This is a report from two
Homo sapiens who spent a day at the very beautiful world of …

BIRCH AQUARIUM

Jean Layson Irma Jaime
As you approach the aquarium from the parking lot, there is a large whale fountain that is your starting point. Throughout the aquarium, keep your eyes open for animal adaptations for defense/protection Within Class Mammalia of the Animal Kingdom, whales fall into the Order Cetacea. Whales are further divided into two suborders: Odontoceti which includes toothed whales such as sperm whales, killer whales and dolphins, and Mysticeti, including baleen whales, which strain food from ocean waters through comb­like baleen bristles. 1) The Scientific name of the gray whale is
Eschrichtius robustus. What route (places) do
E.
robustus travel during their migration and what is the length (in kilometers
)
of the gray whales’ migration? Eschrichtius robustus swims about 8,050 - 11,300 kilometers each way between summer feeding grounds in cold arctic waters and winter caving lagoons in Baja California, Mexico. They spend 4 summer months in the Arctic feeding grounds, 3 fall months in Southward migration, 2 winter months in Mexican lagoons, and 3 spring months in Northward migration. 2) What is “spyhopping” and why is it done? Spyhopping is when a whale slips its head out of the water, sometimes even showing its eyes. A whale might do it for orientation or just to look around.

3) What is a morphological feature unique to gray whales?
One morphological feature of the gray whales is they have scars left on their skin due to parasites that live among the barnacles and feed on the whale's tissue. WELCOME TO THE AQUARIUM! The aquarium is divided by regions. Observe the coloration of species in cold water, and the species in tropical water. Temperatures for each region: North Pacific Coast 12­14 ºC or 53­57 ºF
Southern California 15­17 ºC or 59­62 ºF (includes Kelp tank and tidepool)
Mexico and tropical 22­ 24 ºC or 72­ 75 ºF
Expeditions
25­26 ºC or 77­78 ºF

NORTH PACIFIC COAST Tank 1: In the days of John Steinbeck & Ed Ricketts at Cannery Row, there was a flourishing sardine fishery around Monterey, CA. The Pacific sardine (
Sardinops sagax
) was overfished so badly that the population practically disappeared. Note the schooling behavior of the fish in the tank and potentially beneficial function of this type of behavior. The
Sardinops sagax moves around its’ surrounding quickly. They are contantly moving in the aquarium. This may be beneficial for them so that it would be harder for people to catch them. Tank 2: Bony fish (unlike cartilaginous fish like sharks and rays) belong to Phylum Chordata,
Subphylum Vertebrata, Class Osteichthyes. The Rockfish family constitutes one of the most widespread and complex groups of bony fish on the Pacific Coast. Rockfish behavior differs considerably from the sardine.
Observe
the rockfish behavior in relationship to their method of defense. Most of the bony fishes propel themselves with their caudal fin. Some of the fishes swim in groups or close to one another. This behavior can be used as their defense to protect one another then a predator comes close by.
Tank 3: The sea anemones seen in this and other tanks are members of the Phylum Cnidaria, which makes them relatives to jellyfish. Organisms in this phylum have either a bell shape with tentacles hanging down (medusa) or an inverse bell shape (polyp) with tentacles facing upwards.

4) Since sea anemones are sessile predators
, how do they catch their prey? Observe their behavior How does their radial symmetry aid in the capturing of their food?
An anemone captures its food with the help of nematocysts (stinging cells) which is located on its tentacles. Radial symmetry helps