Last Blog!

The bat star can range in size from four to eight inches in diameter. They have five short triangular arms that are webbed, which is why it is called the bat star. The bat star’s colors are commonly seen as reddish-orange but can also be found in other colors such as brown, green, purple or pink. To avoid predators, they secrete chemicals that stimulate violent escape responses in other animals. Reproduction is done by the males and females releasing their eggs and sperm into the ocean. Fertilization of the egg occurs when it meets the sperm anywhere in the ocean. Bat stars can be found on rocks, sandy beach bottoms, and surf grass. They are most abundant in the kelp forests along the west coast.

Final Chapter with the Kelp Fish

As I stated before I am Ryan Van Noordt a Jr. at Norwich Political Science Major. I am doing the vertebrate animal in the group which is the Giant Kelp Fish. The scientific name of the animal is Heterostichus rostratus and is a blade shaped fish which help it stick close to the seaweed for hiding from predators. They have forked tails which separates it from other animals in the area of the kelp forest. The Giant Kelp fish comes in a variety of colors including red, green, brown, and silver and it can change colors as it ages. The size ranges but the Giant Kelp fish can reach up to 2 feet long. They live in the western coast of North America from as far north as British Columbia to Baja California. They eat small crustaceans and small fish and molluscs. They are related to one other fish named the fringeheads. As Kelp forests do the Giant kelp fish tends to live near shallow rocky environments in order to live in the seaweed. The eggs of these fish attach to the seaweed until the fish is born. The foliage under the ocean offer a habitat that they desire. With the chemical aspects of oceanography the kelp fish relies on certain nutrients that tend to come in seasonally. In the winter months it tends to be slower than the summer season. In the winter months there is a mixing and horizontal advection. There are also vertical motions of thermocline which bring the nutrients into the kelp forest. As for the physical properties of oceanography the kelp fish float around in the tide and it does not effect them too much. They also keep their eggs in the seaweed for protection to insure the tide doesn't take them away.

"Giant Kelp Fish." Monterey Bay Aquarium. Monterey Bay Aquarium, 2011. Web. 2 May 2011. .

"Marine Sportfish Identification: Other Fishes."Department of Fish and Game. The State of California, n.d. Web. 2 May 2011. .

Zimmerman, Richard C. "Episodic nutrient supply to a kelp forest ecosystem in Southern California."Journal of Marine Research. 42.3 (1984): 591. Print.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/jmr/jmr/1984/00000042/00000003/art00008