Webinar: What Makes a Habitat a Home? Exploring Ocean Habitats
Aired June 8, 2020
Lara Noren:
Hello everyone. Welcome to our program. We are going to be getting started with our content in just a couple minutes. And in the meantime, please make sure that you have any materials for our craft that we'll be creating today. So what you're going to need is maybe some colored pencils, some felt tip markers, if you have any additional materials like paper, construction paper, ocean themed stickers, seashell, scissors, glue, anything like that.
And before we begin today's program, we want to acknowledge our current events and lets you know that the National Museum of Natural History stands with the Secretary of the Smithsonian, Dr. Lonnie Bunch, in expressing our deepest sympathy to the families and communities impacted by discrimination and violence.
Today we are sharing with you the Secretary's response as a resource developed by our colleagues at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, Talking About Race, a resource with tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversations about race. This resource also provides many opportunities about having these types of discussions with your friends and your family and youth. So I really encourage you all to check it out.
And, hello, my name is Lara, and I am an educator at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. And I am so excited to welcome you to today's online live family program, which is all about ocean habitats. During today's program, we are going to explore the fascinating underwater world and learn about the places that marine plants and animals call home. And while our museum is closed, we are broadcasting from home.
I live in Washington, D.C. How about you? Share where you are from in the Q and A box and how old you are. You can find the Q and A box either along the top or the bottom of your screen. It's going to have two little speech bubbles in the window.
Hi everyone. Oh, we have Magnolia joining from D.C. As well. Hi there. Oh, we have Charlotte and Aiden from Louisville. Louisville, maybe? Colorado. We have Danielle from Cedar Grove, New Jersey. We have Shan, or Sean, from Bethesda. Peter from Tennessee. Diana from New Jersey. Very cool. We have Annika from Dallas.
Oh, my gosh, we have so many friends joining us today. This is awesome. We have Jed from California. We have Audrey from Florida. Hey, Audrey. Ooh, we have Megan from Boston, welcome. We have Patty from Cedar Grove, New Jersey. Welcome. Wow. We've got a lot of people from New Jersey. What's up guys? Hello. We have someone from Alexandria joining us. Caleb, hello. Welcome everyone. I am so excited that you are going to be joining us today as we talk about ocean habitats.
So in today's program, we are going to be talking about the ocean, as I said before, and this program is designed to last around 25 to 30 minutes. There will be a recording of our program posted on our website in the near future that you can refer to if you have to leave early. We understand that sometimes something may come up or a break may need to happen. Please do what is best for you and your family.
If you have any questions for me or our educator during the program, please use the Q and A feature, the one you said hello in, and you can find that at the bottom of your screen. So during today's program, we are going to be talking about ocean habitats with our marine educator, Meaghan. Hi, Meaghan. Thanks for joining us today.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Good morning, Lara. How are you?
Lara Noren:
I'm doing well. Thanks for asking. So now, today is a very special day because today is World Ocean Day and I love the ocean and I am so excited to be able to talk about the ocean with all of you guys. So in honor of World Ocean Day, we're going to be talking about ocean habitats.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Awesome. I am also really excited that it's World Ocean Day, Lara. I love to talk about the ocean with all of our visitors and I'm really excited to talk about habitats with you guys this morning.
Lara Noren:
Yeah, definitely. And we have a couple different programs that we're offering throughout the day and throughout the week. So if you guys are as passionate about the ocean as I am, please check them out. We have a program going on at 2:00 p.m. today with Dr. Stephanie Bush. We have an adult program at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. We have a dance and marine science program, which is going to be awesome. And on Thursday we have a program on microplastics and that is going to be held at the Smithsonian Marine Science Center at Fort Pierce.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Very cool. Awesome.
Lara Noren:
So let's get into it, Meaghan, let's talk about habitats.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Let's get into it, Lara. [laughs]
Lara Noren:
I bet some of you already know what a habitat is, but for those of you that don't, that's totally okay. I'll explain. A habitat is where plants and animals live with non-living things. So a healthy habitat, they are essential to the plants and the animals that live there. Within its habitat is everything that a creature needs to survive.
The really cool thing about habitats is that there are so many different kinds of habitats on our planet, and they're very specific to the plants and animals that live there.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah. So Lara, like you said, habitats are everywhere. And I'd like to start today by challenging our viewers to tell us about any examples of habitats that they know. And if you know of any habitats, you can write in in the Q and A box and let us know what.
Lara, I'm sure you have a couple favorite habitats too?
Lara Noren:
Oh yeah, I definitely do. All right. Charlotte and Adam, they said, "Ponds." Elias said, "Coral reefs." Sarah said, "Oceans, deserts, even your backyard."
Meaghan Cuddy:
Oh, that's good.
Lara Noren:
Gito and Sheba said, "Tide pools." Awesome. Jan said, "Rainforest." We've got wetlands, grasslands. You guys are doing awesome. Those are all great examples.
Meaghan Cuddy:
A couple of those are things that we thought of too, me and Lara. So things like deserts, tide pools, forests, all over, habitats everywhere.
Lara Noren:
And those are awesome examples of habitats. Cool. So let's talk about what makes a habitat a home. What are the ingredients to make a habitat?
Meaghan Cuddy:
Awesome. So Lara, I'm really glad you asked. There are four main things that make a habitat a home. And the first thing that everything needs in this habitat is actually water. So all living things on our planet need water to survive. And today we're talking all about ocean habitats. So luckily finding water is not really a problem there.
Lara Noren:
Yeah, that is true. That is nice. Interesting. Okay, what else?
Meaghan Cuddy:
So the next thing that all animals and plants need is shelter. This is especially important for animals. You guys are seeing a clownfish hiding in an anemone. This might be a habitat that you're familiar with if you've ever seen "Finding Nemo" or "Finding Dory." And these animals need this habitat as a place to hide when they're getting chased by predators and a place to escape from predators. And it's also really important as a place for them to rest and to sleep.
Lara Noren:
Yeah, definitely. I know this reminds me a lot of "Finding Nemo." I don't know if any of our viewers have seen that, but that's what I think of when I see that clownfish hiding.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Me too.
Lara Noren:
Okay, so we've got two more, right?
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah. So the third thing, in addition to water and shelter, our plants and animals need to have space. So just like us, we grow, plants and animals grow and they need space in their habitat to move around and to grow to become larger. And in the ocean this can take lots of different forms.
So there's some animals like sharks and whales that need a lot of space. They migrate across the entire ocean and that's their whole habitat. But there's other animals, things like barnacles and mussels that actually stay in the same place for most of their lives, and they very rarely move. And so they need much less space for their habitat.
Lara Noren:
Okay, that totally makes sense. That's really interesting. Okay, so what is the last one?
Meaghan Cuddy:
Well, the last thing, in a healthy habitat, everything needs food to eat. And this is the most important to me personally in my habitat. It can mean sunlight if you're a plant and you make your own food. Or it could mean other plants or animals if we're talking about an animal. And here we have an example of a sea turtle who likes to eat sea grasses. So in his habitat it's important to have those sea grasses present.
Lara Noren:
How interesting. So each habitat needs four things. It needs food, shelter, water, space.
Meaghan Cuddy:
You got it.
Lara Noren:
Very interesting. That reminds me of the things that I have in my own home. I guess right now my house is my habitat.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah. So humans are animals too. And so we have a habitat too. And usually I think of the whole city of Washington, D.C., as my habitat, but right now my space requirement has kind of shrunk down to just my apartment, really.
Lara Noren:
Yeah, I totally understand that. And so today we're talking about specifically habitats in the ocean. So Meaghan, let's focus in, Let's talk about these ocean habitats a little bit more.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah. So like you said earlier, Lara, there's lots of different kinds of habitats on our planet, and there's lots of different kinds of habitats in the ocean because it's so big and so diverse. There's lots of different places and spaces for animals and plants to live. And so this includes lots of different things.
Some of them we'll talk about today like coral reefs and the Arctic, but also places like the deep sea. In the middle top image, you guys are seeing a hydrothermal vent, which is at the very bottom of the ocean. We also have things that some of our viewers talked about. So tide pools, the open ocean, mangroves, lots and lots of different spaces for things to live.
And all of these habitats are home to plants and animals that are really well adapted to them, which means they have specific traits that let them live there. And so you can find kind of think of the animals and plants and their habitat as pieces of a puzzle. They sort of fit perfectly together.
Lara Noren:
Wow, that's so interesting because a lot of times I think of the ocean as kind of one just giant habitat, but when you really break it down, it's encompassing of so many smaller habitats within it. So that's really awesome.
So I wonder, students, have any of you guys ever been to an ocean habitat before? And if so, where? Let us know in the Q and A. Meaghan, have you ever been to an ocean habitat before?
Meaghan Cuddy:
I have. I spent a lot of years living on the coast of Texas, and so I'm very familiar with salt marshes. And I also grew up in New Jersey like a lot of our viewers, so I spent a lot of time at the beach there too.
Lara Noren:
Oh, that's awesome. Okay. We have a couple people writing in. Lily said, "The beach." Kelly said, "The beach." A couple people have said, "No." That's all right. You guys have time. The ocean will still be there after the coronavirus. Oh, Manuel said he was in Cancun. Stacy was in the Florida Gulf. That's awesome. Sophia went to the beach. Awesome. Eliza went to the coral reef in the Bahamas. I'm kind of jealous.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Me too.
Lara Noren:
Hunter went to New Zealand. Now I'm really jealous. Well, very cool. This is so exciting to see about all of the ocean habitats that all of you guys have been to. It looks like a lot of beach. We have a lot of beach representation.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Very nice. A very cool habitat to visit.
Lara Noren:
Oh yeah, most definitely. So let's explore some of these ocean habitats and let's talk about coral reefs. I know coral reefs are one of my very favorites. Can you tell us a little bit more about the coral reef habitat, Meaghan?
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah. So I also love coral reefs, Lara, and it sounds like a couple people watching have been to a coral reef, which is amazing. So we're going to talk about those different four components of our habitat and how they're active in a coral reef.
So coral reefs are found in the tropics, and the first component of our habitat is water. So the water here is very clear and very warm, and that means a lot of things really can thrive and do really well in this environment. And coral reefs are really amazing because even though they only take up about one percent of our planet, about 25 percent of marine life is found on a coral reef. So it's a really, really, really busy place.
Lara Noren:
Oh my gosh.
Meaghan Cuddy:
And because of that, since we have lots of animals and plants living on the coral reef, it's a great place to find our second habitat requirement, which is food. So as you guys can see in this picture, we have lots of things living there. We've got fish, lots of species of coral, turtles, all kinds of animals. And on a coral reef, we can find herbivores, which are animals that eat plants. We can find carnivores, which are animals that eat other animals, and omnivores who eat both, as well as all different kinds of plants, and specifically marine plants called algae.
So, Lara, do you think some of our viewers know some of the plants and animals that live on a reef?
Lara Noren:
I bet they do. You guys type into the Q and A, what types of plants and animals live on a coral reef?
Meaghan Cuddy:
We've got a couple ideas in our picture here.
Lara Noren:
Yeah. We gave a couple away. That's all right. Ooh, white-tipped reef shark.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Oh, cool.
Lara Noren:
Eels, sponges, turtles, eels, coral, seaweed, eels. People really like eels.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah, eels are very cool.
Lara Noren:
Ooh, clownfish. Yes. Octopus. Another octopus, stonefish. That's super awesome.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Very cool.
Lara Noren:
Lobster, fish, dolphins, fish. A lot of different types of fish too, right, Meaghan?
Meaghan Cuddy:
It's super, super diverse. We have hundreds of species of fish represented on a healthy reef, so our viewers are right on track.
Lara Noren:
Awesome. Ooh, a sea cucumber. I love that answer. That's awesome.
Meaghan Cuddy:
That's a great one.
Lara Noren:
Wow. Crabs. This is just great guys. Jellyfish. You guys are smart. This is awesome.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah, it sounds like people are really familiar with all of the different animals that make up this habitat, which is great.
Lara Noren:
Yeah. All right.
Meaghan Cuddy:
So we have two other requirements on our reef, and the next one is shelter. So corals are an amazing place for animals to find shelter and to rest because of the structure of the reef. So there's lots of different hidey-holes and lots of overhangs that make it a good place to hide from predators.
And so the picture that you're seeing on your screen right now is actually not a reef in the wild. This is the reef that we have at the Natural History Museum. So in the museum we have a live reef exhibit that people can come see, and there's lots and lots of fish and all kinds of invertebrate animals and other animals represented in this habitat. And you might be able to see some of them now, but there's also a lot hiding that you might not be able to see. And some of them are here.
all of these circles represent fish that are hiding in this reef. And I had to go through this image to find all of these fish, but you can see how good it is as a place to hide.
Lara Noren:
Wow. I did not see any of those fish originally. That is awesome, Meaghan. Those are such good hiding spots.
Meaghan Cuddy:
It makes the reef a really wonderful place to live because you have lots of shelter and it's actually a great place for lots of animals to have their babies because of how many hiding spots there are.
Lara Noren:
Wow. Very cool.
Meaghan Cuddy:
I think so too. And the last requirement, Lara, you might remember is space. So space on a coral reef is very competitive. You can see that there's lots of animals that live there, species of fish, species of corals. And because so many things make it their home, it's like a big city where everyone lives really close together.
And in fact, a lot of species have to actually fight off other species to get space. So corals will grow on top of each other or use special chemicals that their bodies are able to produce to protect their own space and their environment. So that space requirement is sometimes a little hard to meet on a coral reef environment.
Lara Noren:
That is so cool. And those images are just so beautiful, Meaghan, so thank you so much for sharing them with us. All right. So I think it is time we get to our craft now.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Sounds good. Let's do it.
Lara Noren:
All right. So Meaghan and I are going to be creating an Arctic habitat, and you can follow along or you can make yours later, and you can view the recording. And during the craft, we will also get the opportunity to answer some of your questions. So Meaghan and I will be answering these while we demonstrate the craft. And if you have any questions, please type them into the Q and A box and we will try and get to as many as we can throughout the program.
As a reminder, you guys are going to need a piece of paper, maybe a piece of construction paper, colored pencils, felt tip markers, maybe some stickers, scissors. And I'm going to be making my habitat out of paper, but if you would like to make yours 3D, then you can put it in an egg carton. All right. So first things first, before we get into the Arctic, before we get into the craft, remind me, Meaghan, what are the four things we need?
Meaghan Cuddy:
So the four things that we need in every habitat are water, space, food, and shelter.
Lara Noren:
All right. I'm going to try and remember that. And now let's talk a little bit about the Arctic. That looks cold. Meaghan, tell me more.
Meaghan Cuddy:
So you're definitely right, Lara. The Arctic is cold. It's a really cold place. A lot of the year it's very, very cold. It's at the top of our planet, the northern-most part of the globe. And that also means it's very seasonal, which means it has very, very strong winter and summer. So during the winter months, it's cold, or it's cold and it's dark almost all day. And during the summer, like now, it's actually sunny for most of the day. So the plants and animals that live there are really, really well suited to this very extreme type of environment.
Lara Noren:
Wow, okay. That's super cool. And so what types of plants and animals could we find in this habitat?
Meaghan Cuddy:
You can find a lot of different species here, even though it's a really extreme place. Lots of things make this their habitat, they make it their home. And today I'm going to build my habitat for one of my favorite animals that live here, which is the harp seal.
Lara Noren:
Oh my gosh, I love that. He is so cute.
Meaghan Cuddy:
I think that's a pretty cute animal.
Lara Noren:
So I think we should make our habitat for the harp seal then. We should make that our premier species for our Arctic model.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Awesome.
Lara Noren:
So the first habitat requirement we're going to talk about is space. Meaghan, what kind of space does our harp seal need?
Meaghan Cuddy:
So our harp seal is a mammal, which means that it breathes air just like us. So our harp seal is going to need space to breathe, so access to the surface, but it also spends a lot of its time diving in the water because that's where it gets most of its food from. So we need access to the surface, and we also need the water column, which is where all the water in the ocean is. And then the sea floor, even though our harp seal doesn't dive super, super deep all the way to the bottom, some of the animals that it relies on live down there. So that should be part of our space requirement as well.
Lara Noren:
Okay, very cool. All right. So I here have a piece of blue construction paper. This is what I'm going to use for my Arctic habitat. And I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to fold it into a tri-fold. So I'm going to take a third of it and fold it over and then take another third and fold it over just like this. And then I'm going to kind of push down the edges a little bit.
And then I'm going to have this area kind of represent, you guys can see if I hold it like this, this area right here. So this will represent the ocean floor, this area up here, this can represent the air, so the place without water. And then this can be the entire water column where that seal is going to dive. Very cool.
Meaghan Cuddy:
So I'm going to be drawing my habitat on a piece of paper using a marker. So I'm going to draw my sea floor down here on the bottom. And then I'm also going to draw my sea surface up here so my harp seal can get to the air. And like I said, it's sunny all day in the Arctic during the summer. So I'm also going to add a little sunshine to my habitat as well.
Lara Noren:
Oh, okay. Yeah, that is really smart. I think I'm going to add a little bit of sunshine too. I'm just going to use my yellow pencil. And while we're adding our sun, we have a question from Erica, Meaghan, she's curious, "Have you ever been to a coral reef before?"
Meaghan Cuddy:
I have been to a coral reef, Erica. So I did a little bit of research on coral reefs in Mexico, and we were studying how algae and animals like turtles rely on sea grasses there. So we were looking at all of the diversity, which means all the different species on the coral reef, and then how the animals are using it to build a food web, which was really, really cool and really fun.
Lara Noren:
Wow, that is super awesome. All right. So I drew my sun right here. It's really hard to see, so you guys are just going to have to kind of believe me, but.
Meaghan Cuddy:
It looks great, Lara.
Lara Noren:
I promise. So also, I'm going to use just a blue piece of paper, and that's representing the water that we have here. Meaghan, should we include any other water in our habitat?
Meaghan Cuddy:
Absolutely. So like you said, Lara, the Arctic is a very, very cold place. And so for much of the year, the surface of the ocean is actually frozen ice. And all of the animals, including our harp seal, rely on this ice in one way or another. They're adapted to survive on it or under it or around it. And so I think it's really important that we add some ice to the surface of our ocean so our harp seal can have a place to hang out.
Lara Noren:
Okay. Very cool.
Meaghan Cuddy:
So I'm going to draw some ice right on the surface here.
Lara Noren:
Oh, that's awesome. And I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to take a piece of white paper and I am going to cut out a couple pieces of ice. So what I did here, it just looks like this. It looks like a little bit of an ice sheet. And I will tell you guys, I will tell our viewers, I am not an artist, but that's okay. Because doing things like this really helps me to understand and conceptualize a lot of how this habitat works and how our harp seal interacts with its environment.
So even if you guys aren't super artistic, and that's not necessarily your strongest suit, that's still really important skill in science and to be able to flex that creativity whenever you can.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah, absolutely. I'm not an artist either, but I think it's a really good way to sort of depict everything that we're learning about today.
Lara Noren:
Most definitely. And, Meaghan, we've gotten a couple requests now to stop the screen share so our screens can be bigger.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Oh, sure.
Lara Noren:
Awesome. Thank you. Wow. Now I can see yours even better. That is awesome. I love that ice. That is so great.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Thank you very much.
Lara Noren:
And then I'm going to place my ice sheet right here, just right at the area where the ocean meets the air.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Awesome.
Lara Noren:
I put a piece of tape on the back, so I'm just going to be doing this now.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Cool.
Lara Noren:
And in the meantime, Madison and Avery ask, "Meaghan, have you ever been to the Arctic?"
Meaghan Cuddy:
I have not actually been to the Arctic, no. But I do work with researchers who go to the Arctic. It's a really important place to study because we can learn a lot about how organisms and animals are responding to things like climate change. And we do a lot of work at the museum where we connect with Arctic researchers and people who come to the museum can ask them questions about what they're studying and what they're learning about the Arctic.
Lara Noren:
Wow. That is so awesome. And that's great to know that the museum does a lot of research on the Arctic. Cool. All right. So let's talk about the next thing that our harp seal needs.
Meaghan Cuddy:
So the next thing that we need is shelter. And harp seals make really good use of this ice that we just added to our habitat. The ice is really, really important for their whole life cycle, starting when they're born. So harp seals actually give birth to their pups on ice floes out in the ocean, and the pups stay there for about six weeks before they learn to swim and before they're really able to take care of themselves.
And you've probably seen some pictures of those really cute marshmallow-fluffy-looking seal pups sitting on the ice floes. They're very cute and they hang out there until they're able to take care of themselves. So the ice is a really important part of their shelter and it also is a really important place for them to escape predators.
So one of the main predators of harp seals is polar bears. And so the ice is a place where they can go to escape from polar bears and to rest from other predators that might want to come after them.
Lara Noren:
Okay. Wow. So the ice is really, really important to this habitat then.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yes. Very important.
Lara Noren:
Okay. So what I did is I added my three little ice sheets right here. You guys can see it there. And I think what we should add next is our harp seal, right, Meaghan?
Meaghan Cuddy:
I think so. I think now that we know where it lives, we should put it on.
Lara Noren:
Exactly. So what I did was I just cut out a little harp seal right here that you guys can see. I kind of think it looks like a manatee, but you guys get the idea right?
Meaghan Cuddy:
I think it looks great, Lara.
Lara Noren:
And I'm just going to put this little harp seal that I cut out. I'm just going to put it kind of in between my two ice sheets here. So it's kind of hiding.
Meaghan Cuddy:
And I'm going to draw my harp seals sitting on my ice floes here. And like Lara said, I'm an educator and a scientist, not necessarily an artist. So I also don't have the best art skills, Lara, but you get the idea.
Lara Noren:
And also really importantly, it's just fun.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah, I think it's really fun. And while we're adding our seals to our environment, Lara, are we getting any more questions?
Lara Noren:
Yeah, we are. So Zoe is curious, "How many types of coral are there?"
Meaghan Cuddy:
Oh, Zoe, that is such an amazing question. That is a great question that scientists are still trying to figure out the answer to. We know that there's hundreds of species of coral, some of them live in the tropics, like the ones we talked about, and some of them actually live in the deep ocean, which is incredible. And lots of scientists are working really hard right now to figure out all of those different species and how they're related to each other.
And as we learn more about DNA, which is the stuff inside of our body that tells us what animal we're going to be, we're learning how those species are related to each other. So that's a really active question in science. And if you're interested in learning more about it, then maybe you should become a coral reef scientist yourself.
Lara Noren:
Yeah, maybe Zoe will be able to help out with that answer to that question someday.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah, definitely.
Lara Noren:
That would be awesome. We also have a question from Kate, "Have you ever gone scuba diving?"
Meaghan Cuddy:
Oh, that is a great question. Lots of marine scientists do use scuba diving in their work, Kate. I worked in really shallow ecosystems, which means they're not very deep. I worked a lot on sea grasses, which need light to survive. So they can't grow really, really deep in the ocean because they need to be in a place where there's a lot of light. And because of that, I was able to do most of my own research on snorkeling or what's called free diving, which is when you train your body to hold your breath really well, and then you can dive pretty deep.
So I didn't actually have to scuba dive for my research, but it is a really fun perk of being a marine scientist.
Lara Noren:
Most definitely. All right. And then Zoe is asking, "How many habitats are in the museum?"
Meaghan Cuddy:
So in the ocean hall we try and represent the main habitats that are found in the ocean. The hall is divided up by the surface zone, which we call shallows and shores. And then the mid-water, which is the middle of the ocean where lots of fish live, things like whales and sharks are found in what we call the mid-water, and then the deep ocean. So we try and divide up our exhibits in the hall by the different types of habitats that are there. So if you ever come and visit us, you can walk through and visit all those habitats yourself.
Lara Noren:
Okay. Wow. That's awesome. Thanks for giving us a little bit of insight into the museum, Meaghan.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah.
Lara Noren:
All right. So let's go back to this. Hopefully you guys have finished cutting out or drawing your beautiful harp seal and adding it to your habitat where it's going to be the safest, which is right on those ice sheets. Let's talk about the last thing that we need for this harp seal.
Meaghan Cuddy:
So the last thing our harp seal is going to need is something to eat. It needs food. And like we said, ice impacts every part of life in the Arctic, including where food is available. So in the Arctic, ice can block light from getting to the bottom of the sea floor during dark times of the year, which means things grow very, very slowly and the plants at the bottom of the food web can grow really slowly, but algae is actually able to grow underneath the ice and is able to grow on the sides of the ice. And that algae, those marine plants, are what really supports the Arctic food web. And that is huge.
It includes tons in terms of animals like krill, crustaceans, all the different fish that we see in the Arctic, whales, and our harp seal too.
Lara Noren:
Wow. And, Meaghan, do you have an image of that?
Meaghan Cuddy:
I do, yeah. I can share my screen with you now so you can see it.
Lara Noren:
Yeah, that would be awesome. Because I never knew that there was algae and there was plants on the ice. That is so interesting.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah it's pretty amazing.
Lara Noren:
I can see it.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Yeah, it's kind of amazing how resilient life is. Even in these really extreme places, plants are able to grow under ice, which is, I think, incredible.
Lara Noren:
Yeah, most definitely. So based on that, we should definitely add some plants and some algae right to our habitat. So I'm going to draw just right under my sea ice right here, just some algae with my green pen.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Awesome. I'm adding some as well. And then I'm also going to add some fish to the water in my ocean because our harp seal eats lots of different things. It eats crustaceans, it eats different invertebrates, which are animals that don't have a spine, but it also really likes to eat fish like cod and herring and halibut. So I'm going to put some of those in my habitat as well.
Lara Noren:
Oh, okay. Interesting. I will add some fish as well. And, "Meaghan, while we're adding some fish, one viewer is curious, "Are polar bears extinct?"
Meaghan Cuddy:
Polar bears are not extinct. They still exist in the Arctic. Unfortunately, some polar bears are facing a lot of stress right now, because like our harp seal, they require ice to survive. And as the ice melts and as the Arctic changes a lot due to the warming of our planet from climate change, polar bears are becoming more and more stressed out by that and are becoming very endangered. So we are working really hard to do things to protect our planet and to protect the Arctic and the animals that live there. But as of now, polar bears are still living.
Lara Noren:
Okay. Well, that is great news because I really love polar bears. I think they're super awesome and it sounds like we have an opportunity to still work with science and conservation to protect them.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Absolutely. As long as we still have them, there's still a chance for them and a lot of people are working really, really hard to make sure that they stick around.
Lara Noren:
Yeah, that's really great. Meaghan, I'm going to show you my drawing now.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Please show it to me.
Lara Noren:
Oh, if you guys see, I drew a school of fish here. I thought this would be cod. I thought that would be good for them. And then I drew some algae and some plants right under this sea ice right here.
Meaghan Cuddy:
That looks great. I drew some algae under my seals as well. And then I have three fish to represent the three species that I told you guys about earlier.
Lara Noren:
Okay, very cool. So we have just a couple questions more. We're only going to be able to take a couple more just because it is now 11:33. So if you guys have to go, that is totally fine and we'll just be answering a couple more questions. Okay. Madison and Avery ask, "How cold is the water in America?"
Meaghan Cuddy:
So America is a huge country and so we actually are representative of lots of different habitats all the way from the Arctic. So Alaska is part of the Arctic, all the way down to the tropics, so Hawaii, Florida, and even the south tip of Texas. So the water ranges in temperatures from freezing, so 32 degrees Fahrenheit or zero degrees Celsius, all the way to very, very warm. So like 80 to 90 degrees. And it really depends on where you are, what kind of habitat you're going to experience.
Lara Noren:
Okay, wow, that's super cool. So it's really varied. Interesting. Nitia, sorry if I am pronouncing your name incorrectly, is asking, "Do you encounter trash in the ocean that threatens habitats?"
Meaghan Cuddy:
Absolutely. So one of the biggest threats that habitats face is from pollution from people and marine debris, which is marine trash, is something that we have found in habitats all over the world, including really remote, really extreme places like the Arctic.
Researchers this past summer were doing research in the Canadian Arctic and actually found microplastics in the ice there, which is pretty incredible considering that people don't often physically go there, but our trash is able to get to every part of the planet. So a really important thing to do is make sure that you're recycling as much as possible and reducing your trash as much as possible so we're not impacting these habitats.
Lara Noren:
Wow, that's really great. And that's a really great message, Meaghan, because it is a really great reminder to me, especially on World Ocean Day, that the choices that I make and the trash that I produce can impact this ecosystem that I just made in the Arctic.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Absolutely.
Lara Noren:
And the fact that I have a hand in protecting that is really meaningful to me.
Meaghan Cuddy:
For sure. We all can be a part of the problem, but we all can also be a part of the solution.
Lara Noren:
Awesome. So, Meaghan, I think that is all the time that we have for questions and we had a couple requests to show how you would put this in an egg carton. So I am going to use a box because I thought it might be easier. And what I'm going to do is I am going to place my habitat in the box just like this. So you can see that I have the ocean floor. It's kind of like horizontal with the box just like this. And then I have this top flap of the box coming down like this in the air. So you can place it in there.
And then if you guys are really interested in doing more with this activity, feel free to spruce it up, add more algae, do some research on your own, see what other animals could live in the Arctic and you can add them to this habitat.
Cool. Well, thank you everyone for joining us today and I hope that you'll also share these creations with your friends and your family and tell them how awesome and cool the Arctic is and how much you learned today.
Thank you for joining us. Today we talked about ocean habitats, we learned about the animals that might live in these habitats, and what makes a habitat home. And I hope that all of you have a lovely World Ocean Day.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Thanks so much, Lara. It was so fun to talk to you about ocean habitats this morning.
Lara Noren:
Thanks.
Meaghan Cuddy:
Bye.
