Saipan's coral reefs

Difference: color, size, skeleton, shape, grow forms

Similarities: need temperature, food, warm water, oxygen, and nutrients.

1. How is each reef structure formed?

- Fringing reefs have a horizontal surface, with the coral maintaining a level close to the surface by means of animal growth; over the years, the reef will gradually advance seawards.
Barrier reefs form further from the coast. They are constantly pounded by the ocean waves and, as their name suggests, form a barrier that protects the coastline. These barriers have a frontal reef zone that takes the brunt of the ocean’s assault and where construction continues steadily, either thanks to madrepora* or calcareous algae. Atolls are formed entirely of calcium carbonate; the part above water level is made of sand and coral debris that has been washed up by the waves, and the dominant form of vegetation is generally palm trees. Atolls usually form a ring around a central lagoon; some lagoons are quite shallow while others are nearly 100 metres deep.The lagoons are connected to the outside ocean by channels or gaps in the reef that may be used by boats, and sometimes by shallow-water passes or simply by the fact that waves can swirl over submerged parts of the reef.
2. Where is each reef structure found?

- Fringing reefs are found in the Bismarck Archipelago in the southwest Pacific.

- Atolls always occur n the Indo-West Pacific Region, which is mean which always appear in the tropical Indian and western Pacific oceans.

- Barrier reefs always found in the Caribbean lies of the coast of Belize, Central America. They also found in Florida, New Caledonia, New Guinea，and Fiji in Pacific。

3. What is the trophic structure of a reef?

- That’s the tropical water where coral reefs are found are usually poor in nutrients and therefore have very little phytoplankton or primary production. zooxanthellae provide food and help make the calcium carbonate skeleton. In return the zooxanthelae get not only a protected place to live, but also a steady supply of carbon dioxide and nutrients such as nitrogen and phonsphorus. Also, nutrient recycling occur not only corals and their zooxanthellae, but all with sponges, sea squirts, giant clams, and other reef invertebrates have symbiotic algae or bacteria and recycle nutrients just as corals do.
4. How does the location and type of reef influence the trophic structure?

- Coral reef communities use nutrients very efficiently as a result of recycling. Coral reefs have among the highest rates of nitrogen fixation of any natural community. The main nitrogen fixers are cyanobacteria, especially a free living one called Calotbrix and another group that live symbiotically in sponges.
5. Give examples of the types of corals found on reefs.

-example:

1. Elkhorn coral is among the different forms of coral found on the reefs of Biscayne National Park.

2. Soft coral (Sarcophyton) fond on the coral reef.

3. Staghorn Coral

6. Give examples of competition, predation, and grazing
example:

Competition: Chevron butterflyfish ( Chaetodon trifascialis)

Predation: Sea Star ( Acanthaster Planci)

Grazing: Sea urchin (Diadema Antillarum)

chapter 14 -Critical thinking

3. There are only a few reefs off the northeast coast of Brazil, even though it lies in the tropics. How would you explain this?

-Reef corals are limited to warm water and can grow and reproduce only if the average water temperature is about about 20^oC (68^oF). Most reefs grow in considerably warmer areas. Water is too warm is also bad for corals. The upper temperature limit varies, but is usually around 30^oC to 35^oC (86^oF to 95^oF). According from the page of 304 we can see the map of Brazil is between 30^o to 60^oalthough which is close to the average 20^o isotherm. Reefs off the northeast coast of Brazil have been less because affected the water temperatures reached 29.5^oC on the bottom of these reefs at 9–12 m. That’s the reasons why only a few of reefs are off the northeast coast of Brazil.

Beauty CNMI - Animal first

Beauty CNMI is very important work for everyone. It’s is not just pick up the trash on the beach it is also include protection of the animals. These pictures of small cats and a big dog shows that Beauty CNMI still has a lot work to do. These small cats had a car accident in the middle night near the college. When I find out she is alive I keep she go my house and try to do something to save her life. The first pictures show that just after the accident and the blood come out from her nose and the poo on her fur and smile is very bad. Then the next morning she wake up and be alive. However, she lost her two back legs and can’t walk. After around one week, she can eat and move around by the front two legs but still can’t stand up and walk because the two back legs. Also, she can’t control poo and pee, then she always gets the bad smell on her body even she take shower. I don’t know who is the drunk driver make this small kitty lose her legs but I know if the government make a law about animal there will decrease less car accident of the animal. The other picture is a homeless dog that is always stays in front the door on the Shopping center. Some tourist afraid the dog so they walk away to avoid it and some are was surprised why there is a homeless dog in the shopping center in the beautiful island and nobody take for the poor animal. These pictures can show some things that the government missed. First, the government should make a place for the home less animal to gather and to stay. Then they should make the surgery for the animal to decrees the animal population growing in Saipan. Also, they also have to make the law for the pet owner to care for the animal only inside the house not going around outside and put their poo anywhere on the road. Just like Guam have the place for the home less animal to stay and the law for the pets owner. If Saipan do something like Guam did, there will be no animal died in the road and nobody move away the dead animal body and which view into every tourist eyes make them feel uncomfortable. Also, some tourist form Europe and from the main land said that Saipan people are nice but they don’t understand why they don’t nice to the animals. We are the entire creature made by the God; we all have the same freedom to keep life. But the dead animal or homeless animals show that animals don’t have freedom to keep themselves is alive. Of course, they are animal and they don’t have knowledge like the human to run fast or make a home for themselves. Yet, if the government makes some law, maybe these poor animals will be alive and escaped the fate to die under the car tire. On the other hand, if CNMI have the law to protect the animal which will be more beautiful place in the world.

What is sea floor spreading?

- sea floor spreading is the process in which one ocean floor is extended when two plates move apart, As plates move apart, the rocks break and forma a crack between the plates. Earthquakes occur along the plate boundary; magma rises through the cracks and seeps out onto the ocean floor like a long, thin, undersea volcano.

What are some of the major land forms that are created from plate movement?

-plate movement created seven the big major land on the earth, they are Asia, Africa, north America, south America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia. The plate movement also creates different Small Island just like Saipan and Guam. Also, plate movement also created volcanoes, mountains and trenches.

How were the Mariana Islands formed?

Mariana Island consists of Northern part of Agrihan, Anatahan, Alamagan, and Pagan are inhabited, and Southern part are Rota，Guam Aguijan， tianian and Saipan , all the Mariana Island are was formed by the volcanoes created from the plate movement long time ago. Although some place of this island already inhabited but a few of these volcanoes still sometimes erupt.

What evidence exists today that the plates are still moving and that the islands are ancient volcanoes?

There are still unknown island recently find by the people and also there are still many movement like Earthquakes are always appear in Japan and sometimes in Saipan. The other example can be the volcanoes erupt or the tsunami in 2004 in Indian.

What is an atoll?

Considered one of the most beautiful of formations to be found in warm waters, the atoll is basically an island that it constructed of coral and encircles a lagoon. Found most often in tropical sections of the Pacific and Indian oceans, atolls are noted for creating an attractive and peaceful setting.

Why are atolls mainly found on the Pacific?

Atolls are the product of the growth of tropical marine organisms, so these islands are only found in warm tropical waters. Volcanic islands located beyond the warm water temperature requirements of reef building (hermatypic) organisms become seamounts as they subside and are eroded away at the surface. Pacific Ocean is the good environment for atolls , so that’s why many atolls are can find there.

chapter 2 -Critical thinking

2. Why are most oceanic trenches found in the Pacific Ocean?
There is about 50,000 km of convergent plate margins, mostly around the Pacific Ocean, because the reason for the reference “Pacific-type” margin. If you look at the map, you can see the Pacific is a circle by the Japan Sea, Philippine Sea and Europe Sea. I think because too much water movement and plate movement cause the too much trenches here.

chapter 9 -Critical thinking

1. Sea turtles have disappeared from many regions, and one way of trying to save them is to reintroduce them to areas where they have been wiped out. This is done by reburying eggs or by releasing newborn baby turtles on beaches. Why are eggs reburied or baby turtles released instead of fully grown individuals?

- The reason can be the long 2 month hatch time for the eggs and the natural situation like the sand and temperature effect to the eggs. There maybe also other reason like other animal eats the eggs.

Saturday Lab - sea anemones and jellyfish

Today, we saw a movie during the Lab time when there was raining outside. That’s a very cool movie to show the activities about Sea Anemones. Anemones looked like very beautiful colorful flower animal on the ocean. In fact, it’s a ancient sea animal and its just the old animal as older like sponges. It looked like a inactivity flower but its can move when they has special situation, example can be when the sea star want to eat them, they can jump like a kids very funny but cute. They don’t have other body function as other animals do, but they have the very sensitive nervous for their feeding, fighting and exercising. The movie also shows the different kind of jellyfish and show to the biologist observer how they prey. They also show there is new kind of jellyfish under about 8000 meter deeper on the ocean which is really big as 3 yard and like gray color different to other jellyfish like white cooler. There also show there has the longest jellyfish under the deep ocean. That’s a very fun movie for me to enjoy the rainy Saturday on this weekend and I hope I can see other movie like this movie again!!

Fish word ^^~!!

Reptilia - sea turtle and lizard

Sea turtles are reptiles. Reptiles have scales and a backbone. They are cold-blooded and they breathe with lungs. Sea Turtles are large turtles that spend most of their lives in the seas. They live in shallow coastal waters of warm and temperate seas.. All Sea Turtle species are considered endangered or threatened.

Anatomy: These cold-blooded animals are strong swimmers and good divers. They have four flipper-like legs and a shell that is attached to their backbone. They cannot pull their head and legs into the shell. These turtles vary in color from shades of brown to green to black. Sea turtles vary in size from 2 to 6 feet (0.5 to 1.9 m) long, weighing 78 to 1900 pounds (35 to 870 kg). During active times, turtles must go to the sea's surface every few minutes in order to breathe air.

Diet: Most sea turtles are carnivores (meat eaters), but the green turtle is a herbovore (a plant eater that eats sea grass and algae). Most sea turtles eat crustaceans (crabs, lobster, shrimp, and other shelled invertebrates), shellfish, jellyfish and small fish.

Reproduction: every two years,adult female Sea Turtles return to the beach where they were born to lay up to 200 soft-shelled eggs in the sand. When the baby turtles hatch, they immediately head for the nearby water. Many young turtles are eaten by birds and other predators during this difficult trip. It has been estimated that only 1% of these hatchlings will reach adulthood. No one knows how the females find the beach where they were born.

Sea turtles and fragile ecosystems

Sea turtles play key roles in two ecosystems that are critical to them as well as to humans—the oceans and beaches/dunes. If sea turtles were to become extinct, the negative impact on beaches and the oceans would potentially be significant.

Life history

Sea turtles have an extraordinary sense of time and location. They are highly sensitive to the Earth's magnetic field and use it to navigate. The longevity of sea turtles has been speculated at 80 years.

Lizard

Lizards are reptiles of the order squamata, normally possessing four legs, external ear openings and movable eyelids. The adult length of species within the order range from a few centimeterto nearly three meters.

Diet

Lizards feed on a wide variety of foods including fruits and vegetation, insects, sm

all tetrapods, carrion and even (in the cases of large predator lizards) large prey such as deer.

Reproduction:

Most lizards lay eggs with tough, leathery shells. The eggs are laid in sand or rotting vegetation where they are concealed from predators but can be warmed by the sun. The American anoles lay a single egg each time. Many of the geckos lay two eggs. However, most lizard species lay several eggs at a time. Most lizards lay their eggs in a suitable nest and then abandon them.

Life history

Lizard life-history characteristics vary widely among species and populations. Lizard life histories are often phenotypically plastic, varying in response to temperature, food availability, and other environmental factors. Despite the importance of temperature to lizard ecology and physiology, its effects on life histories have received relatively little attention. Although life-history traits such as clutch size, egg size and the proportion of mature reproductive females varied little over 7 years in the intact population, manipulation of density to simulate decreased population density enhanced juvenile growth rate, age at first reproduction, frequency of female reproduction and size-specific clutch mass.

- In my opinion, the sea turtle is different than lizard because they have to living in the ocean. They also have different diet habit, like sea turtle eat the food are from sea and lizard eat the food from land. Also, they are both reptilian animal, but lizard walk or run very fast on the land, but sea turtle move very slow in the land.

bird- penguins and owls

Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern.

Anatomy: Penguins are about 2 feet (60 cm) tall; they weigh from 6.8 to 8 pounds (3.1-3.6 kg). The male is larger and has a longer bill than the female. There is a black stripe on the chest. Like all penguins, African Penguins have a big head, a short, thick neck, a streamlined shape, a short, wedge-shaped tail, and small, flipper-like wings. They have webbed feet which they use for swimming. Penguins are countershaded; they have a lighter color on the belly and a darker color on their back; this coloration helps camouflage them when they are in the water, hiding them from predators. hemisphere.

Feathers: Penguins have shiny, waterproof feathers that help keep their skin dry. They have more feathers than most other birds - about 70 feathers per square inch. Once a year, penguins molt, losing their old feathers and growing new ones. While molting (which takes about 3 weeks), they cannot swim and do not eat.

Diet: Penguins are carnivores (meat-eaters) who hunt in the sea. They eat fish (including sardines, sancord, and anchovies) and squid.

Reproduction: penguins nest by burrowing into guano (bird droppings) and sand. Females lay two eggs. The incubation period is from 38 to 42 days. Both parents guard the nest and feed the hatchlings regurgitated food. These penguins reach maturity at 3 to 4 years of age.

Populations: penguin populations are declining rapidly due to many factors, including: reduction of their food supply (by overfishing), pollution (from oil tankers), egg harvesting by people, disease, and guano (bird droppings) removal from their nesting grounds for use as a fertilizer.

Habitat: Penguin lives in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Port Elizabeth (Africa). New colonies have been established on the African mainland.

Owls

Owls are nocturnal hunting birds with eyes that face forwards. They are closely related to hawks. Owls sleep during the day and emerge at night to hunt small prey. There are about 162 different species of owls alive today, inhabiting a huge variety of ecological niches, from rainforests to tundra.
Anatomy
Owls have a large head and large eyes that face forwards (unlike other birds, whose eyes are on the sides of their head). This eye placement gives them binocular vision and very precise depth perception. Also, there are circles of radiating feathers surrounding each eye, giving them a wide-eyed, alert look. Owls cannot move their eyes within their sockets like we can. In order to look around, they have to move their entire head, which has a range of movement of about 270°. Some owls have feathered ear tufts; these are not ears, but are part of the owl's camouflage.
Flight
many owls have thick feathers that absorb the sounds that their wings make in flight.
Diet and Hunting
Owls are carnivores that hunt during the night (they are nocturnal). They use their keen sense of sight to find prey in the dark (owls see mostly in black and white). They have an acute sense of hearing which also helps in finding meals. Owls are stealth hunters, they can easily sneak up on their prey since their fluffy feathers give them almost silent flight. Owls have two methods of hunting

• Perch and pounce - the owl waits on a low tree branch until it spots prey. It then swoops down onto the prey. This method is used often by owls that live in relatively dense forested areas.
• Quartering - the owl flies low over the ground looking for prey. This methods is used often by owls that live in relatively clear landscapes.

Owls hunt and eat rodents, insects, frogs, and birds. The owl is at the top of the food web; it has no major predators. Owls eat smaller prey whole and larger prey in chunks. They eliminate the inedible parts (like hair, feathers, insect exoskeletons, and bone) in oval-shaped pellets.
Habitat and Range
Owls are found worldwide in a huge range of habitats from rainforests to grasslands to wooded areas to tundra.
Reproduction
Owls typically reach sexual maturity at about one year of age. Large species such as the Great Gray Owl may not begin breeding until they are 2 or 3 years old. Since most owls do not migrate, they are established in their territory year-round. This allows them to breed earlier in the year than most other species of birds. Some species breed as early as January, but the Snowy Owl waits as late as May to breed because of the cold temperatures of its northern range. Owls in the south breed earlier in the year than owls in the north. The breeding patterns of many owl species seem to relate to the availability of prey. If food is hard to come by for long periods, an owl may not breed until conditions are more favorable. Other factors that may affect breeding habits include weather, competition from other owls, and disease.

- The different of penguins and Owls can be diet habit, reproduction and anatomy. Owls cannot live near the ocean and they used to sleep at daytime and act at night time. They eat the food on the land and their hawk is short and small. But penguins cannot live without ocean, because their diet is from the ocean. Penguins are lay their eggs on the land but Owl lay their eggs on their nets.

mammal - seal and lion

seals

Seals are carnivorous marine mammals that have fins or flippers instead of feet. There are three families of seals; the Eared Seals, True Seals and the Walrus. Seals are widely distributed throughout the marine environment of the arctic and temperate zones including a few tropical species of seals such as the monk seal. Seal is a marine mammal that spends most of its life in the sea, but also enjoys sunbathing on rocks or on the beach. Seals have a life span of about 25 to 30 years

Seals unique

All three families of seals possess a neat adaptation to their aquatic habitat. Unlike their ancestors, seals live most of their life in the sea. They only move onto land (shores or ice floes) for breeding, raising their young and escaping from predators.

Eared seals

The eared seals have long, flexible necks and small external ears. They have rear flippers that can turn forward. This feature enables them to support their body on land and they can use all of their limbs on land. Sea lions and fur seals are the two types of seals that make up this group.

Anatomy:

Seal has short, thick fur, grows to be up to 6.5 feet (2 m) long and can weigh up to 375 pounds (170 kg). The whiskers (called vibrissae) help the seal's sense of touch. The nostrils are closed in the resting state.

Blubber is a thick layer of vascular fat found under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians. It covers the whole body, except for the appendages, loosely attached to the musculature. It can comprise up to 50% of the body mass of some marine mammals during some points in their lives. Blubber serves several different functions, it is the primary area of fat on marine mammals, and essential for storing energy.

Diet:

Seals are carnivores (meat-eaters); they eat mostly mollusks (like squid and calms), fish, and crustaceans. Seals don't chew their food. They swallow it in large chunks. They can crush the shells of crustaceans and mollusks with their flat back teeth.

reproduction

Seal often come ashore or haul out on ice to breed, often travelling long distances from their feeding grounds to suitable mating grounds with a high level of reproductive synchrony. Almost males breed with up to several dozen females in a season. Females have a postpartum oestrus them to mate soon after giving birth. Subsequent implantation of the embryo is delayed (embryonic diapause) thus removing the need to come ashore (haul-out) twice, once to give birth and again later to mate.

Lion !

The lion is the second largest feline after the tiger. With powerful legs, a strong jaw, and long canine teeth, the lion can bring down and kill large prey. Lion coloration varies f

rom light buff to yellowish, reddish or dark ochraceous brown. The underparts are generally lighter and the tail tuft is black. The color of the mane varies from blond to black.

Lion- anatomy

The many fetters of a lion’s face that appear over its life die to fights, hunting and various activities. The Ear notches would be due to fighting and usually the scars will be from fighting or hinting of more dangerous prey such as Buffalo and other large horned animals. Sometimes as cubs Lions learn the hard way that they should leave porcupines alone, this can leave them with scars usually on there nose.

Internal system of lion

The Heart is positioned in a place which is effectively under the lions chin making it hard for it to be damaged in a fight, the balance of blood between the brain and legs allows short bursts of speed to occur when in the hunt though these bursts of speed are short in duration it doesn't take the Lion long to re-gain its "breath".

Diet

The lion's prey consists mainly of large mammals, with a preference for wildebeest, impalas, zebras, buffalo,and warthogswil in Africa and nilgai, wild boars and several deer species in India.

reproduction

Most lionesses will have reproduced by the time they are four years of age.Lions do not mate at any specific time of year, and the females are polyestrous. Like other cats, the male lion's penis has spines which point backwards. Upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina, which may cause ovulation.A female may mate with more than one male when she is in heat; during a mating bout, which could last several days, the couple copulates twenty to forty times a day and are likely to forgo hunting. Lions reproduce very well in captivity.

- Seal is different than other mammals in land, because they live in the sea all the time by the blubber in their body. They can stay on the rock sometimes but they don’t have lags to walk or run on the land as other mammals do.

chapter 8 -Critical thinking

1. Hagfishes and lampreys are the only living representatives of a very ancient group. Why do you suppose there are still some of these jawless fishes around?
- The reason is that jawless fish are the earliest vertebrates of the class Agnatha, and their only living representatives are the cyclostomes- the lampreys and the hagfishes. Jawless fish still around today because they eat the dead or dying fish and other things that float on the bottom of the ocean. Their unusual feeding habits and slime-producing capabilities have led members of the scientific and popular media to dub the hagfish as the most "disgusting" of all sea creatures.

2. A deep-water shark, new to science, is collected for the first time. The specimen is studied in detail, but its stomach is empty. How could you get a rough idea of its feeding habits? The specimen is a female, and its reproductive tract is found to contain 20 eggs. Can you tell the type of development characteristics of this species?
- The cat shark species are found from 1988-2001. The cat shark species are opportunistic scavengers, with their main prey being fish and crustaceans. A “high intake” group received a given quantity of food twice a week; a “low intake” group received the same quantity of food only once a month. Cat shark feeds on deep water prey such as small fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods. The cat shark laid their eggs in huge and they have 20eggs beds up to 30 feet (10 meters) apart. Cat sharks are oviparous, producing eggs that develop and hatch outside the body of the female. Related species have been bred successfully in captivity.

3. Individuals of some species of bony fishes change sex, some to maintain more males than females, others more females than males. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each situation? Are there any advantages and disadvantages in having an equal number of males and females?
- in the biology theory , if there are more males than females, they will get more different of bony fishes, because female have more chance to mate with males and then have high production results. Also, they will choose the best gene male to production their generation and the next bony fish will be better than their parents generation. If there are more females than males, it will have low production results, because there has completion of the many females to mate the fewer males. Also, the gene to the next generation is not very good. If there are equal number of the both female and male, there will have the normal population on the next generation. Also, they will have not a lot of the gene on the generation.

Tinian south beaches declared marine reserve

By Agnes E. Donato
Reporter

Fishing and other activities that may be harmful to marine life are now prohibited in beaches south of Tinian.

Acting Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez signed into law a bill creating a marine reserve area on Tinian, from the Southwest Carolinas Point to Puntan Diablo Point and Tachongna Beach.

“The Commonwealth Legislature finds that there is a need to preserve the marine environment for its natural and pristine beauty, and to regulate the fishing and harvesting of other marine life in [the said] area,” states the legislation authored by Senate President Joseph M. Mendiola.

The new marine reserve spot encompasses all the areas from Tachogna Beach, Taga Beach, YCC Beach, Kammer Beach, Tinian harbor, breakwater area to Leprosarium Beach and Barchinas Bay, from the high-tide mark on shore to one-half mile out to the reef.

Under the law, fishing and other potentially harmful activities to the marine life in the areas will be restricted. Fish, coral, lobster, clams, octopus, and any shellfish in the area may not be removed, disturbed, damaged, or destroyed. The only exemptions are seasonal fish such as atulai, i'i', and ti'ao, which may be harvested during their respective seasons.

Violators will face penalties.

The measure tasks the Division of Fish and Wildlife to assess the marine area to determine whether the fish population and marine habitat has reached a level adequate for sustainable fishing and harvesting. The assessment must be done in 2010.

Depending on the result of the assessment, DFW and the Department of Lands and Natural Resources on Tinian may allow certain activities and impose conditions.

- This is a news article of Saipan and which show that Saipan already knew that fishing activity harmful to the marine life and they should protect the marine life and to limit fishing activity. And the Tachogna Beach, Taga Beach, YCC Beach, Kammer Beach, Tinian harbor, breakwater area to Leprosarium Beach and Barchinas Bay are the place should to protect to avoid fishing. If the people fishing they will get a bill for penality. I think that is a good method to protect fish but I know still a lot of people fishing on the beach with fishing license. Most people knew that Managaha Island is a beautiful place and even local people like to spend weekend of there. The reason is not there has only had lovely beach but also love fished. If you go there, you can see a lot of different kind fishes and some of them follow you when you swim. Also, you can hear that the sound when the bite the rock under the water and which is the most important reason to attract tourist to visit there. I know to protect the fish is a big problem for the government to pursuer, but I hope the people of here can have the sense of how to protect CNMI – a beautiful island. Cheer up ~!!

Turtles Endangered!

News articles are the property on either Marianas Variety or the Saipan Tribune, as noted by authorship.

Turtles Endangered!

By Gemma Q. Casas, Variety News Staff

THE CNMI’s sea turtle population is now less than 200, according to an official of the Division of Fish and Wildlife who spoke to students of Grace Christian Academy yesterday. Joe Ruak, DFW's Public Information Officer and Aquatic Education Specialist, told students that they must do their share in preserving the turtles by not harming them, reporting turtle injuries to authorities and campaigning for their preservation.

The population of sea turtles here is really very low. The estimate is less than 200, Ruak said. He said DFW has no data on how many turtles were in the CNMI prior to the counting made in 1999. We don’t have a baseline data to base that from. But from a survey that was conducted here back in 1999, we found that it was less than 200, he said. Ruak said informing students about the different aquatic species and animals in the CNMI is among the government’s efforts to create environmental awareness in the local community.

Ruak said a turtle is considered a local delicacy, but he urged the students not to continue this because we need to preserve sea turtles so that future generations can see, appreciate, and respect them. Turtles are particularly a good dish. It’s a delicacy here in the CNMI. A lot of locals, especially Chamorro and Carolinian people, talk about eating sea turtles as part of their culture, therefore, they have a cultural right, Ruak said. But we also like to emphasize that sea turtles need to be at least 20 years old to become sexually mature, to start having babies. Many of the sea turtles that are being caught right now are really just juveniles. They are not even ready to lay eggs, he said. He said a female turtle lays about 1,000 eggs. But only 1 percent of them have the chance of maturing. If anybody sees a turtle, we encourage them to leave it alone. If it’s an injured turtle please call the fish and wildlife or call 911. If there are eggs, leave the eggs alone, he said. He added that since sea turtles are considered an endangered species, there is a federal penalty against harming or disturbing sea turtles and their eggs. Sea turtle nests have been seen at Tank Beach, Bird Island Beach, Obyan Beach, Coral Ocean Point, Laulau Beach and Wing Beach.

- This is a very nice article and which use the title Turtles Endangered implicated that the turtles are still dangerous here. The reason is that local people used to follow their culture to eat turtles then cause the population of turtles down to less than 200. also, it talk about that a mature six turtle have to live over 20 years then can lay the eggs, but only one percent of the 1,000 eggs can become a small turtles. So, we can see how difficult to continues the turtle population. I remember that since 2003 I first came to Saipan I can see turtle easily swim under the suicide cliff. Yet, it’s hard to see them recently. In China, people also like to eat turtle and they believe that are good for human healthy. But they don’t catch the turtle in the ocean; they feed them in the home and sale to the market. Saipan is a nice and beautiful place. It very pity to lose of the view of turtle swim under the suicide cliff. Also, some tourist heard believe that to see the turtle swim under the suicide cliff that mean lucky and most tourist come to Saipan want to see it. So, Please protect turtle and beatify CNMI.

starfish

Circulatory system

Circulation occurs in three places: the perivisceral coelom (basically, the space inside the body but outside the various organs), the water vascular system (of which the tube feet are the most obvious part), and the hemal system (which actually looks something like a circulatory system). The hemal system is shown below. There are hemal channels forming rings around the central part of the body around the mouth (the oral hemal ring), closer to the upper surface (the aboral hemal ring), and a third ring around the digestive system (the gastric hemal ring). These are connected by the axial sinus. There are also radial hemal channels running down the rays next to the gonads (which are also located in the rays). A dorsal sac attached to the axial sinus pulsates, sort of like a very inefficient heart (inefficient because it lacks a one-way valve system). The hemal system seems mostly organized to distribute nutrients from the digestive tract.The water vascular system uses cilia and the constant contraction of ampulla (to extend and retract the tube feet) also helps keep things moving. There is an ionic imbalance that causes water to flow into the water vascular system through the madreporite, and then the Tiedemann's bodies divert some of it into the perivisceral coelom. Circulation in the perivisceral coelom is mostly by ciliary beating.

Nervous system

Echinoderms have rather complex nervous systems, but lack a true centralized brain. All echinoderms have a network of interlacing nerves called a nerve plexus which lies within as well as below the skin. The esophagus is also surrounded by a number of nerve rings which send radial nerves that are often parallel with the branches of the water vascular system. The ring nerves and radial nerves coordinate the starfish's balance and directional systems. Although the echinoderms do not have many well-defined sensory inputs, they are sensitive to touch, light, temperature, orientation, and the status of water around them. The tube feet, spines, and pedicellariae found on starfish are sensitive to touch, while eyespots on the ends of the rays are light-sensitive.

Integumentary

Most starfish have five arms, but some have more or fewer. Some starfish have shown differing numbers of limbs within a single species. The mouth is located underneath the starfish on the oral or ventral surface, while the anus is located on the top of the animal. The spiny upper surface is called the aboral or dorsal surface. On the aboral surface there is a structure called the madreporite, a small white spot located slightly off-center on the central disc which acts as a water filter and supplies the starfish's water vascular system with water to move. Porcellanasteridae employ additional cribriform organs used to generate current in the burrows made by these infaunal starfish.

Excretory system

A echinoderm has a simple excretory system.

Reproductive system

Starfish are capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction. Individual starfish are male or female. Fertilization takes place externally, both male and female releasing their gametes into the environment. Resulting fertilized embryos form part of the zooplankton. Starfish are developmentally embryologically known as deuterostomes. Their embryo initially develops bilateral symmetry, indicating that starfish probably share a common ancestor with thechordates. Later development takes a very different path however as the developing starfish settles out of the zooplankton and develops the characteristic radial symmetry. Some species reproduce cooperatively, using environmental signals to coordinate the timing of gamete release; in other species, one to one pairing is the norm.

Body Plan

Starfish radiate diversely in shapes and colors, the morphology differing between each species. Starfish have a simple photoreceptor eyespot at the end of each arm. The eye is only able to register differences of light and dark, which are useful in detecting movement.The star fish have two stomachs. One stomach is used for digestion, and the other stomach can be extended outward to engulf and digest prey. This feature allows the starfish to hunt prey that is much larger than its mouth would otherwise allow. Starfish are able to regenerate lost arms. A new starfish may be regenerated from a single arm attached to a portion of the central disk.

Digestive System

Starfish have a complete digestive system with a mouth at the center of their underside (the "oral" side) and an anus on their upper surface (the "aboral" side).Food can be brought into the stomach through the mouth or, in many species, the cardiac stomach can be extended out through the mouth to digest food outside the body. Suspension-feeding starfish use their tube feet to pass food to the mouth. The cardiac stomach is connected to a pyloric stomach (located above it), which in turn is connected to both the anus and to the pyloric ducts and pyloric cecum which extend out into each arm.The pyloric ceca (or digestive glands) and the cardiac stomach produce digestive enzymes. Digested material is absorbed through the pyloric ceca for transport to the rest of the body.

Habit

Sea star live in tropical coral reefs, kelp forests to deep-sea floor, although none of them live within the water column; all species of starfish found are living as benthos.

Diet

Starfish eat clams and oysters or any animal too slow to evade the attack (e.g. dying fish). Some species are detritivores, eating decomposed animal and plant material or organic films attached to substrate. The others may consume coral polyps (the best-known example for this is the infamous Acanthaster planci) , sponges or even suspended particles and planktonsp

Distinguishes

Starfish are members of the phylum Echinodermata. This is because the skeleton is not rigid, as in the case of echinoids sea urchins,but is composed of many small plates (or ossicles) which quickly fall apart and are scattered after death and the decay of the soft parts of the creature.

The pictures are found in:

1. http://images.google.com/images
2. http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/starfish _dissection.htm