New England feels...this is what the great 17th & 18th century poets and writers engraved in stone and ink saw in their worlds Acadia National Park. Nestled in the crook of Acadia, Maine, established in 1917, and known for its sweater vibes and autumnal beauty seemingly year round, this national park is known for its stunning scenery above all else. Wintery mountains, teeming forests, and pink granite shorelines are sights to behold on their own. But as the eastern-most National Park in the US, Acadia is also the first National Park to greet dawn every day. Imagine...the light spi ..read more

  New Year, new explorations. I have to be honest; I haven't visited one of our 63 National Parks yet. Bing has this great catalogue of the National Parks and hotel/flight prices for each. Don't get too distracted by the beautiful photos of each park. It's too damn expensive for a college student to visit, well anywhere, right now.  So instead, I'm writing about the parks from my cozy-already-expensive enough dorm. The previous series on this blog have covered rainforests, oceans, and the ecosystems in between. Here, the National Parks are their own unique ecosystems ..read more

Saving Nemo: Pixar's 2003 hit minus the fun animation Saving Nemo  Director: yours truly Leading Actor: nemo & his many relatives Leading Actress: the great barrier reef as a whole Producer: none, because I'm not getting paid here, am I? Well, it's been a busy few months, but I'm back to wrap up this exploration of the Great Barrier Reef with none other than the reef's mascot itself: Nemo.  Everyone knows the childhood classic, Finding Nemo, an animated adventure starring a clown fish trying to find his way home. An underwater adventure, colorful ..read more

     Not something you'd find in the Meg movies...because it's actually accurate.  The Whale Shark: Rhincodon typus Description: As one of the members in the order, Orectolobiformes, the Whale Shark has the signature two dorsal fins and small flat head. Also known as Carpet Sharks, Orectolobiformes get their names from their decorative carpet appearance, hence, the Whale Shark's ornately patterned back of white dots and lines on its dark gray back. This species is the largest fish in the world and can measure up to 30 feet and weigh up to 20 tons. Unlike ..read more

    Once again not something you'd find at your local buffet. Unless you live in Japan.  The Peacock Mantis Shrimp: Odontodactylus scyllarus Description: There are over 450 species of Mantis Shrimp in the world; the Peacock Mantis Shrimp is one of the largest and most colorful amongst these hundreds of different species. All members of this species have three pairs of legs to hold prey and another three pairs to walk. Other main features include two claws, 360 degree seeing eyes, and colorful body armor.  However, males are often larger and more vibr ..read more

   Not something you'd find at your local buffet.  The Giant Clam: Tridacna gigas Description: As the largest mollusks in the world, Giant Clams can reach a size of four feet long and weight of 500 pounds. A Giant Clam's main feature, its shell, is made up of two halves that can open and close through use of a hinge. Although their shells range in various sizes, colors, and patterns, all Giant Clams have a fleshy interior mantel that can weigh up to a quarter of the clam's weight! Habitat: These mollusks are primarily found in waters of down to 20 meters in depth in the ..read more

   The gardens of the oceans... The Great Barrier reef is the world's largest coral reef system, boasting over 600 different species of corals in its waters. Although coral reefs may seem more sculpted from stone rather than life, corals are much like the flora of the earth—living organisms.  One of the famed bragging points of this reef system is that it can be seen from outer space, an impressive feat considering that our manmade sculptures of metal and glass can't even be seen without extensive light *cough POLLUTION* illuminating the atmosphere. Additionally, this ecosy ..read more

  Mermaids & Manatees Part II The Dugong: Dugong dugon Description: Although Dugongs have similar appearances with manatees, these are two entirely different species. Both species have similar gray-brown colorations, however, the Dugong's body is more torpedo-shaped. An easily distinguishable aspect of this species is its flat, shovel-like snout. These downturned snouts assist in foraging for seagrass, the Dugong's main food source. Dugongs are also smaller; they can reach up to nine feet in length and one ton in weight. Lacking dorsal fins, the Dugong instead utilizes flippe ..read more

This fish is one of the most recognizable species in both the Great Barrier Reef and Gen Z's childhoods.    The Yellow Tang: Zebrasoma flavescens Description: The Yellow Tang's bright full-body yellow coloration is what makes distinguishes it from other Tangs. They can grow up to around 8 inches in the wild and have a white barb used for defense and attack on each side of the base of their caudal fin; these barbs are considered to be modified scales of the Tang.  Habitat: A Yellow Tang lives in saltwater reefs all over the world, however, they are most commonly found ne ..read more

  This post only exists because of a critical error I made in the last post. Cheers to fact checking. Ok, I know I said that there would be two Blanket Octopus posts, but I changed my mind (see here). All the info is now in one post. Anyways, while I was reading back on the Blanket Octopus, I realized that I said the Portuguese Man-of-War was a jellyfish.  Which is wrong. It's actually a siphonophore.  Which looks exactly like a jellyfish.  Which is why I wanted to create this post. There are over 200 different species of jellyfish in the world, and around half of t ..read more