Coral Reefs & Sharks "Underwater Gardens of Life"
Hosted by A Walk in the Woods, Environmental Education Company
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Prosperity Park Clubhouse
10:00 am – 10:45 am
Ages 4 to 11
Live animals include sea snails, sea star, coral banded shrimp and clownfish
Coral reefs are fragile ecosystems that support one quarter of all marine life. The coral community is really a system that includes a collection of biological communities, representing one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. For this reason, coral reefs are often referred to as the "underwater gardens of life". Corals themselves are tiny animals and their structures support a variety of other sea creatures including sponges, mollusks, sea slugs, crabs, shrimp, sea sutras, sea urchins, sea anemones, octopus, sea turtles and many species of fish. Topics for discussion include; hard and soft corals, coral anatomy, diet, diversity of animals found around coral reefs, sharks, sea urchins, sea starts, bony fish, cleaner shrimp and importance of coral reefs and conservation meansures. Participants touch a live startish and sea snails.
An example of hands-on artifacts includes: Hard and soft corals, sea urchin test, sea urchin spines, sponges, skate egg case, shark eggs, taxidermy leopard shark pup, a preserved Smooth Dogfish shark pup, porcupine puffer fish, trigger fish, queen conch shell and an assortment of sea shells.
There is no cost for this activity. Open to HC Residents who are current with their HOA dues only. Parents are welcome to stay or drop off (waiver required).