Tag Archives: Water

Amazon Basin

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Amazon Basin

Take in the beauty of the Amazon Basin.

  • The tropical Amazon Basin includes the Amazon River and surrounding areas, in South America, and it drains large volumes of water into the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Approximately two fifths of South America is covered by the Amazon Basin, which equals an area of around 6.9 million square kilometres (2.67 million square miles).
  • The Amazon Basin is the largest of its type on earth, and includes the world’s greatest rainforest, the Amazon rainforest, which covers a majority of the basin.
  • The Amazon Basin contains numerous rivers and tributaries, numbering into the thousands, and the collective flow of water from these sources, into the ocean, is approximately a sixth of the world’s total.
  • The Amazon Basin is said to be the home to over 1500 species of birds, 14,000 mammal species, 2,200 species of fish, 1000 amphibian species, many reptiles, and thousands of insect species.
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Part of the Amazon Basin
Image courtesy of Olga Stavrakis/Flickr
  • The Amazon Basin area houses millions of people, including significant populations of indigenous Americans, with the majority settled around the rivers.
  • Typically, the Amazon Basin has a wet and hot atmosphere; floods are common; and while cold temperatures are not, they do suddenly occur and can be damaging to the flora and fauna.
  • Parts of the Amazon Basin have been cleared for agricultural or mining purposes, notably for soybeans, cattle and gold; and the deforestation has caused extinction of many species.
  • Portuguese and Spanish are the most spoken languages of the Amazon Basin area, while hundreds of indigenous and nearly lost languages are evident.
  • The peak, Yerupajá, in Peru’s Waywash mountain range, is the Amazon Basin’s tallest watershed point, reaching 6,635 metres (21,768 feet) in height.
Bibliography:
Amazon Basin, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_basin
Amazon Basin – Brazil, 2015, World Wildlife Fund, http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/nt0168
Amazon Basin Facts, n.d, Meet Our Animals, http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/amazonia/facts/basinfacts.cfm

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Pool Noodle

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Pool Noodle

Pool noodles… a toy for the pool.

  • Pool noodles are lightweight inventions for use in water for both play and supportive purposes.
  • ‘Pool noodles’ are also known as ‘water logs’, ‘woggles’, ‘noodles’ and ‘water woggles’.
  • Pool noodles are made of foam, most often polyethylene based; and they are often flexible enough to be bent, and they float in water.
  • Pool noodles are often hollow, which can allow for several to be connected together, using specified objects.
  • The standard length of a pool noodle is approximately 160 centimetres (5.25 feet), and as it is cylindrical in shape, the diameter is 7 centimetres (2.7 inches).

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  • Due to the invention’s buoyancy, pool noodles are commonly used as flotation support in water, often when the user cannot swim, however they are not to be used without supervision, as they are not a life saving device and are classified as a ‘toy’.
  • Pool noodles are believed to have been first made and invented by Steve Hartman from Industrial Thermal Polymers in Canada’s Ontario, in the early 1980s, however Rick Koster from the same province in Canada, also claims to have been the first to have invented the toy, around the same time, although neither patented the invention.
  • Pipes can be surrounded with a pool noodle as a cheap, but practical insulator; and they have also been used as part of yard games and other purposes.
  • Pool noodles have their origins as backer rods, that fill gaps in building constructions, but they were soon adapted for use as a toy in the pool, by adding colour, and they are now available in a wide variety of bright colours, that are easily spotted in water.
  • The terms ‘water woggle’ and ‘pool noodle’ are derived from some of the first brands, ‘Water Woggle’ and ‘FunNoodle’ respectively.

 

Bibliography:
Osborne R, Uncovering the History of the Pool Noodle : Meet the Inventor, 2012, Water Crunch, http://watercrunch.com/2012/08++++/pool_noodle/
Pool Noodle, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pool_noodle

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Australasian Snapper

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Australasian Snapper

A snappy Australasian snapper.

  • Australasian snappers are fish native to the ocean near Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan and New Zealand.
  • ‘Australasian snappers’ are also known as ‘silver seabreams’, ‘snappers’, ‘cocknies’, ‘pinkies’, ‘queens’, ‘schnappers’ and ‘ruggers’.
  • The scientific name of an Australasian snapper is Pagrus auratus, from the family Sparidae, the family of sea bream, and despite its common name, it is not technically a snapper.
  • Australasian snappers can be found in waters near the coast, around underwater rocky landscapes, among reefs, and in depths of up to 200 metres (656 feet).
  • The lifespan of Australasian snappers can reach from 40 to 54 years; and young females may develop into males by adulthoood, although this is not common in some areas.

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  • Australasian snappers generally grow between 40 to 130 centimetres (16 to 51 inches) in length, and weigh between 10 to 20 kilograms (22 to 44 pounds).
  • Australasian snappers are among the most commonly eaten fish by humans in countries where they are found nearby, such as Australia.
  • The diet of Australasian snappers generally consists of crabs, shrimp, starfish, other fish, sea urchins and shellfish.
  • Australasian snappers can have scales ranging from red, pink, grey, silver or gold in colour, and mature adults develop an obvious hump on the top of their head.
  • Australasian snappers often cannot be legally caught for human consumption if they are less than 35 centimetres (14 inches) in length; and this is to prevent over-fishing so as not to damage the population of fish.
Bibliography:
Snapper, 2014, PIRSA Fisheries, http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/fisheries/recreational_fishing/target_species/snapper
Snapper, Pagrus auratus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), 2014, Australian Museum, http://australianmuseum.net.au/Snapper-Pagrus-auratus-Bloch-Schneider-1801
Silver Seabream, n.d, FishBase, http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/summary/6426
Australasian Snapper, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasian_snapper

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Oyster

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Oyster

Collect the pearls and eat the oyster.

  • Oysters are aquatic animals that are typically found in saltwater habitats around the world, and they can be found attached to rocks, water structures and other objects.
  • The term ‘oyster’ generally refers to a loosely grouped collection of clams, that are from the class Bivalvia, the class of bivalve molluscs, however, Ostreidae, is the family of true ones, of which the edible creatures belong to.
  • The hard shell of an oyster is typically a variety of colours, that can include tan, white, brown, black and yellow, and they range from 3 to 36 centimetres (1.2 to 14 inches) in length.
  • Some oyster species can produce pearls, however pearls are generally cultivated or obtained from the distant relatives in the Pinctada genus, that belong to Pteriidae family, the family of feather oysters.
  • Oysters have a diet that primarily consists of plankton or other microscopic objects in the water, that is collected by filtering water through the mollusc’s gills; and the animal is preyed upon by birds, fish, starfish, turtles and crabs; and have a lifespan of one to three years.

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  • Oysters can produce millions of eggs at one time, which can quickly hatch into larvae, and they permanently establish themselves on a surface after a few weeks.
  • Oysters have been part of the human diet since ancient times and are commonly eaten today, often as part of a seafood dish; and they are usually obtained by boating, diving or wading, and gloved hands or rakes are used to pry the molluscs from their permanent surfaces.
  • The colour of oyster blood is transparent, and large quantities of water can be filtered by a single animal, with an average of 189 litres (50 gallons) a day.
  • Oysters are extremely high in vitamin B12, copper and zinc, and they are high in iron, selenium, and vitamin D, and contain many other vitamins and minerals.
  • Oysters need to be fresh when eaten, and the animal cannot be dead before cooking, as they will be toxic; and while the mollusc can be consumed raw, they are commonly cooked, fried, smoked, roasted, steamed, or boiled.

 

Bibliography:
Oyster, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/oyster/
Oyster, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/invertebrates/oyster/
Oyster, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster


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Mussel

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Mussel

Don’t go picking any random mussel off the street, or in this case, the rocks.

  • Mussels are a groups of molluscs that are found in both salt and fresh water environments, and they are roughly symmetrical.
  • The term ‘mussels’ is most commonly applied to the family Mytilidae, a family of saltwater species; and the molluscs are from the class Bivalvia, the class of bivalve molluscs.
  • Mussels can grow to be 4 to 15 centimetres (1.6 to 6 inches) in length, and are typically taller than wider.
  • The shell of a mussel is frequently a dark colour, like brown, blue or black, and it is also three-layered, in two halves, and is connected at a hinge; while the internal creature has a ‘foot’ that is a muscle-like organ, used to drag the mollusc along surfaces.
  • The diet of mussels consists of tiny aquatic animals such as plankton, which can affect the mollusc’s toxicity, and their food is caught using their water filtering system.
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Mussels
Image courtesy of Franco Folini/Flickr
  • Fresh water mussel larvae fasten themselves to fish once born, and using the host’s excreted chemicals they create a shell; and then detach from their host after the shell has been made.
  • Around 17 species of mussel are considered suitable for consumption by humans, and China was the biggest producer of edible species in 2005, roughly totalling 40% of the worldwide production.
  • Mussels are commonly eaten as seafood, and must be cooked while they are living, or only just dead, otherwise toxins can build, and cooking styles include smoking, roasting, steaming, boiling and frying.
  • Mussels typically take 12 to 15 months to grow to a commercially acceptable size, which is approximately 4 cm (1.6 inches) in length.
  • Mussels are a good source of phosphorus, iron and protein, and they are high in selenium, and extremely high in vitamin B12 and manganese.
 Bibliography:
Mussel, 2015, Encylopedia.com, http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/mussel.aspx
Mussel, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussel

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Barnacle

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Barnacle

Whatever you do, do not have a barney over barnacles!

  • Barnacles are a group of over 1000 species of marine animal that have an exoskeleton and segmented body, and are typically found near or in saltwater of shallower depths.
  • Barnacles are an infraclass that have the scientific name, Cirripedia, and are from the class Maxillopoda, a class of various crustaceans such as copepods.
  • Barnacles live on a single sturdy object for its entire life of approximately 8 to 20 years, absorbing food such as plankton and algae from the surrounding water.
  • Mussels and limpets are common neighbours of barnacles; and the three animals often battle for space on available surfaces.
  • Barnacles are preyed on by many animals including fish and crabs during the larval phase as they have little protection, however, once they have settled and produced their outer shell, they are generally protected from most predators, but they are susceptible to whelks.

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Barnacles
Image courtesy of Mo Riza/Flickr
  • Barnacles live in a shell made of 6 plates, that are grown once the young permanently attaches onto a surface, and they are commonly found in groups as another form of protection against predators.
  • Larvae of barnacles generally swim in the water for 6 months or more, until the animals find a permanent surface that they attach to via the head, using antennae and a glycoprotein based mixture.
  • Some countries eat ‘goose’ barnacles from the order Pedunculata, in their culinary dishes, including Spain and Portugal of Europe.
  • Barnacles are typically white, cream, black or yellow in colour, while shells are often a bleached white.
  • Barnacles attach themselves to objects such as rocks, but also animals including turtles, whales and crabs, or buildings and boats, which can be both hard to remove and damaging to the object, and can cause significant speed loss in boats.
Bibliography:
Barnacle, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/barnacle/
Barnacle, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnacle

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