fish

I have only ever been able to see skates and rays in aquariums and through photos, but never with my own eyes. While being a Research Intern at the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center I had the amazing opportunity to see my first ever ray, well actually the first hundred rays of my…

    The Cownose Ray, Rhinoptera bonasus, gets its name from the shape of its forehead, which resembles the nose of a cow. The top of the ray is a brown color, and the bottom is white. Females are 3 feet in width, and males are 2-and-a-half feet in width. They have long whip-like tails with…

Not long ago was plastic almost completely absent in the day to day lives of the average American. Now, it has essentially reached ubiquity. Not surprisingly, its proliferation was initially a reflection of the fertility of American economics during the mid twentieth century. A material referred to as Bakelite, first synthesized by a Belgian chemist named Leo Baekeland in 1907, marked the beginning of what has been rightfully coined “The Polymer Age”. (Meikle, J. L. 1997). It was even marketed as “the material of a thousand uses”, and the infinity symbol was its trademark. (Meikle, J. L. 1997).  A newspaper ad for Bakelite in the early 1900’s. Fast forward to today, and the amount of plastic being produced annually stands out at two hundred and forty five million tons. (Andrady, A. L. 2011). One of the main reasons that the…

Seagrasses are known for supporting an extremely biodiverse ecosystem, including the charming but endangered manatee. It is also the home of many fish used in commercial fishing. Therefore, when considering conservation of these species, it is very important to note that seagrass populations are declining overall worldwide. While factors such as physical mechanical damage, coastal development, and pollution no doubt play a role, climate change may be a new rising factor that is certainly worth more consideration. Underwater oceanic plants are affected the most by extreme temperature increases, which corresponds to future predictions that seagrass populations will experience range shifts out of their normal distribution and begin traveling to higher latitudes, according to the IPCC Climate Change Report for 2018 (IPCC, 2018).  Figure 1. This diagram from the IPCC illustrates the effects of global average surface temperature change relative to…

Megan DeMatteo | Fisheries Science & Management Stockton University| May 3, 2019 Abstract The main objective of this study was to obtain a better understanding of otoliths, understand their important role in conducting research, and understanding the relationships between their growth rings and fish size. In this laboratory experiment otoliths will be identified, removed, embedded, polished, and analyzed to properly read through several microscopic lenses.  The data collected was otolith length, width, and measurements were taken for each growth ring within their secondary growth center. When this data was compared to the overall fish size the results shown were a positive correlation between otolith growth and fish size. In simpler terms this means that as the fish grows so did its otolith rings. Another factor taken into consideration was although the data did show a positive relationship, once the fish…

Background: As the fall progresses in Cape May New Jersey the sea surface temperatures in the waters surrounding the southern tip of New Jersey begin to drop steadily. Beginning at around 70 degrees in September and dropping to around 40 degrees in December. Many fish species are year round residents in the area and are…

Portuguese Man o’War seen by Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center The Portuguese Man o’ War is one of the most infamous jelly fish in the world. People who may know only the most simplistic facts about the ocean will be able to tell you that it is one of the most deadly jelly…