HALLOWEEN THEMED OCEAN SCIENCE – TWO OPTIONS, CHOOSE ONE TO COMPLETE IN CLASS

OPTION A: Text based – research and answer questions about adaptations of 5 or more organisms from the provided list.

OPTION B: Visual/artistic assignment – make a mini-poster of a “spooky” marine critter, including a spooky sketch, name, and some background information of that critter.

OPTION A: Creepy Critters: Marine Life Surfaces for Halloween (questions written by Heather Welsh, 10/2018, modified by Barbara Bennett) Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to help you determine how biotic and abiotic factors affect the marine organisms and which adaptations help them best survive and reproduce in the marine environment.

Instructions: Navigate to this page: https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/creepy-critters-marine-life-surfaces-halloween Click on the picture of the fangtooth . This will open a slideshow with pictures and text. If you are completing this assignment using a mobile device, turn your device sideways to view more text at one time.

Select 5 or more marine organisms for this assignment and answer the three questions related to each organism you select. On your paper, be sure to include the common and scientific name of each organism and restate the questions as part of your answers.

1. Fangtooth fish ()  The fangtooth fish is relatively small. How large is the average adult fangtooth fish? How is its size both an advantage and disadvantage in the marine ecosystem?  What physical adaptation has the fangtooth fish developed to prevent it from hurting itself with its teeth?  Explain how the size of the teeth of the fangtooth fish and the time of day it feeds (diel migration) promote the survival of this marine organism.

2. Glowing Sucker Octopus (Stauroteuthis syrtensis)  All of the suckers on the glowing sucker octopus work independently of one another. The suckers all have chemical receptors in them, which allows the octopus to touch, taste, and smell all at the same time. Explain how this adaptation promotes the survival of the glowing sucker octopus in the marine environment.  The glowing sucker octopus, along with all other octopus , does not have a shell. Because it has no shell, the glowing sucker octopus can squeeze into very small spaces. How is the lack of shell both an advantage and disadvantage for the glowing sucker octopus?  The glowing sucker octopus is one of a very small number of octopus to exhibit bioluminescence. Read the caption of the picture and explain how this organism’s use of light will both scare off potential predators and attract the (planktonic crustaceans) that make up the main part of its diet.

3. Blob Sculpin (Psychrolutes phrictus)  The blob sculpin lives on the ocean floor. Study the picture of this fish and explain how the body shape, flat underside, and the grayish color promote the blob sculpin’s survival on the ocean floor.  The blob sculpin has extremely low muscle tone and often waits for food to come to it or just swims short distances to search for crabs and mollusks. What is the relationship between muscle tone and swimming?  The blob sculpin’s dorsal fin has 8 spines. Explain how this adaptation promotes the blob sculpin’s survival in the marine ecosystem.

4. Bobbit Worm (Eunice aphroditois)  The bobbit worm is just a couple of inches wide and up to 10 feet long. What is one advantage of being long and narrow in the marine ecosystem?  The five antennae of the bobbit worm stick out of the sand and detect movement. Explain how this adaptation makes the bobbit worm a stealthy predator.  Explain how sharp teeth and toxin aid in the bobbit worm’s digestion of its prey.

5. Rhino chimaera (Harriotta sp.)  Study the picture of the rhino chimaera. Notice its elongated snout. The snout has numerous sensory nerve endings. What is the purpose of having a sensitive snout?  Rhino chimaera have large, translucent green eyes and well-developed eyesight. How is this characteristic an adaptive advantage for an organism whose main diet consists of deep-sea invertebrates and fish?  Rhino chimaera are often caught as bycatch during deep-sea trawling. What is bycatch and how does this threaten the population of this marine organism?

6. Black devil (Melanocetus johnsonii)  Bioluminescent bacteria live inside the black devil anglerfish. How does the female black devil anglerfish use these bacteria to attract prey?  The black devil anglerfish has a distending jaw and expandable stomach which allow it to eat prey larger than itself. Food can be scarce in the depths of the ocean. How do these physical adaptations promote the survival of the black devil anglerfish in the marine ecosystem? Extension: Watch this video clip for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUVerZsbYiw  The male black devil anglerfish attaches to the female’s body and uses enzymes to dissolve the skin and suck nutrients out of the female. In turn, the female black devil anglerfish has a ready supply of sperm available to fertilize the eggs she spawns. Would you classify the relationship between the male and female black devil anglerfish as +/+, +/-, or -/-. Explain.

7. Zombie worms (Osedax roseus)  Male and female zombie worms are sexually dimorphic. What does this mean?  Describe the relationship between male and female zombie worms? Explain how this is a mutually beneficial relationship (+/+).  Zombie worms don’t eat whale bones directly. They actually digest the fats within the bone. However, they do not have a mouth or a stomach. Instead, they secrete an acid from their skin that dissolves the bone. Zombie worms have symbiotic bacteria living inside of them and these bacteria digest the fat and protein. It is unclear how nutrients are transferred from the bacteria to the zombie worms but the relationship is a mutually beneficial one. Based on what you know about macromolecules, is the zombie worm provided with a relatively short-term or long-term source of energy when indirectly digesting the whale bones? Explain. Read more about this relationship here: https://ocean.si.edu/ocean- life/invertebrates/zombie-worms-crave-bone

8. Vampire from Hell (Vampyroteuthis infernalis)  Interestingly, the vampire squid is not a blood sucker and it is not a squid. It represents the line of cephalopods before it split into 10-limbed squid and 8-limbed octopuses and has remained relatively unchanged for a long time because it is extremely well adapted to its environment. Based on this information, explain why the vampire squid is considered a “living fossil.” Extension: Watch this video clip for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4U0vG2bxy0  The vampire squid can live in relatively low-oxygen waters called oxygen minimum zones. It moves very slowly and has a relatively low metabolic rate. Explain how this organism’s slow movement and slow metabolism allow it to live in waters with a low concentration of dissolved oxygen. In other words, why are its oxygen demands lower than a faster moving marine organism?  Vampire squid are not predators like many other species of cephalopods. Instead they feed on “marine snow.” What physical adaptations does the vampire squid have that allow it to easily capture its prey?

9. Toothy Sea Wolf or Atlantic Wolffish (Anarhichas lupus)  What is the purpose of the natural antifreeze in the Atlantic wolffish’s blood? How does this physical adaptation promote the Atlantic wolffish’s survival in the colder waters of the marine ecosystem?  What physical characteristics make the Atlantic wolfish a formidable predator in the marine ecosystem?  The Atlantic wolffish preys on European green crabs and sea urchins, two marine organisms that experience rapid population growth. The European green crab is an invasive species in the Gulf of Maine. Explain what would happen to the invasive crab population if the Atlantic wolffish population decreased.

10. Venus Flytrap Sea Anemone (Actinoscyphia aurelia)  What are nematocysts and how does this physical adaptation promote the survival of the Venus flytrap sea anemone in the marine ecosystem?  In 2004, an oil pipeline accident off the Ivory Coast caused a mass mortality event and many colonial tunicates died. The carcasses of the tunicates sank to the seabed. Shortly thereafter, the population of Venus flytrap sea anemones exploded. What connection can you make between the availability of food and the reproduction rate of Venus flytrap sea anemones?  Adult anemones are attached to the sea floor but they are also predators. Explain why the term “passive predator” is used to describe the behavior of the Venus flytrap anemone.

OPTION B: Illustrating “Spooky” Sea Creatures angler fish Dracula fish Pumpkinfish bat fish Fangtooth Fish Redlipped batfish Bat ray Frankenfish Scorpionfish Black Ghost knifefish Flying fish Sapphire devil fish blobfish Ghost shrimp Skeletonema diatom Blackdevil fish Ghost anemone Skeleton shrimp Blood jelly comb Ghost crab spider crab Blood worms Ghost Moray eel Spookfish Bone worms Goblin tongue-eating isopod candy corn clam gulper eel vampire squid Coffin fish hagfish (slime eel) Coral Catfish hooded seal Witch flounder cutthroat eels Lanternfish Wolf eels Devil Rays Masked puffer zombie snail Dogface Witch eel Moonfish zombie worm

Choose ONE of the organisms above and make an illustrated mini-poster. Your poster should be designed so that it can be hung up in the hallway and passers-by will be able to easily read the information. Your poster should include:  Common and scientific name of the organism  Introduction to the organism following the “spooky” theme of the day  Realistic sketch of the organism (not necessarily World’s Greatest Work of Art, but showing effort and making the organism identifiable.)  A description of how the organism lives. Some ideas of what that might include (but should not appear as a bullet point list on your poster): what habitat, important/relevant features of that habitat, prey/predators, behaviors, etc.  If possible, integrate some artwork design elements that indicate a little about the critter’s habitat to give your organism sketch some context.