Waved Albatross Research Paper

espite their small size, sea dragons are carnivorous animals and therefore have a purely meat-based diet. The sea dragon uses its pipe-like snout to suck its prey into its oddly tooth-less mouth. Sea dragons hunt crustaceans, plankton, shrimp and even small fish, using their camouflage to their advantage. Sea dragons have numerous natural predators in the south and western coastal waters of Australia but are rarely even spotted to the elaborate camouflage of the sea dragon. Those few sea dragons that are unlucky enough to be found, are usually spotted by large fish. As with sea horses, it is the male sea dragon who care for the eggs once they have been laid by the female. The female lays around 250 eggs onto the long tail of the male sea horse.

To begin with, if I was currently an advocate for the environment and animals I would first focus on the Orcas, or killer whales, at theme parks, specifically Sea World. First of all, Sea World is inhumane. Five of the Orcas currently at sea world were “whale-napped” from the oceans they called home. For example, Tilikum, one of the most know whales in the Sea World franchise, is now thirty-two years old. He was captured at the age of two by, which means he has been in captivity for thirty years. And, before anyone says Tilikum was injured so they “rescued” him I want to say that it is fact that Tilikum was not injured. He was taken from his family and confined to a tiny tank just so people could make a hefty profit. Also, if the Orcas are

Tristan Albatross is apart of the D. dabbenena species. The Tristan Albatross is a fairly big seabird known for spending time near the ocean waters. The Tristan Albatross, which is hard to differentiate from the Wandering Albatross, has a wingspan up to 9-10 ft. and is primarily white with a dark back. Compared to the Wandering Albatross, they are slightly smaller, a little darker and they never really obtain their full white plumage. Their geographic distribution is very tough for experts and researches to find know due to the simple fact that they look so much like the Wandering Albatross. Although experts aren’t completely uninformed, by using tracking devices there is research that shows them in a wide variety of different places. Males

The Galapagos tortoise belongs to the phylum Chordata. This means that it has a notochord, this is a hollow dorsal nerve cord, a post-anal tail (for anytime in their life), Pharyngeal slits, and an endostyle. An endostyle is an organ that helps the animal filter-feed. The scientific name for the Galapagos tortoise is Geochelone nigra. Its name was made from the genus it was from (Geochelone) and the black coloration of the tortoise (nigra). The Galapagos tortoise can be up to 5 feet which was the largest ever recorded. They have five front claws and four back claws which help when crossing rugged terrain and are pointed inward. The tortoise has a toothless jaw due to its primarily vegetarian diet. They usually have a large dome shaped shell

They like to eat bull kelp,turkish towel,dulse,and laminaria. When they are threatened they clamp down their shells really hard so the predators can’t get in the shell. The adults are herbivorous and feed with their rhipidoglossan redula

Its favorite food is algae. Its predators are fish, birds, and mammals. The average clutch size is 80. They are originated from South America.

The Galapagos Tortoise has other interesting characteristics. Such as, they usually have litters about the size of 24 off-spring. They weigh between about 441 to 661 pounds. All that weight is put into a 4 foot body that can move about .3 miles per hour. One of the most interesting things about tortoises is that they can

In the poem, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the Albatross makes a marvelous appearance as it carries the wind on its backside in guiding a seemingly doomed ship through dangerous sea waters. This poem alludes to the majestic beauty and unique qualities of the Albatross. Many century old legends and myths are a product of the observations of the Albatross by sailors. Science has come a long way in understanding the capabilities and nature of the Albatross. However, despite numerous publications about this bird, none can quite explain the awe an observer feels when they first lay eyes on this beautiful sea bird.

When maintaining drifting flight, humming birds have some of the most note worthy mass-specific metabolic rates among vertebrates. Ruby-throated hummingbirds can be found in North and Central America. The diet consumed by them is a mixture of sucrose, glucose and fructose that is found in floral nectar. The bird’s structures are absent or are relatively larger or smaller than in other birds--apparent adaptations for the unusual hummingbird lifestyle that includes hovering flight, feeding on flowers, etc. Likewise, some aspects of hummingbird physiology accommodate its high metabolic needs.

Scientists have found a new species of winged dinosaur, an ancestor of the velociraptor, which was also on the cusp of becoming a bird.

to turn pink. These amazing large, brightly colored birds provide the island with vibrant pink color and

Owls are found all around the world. Although, they are not found in places too cold for them to live. They do not live in Antarctica or the ice sheets of Greenland. These birds can be as small as 5 inches tall with a wingspan of 15 inches. But, they can also be as big as 28 inches with a 78 inch wingspan. Their weights differ a lot from newborn to full size. Small owls can weigh as little as 1.2 ounces at birth, and big owls can weigh as much as 8.75 pounds when full grown.

Coral reefs worldwide are currently being threatened by climate change and ocean acidification. A recent estimate shows that approximately 30% of reefs have already sustained significant damage, and up to 60% of reefs may be completely destroyed by the year 2030 (Hughes et al.). Because of the fragile state of reefs worldwide, it is important to be able to determine the health of reef systems. One possible indicator may be found in the behavior of butterflyfish. Butterflyfish are common in Indo-Pacific and Caribbean reef comminutes, with species representing three different trophic guilds including corallivory, planktivory, and benthic omnivory. Marc Slattery and Deborah J. Gochfield created the “Butterflyfish indicator hypothesis,” which assumes that as coral condition decreases which results in lower quality food sources, it will cause a chain reaction of obligate corallivores changing their behavior or even emigrating away from their territories, while facultative corallivores are less effected by these changes in coral health. In order to study this, Slattery and Gochfeld studied butterflyfish behavior at three different sites in Guam, with all three being at different stages of overall health. Cocos lagoon (CL) was the most heavily impacted, with the Piti Bomb Holes (PBH) being slightly less impacted, and Luminao Reef (LR) being relatively unimpacted. The researchers wanted to

No other marine animal in the ocean has come to be as feared, or perhaps as well known to man, as the class of cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes) called, sharks; primarily, the species of shark known as, the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). The overall body systems and behaviors of this fish are how it has become so well adapted to its oceanic environment, that it is today considered amongst the top predators of this planet. Alongside this incredible fish, is a more recent specimen to the oceanic scene and a completely different class of animals, mammalians. The marine mammals (cetaceans) in question are better known by their common name, dolphins; specifically, the bottle nosed dolphins (Tursiops truncates), which are regarded as highly intelligent animals and are fairly well along in the evolutionary chain; considering their short history. By looking at the behavioral patterns and morphologies of these cetaceans, one can see how such a mixed group of animals such as, the mammalians class have been able to adapt so well to oceanic environments, and even come to thrive, in comparison to the cartilaginous fish that has ruled the waters for millions of years longer.

The Wandering Albatrosses are pelagic seabirds. They have a very large wingspan, up to eleven feet wide. They are also known for their elaborate courtship rituals. In the Webster Dictionary the definition for courtship is “the behavior of animals that leads to sexual activity or the period of time when such behavior occurs”, (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). In humans we call this flirting or dating. It is one of the ways we chose our sexual partners and mates. Similar to humans, Albatrosses partake in courtship “dances” to attract the other gender and find their mate. Although to a casual observer, the mating albatrosses ritual may seem extreme, their elaborate courtship helps them to choose their life long mate and the partner