by Chris Verlinde | Dec 19, 2016
The holiday season is a special time for most of us! There are many creatures that live under the sea that represent many of our holiday traditions.
Photo Credit: Fl. Museum Of Natural History, George Burgess
Small cookie cutter sharks are found in very deep water during the day, at night they migrate up the water column to feed. Cookie cutter sharks attract their prey with lighted photophores. Photophores are lighted organs located on the lower part of the shark. Small fish are attached to the glow, larger fish searching for prey get close enough to the shark and the shark bites the prey. The cookie cutter shark has specialized sucking lips that attach to the victim. The shark then spins its body around and leaves a cookie cutter shaped hole in the fish.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Ribbon Eels are found in the Indio Pacific. They have long slender bodies and move like ribbons in and through the crevices reefs. They eat live fish. To view a YouTube video of ribbon fish feeding, click here.
Photo credit: Chris Verlinde
Jingle shells get their name as a result of their shells that when shaken together make a jingle like sound. Jingle shells can be found along the beaches of NW Florida. The shiny iridescent shell is strong and very attractive. Many shell collectors use the shells to make jewelry and wind chimes.
Jingle shells are bivalves and live attached to hard surfaces, just like oysters.
Jingle shells are filter feeders, meaning water is filtered through their gills for plankton.
Photo credit: Wikimedia commons
Christmas tree worms are Christmas tree shaped worms that form burrows corals. The tentacles, which form the tree-like structures are used for feeding on plankton and to breathe. These plumed creatures are a type of polychaete worm.
Christmas tree worms come in many colors and can be found all over the world. They feed by using their feathery appendages, called radioles to capture phytoplankton that floats by the “feathers.”
Christmas tree worms are easily disturbed and will quickly vanish into their burrows as shadows or larger marine life pass by. They return quickly and continue with their sedimentary lifestyles in the coral.
“Marine snow” falls gently on to a coral-covered shipwreck explored in the Gulf of Mexico in 2012 by the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Photo Credit NOAA
Marine snow gets its name as a result of the fluffy materials that resemble snow falling from the sky. Marine snow is decaying material from plants and animals that have died in the oceans. Marine snow may also include sand, fecal matter and inorganic dust.
Just like snowflakes, marine snow grows as it floats to the ocean depths. Marine snow is consumed by scavengers that live along the deep-sea floor bottom. Check out the video below showing the beauty of marine snow.
There are many more festive creatures that live in the sea. Have a wonderful Holiday Season!
by Rick O'Connor | Dec 16, 2016
The Florida Orange Sea Star.
Photo: Florida Sea Grant
One of the more popular traditions this time of year is placing the star on top of the Christmas Tree. The star represents the Christmas Star which led the wise men to the manager. The stars that have been placed on Christmas Trees over the decades have come in all shapes and forms but gulf coast residents will use a starfish to both represent the Nativity and their connection to the sea.
Starfish, more correctly called sea stars, are one of the most recognized marine creatures in the world. Many have used it as a logo or their symbol of the sea. But what is a sea star actually? We know they live on the bottom and look like stars but what do they do? How do they function?
Sea stars are invertebrates in the Phylum Echinodermata. Echinoderms have radial symmetry; meaning they have a distinct top and bottom but no head or tail. You certainly know if it is upside down but you are not sure if it is facing you. They are the only invertebrates to have an internal skeleton; called a test. It is this skeleton we find in the curio shops and stores – and what we place on our tree. This skeleton produces tubercules or spines which extend into (and above) the skin – giving them the “spiny skin” for which they get their name – “echino” “derm”. Echinoderms have a series of tube like sacs underneath their bodies which they fill with water and use like suction cups to move and feed. Most have male and females and all produce planktonic larva.
Sea stars in particular are found worldwide and are more common in coastal waters. They come in a variety of colors and most have five arms – though one species has 40! Their mouth is on the underside of the body and lacks teeth. They have a pigment spot at the end of each arm that can detect light. Some sea stars are attracted to light, while others are repelled by it. Most sea stars are carnivorous, feeding on a variety of invertebrates including other echinoderms, and some are scavengers. Mollusk are a common prey, and – to the dismay of oyster farmers – oysters are an easy prey. The sea stars approach the bivalve, use their tube feet to open the two shells slightly, and insert their digestive tract inside the oyster. They attack the abductor muscle first, release the tension on the two shells, and then consume the rest of the animal. Sea stars like seawater, so oysters growing in the upper estuaries have fewer problems with these predators. Our local sea stars are good at detecting buried prey in our quartz sand and then digging them out. These animals are famous for their ability to regenerate their body parts. Oyster farmers trying to reduce this threat have been known to cut them and toss them back, only to have more sea stars later. However sexual reproduction is also very common. Most sea stars have 2 gonads per arm and can fertilize up to 2 million eggs in a spawning event. Spawning is usually in the spring and is triggered by chemicals in the water.
Though they are a classic icon for the ocean, and holiday decoration along the coast, these are fascinating animals in their own right. I wish all of you Happy Holidays and a joyous new year.
