Ocean-themed Student Table Groups & Desk Tags

Need a fun way to diversify your student table grouping? Try using these different sea animals! All species are local to California coasts and include an infographic for each animal to post at the tables. Included are 4 desk tags for each group, as well as 2 tags to post at each group's lab table.

1. Giant Octopus
The giant Pacific octopus is the largest octopus species.
Its eight arms are covered with suction cups — 2,240 of
them in females, about 100 fewer in males — which
give the octopus an iron grip as well as exquisite senses
of taste and smell.

Masters of Disguise
Its millions of elastic cells under the skin, called
chromatophores, contain special colored pigments. The
octopus uses its sharp eyes to match the patterns and
colors of its background nearly perfectly, then adjusts
its skin color by stretching the chromatophores open or
squeezing them shut from moment to moment.
Experiments have shown that the octopus is
color-blind, making these feats that much more
mystifying.
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/giant-pacific-octopus

2. Sea Lion
Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) can be found along
the North American coast, ranging from southeastern
Alaska to central California, and all the way to eastern
Russia. Steller sea lions are the world’s largest species of
sea lions. The adult male Steller sea lion can weigh up to
2,400 pounds and will grow to be 3 times the size of an
adult male grizzly bear.

Steller sea lions communicate with one another by hissing
and belching. The bulls, or adult males, are usually
responsible for the loud noises, which are meant to ward
off other males during mating season. They also
communicate underwater, using clicks, barks, and
low-frequency pulses.
https://www.seadocsociety.org/steller-sea-lion-facts

3. Brown Pelican
Feeding
The brown pelican is the only pelican that is a plunge diver. The
brown pelican is a unique feeder that makes impressive dives
from ten to thirty above the surface. They are, however, able to
dive from as high as one hundred feet. The deeper the meal the
higher the dive. When it sees a potential meal it begins to tip
downwards, the wings shape into a V, and dives.
Conservation
In the 1960s and 1970s the park's colonies of California brown
pelicans faced extinction. Scientists pinpointed the pesticide
DDT flowing from mainland sewers into the sea as the cause.
When the pelicans ate contaminated fish, DDT disrupted their
reproductive systems. DDT altered the birds' calcium
metabolism, resulting in egg-shell thinning. The egg shells were
so thin that they broke under the parent's weight resulting in
reproductive failure.
https://www.nps.gov/places/000/california-brown-pelican.htm

4. Pacific Sea Nettle
Not all jellies sting, but the sea nettle does. It hunts tiny
drifting animals by trailing those long tentacles and frilly
mouth-arms, all covered with stinging cells. When the
tentacles touch prey, the stinging cells paralyze it and stick
tight. From there, the prey is moved to the mouth-arms
and finally to the mouth, where it's digested.

Conservation
There is mounting evidence that human influences in
coastal habitats may be creating conditions more
favorable to jellies, leading to an increased frequency of
blooms and reduced populations of larval fishes. The high
abundance of sea nettles makes scientists believe they
play a significant role in the planktonic food chain.
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/sea-nettle

5. Leopard Shark
Leopard Sharks (Triakis semifasciata) are among the most
common sharks found along the coast of California.

A Sixth & Seventh Sense
Humans and sharks have five senses in common: sight, smell,
sound, taste, and touch. All fish have a sixth sense, called the
lateral line, which can sense pressure changes in the water.
Sharks have a seventh sense located near the snout, called the
ampullae de Lorenzini, that can detect close-by
electromagnetic fields that are radiated by every living animal.
Sharks can detect these electromagnetic waves up to three
feet away, which is just enough to snatch up a meal that might
be hiding under the sand or disguising itself as a rock or plant.
https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/leopard-shark

6. Sea Star
Ochre sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus) prey on a number of
species including barnacles, mussels, snails, limpets, and
chitons. They eat by enveloping their prey with their arms and
using their tube feet to open the shells. They then evert their
stomachs out through their mouths and into the shell,
allowing them to digest the creature. Digestion takes two or
three days.

These sea stars are considered a keystone species, meaning
that their presence has a substantial impact on their
environment. They are one of the main predators of California
mussels (Mytilus californianus). Without the presence of ochre
sea stars, California mussels can take over the rocks, not
leaving enough space for other species to thrive. Ochre sea
stars keep the mussel populations in check, allowing for
greater species diversity.
https://interpretivecenter.org/ochre-sea-stars/

7. Sea Otter
Southern sea otters, also known as California sea otters, live in
the waters along the central California coastline. Historically,
sea otters numbered in the hundreds of thousands in the
North Pacific Ocean, but due to the fur trade, their numbers
plummeted in the early 1900s. The threat to the southern sea
otter posed by oil spills prompted its listing as a threatened
species in 1977.

Did You Know?
Sea otters have the densest fur in the animal kingdom,
ranging from 250,000 to a million hairs per square inch,
which helps insulate them.

Protection Status
Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and
designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection
Act.
https://www.mmc.gov/priority-topics/species-of-concern/southern-sea-otter/

8. Sea Slug
Opalescent Nudibranch

The opalescent nudibranch, (Hermissenda opalescens), is a
type of sea slug that can be found along the west coast of
North America, from Oregon to Baja California. During El Niño
years, they may even be spotted as far north as British
Columbia. It may also be seen during very low tides along the
San Mateo coast at Rockaway Beach, Fitzgerald Marine
Reserve, and Mavericks Beach.

While their appearance is striking, their eating habits are
equally fascinating. The opalescent nudibranch feeds primarily
on hydroids and anemones, ingesting the stinging cells, called
nematocysts, of their prey. These stinging cells are then
incorporated into the tips of their cerata, allowing the
opalescent nudibranch to defend itself against would-be
predators with a powerful sting.
https://www.pacificbeachcoalition.org/learn-about-the-opalescent-nudibranch/

9. Garibaldi
Garibaldi (California’s State Marine Fish)

The garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus) is the largest of the
damselfish family (Pomacentridae). Found in shallow waters
off the coast of southern California and Mexico, the garibaldi is
a golden-orange fish typically 14 inches in length as an adult.
https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/california/state-fish-aquatic-life/garibaldi

How the garibaldi got its name
In the 1840s, an Italian named Giuseppe Garibaldi decided to
start wearing bright red shirts as part of his personal style. He
went on to fight for the reunification of Italy, became a
general and died a national hero. So when biologists
discovered a brilliant red-orange fish cruising the rocky reefs
of California — one that sallied out to bare its teeth at any
intruder — they knew exactly what to name it.
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/garibaldi

10. Octopus

Octopus

Octopus

Octopus

11. Sea Lion

Sea Lion

Sea Lion

Sea Lion

12. Pelican

Pelican

Pelican

Pelican

13. Sea Nettle

Sea Nettle

Sea Nettle

Sea Nettle

14. Leopard
Shark

Leopard
Shark

Leopard
Shark

Leopard
Shark

15. Sea Star

Sea Star

Sea Star

Sea Star

16. Sea Otter

Sea Otter

Sea Otter

Sea Otter

17. Sea Slug

Sea Slug

Sea Slug

Sea Slug

18. Garibaldi

Garibaldi

Garibaldi

Garibaldi

19. Octopus
Octopus

20. Sea Lions
Sea Lions

21. Pelicans
Pelicans

22. Sea Nettles
Sea Nettles

23. Sharks
Sharks

24. Sea Stars
Sea Stars

25. Sea Otters
Sea Otters

26. Sea Slugs
Sea Slugs

27. Garibaldis
Garibaldis