Manta (4/27/13)

Don't Be confused Manta and Stingrays are not the same thing, as I used to think. Manta rays are 5 ft. when there are born and grow about 1 ft. a year. But can grow to 22 ft. Manta Rays are harmless because they have no stingers. Manta Rays have unusual fins in front of their head which look like tusks called cephalic lobes, which are used  to eat food. How they eat in the wild is pretty wired. First, they find a crill or plankton storm. Next, they use their cephalic lobes to manipulate water creating a vacuum which is used to suck all the crill or plankton in taking other stuff, like water, in with it's food. Lastly they discard everything but their food through their gills which are on their stomach  like all the other Rays. Unlike most Rays, The Manta Rays mouth is a giant hole behind their mouth, other ray mouth are next to their gills. The Manta Ray also wages it's tale like a dog, when eating. Funny right. The Manta has also not been researched a lot so not that much is known about it, That's all I know about the Manta.
Thanks for reading.

Power Boat Adventure Conclusion (4/25/13)

After we fed the sting rays, we watched the guide feed the sharks. There were three kinds of sharks: nurse sharks, Caribbean reef sharks, and lemon sharks. Nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) are bottom dwellers and often are found in reefs. They often live in shallow water, about 3 feet deep, but they can be found as deep as 246 feet. The are slow-moving sharks that can lay still on the ocean floor. They are harmless to humans, so don't be worried.  They are usually 8 to 10 feet long, but can get as large as 14 feet long. They typically weigh 200 to 330lbs.

The next kind of shark we saw is the Lemon Shark (Negaprion Brevirostris).  It is 8 to 10 feet long and weighs about 200 lbs.  It is also a bottom dweller that lives near reefs.  Like the nurse shark, it is not harmful to humans. The Lemon shark because is gives off a lemon scent to attract its prey.  It survives well in captivity.  It is a social animal and is often seen in groups.  It has also been studied a lot.

The Caribbean Reef Shark (Carcharhinus perezi) was the third kind of shark we saw. It is the most common shark in the Caribbean Sea, but it is classified as Near Threatened, just like the Lemon Shark. This is partly because they live and feed in coral reefs which are being destroyed. They have been seen resting motionless, which is unusual for a shark.  It also lives near reefs like the other two sharks we saw. They are usually about 6.5 to 8 feet long, but the longest record for one was 10 feet.  They can get up to 154 lbs, which is the record for the heaviest.  They are normally shy of humans, they are harmful only when they are provoked, which can be because food is near.

All these sharks live in coral reefs.  We snorkeled over one coral reef. Coral reefs are colonies tiny marine animals called corals.  They live in colonies and look like a bunch of small sticks. The reefs are hard because they are made out of calcium carbonate, which the corals excrete. The coral reef is nicknamed "the rainforest of the sea".  Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. They are home to 25% of all marine animals.  The coral reefs are usually found in shallow depths in tropical waters, but can exist in deep water and cold water.  The fragile ecosystem of the coral reef is so fragile because it is sensitive to water temperature.  It is being destroyed by global warming and water pollutions.

Here are some photographs of the sharks we saw.  We do not know how to distinguish them from each other.  I have photographs of the coral, but it is on a disposable underwater camera, and we do not have a way to develop the film yet.

The sharks are being fed fish skin and fish carcasses on a rope

These sharks were swimming in a part of the lagoon where we did not swim

Today's adventure on the small powerboat uninhabbited island 1 hr. away from atlantis (4/24/13)

Today I went to a remote uninhabited island in the Exuma Cays ("keys"). There's about an 1 hr. windy boat ride to get there; it is about 35 miles from Nassau.  The Exuma Cays are a chain of 360 islands in the Bahamas. The chain is about 130 miles long. The largest island ( not the one i was on) is approximately 73 miles long but most are shorter then that. Many are part of the Bahamian version of the National Parks. Many others are privatively owned (the one I was on was privately owned by Powerboat Adventures) as resorts and movie actors such as Johny Dept known for Rango and the Pirates of the Caribbean.

The first stop was to feed the iguanas grapes on sticks at Allan's Cay, an uninhabited cay. The iguanas were Bahamian Rock Iguana (Cyclura cychlura inornata) which are greenish brownish iguanas, and are also the second stage of endangerment which is endangered. (You can see the full endangered list at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_status). The kind of Bahamian Rock Iguana called the Allan's Cay Iguana lives only on Allen's Cay which is the island we went to, and there are under 1,000 left of them.  The iguanas are wild, but so many boats come by to feed them, that the iguanas come to the beach to meet the boats.

This is a cay.

The iguanas coming down to the beach as we come close

This is an Allen Cay Rock Iguana

Another iguana

Feeding the iguana grapes on a stick

Me surrounded by iguanas

 

 The next stop was the cay owned by Powerboat Adventure.  We got to feed sting rays.  Sting rays are not endangered. The sting rays are wild but come up to be fed. They swam around your feet and let you pet them. Their wings are really soft, smooth and feels sort of slimy, but there is no slime. But their backbone which is hard and spiny, and if you rub it it hurts. Their stinger is at the end of their tail, so don't touch the tail. Their eyes are on the top of their body and their mouth is on the bottom, so they can't really see what they are eating.  To feed them, you take a piece of fish and hold it loosely between your fingers on the ocean floor. And then the sting ray will come up and suck it from you.  If you hold the fish too high, the sting ray may try to climb on you.

Sting rays coming to feed

sting ray waiting to be fed

This is a gar fish.  It is a carnivorous fish from the Mesozoic era.

Tomorrow sharks, coral reef,  and conch ("conk") salad when I conclude the Powerboat blog

Answers

4/24/13
Block 1
I will be there for 6 days, I got in on Sat. night and live Fri. 3:00 Maya.
I am adding a new post right now and 1 tomorrow and probably 1 in Fri. Maggie.
And I am binning a shell from the ocean that are tour guide found to make salad, and I miss you to Skylar.
Hi Steven.
I will have a great rest of my trip Madeline. 
And I bet you are Chester. If you were here I would be too. No question about that.
I will see you all on Mon. Can't wait to see you guys again.


Block 2
I am Lucy and you would to if you were here.
Okay Gabe and Emma  I'll put up more Pics.
HI Rey
I'll post more to night Briana, look tomorrow.

I will have fun with more animals Gabe
I'm not that lucky Jadyn, there are people that stay in much nicer rooms then me, heck there are people that live in condos at Atlantis.
Thank you Gabe, I picked this background because I new you and the class would love it
Until Monday, Bye.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4/25/13 
Block 2: By the way what happened  to block 1
 Well henry if you think that more envy is coming your way
Thank you Ms. Jennel It was the lest I could do
 Why thank you Bobz
I am Brianna and if you were here you would too. And I wasn't taking the pictures my dad was, but the iguanas just ignored it and did what ever they wanted to do
I have not gotten sea sick but I have been to Catalina and I did not get sea sick it's just windy and a little bumpy not bad at all.
Yah aren't they nice Bruno I love them.
Yes they did Quinn if you lose the food that is, they will even go beside you even if you sitting or standing next to someone if you drop the food. 
I'm not quite sure  Freya, I would guess because they have plates in sted of teeth and I don't think they have any   other way of killing stuff except for the plates maby, but I feed sting rays twice and both times I fed them dead fish but it may not be the same with out humans in the middle of the ocean.
I will Joseph.
I will for the half a day remainder of it Gabe, and I'll see you all on Monday.
Bye
       

Sea Lions (2nd post) (4/23/13)

Sea Lions are not like lions. Actually there more like dogs. Today, I met Cassie, a female California Sea Lion. Usually California Sea Lions are born in California  but Cassie was born in an aquarium in Mississippi so she's the most tame animal out of 41 Dolphins and 18 Sea Lions at Dolphin Cay (pronounced "key").  Male Sea Lions weigh about 600-800 lbs, even up to 100lbs in the wild,  and females weigh about 200-400 lbs. See the difference. Cassie only weighs 190 and is 19 years old. sea lions live about 14-24 years, and up to 30 years in captivity. Atlantis' Dolphin Cay feeds the Sea Lions herring and capland because it's not as slimy as other fish, and so the guests can pick it up to feed them. Also the sea lions and dolphins prefer it to most fish. The 59 residents at Dolphin Cay eat 1,000 ponds of this fish a day. Wow that's a lot of fish. Sea lions can also get cataracts just like humans. The sea lion has 4 nursing holes, unlike seals who only have two. Sea lions also have two ear flaps, one on each side of their head, but seals have a pin-hole on the top of their head covered with fur. Seal lions and seals both have 1 pup at a time but can have twins sometimes. Sea lions have nails on their rear flippers so they can scratch their head. (We saw Cassie do that.) The California Sea Lion have a long nose like a Doberman pincher nose, unlike the South American Sea Lion which has a short nose like a bulldog.  Cassie is a movie star. She was in a movie called Andre. She played a seal in the movie.

Thanks for reading, Tomorrow, rays, sharks, and iguanas.

                                                                                  (that's Cassie and me)

The bahamas 1st blog (4/22/13)

The Bahamas is country in the Caribbean, which has more than 700 islands, and that's just the Bahamas. The Bahamas is made up of 700 island all made up of  limestone which has been accumulating since the Cretaceous and maybe even the Jurassic period that's almost 100 million years ago. It's capital is Nassau, which is on the island of New Providence. There are other islands like, Paradise Island, the island I'm staying on, which is privately owned by a resort called Atlantis but has some other hotels.There's also The Great Bahama, which is the biggest island of the Bahamas. There's also I don't know haw many uninhabited islands. The Bahamas was a refuge for slaves back in the 1800'ds but was owned by Britain. They got rid of slavery in 1823, and most of the people inhabiting the Bahamas are black. End.
Tomorrow I will talk about sea lions after I play with and learn about them.