Name: Arowana
Scientific Name : Osteoglossidae
Habitat: usually found in freshwater streams and rivers
Reproduction: The female watch over the young, and are a "mouth brooding" species
Prey: Carnivores, eat krill, worms, and shrimp
Interesting facts:
1. Jump out of the water
2. Have barbels that sense movement
3. lives approx 30 years
why: I chose this fish because it looks interesting and they are protected for being considered endangered.

photos: http://www.asia.ru/images/target/img/product/11/83/40/11834018.jpg

mangroves

There are 3 different main types of Mangroves: Black, Red, and White.
The Blank and Red Mangroves, while similar in height, have a few differences. The black Mangrove traps its oxygen with bristle like roots, and the seeds are edible! The Red Mangrove is an evergreen with aerial roots, while the White Mangroves are the shortest of the three. Mangroves provide many benefits that deserve to be protected. First, mangroves provide homes to many different plants and animals. They also protect shores from waves and protect against costal erosion. Another important aspect is that mangroves protect areas on land from storm damage. The Black Mangrove's wood is used for the making of fishing poles, as well as the White Mangrove which is also greatly used for other tools. All can provide shelter for fish, especially crab, all of these are very beneficial to fishing industries

photo: http://www.tomcravens.com/Red%20roots.JPG