And NO! I really don't
give a *&%$ about fish or whales. Did you know that there are over
30000 species of fish on the planet? There's not an interesting animal between
them. The most common animal type on the planet is a sort of worm,
there are estimated to be between 10-100 million species of them, so when
your a marine biologist there are more important and fun things to consider
then "Oooh look at the nice fish".
Its amazing what you can find in the mud; broken bottles,
old boots and moldy hats all make up the wonders of the undersea world.
Did you know that there is a type of barnacle (those little
white things you see on rocks) which is a parasite on crabs? It attaches
itself to the underside of the crab and starts to burrow into its host. It
then secretes hormones into the crab which makes it become a female, and
makes the crab believe that it is carrying eggs. The barnacle positions
itself so that it is where the eggs would be in on the crab, the crab than
defends the barnacle, thinking that it is the crabs own egg mass. The
barnacle meanwhile is slowly digesting the insides of the crab, gaining energy
to release a large number of young which will infect more crabs. Compared
to this you just can't say Herring are interesting.
Isn't it lovely? Adamsia carcinopados: an anemone
which is symbiotic with the Hermit Crab Pagarus pridaeuxi, the crab
is a messy eater, the anemone picks up what is dropped. In return the
anemone affords some protection with its stinging cells, and provides a living
shell so the crab never has to change its home.
For those of you who can't tell from the pictures on this
page I'm a marine biologist.
