Long-Finned Pilot Whale

Long-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas), is basically a dolphin which belongs to the family of Delphinidae. Though its name consists of the word whale but it is a dolphin in reality. These species are one of the largest members of the dolphin family. The males of these species are larger than the females. The males of these species can grow up to a size of 25 feet and weigh up to 2300 kg, whereas the females grow up to a size of 19 feet and weigh up to 1300 kg. They have a round head, which looks like a watermelon and their beak is quite smaller. These are medium-sized body animals, which has long and stocky body with curved mouthline. These are dark grey to black and have light-colored patches on their ventral fins.

Habitat

These species like to live in the temperate and tropical waters of northern and southern hemisphere all over the world. These are very social animals and they are mostly found in groups of about (20 to 90). The group consists of males, females and calves. It has been examined that the same male, which is in the group, may not be the father of the calves. This shows that a male can enter into their group for short time and mate with more than one female.

Diet

These dolphins feed mainly on squids, but they are also known to feed on herring, octopus, cuttlefish and other small fishes. It has (40 to 48) teeth, which helps them to catch or grasp their prey. An adult of these species can eat up to 30 pounds per day. They make high-pitched whistles and they use these powerful whistles among their group to track and catch their prey together.

Breeding / Reproduction

The males of these species reach sexual maturity at the size of (15 to 16) feet or at the age of 12 years, whereas the female reach sexual maturity at the size of 12 feet or at the age of (6 to 7) years. The gestation period in these species is about (12 to 15) months. Before mating the behavior like biting, ramming and butting can be seen which shows, the males competing with the females. The females give birth to a calf in every (3 to 5) year. The newborn calves are about 6 feet in length and weigh up to 225 pounds. The female nurses the calf for about 12 months. The male of these species have a life span of 46 years whereas the females have the life span of 60 years.

Conservation

These long-finned pilot whales are estimated to be about 1 million in numbers but the actual number is unknown to the scientists. These species are hunted on a large basis for their oil, meat and bone. They are also used to make fertilizers. These species adapt themselves very easily in the captivity and as a result they are exhibited in the zoo and aquariums. These species are not included in the list of endangered species.

Wrasses

The wrasses are marine fishes, which belong to the family, Labridae. Many of the species of this family are beautiful and bright-colored. This family is very large and consists of over 600 species in 82 genera. These are further divided into nine subgroups or tribes. These fishes are usually small and most of them grow up to a size of less than 20 cm in length. These fishes are carnivores and feed on wide range of small invertebrates. These species can be recognized by their thick lips. Wrasse fish have protractile mouths and separate jaw teeth. They have distinct jaw characteristics. The inside of the lips are curiously folded. Their dorsal fin consists of (8 to 21) spines and (6 to 21) soft rays. Wrasses live in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. They are usually found in the shallow water habitats such as coral reefs and rocky shores.

Wrasses Reproduction / Breeding

These wrasses are found to be hermaphrodites, which means they can behave with either of the characteristics, i.e., male or female. There are three different mating systems in these species namely lek-like, polygynous, and promiscuous mating systems. As they are hermaphrodites they spawn in pairs and group. Large amount of eggs are released in the mating process. Their planktonic eggs move with the tidal currents and thus have no relation to their adults.

Wrasses Varieties

Some of the most famous varieties of the wrasses are as follows:

Humphead Wrasses: It is found in the coral reefs of Indo-Pacific region. It has thick-fleshy lips and a hump on its head above its eyes. The males of these species grow up to 2 meters and females grow up to 1 meter.

Sixline Wrasses: These are beautiful and less aggressive fishes. Sixline wrasse grows up to a size of around 3 inches and found mainly in Indo-Pacific region.

Scott’s Fairy Wrasses: They have beautiful coloration on their body and they grow up to a size of 5.1 inches. These wrasses are found in western, south and Central Pacific region.

Fourline Wrasses: These wrasses grow up to a size of 2.9 inches. They are found in western and central Pacific region.

Eightline Wrasses: These are the most aggressive species in their group. These wrasses grow up to a size of 3.5 inches and are found mainly in Red Sea.

Blue Spotted Wrasses: These fishes are non- aggressive fishes and are very good- looking fish. They grow up to a size of 16.5 inches and are found mostly in Indo-Pacific region.

Candycane Wrasses: These are one of the most beautiful species in their family. They like to live in group and can grow up to a size of 15 inches in length. These wrasse fish are generally found in Indo-Pacific region.

Yellowtail Wrasses: These wrasses are quite peaceful fishes and grow to length of about 13cm. They are carnivorous and are found in Indo-Pacific region.

Aniamls In Danger Of Extinction

We hear the names of “Dinosaurs”, which were once the masters of this earth. But today only fossils and imaginary pictures are remaining, because these masters of their time are now extinct. There is no actual proof that what had happened to them, that removed their evidence from this planet. There are many animals in danger of extinction.

But the story of extinction has not yet finished. It is getting repeated again and again. There are a long list of animals that are extinct or becoming extinct. Some of them which are become extinct are Giant Squirrel, Chinese River Dolphin, Cyprus Dwarf Hippopotamus, blue whale, giant panda, snow leopard, tiger and many more.

10 Animals in danger of extinction list

The ten animals in danger of extinction list are:

Siberian Tiger: They are hunted for their skin. And today the number of Siberian tiger left is just 200.

Giant Otter: These are hunted for its skin. And as a result it has got disappeared in Uruguay and just few are left in Argentina.

Nile Crocodile: They are aquatic crocodiles and are hunted for skin. Very few are remaining now.

Iberian Imperial Eagle: They are also just 150 pairs left.

Sea Turtle: They are served in the luxury restaurants. And as a result they have also remained just few in numbers.

Mountain Gorilla: The Gorillas in demand by the zoos and private collectors. There are just 600 left in the humid mountains of Africa.

Scarlet Macaw: These species is imported in large quantity in USA. And so they are caught for money and their number is decreasing day by day.

African Black Rhinoceros: These rhinoceros were large in numbers few years back. There were 65000 these rhinoceros in 1970s. But now the number has gone down to just 2000.

Giant Panda: These small, beautiful and innocent pandas are in demand for zoo. Also it is hunted for their skin. So this species is also in the red list of extinction of animals.

Tasmanian wolf: There is a probability that it might have disappeared as it is not been seen from last years. The last Tasmanian wolf was seen in the 1980s.

IUCN Report

The International Union for Conservative of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization, whose aim it to protect animals, plants and habitats. It comprises of 83 states, 108government agencies, 766 non-government organizations, and about 10,000 scientists and experts from countries all over the world.

                                                                                                      A recent report of IUCN shows that 21 animal species are in danger list. They include the cheetah, three dolphin families and an Egyptian vulture.

Causes of Extinction or in Danger of extinction

A lot of animals are in danger of extinction due to following reasons:

• Either they are very small in number.
• Or, they can’t adapt themselves to the changing environmental conditions.
• Or, they are becoming extinct due to their predators.
• Or, they are hunted by human being or may be due to deforestation.

Steps taken by the Government

• Many countries have laws to protect the species getting extinct.
• The Government has forbidden hunting of different animals.
• The Government has restricted land development and opened wild life sanctuary to preserve these animals.
• The Government has also strict laws on deforestation.

Thus, there is a long list which is needed our love and support to keep their existence alive on this “Green Plant”. Not only the Government but everyone has to do something at least to keep them alive in this world. This is only the way to save the animals in danger of extinction.

Groper

The Gropers are the most powerful fish among the fish family. They are divided into two groups namely “the eastern blue groper” and “the western blue groper”. The eastern blue groper (Achoerodus viridus) and western blue groper (Achoerodus gouldii) are very closely related and belong to the wrasse family of fish. They are also commonly known as groper, red groper and brown groper. The have a barrel shaped, peg-toothed and heavily scaled body. The female is of orange-red color and the male are of deep blue color with reddish lines and spots on its body. They have small eyes like a pig. The western groper grows up to 1.6 meters and at least 40 kg. The eastern groper grows up to 15 kg and weighs up to 22kg. They can live up to a life span of 35 years.

Distribution

The eastern blue groper is found from Hervey Bay in Southern Queensland to Wilsons Promontory in Victoria. The western blue groper is found from west of Melbourne to the Abrolhos in Western Australia.

Reproduction

The Eastern Blue Groper spawns in every three months, starting from July to October. Where as, in Western Blue Groper spawning occurs in summer and early autumn. The most interesting about these fish is that they undergo sexual transition from female to male. They all start their life as females and later change into males. Thus they can breed as a female one year and then next year as a male. It is believed that they go this sex change when they reach up to a certain age and size. Generally, much is not known about the reproductive behavior of this fish.

Blue Gropers Food

Blue gropers like to feed on sea urchins and they also feed on small crustaceans.

Groper fishing methods

While fishing these fish one needs to be very alert. It is recommended that first of all find a safe place for fishing. Then cast your bait in the water till u catch one. These fish has a characteristic to travel alone. It may take long time till you catch one groper fish. But never leave your bait unattended in water.

Facts about Gropers

The facts about this fish are the following:

• They have a characteristic of sex change
• They are one of the most powerful fish
• They like to swim alone
• They are in the list of threatened species
• Much is not known about their reproductive behavior
• The gropers recipe is very tasty

Conclusion

This is one of the most interesting species of fish family. They have a very different characteristics compared to other fish family. They have a characteristic such as sex change. These fishes are very powerful fishes. Its reproductive behavior quite complex and so much is not known about its reproductive behavior. It is in the red list of endangered species. This fish is very friendly and swims right up to the divers. So it should not be killed if it has such a friendly characteristic. It is the protected species since 1969.

Octopus

There are various amazing plants and animals that exist under the water of sea and oceans. There are several amazing creatures with wonderful facts about them which are interesting to read. These mysterious creatures of the sea have many hidden facts which are revealed by the divers and the researchers. Octopus is one of such amazing creatures that live in the water of the sea. This is an interesting sea animal and you will love to read about its ecology and behavior. This sea animal with eight legs varies in size and it can be small or gigantic in size. The people and the sailors considered octopus as the monster of the sea. There are many stories and pictures which show that they considered it as monster and were deadly for the sailors. If we talk apart from these interesting tales this is not the truth. These octopuses seem deadly but this is not the real fact. They are not harmful for a human being.

Octopus Facts

There various facts about the species called octopus which would be interesting to note. Some of the facts about these amazing and wonderful creatures are given below:

Physical Description: These species have eight arms with a head and the arms bear suction pumps. They grow up to a size of 12 to 36 inches and weigh up to 10 kilograms. The color of its blood is blue in color. They have a frightening look but they are generally harmless for human being. It would be very interesting to note that the octopuses have three hearts. Two hearts are used to pump blood to the heart and the other one is used to pump blood to rest of the body.

Food: The octopuses are generally carnivores in nature. They feed crabs, mollusks and crayfish.

Reproduction: The octopus reproduces sexually and their life span is quite less that is from 1 to 2 years. A male octopus dies just after mating and the female dies after the egg she laid. A female of these species lays around 20000 eggs. This is the main reason why an octopus has very short life span.

Ecology and Behavior: These species are very intelligent creatures among the creatures which live under water. These creatures are found in the temperate and tropical water of the oceans. They release a cloud of black ink whenever they are attacked or feared by its predators. These could of black ink helps them to swim away and thus escape from their predators. They also have an ability of camouflage which they use to escape from their predators and to attract the females during mating process.

Octopus Interesting Facts

There are many interesting facts about the octopuses. Some of the interesting and amazing facts about the octopus are given below:

• They are one of the most intelligent creatures of the sea
• They are popularly known as master of disguise
• They have three hearts, two for pumping blood to heart and one for moving blood to other parts of the body
• They have a short life span of just 1 to 2 years
• They release clouds of black ink to escape from predators
• They can change their color when required

Types of Octopus

There are about 300 types of octopuses which are found under water.  Some of the types of the octopus are Blue Ringed Octopus, Common Atlantic Octopus (Octopus vulgaris), Day or Reef Octopus (Octopus cyenea), Giant Pacific Octopus (Octopus Dofleini), Atlantic Longarm Octopus (Octopus Defilippi), Reef Octopus (Octopus briarius), Two Spotted Octopus (Octopus Bimaculatus), Carribean Armstripe or Brownstripe Octopus (Octopus burry), etc. Blue Ringer Octopus is known to be one of the most venomous creatures which are found on this earth.

Thus, the interesting and amazing facts given above will help you to know the ecology and behavior of an octopus. You will get various information about an octopus after reading the above given facts.

Plankton

Plankton is any drifting organisms that are found in aquatic environments, which includes marine and fresh water. They are the base of the food chain for aquatic organisms such as fish and cetacean. Plankton food chain is responsible for the survival of many of the sea creatures. A fictional character of American cartoon series is named on this species and that is “SpongeBob SquarePants”.

Plankton can be divided into broad functional (or tropical level) groups:

• Phytoplankton: These are tiny algae that live near the water surface as there is sufficient light to support photosynthesis. They are usually unicellular. The more important groups among them are the diatoms, coccolithophores, cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates.

• Zooplankton: These are the small protists or metazoans (i.e., crustaceans and other animals). Small fishes consume the zooplanktons. 

• Bacterioplankton: These include bacteria and archaea, which play an important role in nutrient cycles in the water column.

The plankton is divided into the broad categories such as producer, consumer and recycler groups. Though most dinoflagellates are either photosynthetic producers or heterotrophic consumers, some can do both depending upon the circumstances. 

Among the plankton, holoplankton are those that spend their entire life cycle in the plankton, whereas meroplankton are those organisms that are planktonic for only part of their lives (generally the larval stage), and then move into the nekton or a benthic habitat. Some of the examples of meroplankton consist of larvae of sea urchins, starfish, clams, crustaceans, worms and most fish.

Planktons have a demerit that they are unable to swim against ocean currents like the fish and squid. They have a characteristic that they live in deeper water during the daylight, which provides protection from predators. This behavior is common in different phyla that are in the plankton. 

The abundance and distribution of plankton are strongly dependent on factors such as nutrient concentrations, the state of the water, and the abundance of other plankton. The primary sources, which are responsible for this variability, are the availability of light and nutrients. As springtime brings increased light and higher temperatures, this result in a spring bloom of phytoplankton, followed by zooplankton. During the summers, dead organisms sink to the bottom and then the bacteria and fungi both break down the tissues in the process of decay. The nutrients get restored, which concentrate on the bottom. Thus, the rate of photosynthesis declines. The warmer water stay on top and cooler water stays on the bottom. And if the water movements bring the regenerated nutrients up closer to the surface, then the phytoplankton bloom again. In the winter, temperatures fall and now the cooler surface water sinks down, and bottom water comes up. It causes the stratification to break down and another small bloom to occur.

Importance to Fish

Zoo plankton behaves as the initial prey for almost all the fish larvae. The density and distribution of these zoo plankton supports the life of the fish larvae, otherwise they will starve. If the zoo planktons get affected by the natural factors or man-made factors, then the result will be directly seen on larva’s life.

Types of Seal

The fin-footed mammal belongs to the Pinnipedia family. There are about 33 known different types of seals. The family of Pinnipedia is divided into 3 different sub-families know as the Odobenidae, Otariidae and Phocidae. The types of the seals are as following:

Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) : It is the second largest and most aggressive seal of all the species. They live in Antarctic Ocean. They feed on krill, fish and small marine creatures, and like fresh caught penguins. Their life span is of 26 years.

Harp Seal (Pagophilus groenlandica): It has brown or black furs and look like a polar bear when they are young. They are found on the coast of Atlantic and Arctic Ocean. They grow up to 5.6 feet in length. Their average life span is of 30 years.

Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina): It grows up to an average height of 6 feet. They are found in Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic coastline and Baltic Sea. Their life span is 20 to 35 years for males and female respectively. When compared with other seals they are normally smaller.

Gray seal (Halichoerus grypus): They are of brown and dark gray color and grow up to the length of 10 feet. Their life span is about 30 to 40 years.

Northern Elephant seal ( Mirounga angustirostris): These seals are large and grow up to a size of 14 feet in length. They are of light gray and dark black color. They feed on marine animals and most probably hunt at night.

Southern Elephant seal (Mirounga leonine): These are the largest seal in the world. The males of these species make a roaring sound during the breeding season. They feed mainly on fish, squid and penguins.

Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddellii): These seals grow up to a size of 10 feet. They are found mainly in McMurdo. In addition, they are very calm in their nature. They look very funny when they lie on their backs and hold their stomach with their flippers and mouth open. It seems that they are laughing holding their stomach.

Hawaiian seal (Monachus schauinsland): These seals grow up to a height of (7-8) feet. These are very good hunters and they have a life span of 25 years. They are found in the waters of Hawaii. They are usually found in groups and are very good swimmers.

Antartic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus gazelle): These seals have a characteristic of living both on land and in water. They like to eat krill, squid and fish. They can grow up to a size of 6 feet in length. They have a life span of (15-25) years.

Galapagos Fur Seal (Arctocephaulus gazelle): These seals are of dark brown to light gray. They feed mostly at night and have a life span of about 20 years.

Northern Fur Seal (Arctocephalus gazelle): These seals have a small nose and thick fur. They feed on any type of fish. They are found in the northern region of Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea. They have a characteristic to live around the shore line most of the time as they are not good divers.

The types of sea given above are interesting to read and know about them. You can read and know about the ecology and behavior of these seals.