IntroductionFor my project I have decided to choose marine life and it is a good topic to choose. Marine life is a very amusing topic to study for much of it has not even been discovered! I can make this topic interesting by talking about some pre-existing marine life such as octopuses, jellyfish, blob fish, whales, sharks and other interesting sea life. Another way I can make this topic interesting is by talking about the extreme conditions some sea life have managed to adapt to and gather information from other teachers throughout the school that deal with “sea life” on a daily basis. Next, another way I can keep this topic interesting is by performing my own aquatic “experiments” at home. I can test behaviors of fish and see if they change throughout these experiments. Marine life is an interesting topic and many should read more about it, one interesting fact about marine life is only 5% of the Mariana Trench has been discovered and only a few people have ever made it to the bottom. Think about all of the sea life that could be lurking in the deep that we didn’t even know existed. If that doesn’t make readers want to be engaged into reading about marine life then I am not writing this paper correctly… In conclusion, my project will be about aquatic life and how I can engage readers into my project. Knowing that there is many undiscovered marine life animals still in the deep makes us wonder, what animals are out there that we have not discovered. I have put together 8 subtopics explaining some of the creatures I think are most interesting. Subtopic 1Sea CucumberSea Cucumbers are animals are animals that look like a long cylinder, they have leathery skin and can be found everywhere on the seafloor. They also belong to a group of animals called Echinoderms and the closest animal related to them are starfish and sea urchins. Believe it or not, there is over 1250 species of sea cucumber and they come in a variety of colors such as red, black, blue, green or a brownish shade. Also, when these animals feel threatened they can expel internal organs that give off a toxic substance. These creatures are able to do this because their organs can be regenerated within a matter of a few weeks. Like octopi the sea cucumbers have features like tentacles, 5 rows on the surface of the body and they have no brain. Summing up this subtopic, sea cucumbers are ugly and strange animals that literally look like cucumbers Subtopic 2 Octopi These animals are unique like jellyfish, they are soft-bodied animals and there is 300 species of octopus’. The octopus’ original name is also Octopoda. These animals are uniquely built as well because they have three hearts, 9 brains and blue blood. Some facts about octopi is they eat their arms when they become bored, they have special venom and the blue-ringed octopus can paralyze an adult human within minutes of exposure to the venom. These animals are also very intelligent as well, they can open child-proof pill-bottles, jars and containers. Next, octopi are masters of camouflage and can change the color of its entire body within 3-10ths of a second. In conclusion, octopi are intelligent creatures and they should not be underestimated. Octopi share similar characteristics of a jellyfish and are radical creatures. Subtopic 3PufferfishPufferfish are fish that are covered in sharp spikes and can blow up into a ball like structure when they feel threatened. These animals are interesting and they also make good house decorations. The scientific name for the pufferfish is Tetraodontidae. Not to mention there is also 120 species of this kind of species and the majority of these fish are marine-water fish. There is 40 types of puffer-fish in Brackish waters found in freshwater. These animals use unique defense mechanism such as becoming poisonous to animals after they are eaten. The toxin pufferfish has to poison the animals is called Tetrodotoxin and the poison can be found throughout its entire body. Pufferfish are known for blowing up into balls and they can achieve this by gulping large amounts of water to make themselves bigger and more threatening looking. In conclusion, pufferfish are dangerous animals and you would not want to step on one of these or try to eat it if it is not cooked properly which is what they do in countries such as Asia and Korea. Subtopic 4Sea Urchin Sea urchins are black-spikey creatures that everyone is afraid of stepping on. There is about 950 different species that can be found in all oceans and urchins usually live in depths of 5,000 meters deep. Next, the sea urchin is mostly known for its spines and these spines can reach from 3-10 centimeters and they are long and sharp. The scientific name of this animal is Echinoidea. Oddly, urchins are omnivores so they feed on both plants and animals. The urchin typically eats algae that is on coral and rocks and the urchin will also feed on dead fish, mussels, sponges and barnacles. The habitat of this animal is pretty boring because the urchin just lives on the ocean floor and on coral reefs. The sea urchin has predators as well, these predators consist of big fish, birds, crabs and even sea otters. Lastly, sea urchins have a clawed mouth that makes it easy for them to bite into their food. In conclusion, sea urchins are oddballs and have unique features and an ugly appearance. Subtopic 5Jellyfish Jellyfish are unique soft-bodied animals that can be found in all oceans. These animals are special because they have no bones, no heart and no brain but they are still creatures that are alive. Jellyfish also have odd capabilities that much sea life animals don’t have such as glowing in the dark, cloning themselves and being immortal. You may ask yourself “how the heck are they capable of all this” and the answer remains belowHow jellyfish are able to glow:Jellyfish have bioluminescent organs that emit light. Jellyfish use this mechanism as a defensive protection that scare away predators. How do these creatures survive without organs?Jellyfish can survive without these organs because they have the basic set of nerves. The nerves are located at the bottom of their tentacles and they can detect touch and temperature. What exactly is a jellyfish?A jellyfish is actually plankton, and is about 98% water. These animals are transparent blobs with dangly arms… they are quite the interesting creature. In conclusion, the jellyfish species differs from your ordinary pet fish and to think they are still alive with no organs no heart and no brain is unbelievable. Subtopic 6Starfish Starfish are star-shaped animals that can be found in just about every ocean and they are Echinoderms that belong to the Asteroidea family, which is also their scientific name. Starfish have no brain, like the jellyfish, and they also have no blood. There is about 2000 species of this specific animal and the starfish typically has 5 arms and the creature cannot survive in freshwater. Starfish are interesting characters because when they lose and arm, they regenerate another one within a few weeks to a year. Also, as mentioned starfish have no blood so they pump water throughout their body. Next, starfish have two stomachs and instead of having eyeballs, they have an eyespot. These eyespots are located on the end of each of their arms and the eyespot is capable of sensing light and dark. In conclusion, starfish are weird animals that have many arms and can even regrow their own body parts. Subtopic 7NudibranchA nudibranch is a shell-less marine mollusk and it can also be known as a sea slug. These animals are soft-bodied and their scientific name is Nudibranchia. As mentioned Nudibranchs are also slugs and their name comes from the Latin word nudius meaning naked and Greek brankhia (gills). There is over 3000 species of this animal and they can live in depths up to 2,500 meters deep. They can be found in tropical and temperate seas and even Antarctica. The Nudibranchs are poisonous while other Nudibranchs pretend to be poisonous. Although these animals live in water, they are actually not good swimmers. Some species even have a “foot” that they use to help them swim. The foot is a broad muscle that leaves a slimy track. Also, Nudibranchs are hermaphrodites. What is a hermaphrodite? A hermaphrodite is an organism living with both male and female sex organs This is an advantage for the nudibranch because it will help the animal be able to find partners to reproduce more easily. In conclusion Nudibranchs are animals full of color and they can be easily mistakes for a piece of coral reef or even a large slug but don’t come in contact with this creatures because they can be very poisonous. Subtopic 8CoffinfishThe coffinfish are a species of sea toads that belong to the Chaunacidae family. This animal can be found in salty waters in the southwest pacific and the east coast of Australia. The coffinfish can reach a maximum length of 22cm. These animals are typically a shade of red, pink or blue and they are interesting because like the pufferfish they can use water to inflate themselves to make their bodies look bigger and more threatening. Also, this creature has the ability to literally walk on the seafloor, they can do this because their fins can act as feet. Although the coffinfish has great capabilities, they are very ugly animals. Round-like with a big mean frown and fins that make the creature look like an arrow. Lastly, little is to be discovered about the coffinfish and it was first described in 1899 from a trawl in Panama. Subtopic 9StargazerThe stargazer is a hideous fish with both its eyes and mouth stuck on top of its head. There is about 51 species of this fish and they can be categorized in eight families. The scientific name of this animals is Astrocopus, meaning “one who aims at the stars”. This fish lives in shallow waters and it is typically known to live in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. This animal uses unique tactics when they are hunting for food because with the use of camouflage the fish is able to bury itself into mud or sand using its fins like shovels to blend in with its surroundings with only its eyes and mouth showing and when prey swims above the creature it lurks out to gobble it up using its mouth as a vacuum. The stargazers diet mostly consists of fish, crabs and other crustaceans. Not only is the stargazer good at hunting but it is also poisonous. With 2 large poison spines located on its fin, the spine is able to produce electricity with sends out severe electric shocks that can be up to 50 volts. Lastly, don’t be too freaked out by this fish! Stargazers will not harm humans as look as it is kept undisturbed… watch your step though because no one wants to step onto this scary fish. Subtopic 10Sea turtle Almost, if not everyone has heard of the colorful sea turtle. The sea turtle, sometimes called the marine turtle is a cold-blooded reptile that spends its entire life in the ocean. The scientific name for this creature is Chelonioidea and they have been around for 110 million years. This turtle is not like your typical turtle for it cannot hide into its shell because it’s hind legs are incapable of retracting. This reptile can come in a variety of colors such as yellow, greenish and black. Also, since the turtle is a reptile it relies on oxygen to breathe, this is strange because the animal lives in the ocean but sea turtles can hold their breath for up to 5 hours and their heart rates slow to conserve oxygen taking one beat with a time gap as long as 9 minutes! Next, since this turtle spends most of its life underwater they undergo migrations that can be as far as 1,400 miles between their nesting beaches and feeding grounds and they can travel more than 10,000 miles every year. Not only is that a long swim but the turtles will return to the same nesting ground they were born in. After the eggs are laid by the females who dug a hole into the sand using their back flippers laying hundreds of eggs at one time the size of ping pong balls (Interesting fact: sea turtles gender depends on how hot or cold the environment was of their surroundings when they were still in their eggs), it can take a hatchlings up to a week to reach the surface beneath the sand. When they reach the surface, the turtles race to the shore at night to begin their long swimming journey. This reptile can live a long life too, they can live to be anywhere from 50-80 years! That is a long time considering this is an animal and animals typically don’t have a similar lifespan to humans. Also, sea turtles are very heavy animals. The leatherback sea turtle can weigh up to 500-2,000 pounds while both the green sea turtle and the loggerhead sea turtle can weigh up to 350 pounds. Finally, sea turtles are in great danger with facing the threat of extinction. Out of the seven species of sea turtles, six of them are facing the threat of endangerment, this is caused from the lack of habitat and the consumption of their eggs and meat. Save the turtles! Conclusion Marine life is a different topic rather than the normal animal lives. There is so much yet to be discovered throughout these oceans and people should try to keep the beauty of the ocean we have now. Much marine life is dying due to over polluting oceans and believe it or not, plastic is currently the most common element that can be found in the ocean and by 2025 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Also, small marine animals who are at the bottom of the food chain are absorbing the chemicals as a part of food. This is a problem because these small animals who consumed the chemicals are eaten by animals who are bigger and bigger than them and soon those same chemicals reach the top of the food chain resulting in sick and endangered marine life. People should continue to explore and discover these precious animals and the deep depths of the midnight zone (the midnight zone is 3,280 feet deep and this is the point where sunlight can no longer reach). There can be many jobs to exploring marine life such as ocean engineering, a marine mammal trainer, marine archeology, marine researcher or a scuba diving instructor and underwater filmmaker. These jobs can differ from the typical job because people will not be stuck in an office all day but instead exploring the ocean floor and it’s wondering. Think twice about the animals living in the ocean before doing something that can cause damage to it. Marine life is delicate and everyone should be aware of the behaviors of fish and other aquatic life.
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