Dazzling Dolphins!
By: Briana Keenan
Introduction
Did you know that there’s a mammal that lives in the ocean and never fully falls asleep so they can breathe? The playful creature that does this is a dolphin. These dogs of the sea definitely have a lovely habitat, unique body structure, and a fascinating diet.
Habitat
You may see many dolphins at tropical places to swim with, but many people think they should be kept in their true habitat. Dolphins live worldwide, but they are mainly found in rivers, oceans, and coastal areas of the southern U.S. In addition to this, they can also be found in shallow seas of the continental shelves and the Amazon River. The continental shelves are where it’s more in the shallow area and not deep in the ocean. These active organisms also include different types sorted by where they live. They include 32 different species of ocean dolphins and four varieties of river dolphins.
Body/Movement
Wouldn’t you agree that these magnificent marine mammals have a extraordinary body structure and marvelous moves? The average, everyday fish hunter is eight feet long. This is about the size of a ladder. Dolphins can weigh as little as 90 pounds to more than a ton. These tropical and entertaining living things are mainly grey, but the colors can vary. Furthermore, dolphins have many special features, such as their unique clicking and whistling noises they use to communicate. They also use echolocation, just like bats. These highly intelligent carnivores also move around a lot, but don’t worry because they’re gentle. Patti Stanger who deals with depression quotes, “To get rid of depression, I swim with dolphins.” This shows how dolphins are calm, help relieve stress, and make people happy. In addition to this, these fish hunters use their tail flukes in a vertical motion to travel through the water. An interesting thing that they also do is an action called bowriding. During this action, the amazing jumper swims next to the boat. Scientists believe that this conserves energy while swimming and that’s why they do this. Not only that but this lovely mammal can dive in the ocean depths over 1,640 feet; that’s over 500 meters!
Diet
Just like most humans, these aquatic man-eaters love to eat. Dolphins eat fish, squid, and crustaceans. Another thing they eat is bottom-dwelling invertebrates. These are animals with no backbone that live near the ocean floor. An example of one of these animals is a shrimp. When obtaining or getting food, this powerful sea creature uses the techniques herding and corralling. During herding, dolphins go through a school of fish and surround them as tightly as possible. When done, they feed each other one at a time while others keep the fish packed. Can’t you imagine how suspenseful this must be? Just picture under the sea grey predators tightly around scared, colorful fish. Although, this guarantees that each pass through the fish will be very efficient. During corralling, a school of guppies is chased by a pack of dolphins to shallow water where they’re trapped between the eight footed animals and the shore. Lastly, the flounders are easily caught while the mammals that trapped them take turns to eat.
Closing
Weren’t you amazed by how charming the dolphins’ natural habitat is? Can you believe how grand their body and moves are? Isn’t it surprising how every day, dolphins eat five percent of their body weight and how interesting it is how they obtain their food in packs? As you can see, dolphins are wonderful animals and are very amusing to learn about.
Dolphins Quiz
Acrostic Poem
Dazzling in their shiny grey skin
Over 500 meters; they sure can dive!
Love swimming with people
Playful during mating season
Have helped people during depr
Incredible hearing and eyesight
Not always fun for them to be in shows
Sharks are threatened by their noses because they poke hardly
By: Briana Keenan 2016Extras
Diorama
Go Fish!
During the class, Go Fish I had a blast. Ava, Catie, Alexa, and I brainstormed and came up with a lovely tank that will support our fish. Our theme was rainbow and the types of fish we included are two neon tetras, two cerith snails, a male halfmoon betta, a red female veiltail betta, three Australian rainbowfishes, a blonde delta guppy, a bloodfish tetra, a comet goldfish, and a blue ring angelfish. To support the fish, we needed 20 gallons of water and the other necessities such as food, a thermometer and many other things. We also got some decorations, which are the Penn Plax aqua plant, a coral reef with a silk plant, a castle, rainbow gems, a Nemo statue, flowerballs, a blue purple leaf,al swirl stones. Lastly, we spent $148.27. All in all, this activity was very enjoyable.
Below, there is a picture of two Australian Rainbowfish. This is my personal favorite from this project!