Transcript Students final project: Creatures_of_the_Sea_Final BEST of all

Mythology of the Ocean
Giant Sea Animals
Transparent Aquatic Life
Protect our Seas
Created by:
Deborah Lawrence
Mermaid Mythology
Mermaids:
•Enchant sailors with singing and
music, distracting them from their work
often causing fatal accidents
•Feared by sailors because they
are considered a sign of bad luck
•Various cultures have similar
figures
Manatee and Dugongs often
mistaken for mermaids prior to mid
19th century
18th and 19th c. Edo Japan
Japanese fishermen crafted mermaids for sideshow
carnivals by stitching the upper bodies of monkeys
onto the bodies of fish
Giant Squid Mythology
Called Kraken
Thought to attack
ships and eat sailors
whole
Part Octopus,
Crab, Squid, and
Cuttlefish
Mythology of Sea Serpents
What makes sea serpent sightings different from other
mysterious creatures?
•Number of sightings (especially in 18th & 19th centuries)
•Sightings have been made by multiple people at once for
sustained periods of time
Modern Giants of the Sea
Squid
Sharks
Whales
Jellyfish
Sharks
 Sense a drop of blood from 2.5 miles away
 Can go up to at least 6 weeks without feeding
The Notorious Great White
The largest meat-eating shark,
growing up to 21 feet long
Great White Sharks:
Man-Eaters?
 Responsible
for few human
fatalities and
usually do not
target humans
as prey
 Many attacks
occur in waters
with low
visibility, or
when the
shark's senses
are impaired
 Sharks
attack
surfers
because
their
silhouettes
look like
seals
The Largest Shark:
the Whale
Shark
• Grows up to 50
ft long
• Eats plankton,
crustaceans
and small fish
Whales
 Whales are mammals, not fish
 The loudest animals in the world –
their underwater sounds
can travel great
distances
Click on whale
for video
Blue Whales
Often 100 ft in length, blue
whales are the largest animals
that have ever lived on earth –
they are even larger than
dinosaurs!
Giant
Squids:
The world’s
largest
invertebrates…
suspected to
reach up to 60
ft in length!
 Giant Squid captured for the 1st time in 2006
 24-ft long
 Died from injuries sustained during the
capture
Giant Jellyfish
Bodies are
made up of
95% water,
they have no
bones or
cartilage, no
heart or blood,
and no brain
Transparent Marine Life
 Transparency is an important method of camouflage
 Can also be a means of predatory animals tricking
others
 Can multiply
into swarms
under the right
conditions
 The brown spot
is the salp's
stomach
Transparent
Salpa
Aspera
Transparent
Siphonophores
Are extremely fragile and
can break apart in nets or
by mere illumination
Transparent Ctenophore
Capable of
regeneration
Even if half
of the
creature is
destroyed,
often the
remaining
half can
rebuild
itself
Protect Our Seas
Habitat destruction is caused by:
 Destructive fishing activity
 Coastal real estate development
 Pollution
 Dredging ship channels
Save my
home
Protect Our Seas
5 Simple ways to Preserve the Ocean:
1.
Stop eating seafood. … OR … Learn how to practice sustainability – When dining or
shopping for fish carry a sustainable seafood wallet guide available from
www.blueocean.org
2.
Vote. Vote for candidates who support marine conservation
3.
Do not pollute. Keep beaches clean and use environmentally friendly cleaning agents
4.
Shop smartly. Don’t purchase items that exploit marine resources unnecessarily
5.
Teach children to respect nature and the environment
For more information visit:
http://www.marinebio.org/Oceans/Conservation/local.asp