Marine Life Facts for Kids from the Great Barrier Reef Adventure at the Wonder Rotunda
This material about corals and marine life is drawn from the "Learn More" reading opportunities in the Great Barrier Reef Adventure at the Wonder Rotunda, an on-line educational theme park for ages 7-12. Included is information about the threat to coral reefs and what we can do to protect reefs.
Coral Reefs
Corals reproduce by producing coral larvae. When free-swimming coral larvae attach to submerged rocks or other hard surfaces along the edges of islands or continents, new Coral Reefs can form. As the Corals grow and expand, reefs take on three different forms:
Fringing Reefs, which are the most common, form directly from, and along the shoreline. These are easiest to access if you like to snorkel.
Barrier Reefs also follow along shorelines, but they are separated from land by a body of open, deep water.
Atoll Reefs are oval shaped reefs that grow upward on the underwater remains of a volcanic island.
Reefs also are some of the oldest habitats, or homes, for marine life on the planet. Based on the slow rate at which they grow, scientists estimate that many of the Earth's reefs have taken between 100,000 and 300,000 years to fully form.
Coral Reefs grow in many different forms and shapes. On your dive today you will see Staghorn, Brain and Elkhorn coral.
Clown Fish and Sea Anomones
A symbiotic relationship among animals occurs where two different animals have a relationship with each other because it is beneficial to each of them.
The Clownfish and Sea Anemone are an example of a symbiotic relationship. The Clownfish obtains protection among the tentacles of the Anemone from predator fish, and the Anemone obtains food by capturing the Clownfish's predators. Most organisms that come into contact with the Anemone are paralyzed by the stinging cells from the Anemone's tentacles, and then eaten. The Clownfish is one organism that is able to live within the Anemone without being eaten or stung.
But why is the Clownfish able to live in the Anemone without being harmed?
From birth, the Clownfish gradually develops an immunity to the Anemone. It does this by touching one or two tentacles, at a time, over time. Eventually the Clownfish creates mucus that protects it from the stinging cells of that specific Anemone. Once the Clownfish creates a relationship with an Anemone, it must stay with that specific anemone, because the stinging cells of individual Anemones are different.
Australian Box Jellyfish
The Australian Box Jellyfish is a particular type of jellyfish that can be extremely dangerous if you come into contact with one. Its' tentacles have stinging cells which can be fatal or cause very serious injury.
Divers and snorkelers wear "stinger suits" to protect them from this type of jellyfish.
Box Jellyfish are typically about 6 feet in length including their tentacles. Box Jellyfish eat small fish and crustaceans, such as shrimp. The jellyfish use their stinging venom, or poison, to kill their prey.
Green Sea Turtles
To understand the threat to Green Sea Turtles, it helps to learn more about how they reproduce.
Green Sea Turtles spend much of their lives feeding in ocean waters and swimming long distances to breed and nest. It can take as long as 25-50 years, before a young female turtle is mature enough to lay its own eggs. Any disturbance of the turtle's nests can have a harmful impact on the total population of turtles.
For this reason, the eggs should never be disturbed or removed by people from their nests. The development of buildings in coastal areas can also affect turtle nesting areas.
Most female turtles breed every two to four years, laying large groups, or clutches of eggs. A clutch might be as large as 150 eggs. The mother covers them with sand and returns to the sea. After about two months, the eggs hatch, and the young turtles crawl to the ocean.
Commercial fishing nets and baited lines can accidentally capture and kill turtles. To help protect them, the Green Sea Turtle has been designated as "endangered" by many governments and organizations.
Parrotfish
Why would a fish sleep in a cocoon?
As you have learned, at night many Parrotfish secrete and then sleep inside a mucous cocoon. The cocoon protects the Parrotfish by keeping parasites from settling on its body. It also prevents certain kinds of snails from attaching to the Parrotfish and sucking its blood. The cocoon also helps warn the Parrotfish of the presence of predators. The mucous has the added benefit of having a horrible smell and taste which by keeps most predators at a safe distance. If a predator touches the cocoon, the vibration wakens the Parrotfish, giving it a chance to quickly swim away.
Another interesting fact about Parrotfish is their double set of teeth - one in their mouth for breaking off and collecting food, and the second pair for chewing. This double set of teeth helps them remove and eat the polyps found in coral.
Stingrays
Imagine using electric sensors to find food! Stingrays do! Here's how---
The underside of the Stingray's head is covered with tiny pores that are part of a special sensory system that detect the tiny pulses of electricity given off by the muscles of the creatures the Stingray is hunting.
The electrical pulses enable the Stingray to find its prey, even if its prey is buried in the sand. The same sensors also help the Stingray detect its enemies and identify other Rays in its vicinity.
Coral Banded Shrimp
Coral Banded Shrimp are crustaceans, which is the family of marine animals that includes crabs and lobsters and is known for having a hard outer shell.
Coral Banded Shrimp enjoy the company of others. As youngsters they often pair, grow together, and remain in pairs through their entire lives. They don't move around much either, staying in the same area for days, months or even years. Coral banded shrimp have been observed by scientists to rarely move a distance greater than a few feet unless disturbed, and even then, the paired individuals attempt to stay together.
Depending on their diet and water temperature, the Coral Banded Shrimp will molt, or shed, their hard outer shell and grow a new one, every 3 to 8 weeks.
Bottlenose Dolphin
Dolphins use sound in many ways to help them hunt, navigate and communicate.
As you have learned, they use Echolocation to "see." Echolocation is the process through which Dolphins and certain other marine mammals produce sounds and then receive an echo back which tells them if there is their prey they want to eat in the area.
They typically eat other fish, eel, shrimp, and squid. Each Dolphin appears to have its own distinctive whistle by which it communicates a limited amount of information on its identity, location, and condition to other Dolphins.
A mother Dolphin may whistle to her young, also known as a Calf, continually after birth. This enables the Calf to learn the mother's whistle so it can identify and respond to her. Dolphins live between 20 and 50 years. The biggest threat humans pose to Dolphins is from commercial fishing nets. Dolphins swim with tuna and sometimes become trapped in the nets of fishing boats.
Giant Maori Wrasse
The Giant Maori Wrasse is one of the largest fish to swim in the Great Barrier Reef. They are considered quite friendly by divers who encounter them.
Some Wrasses have been observed swimming between and even nudging divers in the hope of being rewarded with food. They typically feed on other fish, shrimp, sea urchins and mollusks. They can grow to more than 7 feet in length.
Coral Bleaching & Threats to Reefs
Scientists believe that a warming global climate, and warmer sea temperatures are having a harmful effect on Coral Reefs.
As you have learned, Zooxanthellae algae provide the coral with essential nutrients and give coral its beautiful colors. But, when the coral are stressed because of warmer water temperatures, the coral expel the Zooxanthellae from their tissues. Corals that have been bleached are weaker and more prone to disease.
An additional threat to coral is the fact that the world's oceans are becoming more acid from the burning of fossil fuels.
The acid makes it more difficult for corals to create their stony skeletons. Other threats to corals in addition to climate change include harmful fishing, water pollution, and the loss of coastal habitats due to development.
What Can You Do To Help Protect Coral Reefs
You've learned that warming sea temperatures are harming reefs. Do what you can to reduce your carbon footprint, which is the amount of fossil fuels that are used to make the energy you consume everyday.
Turning off lights and not leaving the hot water running are a few ideas to help you reduce your carbon footprint. Be sure to visit the Planet Earth Climate Expedition here in the Park, to learn more.
Educate others about the threat to the world's reefs and the species that inhabit them. The more people that are aware of the threat, the more likely that people will try and save them. Visit the Make a Difference pavilion here in the Park to learn how you can get the word out.
Recycle to help keep trash out of the oceans and out of landfills where it can pollute the quality of water in our rivers and oceans.
You can also conserve water. The less water you use, the less waste water will find its way into the oceans.
About the Wonder Rotunda
The Wonder Rotunda is an online educational theme park (for ages 7-12) that sparks curiosity, helps kids find their interests and passions, and inspires them to think about making a mark in the world. Topics explored include marine life, space exploration, animal life, classical music, nutrition, American government, globalization, climate change, money and business, the visual and performing arts, film making and climate change. Take the Free Tour.
About the Great Barrier Reef Adventure
A seaplane from the Australian mainland to the Great Barrier Reef sets the stage for this exciting adventure about the world’s coral reefs. You dive the reef to 30 feet where you encounter a variety of amazing marine life, including a Green Sea Turtle, Parrotfish, the Giant Maori Wrasse, a Sting Ray, Clownfish and Anemones.