Coral Reef Fact: The Sea cucumber’s body wall is made of catch collagen. “This can be loosened and tightened at will, and if the animal wants to squeeze through a small gap, it can essentially liquefy its body and pour into the space. To keep itself safe in these crevices and cracks, the sea cucumber […]
Coral Reef Fact: “Loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles nest on beaches in the Florida Keys and other parts of Florida, or inhabit Florida and Keys waters. All five species are considered either threatened or endangered.” Each year from mid-April -Oct. “turtles crawl ashore at night to dig their nests and lay […]
Coral Reef Fact: The Cushion Sea star (Oreaster reticulatus) can help to prevent itself from starvation during periods of low food availability by reabsorbing its body tissues thus decreasing its size and food needs. Fact source: http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Oreaster_reticulatus.htm Join Reef Relief today & help protect our marine environment. www.reefrelief.org/act/donate.
Coral Reef Fact: ‘The Heart Urchin Pea Crab’ from MORPHOLOGIC on Vimeo. Most individual Red Heart/ Cake Sea Urchins form relationship with a small crab, the Heart Urchin Pea Crab(Dissodactylus primitivus). The crab spends its life on the urchin within the protection of its spines. Join Reef Relief today and help protect our marine environment.
Coral Reef Fact: The Florida stone crab (Menippe mercenaria) has one large claw called the “crusher claw” and a smaller claw called the “pincer claw”. “If the larger crusher claw is on the right side of the crab’s body, the crab is “right-handed”. If the crusher claw is on the left side of the crab’s […]
Coral Reef Fact: Two species of macroalga, sargassum (S. natans and S. fluitans) are holopelagic. This means that they reproduce only “vegetatively and never attaching to the seafloor during their lifecycle.” Fact source: Wikipedia Join Reef Relief today and help protect our amazing marine environment.
Coral Reef Fact: Gorgonians live in colonies whose skeletons are formed from a flexible substance called gorgonin. Measurements of gorgonin & calcite in several long-lived species is useful in studies of climate and ocean history due to the close link between their growth rates, composition and seasonal and climatic change. Fact source: Wikipedia Join Reef […]