Reisers at Monterey Bay Aquarium

March 30

Our study topic has been Ocean Habitats. Today we studied Ocean Habitats of Monterey Bay at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA). This picture is of a scuba diver feeding fish with a "Krill cannon." Krill are a small shrimp-like animal. He was feeding them in the Kelp Forest exhibit. The kelp forests along the coast near Monterey Bay are the biggest kelp forests in the world. Giant kelp can grow more than 10 inches a day, and up to 150 feet tall.

We explored the Nearshore habitats, which included: Kelp Forest, Deep Reef, Sandy Seafloor, Shale Reef, Slough, Wharf, Sandy Shore, Rocky Shore.

Amanda learned: "Every morning the aquarists clean the tanks and take care of the animals." She also learned that marine means "from the ocean." Amanda liked to watch the squid, called "cuttlefish."

Harrison learned: "There are more than 550 species of marine creatures (plants and animals) at MBA. There are more than 300,000 plants and animals total at MBA."

We also learned that for each pound of shrimp caught, four to ten pounds of other sea animals are thrown back into the sea, usually dead. It makes us think twice about eating shrimp, when so many other animals are wasted.

We saw how they made different meals for the animals, including a "krill shake," for anemones. Adult Sea Otters eat six pounds of food per meal and they eat four times a day. That's 24 pounds of prime seafood every day. It costs the aquarium about $10,000 per year to feed a Sea Otter.

The weather was a mild 60 degrees, with clear skies.

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