While we were snorkeling, we found many invertebrates. The sea star was pretty common. Along with sea stars, we found sea cucumbers and jelly fish. Here is a picture of me with a sea star. I probably should not have touched it, but I put it back. When I was in town, I was very angry because I saw people selling sea stars. I was so mad because they are living creatures and I don't understand why someone would take them from the ocean and sell them. But then again, maybe they need the money! The problem is if the people take too many and then there are none left! Then what will they do for money? And how will that change the ocean environment?
I did not have a chance to finish my blog while in the Bahamas, but I wanted to share some more information with you now! While snorkeling, we saw many lionfish, which are beautiful to look at, but they are not native to the Caribbean waters. They are from the Pacific Ocean. Because of their beauty, many people buy lionfish for their aquariums at home, but these fish eat the other fish and they are venomous, like snakes. So people dump them in the ocean to get rid of them. We think that is how the lionfish were introduced to the Caribbean waters. They are not good because they eat other fish and there are not many predators to eat them. They reproduce all year long, so they keep reproducing without getting killed, which means there are more and more of them. This makes them an invasive species. Also, since they are venomous (poison), it is bad for the tourists who might touch them without knowing. I actually have some video of us dissecting a lionfish. If I have a chance to clean it up on IMovie, I will share that with you, too! |
Laura
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