starfish (sea star)

Marine scientists have decided to change the starfish’s name with sea star because, well, the starfish is not a fish. It’s an echinoderm, related to sea urchins. Sea stars dont have any brains or blood. Their "blood" is really filtered sea water! They are usually a little lareger than a tea cup and weigh about 11 lbs. the sea star can live up to 35 years in the wild. they are also carnivorous.

They have bony skin, which protects them from most predators, and many wear bright colors that scare off potential attackers. there are no freshwater sea stars, and only a few live in brackish (less saltey than see water but still not fresh water) water.

There are about 2,000 species of sea stars in all the world’s oceans, they live in all kinds of enviorments from tropic waters to freazing floor. The five-arm varieties are the most common, hence their name, but species with 10, 20, and even 40 arms do exist.

somthing eles the seastars can do that is entirly unique is consume prey outside of their bodys! they do this by first using the suction-cuped feet to pry open the clam or oyster and then through its mouth the star throws out its stomatch and entierly envelops its prey it then digests and withdraws its stomatch.

Along with their imfamous shape, sea stars are famous for their ability to regrow their lmibs, and in some cases, entire bodies! They are able to do this because most or all of their vital oragans lie in their arms . Some require the main body to be intact to regenerate, but a few species can grow an entirely new sea star just from a portion of a severed limb.

humpback whale.

The humpback whale can grow up to 48 to 62 feet long ( a little longer than a full sized school bus) and weigh up to 40 t0ns. They can dive for up to 30 minutes. Humpbacks can dive to a depth of 500-700 feet. Humpback whales are mostly know for their singing scientists today are still trying to figure out why they do this but its is most likley that they do it for communicattion and to find potential mates.

Humpbacks are great swimmers, and they use their massive tail fin (called a fluke) to swim powerfully, dive deep, and breach . These whales, like most, regularly leap from the water, landing with a tremendous splash. Scientists dont know if this breaching behavior has a purpose weather it clears pests or is simply for fun.

These whales are found near coastlines, eating krill, plankton, and ocationaly small fish. Humpbacks migrate every year from summer feeding grounds which are cooler in search of breading grounds warmer near ther equator (in late november the whales actually pass monterey).Females nurse their calves for almost a year, though it takes longer than that for a humpback whale to reach full growth. Calves do not stop growing until they are ten years old. Mothers and their young (called calves) are very affectionate often touchering and swiming close together.

The humpback whale is currently on the endangered species list because their mating grounds are close to shore and because they are slow swimmers, the humpback whales were an easy target for early whalers. The International Whaling Commission gave them worldwide protection status in 1966, but there were large illegal kills by the Soviets until the 1970's and there are still large kills going on today mostly in Japan. It is believed there are about 30,000-40,000 whales today.

statment of purpose II!

Mainly I have been writing about one topic and that is marine biology. That is what I planed to do from the start because thats what I like writing about. I think I have done alright with spelling, punctuation, and grammer but I feel like I could do more. I also said I wanted to raise awarness about marine issues and I think I have wrote about them when they come up in my topic but the only person who is hearing about them is Mr. Sutherland and thats alright with me but I dont think that it is a logical goal to raise awarness to one person.
Somthing else I said I was going to do with this blog but never did was s.a.t. prep essays and I still want to but now that I think about it i wouldent knwo where to begin, what to write, how to make it better, and what to do when im done. But I think im going to find out and really try because high school is flying by and im going to need all the practice I can get.
Although I enjoy writing about marine animals I feel like I should broden my horizen on to other things I like wrighting about like just my life in general because all the academic things somtimes give me writers block. Perhaps I will try movie reviews and more annotation things like "why are all the black kids sitting together" anlog with the ocean life, geral life, and essay blogs.
those are basicaly the thing I feel like I need to work on. pretty much the same as my first post with minor changes mainly regarding my topics but over all the same goal: get better at writing.