Bristol Aquarium

Hi Sea Fans!

The UK is treating me well!  I've been all over the place and done so much, I even went to the Bristol Aquarium where a friend of mine used to work.  Thanks to Daniel, the curator, for showing me around!

Here are some pics from my visit:

Meeting a school group.

 I love meeting new schools and it's even cooler when it's the littlies!  So nice to have met you guys.

Taking a seawater delivery for the aquarium.

 Some aquariums make their own seawater, but this is very expensive, it takes up a lot of space and it means some heavy lifting of salt bags!!  It also takes time to mix it and make sure that the mixture is just right.  The easier option, if you live close enough to the sea, is to suck it up and transport it to the aquarium.  Bristol, Dubai and others get it delivered in a truck, the aquariums in South Africa (and others, of course) have a pipe that goes out into the sea and they pump it in directly.

The workings of an aquarium seem so easy from the outside, but when you look at all the little details that have to be taken care of, you realise why it costs so much to run one!!  We love it though!  :)

Hanging around the turtles in the Amazon tank.

 I always love to hang out with the animals when I go to a new facility, they can tell you so much :)  (No, I'm not a fish whisperer, its just that you get to know how to read them.)

Doing a backwash of the sand filters.

Another big job...sand filters come in all sizes, depending on what size tank you have, but some can be HUGE!  and somebody has to make sure that all the filters stay clean so that they can do their job of cleaning the water properly.  There's usually a technical team that maintains (looks after) the sand filters, but the smaller systems are usually looked after by the aquarists who look after the animals in the tank.   So you see, aquarists need to have many talents and learn lots.   No day is the same as another!  :)

So if you want to know more, why not stop your local aquarists and ask them about their jobs!!

Have a great week Sea Fans!

Cheers

Abby

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Dungeness

Hi Sea Fans!

I'm still in the UK with Ed the Bear, checking out the marine life, freshwater life and the surrounds.  I recently travelled with Ed and Steve to Dungeness. Steve spoke to science teachers at a conference while Ed showed me around.  

Ed told me that his beach at Shoreham is made up of shingle pebbles. 

Photo: Dungeness National Nature Reserve

Wave action, called long shore drift, moves the pebbles from west to east. Dungeness is where all the pebbles that the waves move along the beach eventually end up.

We spent so much time in nature, it was fantastic!  We took a close look at the yellow horned poppy, a coastal plant that also grows at Shoreham.

We spotted sea kale, 

Photo: Dungeness National Nature Reserve

Oyster catchers,

a Great Crested Newt, 

Photo: Dungeness National Nature Reserve

and we even saw a Smew when we went to the bird hide!

Smew.  Photo: Dungeness National Nature Reserve

Cool bird, don't you think?!

It's so nice to see such different animals to what we have at home and to learn more about them.  Thanks Ed for showing me around!

Chat soon Sea Fans!

Cheers

Abby

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Dolphin Rescue

Hi Sea Fans! 

Bella and Ed are keeping me really busy!  We just took part in the EYE (Eco Young Engaged - like the South African version called Eco Schools) Project Summit which is a special project that includes all the school in Shoreham and nearby towns Worthing and Lancing.  

This event is a chance for the schools to celebrate what they've achieved, share ideas and learn more through workshops.  Steve ran a dolphin rescue workshop and Ed and I ran a stand to teach kids more about the local marine life.

This workshop dolphin has stranded because of plastic entanglement and now the kids have to figure out what first aid would need to be given to keep the dolphin alive until the rescue team arrive. 

During the workshops the children learned about dolphins and that sometimes they become stranded on the shore. A stranded dolphin can easily die from:

• heat exhaustion (they get too hot when not in water)
• gravity - the dolphins own body weight (when not supported by water can crush its organs such as its lungs and heart), and 
• other problems that the children had to learn about before they could plan their rescue.

We soon found out that the kids would be able to keep a real dolphin alive until the rescue team arrives - no problem!

After the EYE Summit, Ed the Bear showed me the beach where he lives. 

The beach is a nature reserve because of the rare vegetated shingle habitat – special plants that grow in the pebbles. They can survive with little water, no soil and survive the strong winds, hot sun and salty sea spray.

Although Steve and the nature reserve team help to look after the plants and wildlife, they were concerned about how global issues such as climate change, sea level rise, increase in storms and other issues might affect this beach. This is why Ed started his global travels to visit scientists to find out what they know about the ocean and the damage humans are doing to the ocean.

It's so pretty here, it's such a pity that pollution of all sorts keeps landing up in places like this.  Please Sea Fans, pick up litter and use your trash/rubbish/garbage bins!

Have a great week and chat soon.

Cheers

Abby

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Ed and Bella 2

Hi Sea Fans!

I'm visiting Ed the bear for a while so we're getting up to all sorts of things!  My last post was all about the World Oceans Day display that I helped Ed with.  I've found a few more pics, so here we are:

I stopped by the Friends of Shoreham Beach display where kids were amazed at seeing a real lobster.  This display was all about rare beach plants and wildlife as well as litter on the beach.

The Sussex Wildlife Trust brought "Claws" the hermit crab with them to teach everyone more about marine life.

We spoke to loads of people and saw so many nice displays that people had put so much time and effort into.  I loved reading what they had to say, especially seeing that my knowledge of UK marine life is not that extensive (I don't know much about it).

What an exciting and busy day!  Thanks to Steve, Ed and Bella (Ed's sister who is teaching people how valuable freshwater is to us and to nature) for taking me with, I had a blast.

Have a great week Sea Fans and I'll chat soon.

Cheers

Abby

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Ed and Bella

Hi Sea Fans!

It's been quite a while since Ed the bear came to visit me in South Africa (if you'd like to read about his visit, go to my blog written on 16 Jan 2012).  I've now finally gotten around to visiting him in the UK.

We didn't waste time, after a quick hug hello, we set off for the World Oceans Day (WOD) event at Shoreham, which is a small historical town by the sea and a river.  We arrived early and had time to look around the farmers market.

 This is where farmers sell their produce from a stall.  Things like pies, cakes, meats, vegetables and fresh fish are sold here.  These markets are really cool and the farmers like it because they get to sell directly to people instead of to supermarkets.  You can't beat the freshness of the produce at a farmers market!!

After a yummy pie and a fresh fruit juice, Ed, Bella (Ed's sister) and I went to set up the WOD display stand.

It was really cool, the stand had some pictures from when Ed visited me in South Africa and a little bit of information about me.  I felt a bit like a super star!  : )

The display stand was all about Ed's adventures.  This included his special beach at Shoreham, the scientists he has met on his travels and what he has learned as well as some of the amazing animals he has seen.

The display also showed some of the damage humans have caused to the ocean and marine life, and also how we can all help the oceans.  Another display that I helped Ed set up was one about Ocean Acidification - a big threat to the oceans.

In a nutshell: Human industry has caused an increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases being released into the Earth's atmosphere.  Scientists have found that about half of this man-made CO2 has been absorbed over time by the oceans.  Massive amounts of CO2 in the oceans causes a change in the water chemistry and affects the life cycles of many marine organisms.  This is a major problem!!!!  The change in water chemistry inhibits (slows down) shell growth and this means that shell-forming animals like corals, oysters, shrimp, lobsters and many more are affected.  Some scary facts, but really interesting.

If you'd like to know more, go to: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/ocean-acidification/kolbert-text.

Don't worry Sea Fans, it's not all doom and gloom, there are also scientists finding solutions to the extra CO2!  But in the mean time, you can also make a difference:

 - cycle to school instead of going by car
 - get your mom to buy local produce instead of goodies that have flown halfway across the world to get to        you
 - plant your own veggies so that you don't have to go to the shops and so that you don't have to buy those         imported veggies that have flown so far

Have a great week and enjoy the beautiful weather wherever you are....and if it's not great weather, go and visit your local aquarium!

Chat soon.
Cheers
Abby
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Where's Wally?

Hi Sea Fans!

Ha ha ha...I'm sure you're wondering what on earth I'm on about with this heading! Well, Wally is the name of a seal...or should I say, a seal skeleton.  For those of you who remember, a few years ago, I spent many an hour putting this guy together:

And when he went on display, he was a hit!  Wally was put into a hagfish display as decor.  As time went by, Wally started to fall apart and not look his best, so he had to be removed for repairs.  What a response! People would ask about Wally as soon as they got to the hagfish tank.  This gave the education staff a great opportunity to talk about Wally and his family and friends.  Visitors would come asking about a skeleton and go away with stories of pollution and how seals are being rescued in the harbour from strangulation.  

[Aquarists go out every day to check on Wally's friends because, unfortunately, so many seals (and other sea life) end up getting tangled in our rubbish and often, a seal will pitch up with a plastic ring (those straps that are used to keep boxes closed) around its neck or flipper.  Aquarists then brave the chilly water and go and remove the strap...not exactly the safest exercise, but necessary.]

Kilos/pounds of plastic has been removed from seals over the years!  So sad.

Please Sea Fans, if you're walking along the beach and see rope, string or these plastic bands/rings, please pick it up and throw it away or at least open the plastic bands so that they don't form a ring anymore!!

I've been told that Wally may have a new career...education with school groups in the classroom.  Oh well, maybe something more unusual will take the place of the hagfish decor, who knows.  

Have a great week Sea Fans and don't forget to visit your aquarium!

Cheers

Abby

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Georgia Aquarium II

Hi Sea Fans!

It's been crazy busy, but here's the other half of my Georgia Aquarium visit (told by Megan, my host from Georgia Aquarium).  Enjoy!

Here is another one of our Education Stations, located in Ocean Voyager.   

Abby educated guests all about our Seafood Savvy program, where consumers are empowered to know the right seafood to buy and why (This program teaches visitors which seafood is better to buy and why.  Seafood is now grouped into 3 groups that will tell you whether it is best to buy it or whether it's best to steer clear of it....if you want to find out more about green, red and orange fish, just go to http://www.seafoodwatch.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_recommendations.aspx

and you'll see what I mean.)  Simple actions taken like this can make such a big difference!  This program is modeled after Monterey Bay Aquariums Seafood Watch program (you can download the Seafood Watch app for free from the app store).

Why do seafood choices matter?

Our choices drive the seafood marketplace. Your purchasing power makes such a huge difference (What you buy makes a difference!!). With almost 85% of the world’s fisheries either fully fished or overfished, these issues are more important than ever. By using the Seafood Savvy or Seafood Watch Guides, you are making educated choices: supporting sustainable fishing methods and environmentally friendly farming practices helps protect these ecosystems so that they may be around for generations to come!

For our younger guests, we teach them all about the different types of jaws and teeth fish can have at the Education Station in Ocean Voyager!

Abby taught kids about the bowmouth guitarfish jaw (above left) and the wobbegong jaw (above right) and how sharks and rays have different teeth for a reason. Shark teeth tend to be sharp and pointy for grasping, ripping, tearing. Ray teeth tend to be flat and smooth for crushing and grinding.  (If you'd like to learn more about different sharks and other predators, you can order a copy of my book: " Predators", the second book in the Abby's Aquarium Adventures series.  

Go to:

http://www.artpublishers.co.za/pls/cms/ap_shopping.product_list?p_cid=45)

Lastly, Abby visited our Tropical Diver gallery where tons of colorful fish and graceful jellies enjoyed her presence.

Here she taught guests all about the amazing diversity (lots of different kinds) of life in our world’s oceans and waters. This gallery is literally a living piece of art! 

Abby discovered curious garden eels popping out of the sand here. 

And was amazed by the graceful moon jellies.

Did you know that these are a primary (main) food source for leatherback and several other species of sea turtles, as well as other marine creatures?  Many marine animals die every year ingesting (eating) floating plastic bags, mistaking them for these moon and other jellies.  This is why it is so important to recycle and keep litter in the trashcan!  (Try this:  Take a small plastic bag, shred it a bit and put it inside a jar of water with a bit of sand and a few other bits of plant, etc. that you'd find in the sea.  Close the lid tightly, shake and see how a bag can so easily be mistaken for a jellyfish.)

So you can see, I really get treated to an amazing behind-the-scenes look at the aquariums that invite me to visit.  If you're a new Sea Fan, welcome and please take a look at previous blogs where you'll see more amazing facilities that I've visited.  If you're a regular, I hope you're enjoying my adventures as much as I am.

Have a great weekend Sea Fans and see you soon.

Cheers

Abby

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