Dates: Tuesday, September 10th OR Thursday, September 12th

Location: Zoom! See your e-mail for the link!

Website: https://nmmf.org/

This week we are visiting with the National Marine Mammal Foundation. We will be discussing the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. Before we meet with them, let’s look at some fascinating ocean information. Some of this has appeared in previous readings, but some might be brand new information to some of you. Read on, and I’ll see you on screen this week!

The oceans account for roughly 70% of the Earth’s surface and we are learning more about it every day. Scientists estimate that the oceans contain anywhere between 500,000 and 10 million marine species. Up to 2,000 new species are described per year! Here are some more ‘fast facts’ about this amazing part of our planet:

• The sun is what makes the ocean blue! The sun’s red and orange wavelengths are absorbed by the surface of the water, allowing blue wavelengths to penetrate deeper. (The sun penetrates about the first 1,000 feet of ocean). The reason your glass of water outside doesn’t look blue is because there aren’t enough molecules in it to absorb all that light.

• In 2019, Victor Vescovo made history by becoming the first person to reach the deepest part of the ocean, known as Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench. For a long, but fascinating read, about this expedition to dive to the deepest points in the world’s oceans.

Earth’s largest waterfall isn’t something you can hike - it’s underwater! Located in the Denmark Strait, warm water and denser, colder water converge to produce an underwater waterfall that is 11,500 ft tall! 

• The most remote place on Earth is in the South Pacific. Known as Point Nemo, it is approximately 1000 miles from any neighboring islands or land. It is even helpfully marked on Google Maps, if you search for it! (This is just one of those fun trivia tidbits - my kids have asked me about this!)

• Up to 70% of volcanic eruptions are actually underwater. Molten lava spews from more than 1 million volcanoes under the sea.

• There’s a lot of treasure under the sea! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) believes that somewhere around a million sunken ships strewn about the world’s oceans. Some think that the total value of the treasure might be as much as $60 billion - but don’t break out the wetsuits just yet! Most recovered treasure is likely to be claimed by governments or private parties, making recovery a risky, probably unrewarding endeavor. 

• Rubber duckies have helped us understand the ocean currents! In 1992, a shipment of the colorful little toys was headed from China to the U.S. when a container dropped from the ship. More than 28,000 ducks and other bath toys went into water in the North Pacific. As they began washing up on distant shores, oceanographers were able to track the ducks and learn about water currents. Some even landed in Europe and Hawaii - and continued to appear until the mid-2000s! Check out this 5 minute Ted-Ed video to explain how it worked!

Our focus this week is on the orcas in the Pacific Northwest. But, orcas are actually found in every ocean in the world! So here’s a few quick facts about these amazing animals:

• Orcas are the largest member of the dolphin family (so despite the ‘killer whale’ moniker, they are not whales).

  • Their name is thought to have come from ancient sailors who originally called them ‘whale killers’, as they were observed hunting whales. Over time, the name was reversed.

• Orcas are grouped into three main types:

  • Resident - these killer whales range from California to Russia and tend to live in large groups. They usually eat different varieties of fish. Of this type of orca, there are actually four different populations, each with its own unique diet, behaviors, social structure, and habitat. 

• Transient - live in the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest in small groups. They have a more varied diet, which can include squid, seals, seal lions, and other dolphin and whale species. 

• Offshore - these animals are seen in large groups and have the largest range of any group. They eat fish and sharks. 

• Different types of orcas are called “ecotypes”. Each ecotype hunts specific prey and lives in different parts of the world. They even communicate differently from others. 

• No matter where or how they live, orcas are the ultimate predator. While Great Whites are generally considered to be the apex predator of the ocean, they can be bested in the water, and are sometimes hunted with a skilled precision that has shocked marine biologists. A boat off California observed Orcas attacking a Great White shark in 1997, but when Great Whites began washing ashore the coast of South Africa in 2017, marine biologists were stunned. Each shark, some as long as 17 feet, were all missing their livers. They had been removed with remarkable, almost surgical precision. The ‘air jaws’ of the area were being systematically hunted by two orcas, who observers named ‘Port’ and ‘Starboard’, as their dorsal fins each flopped over in opposite directions. Two Orcas took on one of the most fearsome predators of the ocean and came out on top.

To watch a short (3 min) video about this and read more about these amazing animals, click here: 

The ocean is home to half the world’s species (and those are just the ones we know about)! Many we will likely never see, as they are submerged far beyond the reach of all but scientists and specially designed submarines. But there are many amazing and highly intelligent creatures in the briny deep, that have adapted and thrive in their watery world. Here are just a few examples:

-      Dolphins – dolphins have larger brains than us humans, and their brain-to-body ratio is actually greater than that of apes. (Our brain-to-body ratio is the highest.) Dolphins have some complex neuron groups, meaning they are self-aware and can even recognize themselves in the mirror and they play with toys, solve puzzles, and can even use tools. They have complex social systems and communicate with one another to hunt or even plan for the future. One study observed dolphins communicating to cooperate in pulling apart a PVC pipe to get the fish inside!

-      Octopus – (plural octopuses) even though they lack a backbone, these invertebrates are very complex creatures. They have a large brain and as many neurons as dogs, meaning they have a lot of receptors to get information to their brains! They have shown that they are able to learn and problem solve. Take a look at these examples of octopuses learning and showing off their genius: https://blog.geogarage.com/2016/07/eight-reasons-why-octopuses-are.html

-      Air Jaws – Leaping Great Whites – previously off the coast of South Africa, giant Great Whites hunt unlike any other place in the world. To capture their elusive and quick seal prey, they breach out of the water as they lunge to surprise and capture their prey. Amazingly, many of these leaping Great Whites seem to have been chased away from their hunting grounds off the coast of Africa (see the next bullet to learn more about that!). They have been spotted, with much less frequency, near New Zealand and Australia. See this amazing footage of these huge predators leaving the ocean depths as they hunt here: https://youtu.be/vFgyFLbLejE

-      Sea Otters – these adorable little marine mammals have shown themselves to be cunning and intelligent. They use tools to eat, usually rocks to break open hard shells to get to the delicious prize inside. To watch them play at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you can check out the live web cam here: https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams/sea-otter-cam

How deep does it go?

For a really fun way to help visualize how deep the ocean is (and what creatures can be found where, check out this website called “The Deep Sea”. Keep scrolling… and scrolling… and scrolling. My personal favorite was coming across the elephant seal! https://neal.fun/deep-sea/

See you all this week to dive into some fun!

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/deep-ocean-exploration.htm

https://mymodernmet.com/anatoly-beloshchin-mexico-yucatan-cenote-angelita/

http://www.messagetoeagle.com/icyfingerofdeathantarctica.php

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/killer-whales-orcas-eat-great-white-sharks/#preparingEmail

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/population.html

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/worlds-main-sources-protein-7395.html

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ocean-fact-sheet-package.pdf

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/ice-beebe/

https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/history/timeline/?page=3

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale/populations