We Explore Ocean Life.

[Music] Steve and his father are going exploring seeing the swim fins and inner tube we can guess where in the ocean Steve's sister an and his mother are going exploring too they're going to Wade along the shallow water near the shore while Steve and father go farther out here in this sunny climate the ocean water is usually warm Steve has gone out many times with his father and he's learned to be a good swimmer with his face mask and swim fins Steve can dive far below the surface of the water let's follow Steve and see what he finds here along the Rock and Sand of the ocean bottom there are many kinds of fish and plants and other living things these living things appear quite different from those we see on land for example Steve sees something that looks like a rock but he knows that it is made up of very small animals called corals just beyond the fish we can see something that looks like tree branches these are also a kind of coral these are formed of the hard skeletons of millions of tiny Coral animals Steve and father are now approaching a Rocky Ridge called a reef this reef is made of many kinds of corals so it is called a coral reef many plants and animals live around the reef fish sometimes swim through holes in the reef making their homes in the dark caves inside what a difference there is between this world Under the Sea and the world in which we live and breathe yet do you know that many of the things we need to live things such as air and sunlight are also found in the water below of course there is not as much light but we know that there is some because we can see there is air too dissolved in the water plants and animals here need light and air to live just like living things on land and like living things on land these animals and plants depend on one another this fish for example depends on plants growing along the reef and smaller animals for its food other animals may depend on the fish for their food animals growing along the reef get their food in different ways the sea anemon for example looks like a harmless plant but it is an animal with long stinging tentacles the tentacles can capture fish and other animals which the anemon depends on for food these living things that look like flowers are really animals that also live on the reef they are called tube worms the waving tentacles sweep tiny particles of food into the mouths of the tube worms these little specks drifting around the tube worms are tiny plants and animals called Plankton many ocean animals eat plankton Steve and father are now moving away from the community of plants and animals living along the reef to explore the open Sandy floor of the ocean in this area there are other living things that depend on one another growing in the sand we see what looks like the thick stem of a large Plant actually it is another kind of coral called a sea feather many plants and animals depend on the sea feather the sea feather provides a home for this clam which grows attached to it also attached to the Sea feather are the tiny animals called hydroids this snail depends on part of the sea feather for its food the seahorse a kind of fish is often found near the sea feather Steve has spotted another fish that hides near the sea feather can you see the long thin trumpet fish it looks like a pencil standing on end we say that the trumpet fish is camouflaged because it looks like part of the sea feather a fish with another kind of camouflage is The Cowfish the markings on its back look very much like the ocean floor hiding it from its enemies this is one way an animal may be protected the porcupine fish has another kind of protection the sharp thorny spines protected from being eaten by larger fish the spiny Lobster has sharp spear-like feelers which it can use to defend itself it is also protected by a hard armor-like shell sometimes the shell of one animal provides protection for another this hermit crab is in a shell that was once part of another animal the hermit crab uses the shell as a place to hide and as a home which it carries on its back fish may also find protection inside the shell of another animal so animals have different ways of protecting themselves as Steve and his father have seen nearby Steve's father is experimenting with a clam he has put ink into the clam's mouth it is sucked inside and then squirted out through an opening at the top this shows how the clam sucks in water and Plankton the clam depends on plankton for its food this sea hair a kind of large snail feeds on plants called algae the sea cucumber is another animal that Finds Its food along the bottom of the ocean the Cucumber feeds on Tiny bits of decaying material found buried in the sand a fish that feeds along the bottom is the flounder The Flounder has both eyes and its mouth on one side of its head the eyes can turn in all directions in search of food and the flounder May pounce on it quickly the jellyfish which is not really a fish moves by a sort of in and out pumping motion of the round part of its body called The Bell above the Bell are tentacles which strain Plankton from the water and may also catch small fish and other animals which the jellyfish uses for food the octopus is another animal that Finds Its food along the floor of the ocean the octopus moves by using its long arms and by shooting out a stream of water from within its body as a kind of jet propulsion closely related to the octopus is the squid like the octopus the squid can force out water from its body to move quickly or it may move slowly by using its fins sometimes many squid will swim together in search of food getting food moving from place to place protection from enemies these are some of the things Steve and his father have seen among the different kinds of plants and animals that live in the ocean now it's time to return to shore on the beach mother and Anne have been preparing a meal they've been cooking lobster and other Seafood Steve is looking forward to his lunch he's also looking forward to learning more about the different kinds of plants and animals that live together in the ocean