Ocean Facts
- Oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface.
- There are five oceans covering the surface of Earth:
- the Pacific Ocean
- the Atlantic Ocean
- the Indian Ocean
- the Arctic Ocean
- the Southern Ocean
- The ocean is home for most of Earth's living creatures.
- The oceans are an important part of the water cycle that brings rain to our crops and forests -- and drinking water to our cities.
- The ocean also produces much of the oxygen that humans and animals need.
- The oceans provide fish and shellfish and other resources that humans need.
Shark
- There are more than 500 species of sharks swimming in the world’s ocean.
- Sharks can be as small as human hand to more than 39 feet (12 meters) long. More than half are less than 3 feet long.
- They come in a variety of colors,including bubble gum pink. Some feed on tiny plankton while others eat larger fish and squids.
- They are found in almost every ocean habitat, including the deep sea, open ocean, coral reefs, and under the Arctic ice.
- Wherever they live, sharks are an important part of ocean ecosystems—especially the larger species that are more “scary” to people. Sharks and their relatives were the first vertebrate predators. They hunt as top predators and keep ecosystems in balance.
- Sharks are in trouble around the world. There has been a big increase in shark fishing. Sharks can get caught in nets or on long line fishing gear too. Also, sharks are sometimes killed because people are afraid of them. The shark population is getting smaller because people have become the ocean's top predators.
Seahorse
- Seahorses are tiny fishes that are named for the shape of their head, which looks like the head of a tiny horse.
- There are about 40 species of seahorses.
- They live in the oceans tropical and coastal waters,
- They swim upright among seaweed and other plants.
- Seahorses are the slowest swimmers in the world. They swim less than 5 feet per hour.
- Their tail can grasp objects, so that they can anchor themselves to plants, coral and other things on the sea floor.
- To stay safe from predators, and to hide from prey, seahorses have a trick: They disappear! Most can change color to blend in with whatever they are clinging to. And some seahorses have spines, bumps, or other growths that help them match their surroundings as well.
- The male seahorse is the one who has the babies, not the female.
- Seahorses can move each eye separately so that they can watch for food with one eye and predators with the other.
Whale
- Whales are the largest animals that have ever lived on earth and are the largest animals that live in the ocean. They are even bigger than the largest dinosaur.
- Whales are mammals, so they feed milk to their babies and breathe air. They cannot breathe underwater.
- They come to the surface to breathe in and out through the blowhole on their back.
- Whales live in large groups called “pods.”
- A baby whale is called a “calf.”
- There are two different kinds of whales, the baleen and the toothed whale.
- Baleen whales eat krill, a kind of plankton. Humpback whales are baleen whales. These whales have two blowholes.
- Toothed whales eat fish and plants. Beluga and killer whales are toothed whales. These whales have one blowhole.
- Whales swim by moving their tails up and down and using their flippers, which also help them to turn. Some whales can swim more than 30 miles per hour.
- Whales are very noisy; they squeak, moan, groan, and sigh to talk to each other. The sounds they make are called “Whale Song.” Whale are the loudest animals in the world.
Sea Star
- Sea stars are also known as starfish, but they are not really fish.
- They do not have a backbone. This means they are invertebrate
- Most sea stars have spiny skin and five arms, but some can grow up to 50 arms.
- Their arms are covered with pincers and suckers that help them move slowly along the ocean floor.
- Sea stars cannot swim.
- They like to eat mollusks such as clams, oysters, and snails.
- There are over 2,000 kinds of sea stars.
- Sea stars can grow new arms if they lose one.
- They have very tiny eyes at the end of each arm that let them see movement and light, but they cannot see well.
Jellyfish
- Jellyfish have lived in the oceans for millions of years. Even before dinosaurs were on earth.
- Jellyfish have tiny stingers in their tentacles to stun their prey before they eat them.
- Jellyfish squirt water from their mouths to move through the water.
- They eat fish, shrimp, crabs and tiny plants.
- Turtles like to eat jellyfish.
- Chinese people fish for jellyfish. They are used in China for medicine.
- Some jellyfish are bigger than a human and others are as small as a pin.
Sea Turtle
- Turtles that live in the ocean are called sea turtles.
- Turtles live in every ocean except the Arctic Ocean because it's too cold.
- Sea turtles are reptiles. They are cold blooded, have scaly skin, breathe air, and lay eggs.
- There are seven types of sea turtles.
- Sea turtles come in all different sizes and can be as big as 6 feet long and weigh 1,000 pounds or as small as 2 feet long and weigh only 100 pounds.
- Sea turtles eat all kinds of food including sea grass, seaweed, crabs, jellyfish, and shrimp.
- Sea turtles have a hard shell that acts as armor and protects them from predators.
Dolphin
- Dolphins are sometimes called the dog of the sea because they are usually playful and friendly.
- Dolphins are mammals. They have live babies and nurse their young.
- Dolphins can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes under water, but they cannot breathe under water.
- They use a technique called echolocation to find food and move through the water. It's kind of like sonar that a submarine uses.
- There are 32 different kinds of ocean dolphins and 4 kinds of dolphins that live in rivers.
- Dolphins eat fish and squid.
- They "talk" or communicate through sounds and whistles.
- Dolphins have excellent vision and can see both above and below the water.
- Dolphins have hair above their mouth when they are first born. It falls out within a few weeks.
- The Orca, or killer whale, is also part of the dolphin family.