SEALed With a Kiss
This Valentine's Day, our Communications Committee members came together to let their favourite ocean animals know just how much they care for them. Read on for some pun-filled entertainment and fun facts!
I'm Not Squiddin' You Valentine!
Before my time at Back to the Sea I worked for the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium. For my first interview there, I was told to bring a prop and talk about an ocean animal. I knew I couldn’t bring a live octopus, so I settled for its North Atlantic cousin - the squid! From that moment forward, it was an inky love affair. As highly intelligent creatures, cephalopods continually amaze scientists with their ability to understand, learn and even go so far as to escape their tanks! We love to do squid dissections to not only feed our animals, but also to teach our visitors all about these slimy (and at times smelly) creatures. I have been known to write squid ink letters, and maybe if you are so lucky at the Touch Tank Hut you can have one too! - Leah
A squid dissection demo by Leah for kids at the Touch Tank Hut!
A Poem to my Nu Love
Perhaps it was your colours, or maybe your jiggle,
But seeing you swim fills my mouth with a giggle,
It started off slow, with a quick glimpse of you fluttering,
But before I knew it, I heard myself uttering,
“How can anyone think you are simply a sea slug,
As if you were just another beetle, cricket or pill bug,
No, you are so much more than that, a work of art,
Something that so quickly captures my heart."
I looked at the creature once more as it bobbed and twisted,
And thought that its great qualities needed to be listed,
Firstly, unlike us it has no back bone,
Allowing it to move like a thread that has not been sewn,
Secondly, it gets its bright colours from the food that it eats,
Munching on corals, sponges, and anemones – how neat,
Thirdly, it has a foot and leaves a slimy path,
You can always find where it has been by its aftermath,
Fourthly, they can change between being female or male,
Reducing the likelihood of a reproductive fail,
And to wrap it up, a fact that is short and sweet,
One that makes seeing this animal such a wonderful treat,
The truth is that it only lives a few weeks, maybe a year,
But do not be sad, do not shed a tear,
For the facts that you learned have made you smart,
And the love of a NUDIBRANCH will stay in your heart!
- Kaitlin
Maned nudibranch (Aeolidia papillosa). Photo by Steve Lonhart / NOAA MBNMS.
I'm a sucker for you
One of my first loves has always been the ocean. Initially, as I’m sure is the case for most of us ocean-lovers, it was the faces and personalities of creatures like dolphins, whales, and turtles that caught my attention. Now, my love of ocean creatures extends past the traditionally adorable and focuses more on the absurd and unique. One species of fish that has captured my heart are lumpsuckers, specifically Pacific spiny lumpsuckers. I mean, have you seen these before?
They are cute but not in the traditional sense, with their name perfectly describing them. They are literally spiny lumps of fish with a suction cup on their underside, which is a modified pelvic fin that enables them to adhere to surfaces. Many fish have the ability to “suction” to surfaces, however the reason for the lumpsucker is a little different. Their body shape does not allow them to be effective swimmers, strange for a fish right? Their pectoral fins are much too small to allow for much control when maneuvering through the ocean and this species also lacks a swim bladder (important for maintaining buoyancy). This suction cups allows them to stick to nearby surfaces so they don’t drift away in the current. Watching them swimming can be quite comical and was a major draw for me to learn more about this species. A quick Youtube search on these cuties will have you falling in love with them too!
- Natasha
Whale you be my valentine?
Whale, Valentine’s Day confession: I have a really hard time talking about just one marine creature. I mean, there are thousands upon thousands of species in the sea, many of which, we have yet to discover. One animal that I have always found particularly fascinating is the whale shark. Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the ocean. They are up to three times the size of a great white shark, yet the majority of their diet is made up of microscopic organisms, plankton! Unfortunately, these majestic creatures are endangered and are in need of a little extra love. In order to learn more about these animals and to help protect them, researchers can track and identify individuals based on their unique spotting pattern. To do this, researchers use a similar technology to that used by NASA to identify constellations in the sky. Whaley neat, isn’t it?
- Meghan
Photo credit: Shiyam ElkCloner
Thank you to Leah, Kaitlin, Natasha and Meghan for sharing their love for the ocean this Valentines Day. Now it's your turn, comment below to tell us which ocean animal is your favourite!