Invertebrates Archives - Seattle Aquarium

Students at Muckleshoot Tribal School name new octopus

Posted on October 7, 2024November 4, 2024 by Emma Leiser

One of the Seattle Aquarium’s newest residents weighs 20.5 pounds, sports eight arms and hails from the chilly waters of Neah Bay. She’s already helping visitors understand the importance of her species—the giant Pacific octopus—to local ecosystems.

The young octopus also has a special name—sqiqələč (skee-sku-luch)—that reflects the Aquarium’s place on traditional and contemporary Coast Salish land. sqiqələč means “baby octopus” in the Lushootseed language. The name was chosen by middle- and high-school students in a language and performing arts class at Muckleshoot Tribal School.

The Salish Sea is rich not only in biodiversity, but also in linguistic diversity. The language of the land and headwaters where the Aquarium resides is Lushootseed. As noted on the Muckleshoot Tribe’s website, “The Lushootseed language was nearly lost through the forced assimilation of the boarding school era beginning in the early 1890s. Today, Muckleshoot, as well as many other Coast Salish Tribes, are working to restore and preserve Lushootseed by developing robust language and culture programs that teach our youth and keep our Native language alive.”

In early 2024, Aquarium team members Malik Johnson and Kaitlin Brawley—who help care for giant Pacific octopuses—contacted the students’ teacher Teresa Allen about naming the octopus. The naming process reflects the Aquarium’s aim to further integrate more languages, stories, names, faces and knowledge of the Indigenous peoples we partner with throughout the region. Recent work has also included new signage in Lushootseed, the integration of Indigenous languages into Aquarium camp and youth curricula, presentations that highlight our relationship with Makah waters and other projects that amplify Indigenous languages and traditional ecological knowledge at the Aquarium.

Arrangements are being made for the Muckleshoot Tribal students to visit sqiqələč this fall. Like other giant Pacific octopuses, sqiqələč will live at the Aquarium temporarily. Aquarium divers carefully collect a certain number of octopuses with a special permit from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. They typically stay with us for around a year, and when they show signs that they’re mature and ready to mate, our divers return them to their original collection location so they can complete their life cycles and reproduce.

In August, the Aquarium and the Muckleshoot Tribe announced a new partnership to enrich cultural and marine science education work.

Urchins, anemones and sea stars, oh my! Invertebrate care at the Seattle Aquarium

Posted on April 3, 2024April 11, 2024 by Emma Leiser

This story is part of our series, The Doctor Is In—highlighting our veterinary team’s expertise in service of animal wellbeing.

Invertebrates—animals without backbones—are found in every habitat at the Seattle Aquarium. And, like all animals entrusted to us, they need expert care to thrive. “Our goal is to provide great quality of life in an enriching environment for the animal’s whole life,” says Director of Animal Health Dr. Caitlin Hadfield, MA VetMB MRCVS DiplAZCM DipECZM, “And that goes for all the animals under our care.”

“All the invertebrates get checked by Aquarium staff at least once every day,” she comments, “Their environmental conditions are checked as well—that includes evaluating the water and the systems that support it.” Although some invertebrates may seem like fairly simple animals on the surface, managing their care, says Dr. Hadfield, presents some interesting challenges. One of them stems from tracking the number of animals of each species because some, like corals, can be colonial. “It gets tricky,” says Dr. Hadfield. “Do we track this as one animal—a coral head certainly looks like one structure—or as the thousands of polyps that make up that structure?”

Even invertebrates need primary care providers

Regardless of how they’re counted, invertebrates, like all the animals at the Aquarium, are part of our preventative medicine program. Aquarium biologists are on the front lines of animal care, making careful observations of each animal at least once a day. “Our staff are experts at evaluating the animals they’re caring for and are able to identify subtle changes in their appearance or behavior,” says Dr. Hadfield. Because all animal care staff have the training and experience to make these evaluations, each animal at the Aquarium has the equivalent of a PCP, or primary care provider, who has the best understanding of their health history and needs.

Routine exams, in many cases, are also part of the Aquarium’s preventative medicine program (yes, even for invertebrates!). “A big part of that is reviewing the animal’s history,” says Dr. Hadfield. “For that, we rely on the knowledge of our animal care specialists and the information in our record systems.” Along with that review, an invertebrate checkup might involve a physical exam, fluid collection or ultrasound, depending on the animal’s needs. Sea urchins need their teeth checked, too!*

*Surprise—sea urchins have teeth! They’re arranged in circle at the bottom of the urchin’s body.

All for one, one for all

When doing health checks, it’s important to consider all the animals in a habitat. “If an animal isn’t eating well,” notes Dr. Hadfield, “It could be normal for that time of year or life stage, but it could also be because there’s something wrong with that animal, the other animals around it, or the world it’s living in.” In those cases, animals that show symptoms first can become “canaries in the coalmine” for issues that might affect neighboring animals. Closely monitoring individual animals can keep smaller problems from spreading and becoming bigger.

Providing the very best care and quality of life for all the animals entrusted to us is a vital part of our mission, Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment. Learn more about invertebrates at the Aquarium on our website or, better yet, plan a visit with us soon!

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.

Expert care for hundreds of species and thousands of animals

Posted on September 7, 2021February 9, 2024 by Emma Leiser

The Seattle Aquarium is home to nearly 400 species and over 12,000 individual mammals, birds fish and invertebrates. And, just like humans, these species have their own distinct care needs that change as they age. “All animals at the Aquarium have care plans that are customized to their species and the needs of the individuals or groups,” says Senior Veterinarian Dr. Caitlin Hadfield, MA VetMB DAZCM DECZM.

Being responsible for so many species and individuals means that animal care at the Seattle Aquarium is a team effort. Our veterinary and husbandry staff monitor the health of the animals every day and work together to provide the best life possible for them. “That’s the essence of good animal welfare,” notes Dr. Hadfield.

What’s it like being the doctor in charge for so many mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates? “It’s a mixture of routine preventative care—like wellness exams and environmental quality assessments—and reactive care, where we respond to changes we’ve seen in the animals or their environment,” says Dr. Hadfield. “With so many animals, we rely heavily on our professional staff and animal records to identify anything of concern, then work together to understand the situation and identify the best solution if needed. Because of the variety of species, I often reach out to colleagues with different fields of expertise so that, together, we can provide a great quality of care.”

Long (long!) lives

Here’s a fast fact: The average life span of a male Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) in the wild is 26 years¹. Longtime Seattle Aquarium favorite Barney is now 36 years old, well above the average in the wild population. “Like any elderly animal, including us humans, he has some health issues, but is enjoying life,” says Dr. Hadfield.

Barney is just one example of how animals in human care at zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), including the Seattle Aquarium, tend to live significantly longer lives than those in the wild. “Over the Aquarium’s history, lessons learned and the application of new, innovative technologies designed for animal care have enabled our team to provide a good quality of life well beyond the expected life span for their counterparts in the wild,” notes Director of Life Sciences Grant Abel.

Speaking of Barney…where did he come from?

Visitors often ask about the origins of the Aquarium’s birds and mammals (and not in the “birds and bees” way!). Barney was born right here, in 1985—as was sea otter Aniak, in 2002. In fact, every marine mammal and bird in our care was either born in a zoo or aquarium, like Barney and Aniak, or rescued and deemed non-releasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service, like sea otters Adaa and Mishka. Rescued animals that are deemed non-releasable either have a health issue or stranded too young to be able to survive in the wild.

Stay tuned for our upcoming blog posts for details about how we care for aging animals, as well as the AZA species survival plans for maintaining healthy, genetically diverse populations of animals within accredited zoos and aquariums.

Lastly, another fast fact: The Seattle Aquarium was first accredited by the AZA in 1979 and, like all accredited members, is subject to a thorough on-site inspection every five years to renew that accreditation.

¹ https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Phoca_vitulina/#A79C1289-12A8-441B-8408-D30C2A18F1BE