SAVE our SEAS.Last December, Science World invited readers to enter our "Save Our Seas" contest--choose one endangered marine species and devise a plan to save it. To our delight, we were flooded with more than 1,000 essays so full of enthusiasm, creativity, and commitment to protect marine life that we had a whale of a time picking a winner. SW is pleased to announce the grand prize goes to Ben Dalton, an eighth-grader at Hollister Middle School in Hollister, Missouri, for his winning plan to save manatees. Ben and a pal will get a chance to study marine life up close this summer when SeaWorld Orlando flies them to Adventure Camp in the Florida Keys. They'll spend six days in classrooms and dormitories at Pigeon Key, snorkel snorkel, tube through which a submarine or diver can draw air while underwater. When in use, the top of the snorkel tube extends above the water surface into the air. in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary in the Florida Keys. It includes the third-largest coral barrier reef in the world. It also has extensive mangrove forest and seagrass fields. , and study with SeaWorld's expert instructors to learn about the ecology of Florida's endangered coral reefs. Plus, they'll stay overnight in a shark or manatee exhibit at SeaWorld! The five runners-up are: * Colleen Cote, Marist School, Atlanta, Georgia (Manatee) * Erica Folino, Ursuline Academy Elementary, New Orleans, Louisiana (Wild Atlantic Salmon Atlantic salmon Oceanic trout species (Salmo salar), a highly prized game fish. It averages about 12 lbs (5.5 kg) and is marked with round or cross-shaped spots. Found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, it enters streams in the fall to spawn. ) * Nicole Smith, Vanguard College Preparatory School  This article is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . , Waco, Texas (Hawksbill hawksbill: see sea turtle. Sea Turtle) * Vincent Tam, Dr. Bethune Collegiate Institute, Scarborough, Ontario (Chinese White Dolphin Not to be confused with the Chinese River Dolphin, or Baiji (白鱀), which has now been declared functionally extinct. The Chinese White Dolphin (Sousa chinensis chinensis; Traditional Chinese: ) * Ivy Tan, I.S. 25, Flushing, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of (Chinese River Dolphin Chinese river dolphin Lipotes vexillifer. See Chinese river dolphin. ) Each runner-up will receive a SeaWorld prize pack, including books on marine life. Congratulations to all winners! Check out some of these GRAND PRIZE WINNER West Indian Manatee The West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) is a manatee, and the largest surviving member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia (which also includes the Dugong and the extinct Steller's Sea Cow). [Trichechus manatus] HOME: Shallow, slow-moving rivers and coastal areas of Florida, as far north as Virginia and as far west as Mississippi NUMBER LEFT: 2,000 ENDANGERED BY: Collisions with watercraft, entanglement in fishing nets, slow reproduction PLAN TO SAVE THEM: Ben Dalton suggests a three-part strategy: "First, an effort would be launched to plan to tag all manatees" Boats registered in counties that border manatee habitats would be fitted with a manatee locator to pick up signals from manatee tags. As for boat renters, writes Ben, "they'd be required to rent a manatee locator by filling out an application and paying a deposit refundable upon return of the locator. All moneys made from the sale and rental of the locators could help offset the cost of tagging operations." Second: "Anyone caught harming a manatee would be subject to a fine, plus community service in a facility that cares for injured or orphaned manatees." Third: An educational film would be made available to schools and marinas to raise public awareness. Ben went the extra mile and checked his ideas with a marine biologist. RUNNER-UP: VINCENT TAM Chinese White Dolphin [Sousa chinensis] HOME: Shallow coastal waters of southern China NUMBER LEFT: 1,000 ENDANGERED BY: Chemical toxins, dwindling habitat and food supply, entanglement in fishing nets. Heavy noise pollution from shipping traffic affects the dolphin's ability to echolocate--or emit sound waves to determine location and food. Disoriented dis·o·ri·ent tr.v. dis·o·ri·ent·ed, dis·o·ri·ent·ing, dis·o·ri·ents To cause (a person, for example) to experience disorientation. Adj. 1. dolphins collide with speeding watercraft. PLAN TO SAVE THEM: Vincent Tam proposes setting a water traffic route to avoid dolphin-populated areas (see map, right), along with setting low speed limits for watercraft in the vicinity. RUNNER-UP: NICOLE SMITH Hawksbill Sea Turtle [Eretmochelys imbricate im·bri·cate or im·bri·cat·ed adj. Having the edges overlapping in a regular arrangement like roof tiles or the scales of a fish. im ] HOME: Coral reefs and rocky coasts in tropical waters NUMBER LEFT: Unknown ENDANGERED BY: Humans kill turtles for their prized decorative shells and use turtle skins for leather. Eggs and meat are preyed on for food. Beach erosion and beachfront beach·front n. A strip of land facing or running along a beach. adj. Situated along or having direct access to a beach: beachfront hotels; beachfront property. Noun 1. development destroy undisturbed habitats required for nesting. PLAN TO SAVE THEM: Nicole Smith suggests sending scientists to monitor beaches where turtles lay eggs. Scientists would place eggs in incubators and transfer them to Navassa Island, a small uninhabited island in the Caribbean surrounded by coral reefs. The eggs would be reburied in a wired-off area for safety. Once hatched, scientists would guide hatchlings to sea. "When a sea turtle hatches, it always comes back to the same spot to lay its eggs. Navassa Island could become a turtle hatchery hatchery a commercial establishment dedicated to the hatching of bird eggs to provide day old chicks and poults to the poultry industry. hatchery liquid the contents of unfertilized eggs. Used in petfood manufacture. , plus a place where scientists could research the turtles more extensively." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You Can Do It WHAT IS IT? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Lighter Side [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TEASE YOUR BRAIN Can you rearrange the 7 pieces in figure A to make a shape like figure B? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FAST FACT: This year is the 5,000th anniversary of the written word. A celebration was held last month in Iraq, where the Sumerians, who jinvented writing, lived in 3,000 B.C. The earliest words consisted of repeated pictures, lines, and circles. |
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