Marine Life
Picked up a number of interesting and informative tidbits about marine life when I visited Ocean Discovery Aquarium last year. So aside from sea turtles and whales from the Ocean Adventure Learning Center post, here are some amazing marine life facts that I thought I’d share with you guys.
Water Helps Bio-Diversity
“Water… the life force flowing through our tropical rainforest. Drop by drop, it trickles through the streams and rivers, gathering important nutrients and trace minerals from the forest floor as it makes its way back to the sea.
“The Philippines has over 400 major rivers nourishing and supporting a vast array of plant and animal life from swarms of tiny insects to noisy troops of chattering monkeys.
“Unfortunately, a large number of our waterways are severely polluted by industrial waste, sewage, fertilizers, toxic chemicals and silt from erosion. Today, many are biologically dead, no longer able to support life.
“In order to protect the incredible bio-diversity of life in the rainforests, we must reduce the amount of pollution going into our waterways.”
Sea Grass: Nurseries of the Sea
“The waving sea grass bed provides food and shelter for many species, from the tiny seahorse to the giant dugong. One of its most vital roles is as a nursery ground for juvenile fish and other sea creatures.
“A myriad of animals come to the shallow sea grass beds t mate and lay eggs, where it is safer than on exposed coral reefs or out in the open ocean.
“The young that hatch often remain in the relative safety of the sea grasses until they are large enough to move out to the nearby coral reefs.
Sea Grass beds are vital for binding sediments to prevent erosion and for providing carbon, nitrogen and many important nutrients to nearby mangrove swamps and coral reefs.”
Mangrove Community
“Mangroves are the most productive and diverse marine community in the Philippines. These unique plants have special adaptations allowing them to survive in the harsh coastal environment. Long, branching aerial roots help anchor them against strong winds, shifting sands and ever changing tides.
“Vertical root extensions called pneumatophores (new-mat-o-fors) protrude from the suffocating mud allowing the mangrove to breathe the surrounding air, while their thick, tough leaves store water and expel excess salt.
“Long spear-shaped seed pods, designed to spear into the mud as they fall from the tree, increase the chances of the seedling getting a foothold before it is carried away by the next tide.”
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As you might have guessed, these are just 3 of the many pretty informational displays inside the Ocean Discovery Aquarium. There are a few more I managed to capture, but I’ll save those for another day as this one has gotten long already. ^^;
I will also share with you some snapshots inside the aquarium… After I sorted out the decent ones from my photos. It was a bit of a challenge taking photos inside the aquarium because of the low lighting. So it will be, as with this post, picking out the blurry from the even blurrier! ^^;
Have you been to Ocean Discovery Aquarium in Subic? If not yet, I hope you will visit again for more posts on my visit there. Please subscribe via Email or RSS to get updates. Or you may opt to follow via Facebook and Twitter.
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Thanks for reading! Have a great day ahead.