Page 6 – Seattle Aquarium

Seattle Aquarium unveils two new murals from Ray Troll, Marvin E. Oliver and Grace Freeman

Posted on October 20, 2023December 14, 2023 by Emma Leiser

The Seattle Aquarium is proud to display two new murals from celebrated artists Ray Troll, Grace Freeman and the late Marvin E. Oliver (Quinault/Isleta Pueblo). “Salish Seascape” and “Ocean Travelers” now adorn the walls of the Aquarium’s Marine Mammals habitat.

“Salish Seascape” celebrates the diverse array of life that make their homes in and along the Salish Sea, which is a coastal extension of the Pacific Ocean that includes Puget Sound. The fish are drawn in Ray’s signature style, which has been dubbed “scientific surrealism.” For this piece, Ray dug deep into the catalog of drawings he’s created over his decades-long career. Many of the fish featured in this mural are ones Ray originally created for the University of Washington in 2010.

“This mural is a combination of a career’s worth of work with all my fish stuff from the Pacific Northwest,” Ray says.

The mural came to life when artist Grace Freeman digitized Ray’s designs and added her own touches, like the mermaid swimming around in the upper right section. The artists added other hidden gems to the seascape, including a pencil, paintbrush and portrait of Ivar Haglund, founder of the seafood restaurant chain Ivar’s.

“Ocean Travelers” features a run of salmon in the styles of Ray and the late Coast Salish artist Marvin E. Oliver. Ray and Marvin ran adjacent art studios in Ketchikan, Alaska before Marvin passed in 2019. Throughout their long friendship, they discussed doing a collaborative piece. This mural fulfills that wish.

“A friend of mine once said that art stands in the river of time,” Ray says. “And I’ve always liked that phrase. Marvin is no longer with us. But Marvin is still with us through his art.”

Marvin’s son, artist Owen Oliver (Quinault/Isleta Pueblo), said the work is a testament to the friendship between his father and Ray. It also pays homage to Indigenous values, as Coast Salish people have looked after these waters since time immemorial and continue to do so today.

A CHANCE TO GIVE BACK THROUGH ART

Ray has lived in Ketchikan for the past 40 years, but Seattle holds a special place in his heart. He moved to the city in 1977—the same year the Aquarium opened—and sold his prints at Pike Place Market. Since then, he’s spent a lot of time at the Aquarium because he considers it one of the best places to see fish in action without having to take a dive.

Ray has long been fascinated with underwater creatures, a feeling he hopes to share through his art. He’s proud to have his work displayed in the Aquarium that helped feed his curiosity and continues to inspire that same feeling in others.

“If you get people to stop for a second and marvel at something as tiny as a Pacific spiny lumpsucker, you have fostered a sense of wonder and awe and fascination,” Ray says. “And if you become fascinated by something, you begin to care for it.”

The Aquarium would like to thank Marvin’s family, Ray and Grace for allowing us to display their art. We are proud to showcase art from such talented, passionate people who care deeply about nature. These murals reflect our S.A.L.I.S.H. values, which include inspiring a sense of excited curiosity in our guests and honoring the Indigenous peoples who were the original stewards of this area and currently play a valuable role in guiding its conservation.

Come check out the new murals on your next visit to the Aquarium.

She sees sea otters by the nearshore: Tracking sea otter populations with Dr. Shawn Larson

Posted on September 27, 2023June 17, 2024 by Emma Leiser

This story is part of our Nerdy Science Series—how we’re using research and technology in service of a healthy ocean.

Guests at the Seattle Aquarium know how fun it is to watch sea otters eat and play. But for sea otter researchers, watching these adorable animals on Washington’s outer coast also provides valuable scientific information. By keeping track of wild sea otter populations through regular surveys, Dr. Shawn Larson of the Seattle Aquarium and her team hope to better understand the important role otters play in the marine ecosystem and what the future might hold for them.

Searching for sea otters on Washington’s outer coast

Each June for the past 23 years, Seattle Aquarium researchers have participated in a statewide, multiday survey of the Washington sea otter population, organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Shawn and other Seattle Aquarium staff assist by forming ground teams at specific locations along the coast to carefully count all the otters in an area. The team usually leaves bright and early to hike to the observation point, where they set up their spotting scopes and start looking for otters.

They also record information on the otters’ ages and behaviors. During the survey, a plane circles above large groups of otters—known as rafts—to take high-quality digital photographs. Researchers count the otters in these photos later.

The otters tend to float about a kilometer (a little over half a mile) from the shore in groups of up to 1,000. It can be hard, at that distance, to distinguish rafts from clumps of kelp floating nearby. But Shawn, a seasoned otter spotter, knows to look for heads and flippers. Otters also tend to appear black, while kelp looks dark brown.

The Seattle Aquarium also does surveys of the local population monthly, documenting their numbers and diets. Like us, otters have preferred foods. If they’re available, otters will go for sea urchins, crabs and clams. When those become scarce, otters will turn to snails, mussels and sea cucumbers. Shawn has even seen otters eat a giant Pacific octopus!

“Their diet starts to diversify…and that’s when we know that their population has pretty much reached its carrying capacity—meaning the limit for that area,” Shawn says.

Happily, the sea otters in Washington are doing well. Their population is steadily growing with an increase of about 10% each year. They’re growing large and raising many pups, suggesting that these days, there’s plenty of their favorite foods on the outer coast.

Scientists still have a lot of questions about sea otters

Despite decades of research, scientists are still uncovering new information about sea otters. We know that otters eat sea urchins that would otherwise consume kelp. So, where there are otters, there are usually also healthy kelp forests, which serve as habitats for an array of nearshore marine life. However, researchers seek a deeper understanding of how sea otters impact nearshore environments.

"They're kind of a mystery in a lot of ways. There's a lot we do know about them, but there's a lot we don’t."

Dr. Shawn Larson, senior conservation research manager, Seattle Aquarium

“We know that sea otters tend to structure the nearshore where they live, but exactly how does that work? What are the pieces of the puzzle that make it work?” Shawn says.

To unravel the mystery, the Aquarium is in the early stages of using a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to study otter foraging behavior in kelp forests on the outer coast. By going underwater to where the action is, the ROV will provide in-depth footage and data on sea otter foraging behavior.

A better understanding of sea otters and kelp can’t come soon enough. Kelp is highly effective at sequestering carbon, which could help offset some effects of climate change.

"I hope that we continue to do this work for decades to come… The food sea otters are able to catch really will show how they are able to adapt or not to oceanic changes."

Dr. Shawn Larson, senior conservation research manager, Seattle Aquarium

Another question researchers are exploring is how sea otters will react to climate change.

With up to 1 million hairs per square inch, their dense coats keep them warm in the chilly waters of the Pacific. But otters have trouble expelling heat. Rising ocean temperatures could push them farther north. At the same time, otters tend to thrive in nearshore environments. Rising sea levels and melting sea ice could provide more habitat for them.

“We just don’t know. There could be dramatic negatives with climate change for sea otters and there could be dramatic positives,” Shawn says.

How to help sea otters in the wild

One thing we do know is that sea otters need a clean home. Trash that ends up in the sea can reach them via ocean currents. By properly disposing of trash, you can help keep the ocean clean for sea otters and other marine life.

Consider reducing plastic consumption and choosing reusable options when you can. Better yet, volunteer at a beach cleanup to remove plastic and other trash from our shores. You can even get your friends involved!

For more ways to help the ocean and all that depend on it (including humans!) check out our Act for the Ocean page.

What “green building” standard is the Ocean Pavilion targeting?

Posted on September 7, 2023May 15, 2024 by Emma Leiser

Editor’s note: As of spring 2024, the Seattle Aquarium is targeting Zero Carbon Certification, a different certification offered by the International Future Living Institute (ILFI). Though our target certification has changed, the building sustainability features detailed in this story remain the same. We’re proud to be the first aquarium building in the world seeking certification from the ILFI, and we hope to be the first of many. Learn more about Zero Carbon Certification here.

Aquariums are complex buildings. They need to be, to keep aquatic animals safe and healthy.

But can a building as complex as an aquarium also meet some of the world’s toughest green building standards? We think so—and we’re designing our new Ocean Pavilion to do just that.

The Seattle Aquarium already offsets more carbon than we emit and has ambitious goals for energy, water, materials use and zero waste. Building the Ocean Pavilion gave us the chance to go even further.

Challenge Accepted!

With the Ocean Pavilion, we’re taking part in a global sustainability certification program called the Living Building Challenge. Created in 2006, the Challenge guides participants to dramatically raise the bar from “doing less harm” to serving as stewards of our environment and co-creators of a future in which all living beings thrive.

Today, many green building experts consider the Living Building Challenge to be the most advanced measure of sustainability—beyond the more widely known Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Quick note: The Ocean Pavilion will also be LEED Gold-certified, as required for new City of Seattle-owned buildings.

Why are Living Building Challenge certifications so highly regarded?

Performance over plans: Living Building Challenge certifications are based on a building’s actual performance data. To earn the certification we’re seeking, we’ll need to show measurable proof of how the Ocean Pavilion operates and uses energy and water for 12 consecutive months. That’s a step beyond LEED certifications, which are based on building plans.
A holistic view: Living Building Challenge certifications look at the usual technical performance areas, like energy and water use. But they also depend on demonstrating whether a project’s design helps people and communities thrive.

Petals, as in ... flower petals?

In the language of the Challenge, performance areas are called petals. That’s because the creators of the Challenge believe that the ideal building functions as efficiently and is as beautiful as a flower.

We’re working toward Living Building Challenge Petal Certification. To earn it, we’ll need to meet requirements in key performance areas (or petals, in Challenge-speak). The petals we’re currently targeting are energy, water, beauty, equity and place.

As we continue to revitalize our full Aquarium campus, we’re planning to pursue the remaining petals (materials, health and happiness) on the path to full Living Building Challenge certification. Dive deeper into the intent and requirements for each petal.

Why this matters

We all impact the ocean through our actions. The Aquarium is no different!

We’ve designed the Ocean Pavilion to:

Operate 100% fossil fuel free.
Recirculate 96% of the salt water in the building.
Recapture heat from the warmed water to warm the building, a 91% energy savings.
Use carefully chosen materials, like the Alaskan yellow cedar exterior panels, which will be Forest Stewardship Council-certified and procured from an Indigenous-led company.
And much more!

Watch the video to explore how salt water works in the Ocean Pavilion!

As we revitalize our other buildings, we envision contributing to Seattle’s renewable energy grid and building a mechanism to filter and clean water before returning it to Puget Sound.

This goal complements the work we’re doing every day to conduct research, advocate for ocean-friendly policies, rescue animals, provide exceptional animal care and restore endangered species—all of which are possible with support and engagement from our community.

Background on this growing movement

The Living Building Challenge was created by The International Future Living Institute—a global nonprofit that certifies advanced sustainable and regenerative buildings.

As we push the boundaries for sustainable aquariums, we’re building on the momentum of other leaders:

PCC Community Markets is the first grocery store in the world to pursue Petal Certification.
Global companies Google and Etsy both have office buildings that are Petal-certified.
Climate Pledge Arena is pursuing Zero-Carbon Certification, also offered by the International Future Living Institute.
The Bullitt Building, one of the world’s greenest commercial buildings, is a local example of a fully Living Building Challenge-certified project.

We look forward to sharing our progress as we work toward Living Building Challenge Petal Certification! To learn more about this exciting project, visit our Ocean Pavilion webpages.

Which SEAlebrity would be your dream locker buddy? Take our quiz and find out!

Posted on August 28, 2023December 14, 2023 by Joseph Becker

Seattle Aquarium welcomes adorable new addition: A tufted puffling!

Posted on August 21, 2023May 9, 2024 by Emma Leiser

The Seattle Aquarium got a little (or a lot) cuter on August 3 when we welcomed a new tufted puffin chick, aka a “puffling!” This fluffball is the first puffling chick to hatch at the Aquarium since 2019.

The doting parents are longtime bonded pair Dora (who wears a yellow band on her left leg) and Boots (who sports red and blue bands). Tufted puffins generally mate for life and raise one chick at a time. Couples share parenting duties, like nest building, egg incubation and feeding their chick.

Like most animals, birds are vulnerable when they are young. Sadly, in the wild, many tufted pufflings don’t survive to adulthood. At the Aquarium, this chick is benefiting from a protected space and top-notch care from both animal and human caretakers. Dora and Boots, along with our dedicated Birds & Mammals team, have been keeping a close watch on the little one.

So far, the chick has a healthy appetite and is doing well. Talk about a tough little puff!

Privacy for the puffling

Dora, Boots and their little one have a nest in a secluded burrow in the upper section of their habitat. The chick will stay out of sight for a while, taking time to grow. Our team expects the puffling to fledge, or leave the burrow and join other members of the habitat, this fall.

In the meantime, Aquarium guests can check out other seabirds—including SEAlebrity tufted puffin Phelps—in the Birds & Shores habitat. You might even catch Dora or Boots gathering fish to bring to the chick or just taking a rest. Parents need breaks too!

To learn more about tufted puffins, aka the “parrots of the sea,” check out their fact page.

P.S. Our Birds and Mammals team is still deciding on a name for the little fuzzball. Keep an eye out on the Aquarium’s social media channels for the name reveal!

How can we stop sharks from going extinct?

Posted on August 15, 2023June 17, 2024 by Emma Leiser

This story is part of our Nerdy Science Series—how we’re using research and technology in service of a healthy ocean.

Sharks have roamed the ocean since before dinosaurs walked the earth. But today, around a third of the world’s 500+ shark species are threatened with extinction. New research co-authored by Riley Pollom of the Seattle Aquarium offers a way forward.

Why are sharks going extinct?

In a word: overfishing. Fishing—legal and illegal—kills around 100 million sharks every year. Sharks are targeted as sources of food and products; they’re also caught as bycatch in the hunt for other species. Because sharks take longer on average than other ocean animals to mature and reproduce, their populations often don’t recover quickly. Sometimes they don’t come back at all.

When shark species go extinct, the loss has a ripple effect. Ocean food webs are delicate, and the disappearance of a major predator can wreak havoc, sometimes causing the populations of other animals in the system to swell or shrink in unpredictable ways. The impact of these big changes often falls on coastal communities who rely on small-scale fishing for food and income. But as we lose species at an unprecedented rate, all of us will be affected.

Aquariums have the knowledge and capacity to play an important role in population management when things get dire. There’s a point of no return, and we need to avoid it.

Riley Pollom, species recovery program manager, Seattle Aquarium

A clue on how to turn the tide

A team of researchers that included Riley analyzed shark populations throughout the Western Atlantic Ocean over decades.

The team’s newest paper, “Conservation successes and challenges for wide-ranging sharks and rays,” focuses on 26 wide-ranging coastal sharks and rays in the Western Atlantic. All are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. For decades, the Western Atlantic has faced a heavy demand for fishing. And sharks there have suffered, often as bycatch in the industry.

But—as the research team found—sharks in the Northwest and Western Central Atlantic are now making a comeback. In fact, some species that were on the verge of collapse in the 1980s and 1990s are now at stable or even growing populations.

Meanwhile, the situation is very different in the Southwest Atlantic. There, almost all populations of shark species—including many of the same species that are recovering in other regions—are still in trouble.

What’s fueled the difference? The answer, researchers found, is strong fisheries management.

Fisheries management refers to setting, enforcing and monitoring strict limits on how many animals can be caught, where and when they can be caught, and other important rules. Where these practices are robust, like the Northwest and Western Central Atlantic, shark and ray populations are rebounding. Where they are weak or nonexistent, many species are on the verge of extinction or heading that way.

“If strong fisheries management measures are implemented elsewhere, we would expect to see similar recovery,” Riley says.

Avoiding the extinction vortex

As the new research shows, protective measures work. But in some cases, those measures aren’t enough.

In a situation that conservationists call the “extinction vortex,” the population of an endangered species drops so low that even if other threats are removed, the species will not recover and may still go extinct. That’s because when populations are small enough, males and females have trouble finding each other. Those that do risk inbreeding, introducing genetic defects and weakening fitness.

In some cases, direct intervention by people might be the only way to avoid the extinction vortex. Increasingly, aquariums are getting involved in this work.

In 2020, the Seattle Aquarium helped launch ReShark—a global collective to recover threatened shark and ray species. ReShark’s first project is to breed and release Indo-Pacific leopard sharks, which have all but vanished from their home waters off the coast of Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Projects like this are still novel for aquariums—but so far, ReShark has had early success rearing shark eggs born in aquariums for release into their marine-protected home waters. (Read National Geographic’s coverage.)

As species recovery program manager, Riley is helping to lead the Aquarium’s growing programs and partnerships to bring back threatened species in Washington State and internationally.

What can individuals do?

Wherever you live, “Vote with the ocean in mind,” Riley says. “Learn and understand politicians’ stances on ocean policies and fisheries management policies.” When we’re informed, we can advocate for setting and enforcing strong fisheries management. Join the Aquarium’s email list to receive alerts on how you can support our state and federal advocacy on behalf of the ocean.

Hawai’i is facing more marine heatwaves. What does that mean for its fish?

Posted on July 28, 2023June 17, 2024 by Emma Leiser

This story is part of our Nerdy Science Series—how we’re using research and technology in service of a healthy ocean.

During 2014, a mass of warm water nicknamed “the blob” simmered and spread in the Pacific Ocean. It lingered until early 2016, wreaking havoc on marine ecosystems and causing a mass coral bleaching event in Hawaiʻi’. Then in 2019, another marine heat wave struck Hawaiʻi, reminiscent of the blob. Smaller heatwaves have followed.

Seattle Aquarium research technician Amy Olsen was born and raised on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island. Rising ocean temperatures, which most scientists attribute to climate change, are transforming her home. Today, as a marine scientist for the Aquarium, Amy is leading scientific papers that analyze how those changes are affecting fish populations off the Big Island’s coast.

"By 2025, marine heatwaves are likely to occur every year. There is an urgent need to see what’s happening now and how we can anticipate and mitigate those changes."

Amy Olsen, research technician, Seattle Aquarium

Working Far Beyond our Walls

For nearly 40 years, Hawaiʻi ecosystems have been part of the Seattle Aquarium experience. If you’ve visited the Aquarium, you’ve likely marveled at Pacific Coral Reef, a lush community of corals, puffers, tangs, wrasses and other members of tropical reefs.

But what isn’t visible to Aquarium visitors is the scientific research that takes place outside its walls. Since 2009, Aquarium researchers have traveled to Hawaiʻi and donned scuba gear to track fish populations in eight locations off the west coast of the Big Island.

Their goal: to provide long-term data on the health of fish populations.

Connecting Research and Home

“This research is a way to give back to the place where I was raised,” Amy says.

She joined the Aquarium’s Hawaiʻi research team in 2014, the same year the blob struck. She later decided to focus her master’s thesis on how marine heat waves affected groups of fish, using Aquarium data gathered between 2009 and 2019.

Amy works closely with Dr. Shawn Larson, senior conservation research manager—who launched the Aquarium’s Hawaiʻi research—and a multidisciplinary Aquarium team that includes conservation researchers, dive experts and scientists who specialize in fish and invertebrates.

The team uses a unique method to measure fish populations each year. It’s the same method we’ve used to monitor local Salish Sea fish populations for decades. Researchers dive along defined 100-meter sections (transects) of the ocean while wearing underwater cameras. As they swim along a transect, they speak into a microphone, narrating the species and number of fish in their line of sight and creating a recording that can be analyzed later. The team uses GPS coordinates and visual notes to return to the same spots year after year without leaving behind physical markers that could impact marine life.

This method proved so efficient in the Aquarium’s Hawaiʻi research—where divers often had more than 100 species in sight—that the team published a special methods paper to share it with other researchers.

Troubled Findings and a Call to Action

Amy’s thesis—published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series last year—analyzed changes in different subgroups of fish following the heatwaves.

The groups included predators, “secondary consumers” (typically small fish that eat other fish or plants), planktivores (animals that eat plankton), corallivores (animals that eat coral), browsers (which eat algae), grazers (which eat short, fibrous turf algae) and scrapers (which effectively clear algae from corals). Why so many groups? Each plays a unique role in their delicate food web.

The research showed that after the 2014–2015 heat wave, fish populations in all groups increased. The group that grew the most were the grazers, tiny fish that eat turf algae.

“One hypothesis is that the heat wave encouraged more algae to grow,” Amy explains. “Fish that graze on it did well because they had more food.”

But any change to ocean food webs is complex. The same warming events that benefitted fish are devastating coral. The breakdown of coral will mean less food for the creatures that eat coral and fewer hiding spots for larger fish. The bottom line: Pulling a thread in ocean food webs can unravel the entire sweater.

My goal is that our scientific partners use this research to inform decision-making and policy. For individuals, I hope it encourages curiosity, behavior change and hope—because our actions do make a difference.

Amy Olsen, research technician, Seattle Aquarium

What can individuals do to help slow marine heatwaves and protect reefs?

A lot, Amy says. One simple action is to use reef-safe sunscreen, whether we’re swimming in Pacific Northwest or tropical waters. Coral reefs exist in both. With this small step, we can do less harm to wild populations of coral, which are already stressed.

Climate change remains one of the biggest challenges we and the ocean face. Shifting our day-to-day habits—from how much we drive to what we eat—matters. So does large-scale policy change. The Aquarium advocates for policies that address climate change and protect our ocean. Get involved by learning more and signing up for Seattle Aquarium action alerts.

The Spilhaus Projection: “The seven seas” become one ocean

Posted on July 20, 2023February 9, 2024 by Emma Leiser

Have you ever noticed how a step to the left or a turn to the right changes your view entirely? Perhaps that’s what inspired South African-American geophysicist and oceanographer Dr. Athelstan F. Spilhaus to develop a seawater-focused map of Earth, centered on Antarctica. The Spilhaus Projection of 1942 provides a way for us to see the world ocean as it is: one big, contiguous body of seawater.

This timely “new” perspective is at the center of an exciting and thought-provoking installation at the Seattle Aquarium. Find it near our Life on the Edge habitat!

A Revolutionary Map Evolves

Decades after it was created, the Spilhaus Projection remains a vital tool. It’s been digitized and is now open-source data that can be used to map sea surface temperatures, cool and warm currents, hydrothermal ecosystems, ocean health indices, whale migration and more.

99 PERCENT OF EARTH’S LIVING ORGANISMS LIVE IN THE OCEAN

That’s quite a neighborhood! Earth’s one ocean hosts most living organisms in 71 percent of the planet’s living space. It’s home to the phytoplankton that produce 50–80% of the oxygen we breathe. It feeds its residents and people, affects weather and climate, and annually sequesters about a quarter of carbon dioxide resulting from human activities. And whatever happens on land—plastics pollution, wastewater runoff, acidification—drains into local waters and then ripples through the entire ocean.

ONE-PERCENTERS (US) STRIVING TO BE SEA-WORTHY NEIGHBORS

The Spilhaus Projection at the Seattle Aquarium maps what was once called “the Seven Seas*” as a single body of seawater, vast and unbroken. This mind-expanding perspective on the amazing life-support system of our blue planet shows the importance of restoring and protecting the ocean for the sake of all living things.

*Extra-credit fast facts: The phrase “Seven Seas” originated in ancient Greek literature and referred to the Aegean, Adriatic, Black, Caspian, Mediterranean and Red seas—with the Persian Gulf included as a “sea” as well. As trade routes expanded, it came to mean the Arctic, Indian, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Southern oceans. Which, of course, are all connected as Earth’s one ocean!

SHARED WATERS, SHARED CHALLENGES—AND SHARED SOLUTIONS!

The Seattle Aquarium’s mission, Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment, begins at home in the Puget Sound region with educational programs, conservation research and policy advocacy. Our initiatives reach from the Salish Sea to the Coral Triangle.

When you visit the Aquarium, check the Spilhaus map to find the Coral Triangle, where we’re partnering to restore the Indo-Pacific leopard shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) population. This international collective, called ReShark, is one example of our species recovery program work.

Sturgeon, tufted puffins and dwarf cuttlefish: They’re just like us!

Posted on June 29, 2023February 9, 2024 by Emma Leiser

Do you know someone who’s full of surprises—and just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they do something entirely unexpected? Our summer SEAlebrities are like that, too! They’re not always what they seem to be, so look closely. Some change colors, others are showy birds that swim like fish. Check them out on your next visit to the Seattle Aquarium!

White sturgeon: fish with an identity crisis?

One glance at their long bodies, pointy snouts and dorsal fins and you might ask, “Who let the sharks in?” Often mistaken for sharks, white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, are bottom-dwelling fish that live in the temperate waters of the Pacific Coast from Alaska to upper Baja California.

HOW ARE STURGEON JUST LIKE US?

They have what it takes to protect themselves.

Like sharks, sturgeon have been around since the time of the dinosaurs. They have smooth skin and a skeleton made of cartilaginous scutes, not bone. Reminiscent of scales, the rows of scutes protect the sturgeon’s vital internal organs. Unlike sharks (or us), sturgeon have no teeth. Smile!

They like to lay low and feel things out.

Sturgeon hover over sandy floors of the ocean and estuaries to forage for food with their barbels—long, whisker-like feelers above their mouths. They drag their barbels along the bottom, searching for shellfish, invertebrates (animals with no backbone) and small fish, then suck their prey into their mouths and swallow it whole.

Can you spot a sturgeon? Test your observation skills at our Underwater Dome habitat.

Tufted puffins: parrots of the sea

Tufted puffins, Fratercula cirrhata, spend summers in remote island colonies and winters on the open sea. These diving birds (alcids) seem to fly through water as easily as air. Yet their webbed feet are also used to burrow into cliffs or slopes where they will build nests safely hidden from predators and food-snatching gulls.

HOW ARE TUFTED PUFFINS JUST LIKE US?

They dress for the season.

In summer, tufted puffins shed their dull winter feathers and bill coverings for a more colorful look. Legs and feet turn bright orange. An ornamental bill plate appears. Golden tufts accent a white “face mask.” That’s how they gain a mate—and the nickname “parrots of the sea.”

They search for love that lasts a lifetime.

Once they’re dressed to impress, courtship begins. Tufted puffins rub bills, strut and “skypoint” (pose with bills thrust upward, wings and tail raised). Couples then find a suitable spot for a home, dig a burrow, build a nest and take turns incubating their single egg. Bonded couples often form lifetime partnerships and return to the same area each year.

What are the tufted puffins wearing today? Check them out in our Birds & Shores habitat. (Phelps will be sporting an orange band on his right leg.)

Dwarf cuttlefish: now you see them, now you don't

Dwarf cuttlefish, Sepia bandensis, are native to coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific region. Cousins to squids, octopuses and nautiluses, these tiny cephalopods have keen brains, three hearts and excellent vision that’s essential for hunting. They are often called “chameleons of the sea” for their skill at quick-change camouflage.

HOW ARE DWARF CUTTLEFISH JUST LIKE US?

They know when to fade into the background—and when it’s time to be seen.

Their small size makes dwarf cuttlefish easy prey, but their ability to quickly change color, skin texture and pattern makes them harder to spot. Conversely, a hungry cuttlefish disguised as a rock will find it much easier to sneak up on their next meal. And sometimes, male cuttlefish display female colors to get past bigger, stronger suitors.

They like to go out for a stroll.

Dwarf cuttlefish have eight arms encircling their mouth. They often appear to “walk” along the ocean floor using two of their eight arms. When a tasty morsel appears, their arms open quickly and two feeding tentacles shoot out, grabbing the prey and pulling it toward the cuttlefish’s beak and mouth.

See Cuttle Puddle and the other dwarf cuttlefish in action in our Pacific Coral Reef habitat!

Just like us, all of our SEAlebrities need healthy habitats to thrive. The threats to their homes are largely manmade. Find out what you can do to preserve the marine environment they—and we—depend on. Visit our Act for the Ocean page to learn more.

Mighty mangroves are coming to the Ocean Pavilion

Posted on June 26, 2023February 9, 2024 by Emma Leiser

At the Seattle Aquarium, you’ve connected with fascinating SEAlebrities—sea otters, tufted puffins and dogfish, to name a few. But TREElebrities? Not so much. That will change when the Ocean Pavilion opens next summer. In a habitat called The Archipelago, you’ll discover live mangrove trees and the ecosystems mangroves support in the Coral Triangle.

Meet the Treelebrities

Mangroves live in the Coral Triangle and other tropical and subtropical regions of the world. These highly adaptive trees thrive where most plants cannot—in hot, salty, muddy water. Mighty mangroves help protect animals, coastal communities and the planet. You could say that they’re ecosystem superheroes.

Colossal carbon sinks, drawn illustration of mangroves in a wetlands habitat, the roots of the mangrove trees extending into the water. Three monkeys sit in the branches of the mangrove trees while a stork wades through the water. — Too much carbon in the air is warming Earth. Mangroves fight this trend by storing carbon from the air in their wood and in soil held by their roots.

Heroic home-makers, drawn illustration of mangrove tree roots as seen from under the water. Different species of fish swim among the mangrove roots, which provide a safe habitat for fish and other animals. — Mangroves’ roots work like the bars of a crib to shelter young fishes. Above, branches make space for monkeys, birds and other land animals.

Coastal Crusaders, drawn illustration of a mangrove forest as seen from above, highlighting the unique habitats mangroves help create. — Nestled where land meets water, mangroves trap soil in their roots, creating new land. They also prevent erosion, filter pollutants and blunt big waves.

Economic Engines, drawn illustration of schools of fish swimming underwater through mangrove tree roots, the bottom of a small paddle boat visible on the surface of the water. — Mangroves provide medicines, timber, food and more, supporting livelihoods for people in coastal areas.

As mighty as they are, mangrove forests—like forests around the world—are shrinking due to human development and pollution. According to the United Nations, up to two thirds of coastal mangroves have been lost to date. As mangroves vanish, the species that rely on them—including us—have fewer defenses against climate change. By working together, we can change this story.

At the Ocean Pavilion, you’ll witness the role mangroves play in Coral Triangle ecosystems and learn how we can work together to protect wild populations.

Watch our team welcome mangroves and bluespotted rays

Our dedicated animal care team knows all about fish. Now that mangroves have arrived at our offsite Animal Care Center, the team is learning the joys of botany. Why? Because mangroves create the conditions many animals—including bluespotted rays—depend on.

In episodes 4 and 5 of Animal Care Stories, watch our team begin to build a shared habitat for mangroves and their “roommates”—bluespotted rays.