Ray Pool Sea Otter NORTHERN PACIFIC GALLERY
Tropical Tunnel
Seals & Sea Lions TROPICAL PACIFIC GALLERY
Cafe Scuba
Level 1
Shark Amber Forest Lagoon SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA/BAJA GALLERY Tropical Preview
Seals & Sea Lions Blue Cavern Blue Cavern CHANGING EXHIBIT GALLERY
Honda Theater
Lorikeet Gift Store Forest Main Entrance aquariumofpacific.org 100Aquarium Way, Long Beach,CA 90802
…at the Aquarium
fun! • Have questions • Ask aDiscovery Lab • Visit ashow • See • Touch ashark
more learning • Keep aquariumofpacific.org/teachers • Visit aclassroom animaladoption • Consider ordraw aboutyour tripto• Write theAquarium do to Things …back at school at …back
they are and how they are thesame different? marine ecosystems. Canyou discover how exploration andvery of thesebeautiful different and other consumers for food. Enjoy your which are incredible animalsthatrely onproducers sun to make their own food, and consumers, like plants andkelp, whichtake energy from the These uniqueecosystems have each producers, Welcome to theKelp Forest andCoral Reef! CHAPERONE Kelp vs. Coral Ecosystems GUIDE P I R T D L E I F Aquarium’s galleries.Thebackground information, Use thisguideto move your group through the guided questions, and activities willkeepguided questions, andactivities your students engaged andactively learning. 4th GRADE Chaperones:
Level 2 Sea Otters Where are they? Ray Pool Tropical Tunnel Ray Pool Sea Otter This map shows the locations NORTHERN PACIFIC GALLERY Live Coral of exhibits where you can Surge Channel Tropical Tunnel see kelp and coral throughout the Aquarium. Seals & Sea Lions TROPICAL PACIFIC GALLERY Tropical Reef Exhibit Key: Coral Reef — Tropical Preview, Shark Lagoon, Live Coral, Tropical Tunnel, Tropical Reef
Kelp Forest — Blue Cavern, Amber Forest, Kelp Camouflage, Cafe Ray Pool, Surge Channel, Sea Otters Scuba
Shark Lagoon SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA/BAJA GALLERY
Seals & Sea Lions Blue Cavern CHANGING EXHIBIT GALLERY
Honda Theater
Lorikeet Gift Store Forest Main Entrance Corals are animals!
Coral reef producers are less visible than producers in the kelp Each individual There are many producers in the kelp forest. Some are large like forest. Most algae live hidden inside the coral. The corals rely on is called a polyp. the giant kelp, and some are small plankton, or drifters, in the those small algae for food, and many fish do too. These algae, water. Many consumers, like urchins, snails, and abalone, eat the called zooxanthellae, are the base of the coral reef food web. kelp. Otters are known to eat urchins, but can also eat mussels, crabs, sea stars, and octopus. The many organisms in the Guiding questions: food web are all needed to keep the environment healthy. The Live Coral exhibit is much brighter than the other exhibits. Why? Why do corals need such clear water? Guiding questions: Many animals Where in the world can we find coral reefs? What does kelp need to grow? camouflage Have you ever been to the kelp forest? themselves in the Activities for students: Have you seen kelp washed up on the beach? kelp for protection from predators. Feel the water at Shark Lagoon and the Ray Pool. Which one would have a coral reef? Activities for students: Create a coral reef food web using animals Find three animals that camouflage in the kelp. in the Tropical Gallery. Create a kelp forest food web using animals in the Southern California Gallery.
Coral reefs are diverse and delicate environments that STIPE are threatened by even The bright colors of CANOPY the slightest temperature coral reefs come from changes or human touch. the algae living inside the animals’ tissue. BLADE Shovelnose guitarfish are a perfect color to Giant kelp grows 2-3 ft camouflage in MIDWATER a day and up to 100 ft the sand! PNEUMATOCYST
Sea otters keep urchin HOLDFAST populations HOLDFAST from eating all the kelp.
Giant kelp can grow two to three feet a day and as tall as 100 feet.