The Sea By Mrs Stokes June 2005

The Sea What is the Sea? The sea is a very large area of salt water. The sea has different areas: Shoreline Open sea Ocean Depths

Fish What is a fish? A fish must have: Gills Scales Backbone or cartilage They are cold blooded, usually lay eggs and live in fresh or salt water.

Starfish The starfish is also called a sea star It eats corals, clams, mussels and sea urchins It lives in tide pools ad rocky shores It can lay up to 2 million eggs at a time Starfish can regenerate injured or missing body parts

Octopus and Squid The octopus can grow up to 3 metres long and weigh up to 25 kilograms They eat crabs, crayfish and molluscs They like to live in warm oceans all over the world Female lays up to 150,000 eggs The octopus can release a cloud of black ink to provide cover while it escapes from enemies

Sharks There are many different types of sharks. Some sharks are dangerous, while others are gentle. Most sharks are meat eaters. Many sharks have rows of very sharp pointed teeth. When a shark loses a tooth, another one can move in from the back row. Sharks can lay eggs or have live babies. These babies are called pups. Sharks have cartilage, not bones. Cartilage is lighter than bone. Sharks can sink if they stop swimming.

Sea Turtles Turtles are reptiles and can live up to 100 years Some turtles are carnivores and others are herbivores Turtles live all over the world in warmer oceans The leatherback is the world’s largest turtle Female turtles can lay over 100 eggs at a time

Seals and Sea lions Seals and sea lions are carnivorous marine mammals They eat fish, shellfish, and other marine animals Sea lions and fur seals have small external ears Sea lions are larger and their fur is courser and shorter than a fur seal Fur seals flippers are longer

Jellyfish Jellyfish have been in the ocean for more than 650 million years They have no bones, brains, hearts or eyes Jellyfish are invertebrates, not fish Its tentacles contain poisonous, stinging cells There may be 2000 species of jellyfish, but only 70 harm or can kill people

Coral Coral live in colonies, in warm shallow waters of the tropics and subtropics Cells at the base of each polyp take lime from the sea water to build up a stony skeleton. These are the corals that form great reefs. Coral are carnivores and eat plankton

Whales and Dolphins Whales and dolphins are known as the gentle mammals of the sea They are meat eaters Dolphins eat fish, shrimp and squid Whales eat plankton, fish, squid, sea lions, birds and other whales Dolphins communicate by sound: clicking and whistling

Seahorses Seahorses can grow up to 36 centimetres long and weigh up to 8 ounces They are carnivores and eat plankton, crustaceans and tiny fish Seahorses live in warm temperate oceans The male seahorse keeps the female’s eggs in his brood pouch and carries them until they hatch

Glossary Crustacean a hard shell marine animal Invertebrate without a back bone Vertebrate having a back bone Cartilage strong elastic tissue in body Carnivore only eats meat Herbivore only eats plants Regenerate to replace lost tissue or a lost limb or organ with a new growth Colony a group of animals or plants Temperate a climate that has a range of temperatures within moderate limits Polyp a single-cavity marine invertebrate Plankton a mass of tiny floating organisms

I hope you enjoyed viewing "The Sea" show and got lots of interesting information!