How close is too close? In a world where the
American Crocodile is an endangered species, the population in the
Gardens of the Queen is thriving.
Photo by Erika Bergman
8 comments:
Lilah
said...
This is pretty cool. I find it interesting that some of the things that are very endangered in other countries happen to be common and thrive in Cuba. I was interested at the way these animals acted in the Cuban reef. In the picture, the American Crocodile seemed to be camouflaging with a rock. I thought it was kind of funny that the crocodile was camouflaging, because it is a predator after all. It is probably hiding for hunting purposes, in other words so its prey doesn't see it. I thought the lettuce leaf sea slug looked REALLY cool, and the green color was very pretty. When I read the caption of the photo, I was surprised to find out it was a sea slug. At first I thought it was just a plant, and in fact, the way the photo was taken, I thought it was on land. Although I was confused with the banded coral shrimp, because it looked like it was much darker when the photo was taken. I looked it up quickly and found out that the banded coral shrimp is indeed active at night, starting at dusk. I was surprised that the reef had recently been a victim of overfishing. It is hard to believe that just 20 years ago the reef was in danger, but now it thrives with exotic and endangered creatures. Also, I am wondering about the author's encounter with the crocodile. The article said that the author was nudged by her teeth, but it also said these interactions were with her camera. I was surprised that a crocodile who had just been disturbed was gentle and curious. Maybe the predators we think are dangerous are not actually as dangerous as we think.
This is pretty cool. I mean the article was very interesting, but it was really vague and a bit off topic. I liked how at the end they mentioned over fishing. I was able to get a bit distracted when I was ready, which for me means that the article was not very interesting. I would give the article a 3 out of 10.
I really didn't get much information. This guy talked way too much about his camera and how close it was to the crocodile. there was more picture than text, and I really didn't get much out of this article. I just learned that there was this random guy who confronted a crocodile and he took pictures. I honestly thought there wasn't much point to this article, and like Greta, got distracted. My attention span is normally very short, but I really couldn't keep reading this article. In conclusion, I rate this article 1 out of 10 stars.
This article was really amazing. I was astonished to learn that the Los Jardines de la Reina reef is home to so many miraculous animals, many of which I have never seen or heard of before. The last lines of the article were particularly interesting. Only twenty years ago the reef faced huge problems from overfishing. From the gorgeous pictures of the reef today, I never would have guessed that the reef was once in danger. One of the words in the article described the ocean as “resilient.” Though I already had a pretty good understanding of this word, I wanted to get a clearer, exact definition. The dictionary definition said that the word “resilient” means, “able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens.” I believe that word described the reef very accurately. Anyways, after reading this article, I decided that I would like to know a little bit more about the reef and what kinds of animals live there. The article described the reef as, “a safe haven teeming with the quirky, frilly microorganisms we must squint to find, all the way up to the keystone predators which find us.” I would like to understand and learn more about all of those animals, particularly the American Crocodile.
Earlier, I posted a comment mentioning that I hoped to research the reef and the creatures in the reef further. Now that I have done so, I would like to post my findings. First, the Los Jardines de la Reina reef consists of around, “250 virgin coral islands, set in a blue jade sea.” This area is not developed at all, and covers more than 75 miles of ocean. As the article discussed the reef has just recently become more protected, safe, and secure. Along with all the amazing animals living in the ocean, plants, reptiles, mammals, and birds live at the coral islands. Some of the birds that live at the coral islands include, pelicans, frigate birds, ospreys, many sorts of heron, many sorts of egret, and spoonbills. However, the Jutia is the only mammal that’s lives at the coral islands. The Jutia is a “tree-loving” animal. For the most part, reptiles at the coral islands mostly consist of turtles, iguanas, and crocodiles. Aside from the extensive and outstanding list of animals living at the coral islands, the environment surrounding their habitat is gorgeous. Lush, coastal vegetation such as Caribbean Pine trees, sea grapes, and mangroves decorate the area. Thought to be the third largest barrier reef in the world, the marine life, of course, is amazing. Fish densely populate the area, swimming all about. A chain of vibrant, gorgeous coral can be seen, unhurt. In addition, one of the main attractions at this reef, as far as animals go, is known as a Jewfish. Reaching weights around four hundred pounds, these animals are truly magnificent. Colorful sponges also populate the ocean. In addition, the ever-present mangroves provide safe homes for tiny fish. Those fish also help the mangroves by providing them with schools of baitfish. As the article mentioned, however, one of the most amazing animals that’s home lies in the Los Jardines de la Reina reef is the American Crocodile. For the most part, it seems that American Crocodiles are shy, not-violent creatures. These amazing animals, unfortunately, were federally written as being endangered some time ago. The number of American Crocodiles has substantially increased, however, since then, and is on track to becoming an even more thriving species. For the most part, these creatures live in brackish or salt water, and can normally be seen in coves, ponds, and creeks in mangrove swamps. Crocodiles, like many animals are ectothermic. If an animal is ectothermic, it means that the animal gets their heat and controls their body temperature using external heat sources. Crocodiles keep warm by lying out in the sun, and going to spots where there is either colder or hotter water or air. Usually, if disturbed or startled, a crocodile will enter the water loudly. If a crocodile exhibits that behavior, the crocodile is afraid. Otherwise, a crocodile would, under normal circumstances, go into the water silently. Crocodiles have also often been recorded lying in the sun with their mouths open. This, however, is not a sign of anger, but just another way of controlling their body’s temperature. Overall, I believe this reef is truly extraordinary. The animals living there are all amazing and unique in their own ways.
This was a really fun article to read. I agree that there weren't that many straight facts, but the writer did make it interesting. However, because there wasn't that many answers, this article also gets you thinking of questions. It also is kind of inspiring. If twenty years ago so many species were endangered and they were able to bring back a beautiful coral reef teeming with wildlife, it shows that there is hope for pretty much any environmental challenge. I wonder whether there are any species yet endangered in Cuba's coral reef. I couldn't quite gain that bit of information, but it seems that they are trying hard to prevent further harm to the coral reefs. Every year, they let only 500 catch and release fishermen into the reefs and 1,000 divers. However despite this, it seems that about 40% of the fish in the reef are actually overfished. An article I was reading mentioned a good point. We know that the reefs are thriving with fish because of all the different types of predators. Why would sharks and crocodiles live in places where there are few fish? I also agree that the lettuce leaf sea slug is really unique. That is amazing camoflauge! In fact, the whole coral reef is pretty amazing. I wonder how it thrives so well! Overall, though this article could have been more informative, I think that it introduced a whole, new, interesting topic to me.
8 comments:
This is pretty cool. I find it interesting that some of the things that are very endangered in other countries happen to be common and thrive in Cuba. I was interested at the way these animals acted in the Cuban reef. In the picture, the American Crocodile seemed to be camouflaging with a rock. I thought it was kind of funny that the crocodile was camouflaging, because it is a predator after all. It is probably hiding for hunting purposes, in other words so its prey doesn't see it. I thought the lettuce leaf sea slug looked REALLY cool, and the green color was very pretty. When I read the caption of the photo, I was surprised to find out it was a sea slug. At first I thought it was just a plant, and in fact, the way the photo was taken, I thought it was on land. Although I was confused with the banded coral shrimp, because it looked like it was much darker when the photo was taken. I looked it up quickly and found out that the banded coral shrimp is indeed active at night, starting at dusk. I was surprised that the reef had recently been a victim of overfishing. It is hard to believe that just 20 years ago the reef was in danger, but now it thrives with exotic and endangered creatures. Also, I am wondering about the author's encounter with the crocodile. The article said that the author was nudged by her teeth, but it also said these interactions were with her camera. I was surprised that a crocodile who had just been disturbed was gentle and curious. Maybe the predators we think are dangerous are not actually as dangerous as we think.
This is pretty cool. I mean the article was very interesting, but it was really vague and a bit off topic. I liked how at the end they mentioned over fishing. I was able to get a bit distracted when I was ready, which for me means that the article was not very interesting. I would give the article a 3 out of 10.
Sorry I meant reading instead of ready.
I really didn't get much information. This guy talked way too much about his camera and how close it was to the crocodile. there was more picture than text, and I really didn't get much out of this article. I just learned that there was this random guy who confronted a crocodile and he took pictures. I honestly thought there wasn't much point to this article, and like Greta, got distracted. My attention span is normally very short, but I really couldn't keep reading this article. In conclusion, I rate this article 1 out of 10 stars.
This article was really amazing. I was astonished to learn that the Los Jardines de la Reina reef is home to so many miraculous animals, many of which I have never seen or heard of before. The last lines of the article were particularly interesting. Only twenty years ago the reef faced huge problems from overfishing. From the gorgeous pictures of the reef today, I never would have guessed that the reef was once in danger. One of the words in the article described the ocean as “resilient.” Though I already had a pretty good understanding of this word, I wanted to get a clearer, exact definition. The dictionary definition said that the word “resilient” means, “able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens.” I believe that word described the reef very accurately. Anyways, after reading this article, I decided that I would like to know a little bit more about the reef and what kinds of animals live there. The article described the reef as, “a safe haven teeming with the quirky, frilly microorganisms we must squint to find, all the way up to the keystone predators which find us.” I would like to understand and learn more about all of those animals, particularly the American Crocodile.
Earlier, I posted a comment mentioning that I hoped to research the reef and the creatures in the reef further. Now that I have done so, I would like to post my findings. First, the Los Jardines de la Reina reef consists of around, “250 virgin coral islands, set in a blue jade sea.” This area is not developed at all, and covers more than 75 miles of ocean. As the article discussed the reef has just recently become more protected, safe, and secure. Along with all the amazing animals living in the ocean, plants, reptiles, mammals, and birds live at the coral islands. Some of the birds that live at the coral islands include, pelicans, frigate birds, ospreys, many sorts of heron, many sorts of egret, and spoonbills. However, the Jutia is the only mammal that’s lives at the coral islands. The Jutia is a “tree-loving” animal. For the most part, reptiles at the coral islands mostly consist of turtles, iguanas, and crocodiles. Aside from the extensive and outstanding list of animals living at the coral islands, the environment surrounding their habitat is gorgeous. Lush, coastal vegetation such as Caribbean Pine trees, sea grapes, and mangroves decorate the area.
Thought to be the third largest barrier reef in the world, the marine life, of course, is amazing. Fish densely populate the area, swimming all about. A chain of vibrant, gorgeous coral can be seen, unhurt. In addition, one of the main attractions at this reef, as far as animals go, is known as a Jewfish. Reaching weights around four hundred pounds, these animals are truly magnificent. Colorful sponges also populate the ocean. In addition, the ever-present mangroves provide safe homes for tiny fish. Those fish also help the mangroves by providing them with schools of baitfish. As the article mentioned, however, one of the most amazing animals that’s home lies in the Los Jardines de la Reina reef is the American Crocodile. For the most part, it seems that American Crocodiles are shy, not-violent creatures. These amazing animals, unfortunately, were federally written as being endangered some time ago. The number of American Crocodiles has substantially increased, however, since then, and is on track to becoming an even more thriving species. For the most part, these creatures live in brackish or salt water, and can normally be seen in coves, ponds, and creeks in mangrove swamps. Crocodiles, like many animals are ectothermic. If an animal is ectothermic, it means that the animal gets their heat and controls their body temperature using external heat sources. Crocodiles keep warm by lying out in the sun, and going to spots where there is either colder or hotter water or air. Usually, if disturbed or startled, a crocodile will enter the water loudly. If a crocodile exhibits that behavior, the crocodile is afraid. Otherwise, a crocodile would, under normal circumstances, go into the water silently. Crocodiles have also often been recorded lying in the sun with their mouths open. This, however, is not a sign of anger, but just another way of controlling their body’s temperature.
Overall, I believe this reef is truly extraordinary. The animals living there are all amazing and unique in their own ways.
This was a really fun article to read. I agree that there weren't that many straight facts, but the writer did make it interesting. However, because there wasn't that many answers, this article also gets you thinking of questions. It also is kind of inspiring. If twenty years ago so many species were endangered and they were able to bring back a beautiful coral reef teeming with wildlife, it shows that there is hope for pretty much any environmental challenge. I wonder whether there are any species yet endangered in Cuba's coral reef. I couldn't quite gain that bit of information, but it seems that they are trying hard to prevent further harm to the coral reefs. Every year, they let only 500 catch and release fishermen into the reefs and 1,000 divers. However despite this, it seems that about 40% of the fish in the reef are actually overfished. An article I was reading mentioned a good point. We know that the reefs are thriving with fish because of all the different types of predators. Why would sharks and crocodiles live in places where there are few fish? I also agree that the lettuce leaf sea slug is really unique. That is amazing camoflauge! In fact, the whole coral reef is pretty amazing. I wonder how it thrives so well! Overall, though this article could have been more informative, I think that it introduced a whole, new, interesting topic to me.
Sorry, I accidently posted as anonymous. The comment above is mine.
Post a Comment