Life in the Ocean Hi! Some of my ocean friends and I want to tell you a little about where we live! Click the arrow to go on!

Home Beach Click on me FIRST to review some key words! Click on me SECOND to learn about our friends that live in the ocean! Now that you’ve learned about our friends, I have a mystery for you to solve!

Keywords to Remember (Click on the words in yellow for a picture) Continental shelf- the underwater edge of a continent. Continental slope- the steep slope leading down from the continental shelf toward the sea floor. Abyssal plain- the vast, flat lands beyond the continental shelf that cover almost half of the deep ocean floor. Trench- deep valley in the sea Habitat- the type of environment in which an organism or group normally lives or occurs. HOME BEACH Continental Shelf Continental Slope Abyssal Plain Trench

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HABITATS Some of my friends want to show you where they live! Click on a habitat to see what kinds of my friends live there. HOME BEACH Sandy Beach Tide Pool Kelp Forest Open Ocean

SANDY BEACH A walk along the beach allows you to discover a whole new world. A beach is where the land meets the water. Beaches are made because sea cliffs have eroded away. Waves deposit sand on the beach. Many kinds of plants and animals make their homes on the beach. They must adjust to life in a salty environment. Click on a picture of one of my friends that lives here to learn about them! Back to Habitats

Oystercatcher Oystercatchers have pink legs with a long, bladelike, bright orange red bill that is flattened from side to side. They eat worms, crabs, snails, and shellfish. They catch the oysters by inserting their bills into their partly opened shells. Next Animal Back to Sandy Beach Back to Sandy Beach

Barnacles Barnacles are usually found in warm waters. You can find them attached to ship bottoms, wharf piles, rocks, whales, large fish and shellfish. When they are young, they can swim, but as adults they are always attached to something. It is very hard to get them off. Since they are attached to rocks, they are dependent on the tides to bring food to them. Back to Sandy Beach Back to Sandy Beach Next Animal

The Gull The gull is a common bird along the coast. The gull has a hooked bill, webbed feet and long wings. They are from 11 to 31 inches tall. Their wings are good for soaring as well as flying, but they cannot fly as fast as a hawk. Gulls eat many different things. Some of the food that gulls eat include fish, insects and shellfish. Back to Sandy Beach Back to Sandy Beach Next Animal

Scallops Scallops can usually be found close to shore. A few of them can be found far out in the ocean. They have two shells that have wavy edges. Scallops usually lie about on the floor of the ocean. If an enemy comes near, it can swim away. They swim by opening and closing their shells. Scallops eat tiny sea plants and food particles found floating around in the water. Back to Sandy Beach Back to Sandy Beach

TIDE POOL Tide pools are areas on rocks by the ocean that are filled with seawater. Tide pools can be small, shallow puddles found high up on the shore or huge, deep holes nearer to the sea. Tide pools form when the ocean covers the beach twice a day. Some of the plants and animals that live close to the sea are covered when the tide washes over them. They have to be able to survive in both wet and dry conditions. The tides bring fresh oxygen and food to them. Between tides, some of the smaller pools become too warm and begin to dry up. Many of the animals hide under cool, damp rocks and moist seaweeds so that their bodies do not dry out before the tide comes in again. Click on one of my friends to learn more about them. Back to Habitats

Starfish Starfish are interesting animals that also live along the beaches. Starfish are many different colors. Starfish usually have 5 arms, although some have as many as 44 arms. Each arm has rows of tube feet that are used in crawling, attaching to things, and feeding. All starfish can grow back arms that they have lost.Starfish have a flattened body with their mouth located underneath its body. Their skin is rough and leathery and usually has spines. Starfish eat and digest food outside of their bodies. Most starfish are scavengers, feeding on a lot of different plants or animals. Next Animal Back to Tide Pool Back to Tide Pool

Sea Urchin Sea urchins are spiny- skinned animals. They are sometimes called sea hedgehogs. Their bodies are round and covered with movable protective spines. The spines are tough and sharp and can hurt if you should step on them. Sea urchins move about on their tube feet. They eat various types of organic matter, such as plants and some animals. Next Animal Back to Tide Pool Back to Tide Pool

Algae Algae is a very common plant that is found in the ocean. There are many different kinds of algae. It comes in many colors and types. Algae is able to make its own food. Many animals of the ocean depend on algae for their food. Next Animal Back to Tide Pool Back to Tide Pool

Sea Anenome The sea anemone is considered to be the flower of the sea. Sea anemones look like plants, but they are really meat-eating animals. Sea anemones come in different sizes and many different colors.The sea anemone can attach itself to rocks or coral. In the center of the sea anemone is their mouth. In order for the sea anemone to eat, they must wait for their food to swim by. Then they sting it with their tentacles, and then push it into their mouth. Sea anemones spend most of their lives in one place. They can attach themselves to rocks. Some even bury themselves in the mud. Back to Tide Pool Back to Tide Pool

KELP FOREST The Kelp Forests are very different from the other habitats. The kelp forest is not a forest of trees. It is made of seaweed called giant kelp. Giant kelp grows in cool coastal waters where sunlight can go down to a rocky sea floor. Kelp needs sunlight in order to grow. It also needs a hard surface to grow on. Giant kelp is one of the world's fastest growing plants. It can grow as much as 300 feet in a single year. When the tops reach the surface, they keep on growing to form a floating mat. The kelp forest provides shelter and protection for many animals. Like a forest on land, a kelp forest is full of life. Click on one of my friends to learn more about them! Back to Habitats

Sea Otter Sea otters are found along the shores of the North Pacific. Their favorite place to live is right on top of the kelp forest. Here they can find shellfish and other food. They also use the kelp to wrap around themselves to anchor themselves while sleeping, otherwise, they might float away. The sea otter is about three and a half feet in length, with a 14 inch tail. They can weigh up to 80 lb. Sea Otters were close to extinction because they were being hunted for their fur. They are now protected by international law. Next Animal Back to Kelp Forest Back to Kelp Forest

Abalone Abalone are marine snails found on rocks near the shores of all warm seas. Abalones feed on seaweed. They have flattened shells about one foot long. The thick muscle, or foot, with which the abalone firmly attaches itself to a rock can be eaten. Next Animal Back to Kelp Forest Back to Kelp Forest

Jelly Fish Jellyfish have a central body with a digestive system and tentacles armed with stinging cells. Jellyfish are very mobile. They swim slowly and are moved by the ocean currents. They are transparent because their bodies contain very little matter. Most of their bodies are made up of water. Large jellyfish can be more than 6 feet wide. Next Animal Back to Kelp Forest Back to Kelp Forest

Shrimp Shrimp belong to the same family as crabs and lobsters. They range in size from that of small insects to more than 8 inches. Shrimp are found on shallow seafloors, where they feed on small animals and plants. Shrimp are similar to lobsters, but they lack enlarged pincers. Back to Kelp Forest Back to Kelp Forest

OPEN OCEAN Many of my friends live in the open ocean. There is a wide variety of animals that live in the open ocean. Click on one of my friends to learn more about them! Back to Habitats

Shark Many people think that sharks are dangerous. There are a few sharks that are dangerous. However, most of them are not. Sharks are great swimmers with streamlined bodies. Some have huge jaws with rows of razor- sharp, triangular teeth. There are more than 250 different kinds of sharks that live in the sea. They range in size from 4 inches long to nearly 50 feet long. One of the strangest-looking sharks is the hammerhead shark. Its head is shaped like a huge hammer with one eye on either side. This is believed to give it better eyesight for hunting fish. Next Animal Back to Open Ocean Back to Open Ocean

Sponge Sponges are found fixed to some solid object, such as a rock. They look like plants. Sponges are full of holes and tunnels. Sponges have to sit and wait for their food to come to them. The ocean brings them the plankton and oxygen that they need to survive. Next Animal Back to Open Ocean Back to Open Ocean

Dolphin Dolphins are mammals. They are usually smaller than whales. Many dolphins have light-colored bellies and dark-colored backs. This offers them some protection from predators. Dolphins are powerful swimmers that are found in all of the oceans. Dolphins can be recognized from porpoises because they have well-defined beaklike snouts, with 200 and 250 sharp teeth teeth shaped like cones. They breathe through a blowhole. They eat an enormous amount of food that is nearly equal to one third of the weight. Next Animal Back to Open Ocean Back to Open Ocean

Rays Rays have broad, flattened bodies with eyes located on the upper, dark colored surface of the body. Their mouth and gills are located on the lower, light colored surface of their body. Their pectoral fins are extremely well developed and extend from the tail to the sides of their head. The huge pectoral fins allow the fish to move through the water at a slow pace. Rays have small mouths with rows of flat teeth that are perfect for crushing the shells of the mollusks and crustaceans that they eat. Rays have small mouths containing huge teeth. The creatures often bury themselves in the sand while waiting for a meal. They can camouflage themselves by changing colors. Back to Open Ocean Back to Open Ocean

Good! Now that you’ve met some of my friends, you can help me figure out our mystery! Mystery: Scientists have found a new animal in the ocean! But they’re having a hard time figuring out what it is. See if you can help! Use what you just learned about my friends to help the scientists figure out what the animal is. On a sheet of paper, record your observations of the animal. This should include color, size, shape, and so on. Next, to help figure out what kind of animal it is, predict what you think it might eat, where it might live, what other type of animals might live near it, what kinds of animals are it’s predators, and anything else you think might be important to figure out what this animal is! Thanks for your help! HOME BEACH