‘Marine Biomes’
https://shop.scholastic.ie/products/Earths-Natural-Biomes-Marine-9781526301321
‘Marine Biomes’ by Louise and Richard Spilsbury Published by Wayland
1. Some marine animals, such as sea otters, have extra-large kidneys. These body parts work hard to remove the salt from seawater and get rid of it in the animal’s urine. The sea turtle empties salt from its body through its eyes — — and looks like it’s crying.
2. Some animals move by jet propulsion. Octopus, squid and some jellyfish open out the bell-shaped top part of their body and fill it with water. Then they squeeze it tight to push the water out. The push of the water moves them forwards.
3. As a sea nettle jellyfish swims along, its long tentacles stun fish and other prey that brush against it. The tentacles then drag prey into its mouth.
4. Sand mason worms are about 30cm long. They live under the sand but build a tube out of bits of shell, mud and sand cemented together with mucus, or spit, above the surface. They use the tube to keep safe when they come out of the sand to capture plankton from the water to eat.
5. Coral polyps are like tiny, soft-bodied animals. They take calcium from seawater to help them build cup-shaped cases of limestone to protect their soft bodies. Over time, thousands of these stony cases grow together to form coral reefs. The polyps living inside only stretch out their tiny tentacles to feed at night.
6. A clownfish has a unique relationship with sea anemones. Sea anemones live in one place and catch small shrimp and fish with poisonous tentacles. A clownfish is too big for the anemone to eat and is unaffected by the anemone’s deadly stings. It lives among the tentacles, safe from predators and feeds on damaged tentacles and tiny animals that could harm the anemone.
7. Bearded seal has good hearing to help it detect the tiny noises made by animals on the ocean floor and large eyes to see fish, such as Arctic cod, swimming in dimly-lit waters. Its whiskers feel around the ocean floor for crabs and shellfish to eat. The bearded seals use their hard heads to crash through thin ice to create breathing holes.
8. The Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, with 2540km long, 70km wide and 11km below sea level, is the deepest point on Earth.
9. Sea urchins are eaten by sea otters. Most sea otters use their paws to break the prickly spines off the sea urchins before they eat them.
10. Marine biomes are an important source of medicines. Scientists make copies of chemicals they find in living things such as sponges and corals, and use them to develop medicines. Sea squirts have helped to make a cancer medicine and a cone snail has been used to make a painkiller.
11. You can help marine biomes by reducing waste. Buy reusable items and recycle things like cans and mobile phones. Avoid dropping litter, especially at the coast. You could also support a conservation group that works to protect coasts, oceans and seas.
譚詠麟-無邊的思憶
Joana Casanova- I’m beginning to see the light
