Small but mighty, Atlantic herring are one of the most abundant fish in the ocean and are often found gathered together in large schools. Some schools of herring have been estimated to contain several billion fish! They are silvery fish with a blueish iridescence found all throughout the North Atlantic Ocean and are socially, culturally … Read more
Although most people associate pom-pom anemones to the likes of a pretty flower or puffy purple troll hair, this species’ appearance can range from fluffy to flat. They can either be fixed to a substrate – ranging from soft sands to hard rocks, and even whale skeletons – or unlike other anemones, unattached and tumbling … Read more
Sea strawberries are a type of colonial coral comprised of many individual animals, called polyps. Sea strawberries are a type of soft coral, which means they do not produce stony calcium carbonate skeletons like many of the larger, more iconic tropical corals. Instead, their skeletons are made up of small, stiff, spiny elements called sclerites, … Read more
Bubblegum corals are one of the largest coral species found in North America. They get their name from their appearance: they are often bright pink and the polyps at the end of their branches resemble wads of gum. These polyps are individual animals that make up the coral colony. The three-dimensional structure of bubblegum corals … Read more
Northern gannets live the vast majority of their lives at sea, only coming ashore to breed and raise their chicks. They are fast and powerful flyers, but can also glide for hours just above the waves, barely flapping their wings. They are plunge-divers, able to enter the water from heights of more than 30 meters … Read more
Sea pens are colonial corals. Like their relatives, sea pens are made up of a colony of several polyps (individual animals). What makes them unique among colonial corals is that each polyp is specialized to perform specific functions. One of their polyps develops into a rigid, erect stalk, which anchors the rest of the colony … Read more
Northern shrimp, also commonly known as northern prawn, are a sequential hermaphrodite. This is a term used for animals that start their life as one sex and change to the other later in life. In the case of northern shrimp, they are born as males and become females at around four or five years of … Read more
The scientific name for Lingcod, Ophiodon elongates, comes from the Greek ophis for snake and odons for tooth and the Latin elongates, or elongated, all of which provide a fitting description for this long-bodied, large-mouthed, toothy fish. Although the word “cod” is also in their name, lingcod are not actually cod; they are a member … Read more
Pacific herring are a small and widely abundant fish that are very important to both the ecology and culture of Canada’s Pacific coast. Many other species rely on them for food, including larger fish, seabirds as well as marine and terrestrial mammals. Pacific herring also have significant value to communities, including First Nations. Some First … Read more
American lobster, unlike most invertebrates, have teeth. However, these teeth aren’t located in their mouths – they are in their stomach. Their stomach chews food using what looks like molars, called a “gastric mill.” Lobster has not always been a sought-after seafood, in fact, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was so cheap that … Read more