Mermaid McKenna

Hello, Instagram! It's been a while.. I was so busy with finals and adopting a new cat, named Glitter! Because I got a new cat, I wanted to make today's about the cats of the sea... sea otters!! Sea otters are renowned for being adorable, just like cats. One of the many features that makes them so cute is their fluffy fur. This fluff is actually the most dense fur of any animal on Earth! Sea otters have an estimated 1 million hairs per square inch! Why? Because they have no blubber to keep them warm in those chilly waters of Alaska and California, where many sea otters reside. Sea otters are also special because they use tools, a trait once heralded as a sign of intelligence! (Side note: how do we define intelligence in animals? That's a hot topic in animal behaviors, with many scientists struggling to come to a consensus on the matter.) Another thing that makes sea otters adorable is their use of hand-holding to stay together when they sleep. Lastly, sea otters are considered keystone species (they're practically the epitome of the term). This means that they are the glue keeping their ecosystem together. Adorable and essential?! 🦦

For today's , let's take a moment to learn about ocean productivity. 🌊🦠⚛️ "Ocean productivity" refers to the production of molecules by organisms in the water. Many of these molecules are the driving forces of life. For example, let's look at what phytoplankton does to contribute to ocean productivity. Phytoplankton are mostly microscopic organisms that undergo photosynthesis, but don't let their size fool you! It's estimated that around half of the air we breathe comes from these creatures! That's because phytoplankton takes CO2, a form of carbon unusable to us, and convert it into breathable oxygen and crucial organic carbon. Organic carbon is useful to all life, as it can be used to build essential molecules such as lipids, fats, proteins, amino acids, and carbohydrates. These are the very molecules life relies on! So what do phytoplankton need to do this job? Just like a house plant would get light, CO2, water, and nutrients from its caretaker, phytoplankton gets all of these ingredients in the ocean. The nutrients it needs include nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen sometimes needs to be converted into a usable form for the phytoplankton to use. This is where bacteria come into play! Some bacteria take nitrogen in a form useless to phytoplankton, and convert it into a usable form so that the phytoplankton can go about its life, creating molecules for us to use. So, as you may have gathered, ocean productivity fuels life in the ocean and even on the land! And whenever we eat fish, we are reaping the benefits of ocean productivity, consuming the molecules that bacteria and phytoplankton worked so hard to build :) Pretty magical if you ask me!!

Just signed up to be at the Trunk or Treat in East Fallowfield Park on Friday, October 28th from 4:30-7pm!! Can't wait😁

Trunk Or Treat Bring your trunks full and your best decorations for a fun night of Halloween. If event is canceled due to weather the email you use on sign up will be where the message is sent. Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Thank you!

Happy ! Today, let's talk about tunicates :) Tunicates are invertebrates, meaning they lack a backbone. However, despite their appearance, they are animals! Tunicates are commonly known as sea squirts because, when removed from the water, they contract and shoot out the water that was circulating throughout their body! Their digestive system is "U-shaped," (although I think it looks more like a J), carrying water in, filtering it, and pushing it back out. They are also filter feeders, which means that they feed on mainly plankton. Tunicates actually have a well-developed heart and circulatory system, and they do have blood. Their nervous system, however, is primitive. Sometimes, amphipods (mostly small shrimp-like creatures), can be found living inside of tunicates, like the one in the picture! I love amphipods, just a side note :) They're so adorable. And magical!