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Echinometra Viridis
''Echinometra viridis'', the reef urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the Family (biology), family Echinometridae. It is found on reefs in very shallow parts of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Description The reef urchin has an elliptical reddish brown Test (biology), test (shell) covered with medium length spines. These are greenish in colour with paler bases and darker, often violet, tips. This urchin grows to a diameter of with the longest spines being . It looks very similar to the rock-boring urchin ''Echinometra lucunter'', but the dark tips and the greater length of the spines are distinctive. Distribution The reef urchin is found on reefs in the Caribbean Sea from southern Florida to Venezuela at depths down to about . It is not as common as the rock-boring urchin and seems to be absent from the West Indies to the east of the Virgin Islands. Biology The reef urchin conceals itself in crevices or under boulders. It emerges at night to feed by gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motility, able to move, can Sexual reproduction, reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in which their body consists of a hollow sphere of Cell (biology), cells, the blastula, during Embryogenesis, embryonic development. Over 1.5 million Extant taxon, living animal species have been Species description, described—of which around 1 million are Insecta, insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million animal species in total. Animals range in length from to . They have Ecology, complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology. Most living animal species are in Bilateria, a clade whose members have a Symmetry in biology#Bilate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix being a displaced part of the same geologic structure. Politically, the British Virgin Islands have been governed as the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, and form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago is separated from the true Lesser Antilles by the Anegada Passage and from the main island of Puerto Rico by the Virgin Passage. The islands fall into three different political jurisdictions: * Virgin Islands, informally referred to as British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory, * Virgin Islands of the United States, an unincorporated territory of the United States, * Spanish Virgin Islands, the easternmost islands of the Comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diadema Antillarum
''Diadema antillarum'', also known as the lime urchin, black sea urchin, or the long-spined sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae. This sea urchin is characterized by its exceptionally long black spines. It is the most abundant and important herbivore on the coral reefs of the western Atlantic and Caribbean basin. When the population of these sea urchins is at a healthy level, they are the main grazers which prevent algae overgrowth of the reef. Anatomy ''Diadema antillarum'' has a "shell," similar to most other sea urchins. What distinguishes the ''Diadema'' is the length of its spines. Most sea urchin spines are 1–3 cm, but the spines in this species are usually 10–12 cm in length, and can grow as long as 30 cm in very large individuals. Life habits This species usually lives at 1–10 metres in depth on coral reefs. They will often lodge themselves in a crevice, so that only their spines can be seen, but individual ur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lachnolaimus Maximus
The hogfish (''Lachnolaimus maximus''), also known as boquinete, doncella de pluma or pez perro in Mexico is a species of wrasse native to the Western Atlantic Ocean, living in a range from Nova Scotia, Canada, to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico. This species occurs around reefs, especially preferring areas with plentiful gorgonians. It is a carnivore which feeds on molluscs, as well as crabs and sea urchins. This species is currently the only known member of its genus. Appearance The hogfish possesses a very elongated snout, which it uses to search for crustaceans buried in the sediment. This very long "pig-like" snout and its rooting behavior give the hogfish its name. A prominent black spot behind the pectoral fins differentiates males from females. The dorsal fin usually is composed of three or four long dorsal spines followed by a series of shorter dorsal spines. Hogfish reach a maximum of 91 cm (36 in) in total length and a weight of about 11 kg (24 l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canthidermis Sufflamen
''Canthidermis '' is a genus of triggerfishes commonly known as Ocean triggerfishes. Species There are currently 3 recognized species in this genus:Matsuura, K. (2014): Taxonomy and systematics of tetraodontiform fishes: a review focusing primarily on progress in the period from 1980 to 2014. ''Ichthyological Research, 62 (1): 72-113.'' * ''Canthidermis macrolepis'' Boulenger, 1888 (Large-scale triggerfish) * ''Canthidermis maculata'' Bloch, 1786 (Spotted oceanic triggerfish) * ''Canthidermis sufflamen'' Mitchill, 1815 (Ocean Triggerfish) Description These dark-colored triggerfishes are found in all the world's oceans in tropical and subtropical areas. They are absent in the Mediterranean. Unlike most triggerfish they are epipelagic. They usually live far away from the coast in the microhabitat created by floating objects like trees, or branches, but also plastic wreck remains, ropes and other large flotsam and jetsam items. There is still little research on the feeding and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balistes Vetula
''Balistes vetula'', the queen triggerfish or old wife, is a reef dwelling triggerfish found in the Atlantic Ocean. It is occasionally caught as a gamefish, and sometimes kept in very large marine aquaria. Etymology This fish is called ''cochino'' in Cuba, and this is the probable origin of the name ''Bahía de Cochinos'', which is known as the Bay of Pigs in English. Description The queen triggerfish reaches , though most only are about half that length. It is typically blue, purple, turquoise and green with a yellowish throat, and light blue lines on the fins and head. It can change colour somewhat to match its surroundings, or if subjected to stress. Distribution In the western Atlantic, it ranges from Canada to southern Brazil, and in the eastern Atlantic it is found at Ascension, Cape Verde, Azores and south to Angola. It is reasonably common in Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Ecology The queen triggerfish is typically found at coral and rocky reefs in de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calamus Bajonado
The jolthead porgy (''Calamus bajonado'') is an ocean-going species of fish in the family Sparidae. In Bermuda, it is known as the blue bone porgy, in the United States, it is also known by the Spanish name ''bojanado'', in Jamaica, it is one of the species known by the name, porgi grunt. Taxonomy and naming Credit for describing the Jolthead porgy goes to Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Schneider. Though Bloch died in 1799, Schneider edited and republished several of Bloch's papers in a book called ''Systema Ichthyologiae iconibus cx illustratum'' in 1801. It was originally placed in the genus ''Sparus'', which now contains only one species, but has since been moved into ''Calamus''. The Genus name comes from the mythological Calamus, or ''Kalamos''. It was so named because the Calamus of myth allowed himself to drown in a river, after the death of his lover, and transform into aquatic plants that some members of the genus make their homes in. The species name, ''boj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ocean Acidification
Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH value of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1751 and 2021, the average pH value of the ocean surface has decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. The root cause of ocean acidification is carbon dioxide emissions from human activities which have led to atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels of more than 410 ppm (in 2020). The oceans absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. This leads to the formation of carbonic acid (H2CO3) which dissociates into a bicarbonate ion () and a hydrogen ion (H+). The free hydrogen ions (H+) decrease the pH of the ocean, therefore increasing acidity (this does not mean that seawater is acidic yet; it is still alkaline, with a pH higher than 8). A decrease in pH corresponds to a decrease in the concentration of carbonate ions, which are the main building block for calcium carbonate (CaCO3) shells and skeletons. Marine calcifying organisms, like mollusks, oysters and corals, are particularly affected by this as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transparent to visible light but absorbs infrared radiation, acting as a greenhouse gas. It is a trace gas in Earth's atmosphere at 421 parts per million (ppm), or about 0.04% by volume (as of May 2022), having risen from pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm. Burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of these increased CO2 concentrations and also the primary cause of climate change.IPCC (2022Summary for policy makersiClimate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA Carbon dioxide is soluble in water and is found in groundwater, lakes, ice caps, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some insects, fish, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidarians, echinoderms, and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which is often accompanied by a change of nutrition source or behavior. Animals can be divided into species that undergo complete metamorphosis (" holometaboly"), incomplete metamorphosis ("hemimetaboly"), or no metamorphosis (" ametaboly"). Scientific usage of the term is technically precise, and it is not applied to general aspects of cell growth, including rapid growth spurts. Generally organisms with a larva stage undergo metamorphosis, and during metamorphosis the organism loses larval characteristics. References to "metamorphosis" in mammals are imprecise and only colloquial, but historically idealist ideas of transformation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish and whales. Marine plankton include bacteria, archaea, algae, protozoa and drifting or floating animals that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries. Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found in the freshwaters of lakes and rivers. Plankton are usually thought of as inhabiting water, but there are also airborne versions, the aeroplankton, that live part of their lives drifting in the atmosphere. These include plant spores, pollen and wind-scattered seeds, as well as microorganisms swept into the air from terrestrial dust storms and oceanic plankton swept into the air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The larva's appearance is generally very different from the adult form (''e.g.'' caterpillars and butterflies) including different unique structures and organs that do not occur in the adult form. Their diet may also be considerably different. Larvae are frequently adapted to different environments than adults. For example, some larvae such as tadpoles live almost exclusively in aquatic environments, but can live outside water as adult frogs. By living in a distinct environment, larvae may be given shelter from predators and reduce competition for resources with the adult population. Animals in the larval stage will consume food to fuel their transition into the adult form. In some organisms like polychaetes and barnacles, adults are immobil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
