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The leatherback is the largest living turtle and is so distinctive that it is placed in its own separate family, Dermochelys.
The largest leatherback on record was a male stranded on the West Coast of Wales in 1988. He weighed 916 kg
Leatherbacks are also the reptile world's deepest-divers. Individuals have been discovered to be capable of descending to depths deeper than 1,200 meters.
They are also among the fastest reptiles in existence. The 1992 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records has the leatherback turtle listed as having achieved the fastest speed of any reptile at a speed of 9.8 meters per second.
For more information visit: www.Turtles.org
In the 1950s, smog levels in Southern California were worse than they are today in Mexico City, where current US standards for smog are violated every day of the year.
Average crabs live no longer than 3 years.
Crabs are also called decapods which means 10 legs.
For more information visit: www.EnchantedLearning.com
A reduction of 93.7 exceedance days (over a quarter of a year), from an average of 218.0 days in 1980-1982 to an average of 124.3 days in 1997-1999.
Mussels are sedentary and fix themselves to substrata such as rocks by byssal threads or "beards". These chitinous threads are produced as a liquid which then sets in the seawater.
The byssal threads of mussels are so strong that they can cling to even a Teflon surface. Scientists are now trying to develop a mussel-based adhesive for use in eye surgery
Mussels feed entirely on plankton. To do this they can filter up to 65 liters of water a day.
For more information visit: www.pacseafood.com
Between 1980 and 1999, a 43 percent reduction in the three-year average number of air pollution exceedance days was observed.
The octopus's ink sac also helps it avoid attack. It releases a disorienting black cloud that is accompanied by another secretion to dull the attacker's sense of smell.
The first writing ink was made from pigment found in the octopus's sac.
The octopus is messy. It is easy to identify its lair by the pile of discarded shells outside the entrance.
If an octopus damages one of its vital arms, it can grow a new one.
The octopus is capable of learning. In an experiment, octopi were trained to distinguish between shapes and also to recognize objects by touch.
For more information visit: www.wonderclub.com
US EPA ozone exceedance data indicates that, on average, the number of exceedance days monitored in the US declined by 5.5 days per year between 1980 and 1999.
Female Bottlenose Dolphins live for about 40 years, whereas males rarely live more than 30 years.
The Bottlenose Dolphin normally lives in groups called pods, usually containing up to 12 animals.
Dolphins locate objects by producing sounds and listening for the echo
Dolphins have been seen jumping as high as 4.9 m (16 ft.) from the surface of the water and landing on their backs or sides, in a behavior called a breach.
Dolphins frequently ride on the bow waves or the stern wakes of boats. This is probably adapted from the natural behavior of riding ocean swells, the wakes of large whales, or a mother dolphin's "slip stream".
For more information visit: www.seaworld.org
Added weight makes your car's engine run less efficiently, increasing air pollution.
The only predators of adult Gray Whales are humans and Orcas
There are hairy bristles (vibrassae) on the gray whale's snout and the front of the head. These are used as tactile sensors, like cat's whiskers.
Spyhopping is another gray whale activity in which the whale pokes its head up to 10 feet (3 m) out of the water, turning around slowly, to take a look around.
Gray whales sleep with their blowholes just exposed on the surface of the water. During their extended migration they swim day and night, not sleeping.
For more information visit: www.EnchantedLearning.com
Reducing the use of the air conditioner in your car will you'll continue to reduce the air pollution you create.
The weight of all the plankton in the oceans is greater than that of all the dolphins, fish and whales put together
Approximately 40% of photosynthesis on Earth is carried out by planktonic organisms. That means that nearly half of the world’s oxygen is generated by phytoplankton!
Did you know that the name 'plankton' comes from the Greek word 'planktos' meaning wandering or drifting? Most plankton have little or no swimming ability and so they rely on the ocean currents and tides for transport.
Plankton account for some of the smallest living creatures on Earth,
and yet without them the food chain would collapse...
For more information visit: www.ChildrenOfTheEarth.org
One major air pollutant, lead, is nearly gone from our air. Since the mid-1970s, levels of airborne lead are down 96 percent. Despite these facts, there's still room for improvement. Everyone can help make a difference in this effort.
A jelly has no head, brain, heart, eyes, nor ears. It has no bones, either.
Where there's water—from icy polar seas to tropical Pacific shores—there are jellies. Scientists estimate there may be 2,000 species of jellyfish.
All jellies sting, but not all jellies have poison that hurts humans. Of the 2,000 species of jellyfish, only about 70 seriously harm or occasionally kill people.
Jellyfish has been around for more than 650 million years which means that they outdate the dinosaurs and the sharks.
The worlds largest known jellyfish can reach a diameter of 2.5 m/ 8ft and their tentacles can grow to be half the length of a football field.
For more information visit: www.NationalGeographic.com
Compared with just 10 years ago, America's largest cities are recording dramatically fewer days on which air pollution exceeds federal standards.
Sea anemones usually spend most of their lives in one place, but some have the ability to move. If they do move, they can only travel three to four inches an hour.
Clownfish, which are protected by a mucus layer that makes them immune to the anemone's sting.
Some species of sea anemone can live 50 years or more.
They run the full spectrum of colors and can be as small as half an inch (1.25 centimeters) or as large as 6 feet (1.8 meters) across.
Sometimes sea anemones hitch a ride on hermit crabs or decorator crabs.
For more information visit: www.LibraryThinkquest.org
In any given year, about 25% of beaches in the US are under advisories or are closed at least one time because of water pollution.
Mantas may live up to 25 years or so...
Mantas have about 300 rows of tiny, peg-like teeth, each about the size of the head of a pin.
giant manta (Manta birostris), is the largest of the rays, with the largest known specimen having been nearly 13ft across its pectoral fins (or "wings") and weighed in at 3,000 kg (6,600 lb).
The Manta ray's mouth is big enough to fit 4 full grown men through it at once.
The largest reported in the scientific literature measured 22 feet (6.7 metres) across and there is one report of an individual 30 feet (9.1 metres) across. But most Mantas encountered by people are about 12 feet (4 metres) across.
Divers have observed Mantas as deep as 100 feet (30 metres), but no one knows how deep they can swim.
For more information visit: www.OceanLight.com
1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are discharged into US waters annually. The US EPA has warned that sewage levels in rivers could be back to the super-polluted levels of the 1970s by the year 2016.
In some form, sharks have been around for about 400 million years
Even before dinosaurs roamed the earth, sharks hunted through the oceans! They're such good survivors that they've had little need to evolve in the last 150 million years
Great white sharks grow about 10 inches per year. Great whites can grow to mature lengths of 12 to 14 feet.
New teeth are constantly being formed in rows in a shark's jaw. Shark's teeth are normally replaced every eight days.
Some species of sharks can shed as many as 30,000 teeth in their lifetime.
Whale sharks have approximately 300 rows of teeth, with hundreds of tiny teeth in each row.
For more information visit: www.Elasmo-Research.org
The Mississippi River—which drains nearly 40% of the continental United States, including its central farm lands—carries an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year. The resulting hypoxic coastal dead zone in the Gulf each summer is about the size of Massachusetts.
The gray whale received its name from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin
A gray whale can stay submerged up to 15 minutes, and travel at 3-6 miles per hour
The calf weighs 1,100-1,500 pounds (500-680 kg) and is about 15 feet (4.5 m) at birth. Calves nurse 7-8 months on milk that is 53% fat (human milk is 2% fat)
Females bear a single calf, at intervals of 2 or more years
To feed, a whale dives to the bottom, rolls on its side and draws bottom sediments and water into its mouth. As it closes its mouth, water and sediments are expelled through the baleen plates, which trap the food on the inside near the tongue to be swallowed
For more information visit the American Cetacean Society
Two-thirds of US estuaries and bays are either moderately or severely degraded from eutrophication (nitrogen and phosphorus pollution).
The gray whale has two blowholes, and between 9 and 14 dorsal nodules on its back, instead of a back fin.
A gray whale spout or blow can reach up to 15 feet, and resembles a heart shape from the front or behind.
The natural color of the gray whale is dark gray. Often the skin is discolored from barnacle scars left on the skin.
For more information visit: www.GreyWhale.com
Even worse are America's lakes—46% are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life
During feeding, the gray whale appears to prefer using its right side to scour the bottom and find its food. This has been noted by several long time observers.
To feed they gulp mouthfuls of mud from the bottom, then use the whiskery baleen as a filter to drain out the unwanted material.
For more information visit: WhaleTimes.org
40% of America's rivers are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.
Garibaldis are renowned for their brilliant orange color and grow up to 30 cm in length.
They live at depths of up to 30 meters, usually in association with reefs and typically over rocky sea-bottoms.
An interesting feature of the Garabaldi is the ability to change its sex throughout its lifetime.
When disturbed, a garibaldi emits a thumping sound that divers can hear.
The name "garibaldi" comes from the Italian Army leader, Giuseppe Garibaldi, whose forces wore bright red shirts.
For more information visit: WhoZoo.org
Since 1970, Americans have cut releases of air pollutants by more than 50 million tons. If you put that many tons into dump trucks lined up bumper to bumper, they would stretch from Baltimore to Dallas the long way -- around the world!
Sea stars have a simple eye at the end of each arm. The eye is able to "see" only differences of light and dark, which is useful in detecting movement.
Starfish are almost unique in the fact that, unlike most other animals, they do not have blood but instead use sea water to pump around their bodies.
There are about 1,800 living species of sea star, and they occur in all of the Earth's oceans. The greatest variety of sea stars are found in the northern Pacific Ocean.
For more information visit: Ocean-Life.info
It would take 20 of today's new cars to generate the same amount of air pollution as one mid-1960s model car. In another 10 years, thanks to new automotive and fuel technologies, it will take 33 cars to produce the air pollution emissions of one mid-1960s model.
Females can reach sizes up to 6 feet and weigh about 200 lb. Males can reach lengths of 6 to 8 feet and weigh 440-880 lb.
California sea lions eat a variety of fish including hake, opaleye, herring and northern anchovy. They also eat squids and octopus.
Although California sea lions are not threatened or endangered, they can be affected by pollution and over fishing.
California sea lions are among the most vocal mammals, Their vocalizations include barks, roars, growls, and grunts.
When they are on land, sea lions gather in large groups (as many as 1,000 individuals) and may lie near and on top of each other.
California sea lions live along the Pacific coast of North America, from Canada's British Columbia to Baja California in Mexico.
For more information visit: WhaleTimes.org
Since 1970, Americans have cut releases of air pollutants by more than 50 million tons. If you put that many tons into dump trucks lined up bumper to bumper, they would stretch from Baltimore to Dallas the long way -- around the world!
40% of America's rivers are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.
The Mississippi River—which drains nearly 40% of the continental United States, including its central farm lands—carries an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year. The resulting hypoxic coastal dead zone in the Gulf each summer is about the size of Massachusetts.
In any given year, about 25% of beaches in the US are under advisories or are closed at least one time because of water pollution.
For more information about reducing pollution visit Surfrider.org
It would take 20 of today’s new cars to generate the same amount of pollution as one mid-1960s model car.
