Way to go future scientists & ecologists!

I envision you all doing great things for the planet during your lifetimes! First, I want to welcome Mrs. Emerson's class from Madiera Beach, Florida. Thank you for your many comments and questions; keep them coming! Also, I want to thank my students for all of the answers to my questions and for asking me questions as well! You have all done a wonderful job. Mrs. Emerson's class, please check out the comment pages as I have commented to each of your great questions.

Many of you from each classroom have asked me about my favorite coral & the scariest moment I have had in the water. Though all of the coral, sponges and even algae are beautiful, I have to say that my favorite coral are the are the sea fans and dead mans fingers (both are soft corals). My scariest moment in the water was when we saw 9 lion fish. Though these are gorgeous fish, they are extremely deadly as well. It was eerie to be looking at them and knowing that with one touch of their fins, I could be paralyzed or die. We didn't hang around too long!
A gorgeous sea fan, which come in all kinds of colors. They always look as if they are waving at you!


Dead mans fingers. When they feed, tiny purple hairs come out and catch microorganisms floating by.

Lion fish; beautiful, but deadly. These fish are also predatory and so may eventually wipe out all of the fish population which in turn threatens reefs because fish are a part of the delicate balance needed to ensure reef health.

I wanted to give the answers to the questions I posted, so here we go....

1. What are no-see-ums?
Kiana, you are correct! No-see-ums are tiny bugs that are found in tropical areas. They are nasty little buggers and chomped on me quite a bit my first night here; my legs, feet and hands look like I have the chicken pox!

2. In the pictures that you see with this post, why are there different colors of blue in the ocean.
Tristan, you are correct as well! The different colors of blue signify the depth of the ocean.

3. Also based on the pictures, what are the dark colored spots in the ocean.
Russell, correct again! The dark spots in the pictures are the coral reefs & actually, some of the ones very close to shore are rock formations.

4. All coral falls into two categories, can you name these two categories?
This one was a bit tricky but, the two categories of coral are hard and soft. However, these are not the only living organisms on a reef. Reefs have corals, sponges, algae, sand, and rock that help them to be a balanced system as well.

Keep up with all of your wonderful questions. I hope that some of you plan to be scientists and/or ecologists one day!