Amazing Sharks

Site: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/sharks2.html

Sharks are highly misunderstood creatures.Sharks are fish,but are different from the fish we know.A shark's skeleton is made of cartilage,which is a type of flexible but strong tissue.Likewise, sharks have extremely sensitive hearing.They can hear more than 700 feet away.Moreover,sharks ancestors may have lived more than 400 million years ago.Smell is the most remarkable of all the shark senses.These remarkably creatures can smell prey up to a mile away.Scientits think that sharks probably follow a trail of microscopic particles of protein from the prey or it's blood.Sharks have their pups in differnt ways.Some lay egg cases and others' give birth to live young.

However,when the pup is born it is on its own from the start with no mother's care like most other animals.Therefore,most sharks have four tows of teeth.They do not chew,but they use powerful teeth to bite and tear their food.Most people think sharks pose a great danger to humans,but humans pose a greater danger to sharks.Fishermen kill 30 million to 100 million sharks every year.All in all,the aquarium featured most of the well known sharks like a great white,and a hammerhead.I did not see any of their habits but I did see the teeth and how sharp they were.

Artic Melt Season Getting Longer

http://http://www.phschool.com/science/planetdiary/archive10/atmo1031510.html

With all the news going around about global warming,it comes to no surprise that the melt season in the artic is growing longer.Every year,a few of the sea ice melts in the summer and refreezes in the winter. Now a new NASA study shows the melt season is starting earlier and lasting longer.Usually the melt season starts the day in spring when ice stops frezing and melting is continous. The season ends when when the ice begins to freeze again.Furthemore,data shows the melt season increased,on average,more than six days per decade.These changes are most dramatic along ice pack edges at the lower latitudes.There, the melt season is as much as 40 days longer per decade. The changes in the melt season are accelerating because melting itself leads to more melting.Likewise, dark ocean water absorbs more solor energy than mirror-like ice.Therefore, an earlier melt season allows ocean water to soak up heat for a longer time,the extra heat delays refreezing,Moreover, I think that this article gives a sense of realizm as to what is happing to the ice in the much colder regions,yet cant this not be part of how the earth works?Greenhouse gases effect this rapid change, but can't the earth make its own defence mecanisim in order to protects itself?.Animals change the way they live to go along with the changes in their enviroment.Even though earth is not alive is has been changing for many milleniues.

Surprising Sea Slug Is Half plant,Half animal

A green sea slug appears to be part animal,part animal.It is the first critter discovered to produce the plant pigment chlorophyll.These slugs seem to have stolen the genes that enable their skills from algae they have eaten .With the combiened genes,the sulgs can carry photosynthesis(process plants use to convert sunlight into enery).A biologist Sidney Pierce of the University of South Florida has been studing these unique creatures for 20 years and presented his finding to the Society and Comparative Biology in Seattle,but Science News reported this finding first. Offically called Elysua chlroratica these sneaky unique creatures live in salt marshes in New England and Canada.Also the slugs steal tiny cell parts called chloroplasts which they use to conduct photosynthesis.Therefore,reserchers use radioactive tracers to be sure that the slugs are actually producing the chlorophyll themselves as to stealing the pigment from algae.The slugs incorporate the genetic matirials so well they pass it to further generations.The baby slugs have the ability to produce their own chlorophyll,but they cant carry out photosynthesis until they have eaten enough algae to steal the necessary chloroplats.Moreover,this connects directly to science because this is an example of evolotion the slugs pass on important survival skills in the genes of their further generations.In my opinion this is an intresting find because plants and slugs are two different spicies and now they are one.http://www.livescience.com/animals/green-slug-animals-100112.html