My 10 Reasons Why
Week 1-Puffer fish
I am a HUGE fan of puffer fish. Nearly 15 years ago a tiny South American Puffer fish inspired me, making me fall in love with fish. Prior to that point, I really had no idea how much there really was to fish. I didn't know they have personalities, they recognize people, they can come to trust you, they are intelligent and can learn tricks, they can pout and have temper tantrums. And that's just some of the stuff related to their personalities.
Consider their bodies and how they are able to defend themselves by sucking in air and dramatically increasing their size. There is so much I could write about puffers, but I will keep it simple: If there's one thing I can't imagine the oceans without, it would be puffer fish.
Here are my first 10 Reasons why:
1. Valentine Puffer
2. Immaculate Puffer
3. Spotfin Puffer
4. Stellatus Puffer
5. Golden Puffer
6. Burrfish
7. Porcupine Puffer
8. Blue Spot Puffer
9. Dogface Puffer
10. Bandtail Puffer
Week 2-Stingrays
My love of stingrays developed, not from pictures, movies, or books about them, but from personal experience. I remember one vacation getting to feed stingrays and thinking what an incredible experience it was, but it wasn't until years later when, as a professional aquarist I had the opportunity to care for and interact with them that I got to see first hand what amazing animals they are. People can be terrified of them and think they are dangerous killers, but they are anything but!
Next time you get the opportunity, look into a stingrays eyes and you will be able to see their gentle, inquisitive side. Take some time and watch them swim through the water and see how incredibly graceful they are...I'd rather fly through the sea as a stingray than through the sky as a bird.
Here are a few of my favorite stingrays:
1. Atlantic stingray
2. Cownose Ray (check out the work Mari Belk does with them at the Phoenix Zoo)
3. Manta Ray https://youtu.be/QPzBSwGgdDI
4. Southern Stingray ( Check out this video of how I feed rays at work )
5. Ornate Eagle Ray
6. Blue Spot Stingray
7. Spotted Eagle Ray
8. Butterfly Stingray
9. Round rays
10. Cortez rays
Week 3-Crabs
From Blue crabs to beach dwelling land hermits, Giant Spider crabs to Fiddler crabs, ancient Horseshoe crabs to Decorators, Hairy hermits to Staghorn, and Ghost crabs to Mole crabs. I appreciate and find them all fascinating. Throughout my life I have always been intrigued by crabs and their hidden elusive lifestyles. I appreciate the fact that they have both the flight and fight instinct, there are times I've seen them scuttle off and disappear so fast you couldn't follow if you wanted to. Other times they will stand and face you, waving their claw in your face, not even phased that you are 100's of times larger.
Consider their role in aquariums- they are loved for their abilities to clean up and the same applies for them in the wild as they perform the vital role of scavengers helping to break down detritus. I love that they come in so many shapes and colors. There are some who have symbiotic relationships, some who only thrive in communities with other crabs, but you also have crabs who are loners and give real meaning to the term hermit.
In no particular order, here are 10 of my favorite Crabs:
1.Marine Striped Hermit Crab
2.Ecuadorian Hermit Crab
3.Mole Crab
4.Spider Crab
5.Decorator Crab
6.Blue Crab
7.Fuzzy Hermit Crabs
8.Fiddler Crabs
9.Horseshoe Crab
10.Staghorn hermit crab
Week 4- Aquariums
Even before I had my first aquarium, I loved to visit them. Growing up inland the only times I saw the ocean were on the occasional family vacation,but I could visit my local aquarium all year around. Aquariums were where I could go to see all the creatures who lived far away, in deeper water or in other parts of the world. Aquariums and their displays INSPIRED me. Even as I went to college to study marine science I was still eager to visit aquariums any chance I got. To be able to sit and observe and enjoy the seemingly other worldly creatures who thrive under water. To watch the majestic stingrays as they glide gracefully through the water, or feel the rush as I watched the school of fish zip and shimmer through the water. The joy of getting to see the adorable fish who sways with the flow while staying suctioned in place. It's a feeling of excitement like you can explore the oceans while at the same moment feel so small as you realize how immense they are. All of these emotions are just a few that flood through me each time I visit a new aquarium or return to one I love; their ability to show, teach, inspire about the ocean is unparalleled.
In no particular order, here are 10 of my favorite aquariums:
1. Newport (one of the first I remember visiting)
2. Shedd (the only place I've seen a South American Puffer)
3. South Carolina Aquarium
4. Aquarium of the Pacific ( have you seen the behind the scenes videos I've done with them?)
5. Heal the Bay Aquarium
6. Monterey Bay Aquarium
7. Waikki Aquarium
8. Discovery Place
9. Frost Science Center
10. Ripleys Aquarium
Week 5- Deep Sea
One of the reasons I got into the field of science is because I knew there would always be something new to learn about and that especially holds true for the oceans. There are always new things being discovered, especially in the deep sea. As our technologies increase and we are able to explore the deep sea on our cell phones, through organizations like the MBARI and Nautilus live streams! Each time I log in I learn about something even cooler than the day before. There is so much we don’t know about the deep sea and all the wonders it holds. Each time we learn something new, our intrigue urges us to return and learn more.
So, in hopes of inspiring you to want to learn more, here are 10 of my favorite creatures from the depths:
1. Blob Fish
2. Osedax Worms
3. Angler Fish
4. Giant Larvacean (Seriously, go look this one up if you aren’t familiar)
5. Barrel Eye fish
6. Gulper Eel
7. Phronima (One of the inspirations for Alien)
8. Telescope Fish (Creepy Muppet?!)
9. Blanket Octopus
10. Viper Dogfish
Week 6- Salt Marsh
Salt marshes are located between the land and the ocean and provide homes to many unique and fascinating creatures. While they may not smell the best, these tide influenced ecosystems are always changing and always have something new to be discovered. My love for these unique environments grew from all the field work I did when I was in college at Coastal Carolina University and my summer internship at Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences . When I initially visited the marsh it was just a muddy, sulfur-smelling area, with lots of mosquitoes and bugs, but each minute I spent in it, I would discover something new. A new hole in the mud exposed by the falling tide, a shell boring snail, an edible marsh plant, or dolphins throwing themselves onshore in pursuit of lunch. I trudged through mud that could trap me, burying me alive, watch as fiddler crabs waved, and heard the quiet crackling of oysters exposed in the sun.
For me the salt marsh is symbolic of growth and discovery, life and death, and is a gem hidden in plain sight waiting to be seen, so it’s no surprised that it plays such a large role in why I do what I do.
Here are a few of my favorite parts of a salt marsh:
1. PLUFF MUD!
2. Oysters
3. Fiddler Crabs
4. Baby Animals
5. Snails
6. Cordgrass- Spartina alterniaflora
7. Blue Crabs
8. Dolphins
9. Pickleweed- Salicornia
10. Welk snails
Week 7- Beaches
Beaches are special places for me, growing up I created so many memories along the edge of the ocean. From beach combing in the early morning with my Grandma, digging for mole crabs, and the feeling of clams burying in a handful of sand, to finding all sorts of things in washed up flotsam, my childhood was filled with beach exploration and awe.
As I got older it was a place that encouraged me to grow as a marine biologist, and as a person. From the Sea Turtle nesting contractor job, beach surveys, the most exciting place to run (I once saw a Portuguese Man of War), and hurricane adventuring, to the peaceful comfort a cold empty beach can offer a broken heart, it had always been there for me.
Here are 10 of the Reasons Why I am inspired by the beach:
1. Sea Shells
2. Coquina clams
3. Flotsam
4. Smell of the Salty air
5. Mole Crabs
6. Sunrises over the ocean
7. Walks on the beach with my Grandma
8. Sounds of waves crashing
9. Sand
10. Ghost Crabs
Week 8- Explorers & Scientists
This weeks reasons are all about the people who came before me, fighting for what they believed in and paved the way with important discoveries exploration and research.
Here are 10 of the people who have inspired me:
1. Rachel Carson
2. Cristina Zenato (Check out my this link and this link for my interview with her)
3. Chad Widmer ( One of the pioneers when it comes to Jelly fish Husbandry)
4. Eric Koepfler
5. Mark Bertness
6. Keith Walters ( One of my professors in CCU Marine Science Program)
7. Jill Heinerth ( I highly recommend checking out her book Into the Planet)
8. Sylvia Earle
9. Yi-Kai Tea
10. Walter Munk
Week 9- Tide Pools
The Southwestern coast of the United States has some fantastic tide pools, where just 5 minutes of exploration can lead to some interesting finds.
Because of their location, tide pools are only accessible at certain times, which makes finding them and their inhabitants feel like you've discovered treasure.
Here are a few of my favorite parts of tidal pools:
1. Chiton
2. Seaweed and Kelp
3. Their intertidal location
4. Mussles
5. Shoreline Geology
6. Anemones
7. Seahares
8. Hermit Crabs
9. Snails
10. Barnacles
Week 10- Friends and Colleagues
One group I cannot leave out is my friends and colleagues. I am incredibly thankful for all of you who have in some way inspired me throughout the course of my career I can honestly say, I would not be where I am today without you.
Thank you for sharing your research, stories, and rekindling the flames of passion.
1. Aaron and Greg at Fintastic taught me so much and were the first to let me wield a sawzall
2. @marchbrowneyedun -This girl is so inspiring and is gonna change the world.
3. Kelli Cadenas - Go check out her Dang Cute Art and Dang Cute Fish
4. Lance and Mikki Ichinotsubo at EliteMarineLife
5. Yoshihiro Suzuki and his work with animal behavior is astounding
6. Lara Joseph at The Animal Behavior Center
7. Richard Back and the Afishionado Channel
8. Alta Jones PO1
9. Paula Carlson at the Dallas World Aquarium
10. Amos Rehm fisheries biologist with NDOW