Marine Biology

By Katie Soltis
 Marine Biology is a complex lifeline, for
the ocean is filled with different creatures.
Some creatures that were from millions of

Introduction years ago are still here today. This book will
show you what the ocean holds, how long
creatures have been in it, and how those
creatures evolved. There are millions of
different species of animals and even different
classes of animals including mammals and fish.
But there is much more to the ocean than what
you can get out of a National Geographic
documentary, a trip to the beach, or even a dive
in the most remote bodies of water on earth.
The ocean is, if you pardon the pun, swimming
with millions of animals. Come and explore
them.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction Page #2
2. Marine Mammals Page #4
3. Fish Page #15
4. Ending Paragraph Page #24
5. Glossary/Resources Page #25
Marine Mammals
Dolphin (Delphinidae)
 All About Dolphins

D olphins are brilliant animals that can teach, learn, cooperate, scheme, and grieve. They are found in

every ocean except the arctic. A dolphin normally would live in tropical warm water but some like the cold
like the Right Whale Dolphin.

Some dolphins are trained by the military to spy on enemies. They are also used to rescue lost or trapped
humans and finding mines. On the negative side, dolphin meat is prized in Japan.

Scientists are figuring out a way to understand dolphin language in an environmental friendly way.
Blue Whale (Balaenoptera Musculus)
 All About Blue Whales
B lue whales are the largest sea dwelling mammals on earth, the maximum at a whopping 173 tonnes. Its

heartbeat can be heard from a mile away! But, not unlike the dolphin, they are now endangered because
people kill them for their meat and blubber. They were hunted to near extinction for over a century until
they were finally protected in 1966. The Blue whale population is now between 5,000 and 14,000 whales.

People gather around from all around the world to catch a glimpse of one of the whales in their natural
habitat. These animals could very well die off unless someone like you does something about it.
Humpback Whale (Megaptera Novaeangliae)
 All About Humpback Whales

H umpback whales migrate to polar waters in the summer time to feed while in the winter, they move to

tropical waters to breed and give birth. In the summer, they feed on mostly krill and small fish, yet in the
winter time, they live off of blubber only. Can you imagine eating nothing until spring?

Humpback whales songs are one of the most famous types. Males can produce a vocalisation that lasts for
ten to twenty minutes, yet male and female are both capable of singing for 24 hours! Cetaceans like
Humpback Whales have no vocal chords; they vocalize purely by forcing air through their nasal cavities.

Humpback whales are a form of baleen whale, which means that they have whalebone in their mouths that
help strain plankton through.
Porpoise (Phocoena Phocoena)
 All About Porpoises

P orpoises are sometimes referred to as mereswine, yet are closely related to dolphins. People often spot

them and make the easy mistake to call them their close relatives. Like the dolphins, they travel in groups
called pods and communicate through a numerous amount of clicks and whistles.

The Dalls porpoise is the fastest known cetacean, traveling at a speed of 41 knots (47.15 miles or
75.88057 kilometers per hour) at top speed!

They are very sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances, which is why they are becoming endangered at this
very moment in time.
Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus Leucas)
 All About Beluga Whales
B elugas are a distinct species of mammal, recognised by many, yet they are often called Melonhead and

Sea Canary because of their high pitched twitters. They are Arctic and Sub-Arctic cetaceans and have
adapted to living there by growing a thick layer of blubber to keep them at a substantial temperature.
Another adaptation is the generator of the name melonhead. The melon is a distinctive protuberance that
houses an echolocation organ.

Males can grow up to 5.5 meters and can weigh at up to 1,600 kilograms. Their diet consists of capelin,
smelt, sole, flounder, herring, sculpin, and multiple types of salmon. They also eat invertebrates, including
shrimp, such as squid, clams, crabs, octopus, sea snails, and bristle worms. It shares the family
Monodontidae with the narwhal, a relative to the beluga.

Beluga whales were hunted commercially through the 19th century and part of the 20th. They are near
threatened for extinction.
Fish
Skate (Rajidae)
 All All About Skates
Skate Stingray

T here are two Skate subfamilies: Rajinae (hardnose) and Arhynchobatinae (softnose). They both act the

same way in the respect of habitats, feeding, and protection.

Skates swim with their pectoral fins, flapping them up and down in ripples. They are often drab olive brown
or grey to blend in with the ocean floor.

Skates are in the same superorder as saltwater stingrays, yet there is a major difference between them. Just
to name one, stingrays like shallow water and skates like deep water. Due to the habitat, we know little
about the skate.
Pipefish (Syngnathinae)
 All About Pipefish

M ost Pipefish live in saltwater but only a few species live in freshwater. They are abundant along tropical

and temperate coastlines. They find shelter in coral reefs and grass beds.

They get up to 35 to 40 centimeters. Flagtail pipefishes have developed caudal fins which make them strong
swimmers. They have evolved to be toothless to eat small crustaceans like copepods and mysis shrimp.

Pipefish have armoured plating, like dinosaurs. They have been around since then and are in no danger
facing the environment today.
Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola)
 All About Ocean Sunfish

T he diet of an Ocean Sunfish consists of mostly jellyfish, not unlike turtles. They eat many other things

like eel grass and squid; yet this diet is not substantial and they must eat most of the day to keep their
healthy size.

A female can lay more than 300,000,000 eggs at a time, more than any other invertebrate. The eggs hatch
and the larvae are only a fraction of a gram and only 2.5 mm long. They then grow into fry and those which
survive grow to millions times their original size.

The Mola Mola are vulnerable to become endangered. Because of how small they hatch, the fry are prey to
many fish such as Mahi Mahi or dolphinfish.
Lagoon Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus Aculeatus)
 All About Lagoon Triggerfish

T he Lagoon Triggerfish, also known as Picasso Triggerfish, Blackbar Triggerfish, Picassofish, and Jamal

(a Hindu masculine name for beauty), inhabits the reefs and sandy beds of coral reefs. They restlessly swim
around and can fiercely protect their territory from intruders. These intruders include divers, bigger and
smaller fish, and any other triggerfish that try to get in their space.

Not much is known about this species of fish, yet that gap in information opens a door to you young
explorers.
Fin

There is a whole ocean out there with

many more species of animals than
any book can tell you about. Many
oceans. Go explore them.
 Glossary
endangered the state an animal is in when there Resources
are few left of the species
blubber a layer of fat surrounding whales to keep
them at a sustainable temperature
whalebone a horny substance that grows in
parallel plates on the top of whales mouths
plankton a microorganism that floats on the Wikipedia
surface of fresh and saltwater
anthropogenic disturbances disturbances that
involve human-made pollution
invertebrates animals without a backbone
subfamilies a subdivision of a group
pectoral fin fins on the side of the animal
superorder a taxonomic category that ranks above
order and below class
caudal fin the tail fin
copepods a microscopic aquatic crustacean
mysis shrimp shrimp-like crustaceans
fry a stage a fish goes through when they are just
learning to feed themselves