In the years after Finding Nemo was released, there was great concern for the few remaining clownfish found in the wild. The film ironically increased demand for clownfish in such a dramatic way that they were commonly caught illegally in the wild to keep up with the demand. Clownfish can normally be bred in captivity, so the impact ended up not being too great.
The Atlantic wreckfish gets its name from the habitat where it is found. This fish is mainly found in shipwrecks, caves, natural reefs, and areas where there are large amounts of boulders. The other names of this fish are bass groper or stone bass.
The moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) is a common jelly that is easily recognized by its four horseshoe-shaped gonads, which are visible through the top of its translucent bell. The species gets its common name for the way its pale bell resembles a full moon. People frequently encounter moon jellyfish because of their abundance and preference for coastal waters. These jellyfish do sting, but their venom is mild and considered harmless. Any clinging tentacles may be rinsed off with salt water. The venom may then be deactivated with heat, vinegar, or baking soda.
The flameback is a species of brightly colored sea slug (nudibranch), native to the west coast of South America. Like in most sea slugs, the bright coloration is a warning to potential predators that it is bad tasting and potentially even poisonous to some animals. The flameback is carnivorous, eating soft corals and other sessile invertebrates on rocky reefs. Like most nudibranchs, this species incorporates toxic chemicals or stinging cells from its prey into its own skin. This ability provides the flameback with a defense mechanism against predation.
Gentoo penguins have been known to make as many as 450 dives per day to forage for food. They can dive as deep as 200 metres (650 feet) and stay underwater up to seven minutes. Although they prefer to stay close to shore, gentoos have been spotted as far as 26 km (16 miles) out to sea. They are also the fastest-swimming penguins in the world, reaching speeds of up to 36 kph (22.4 mph).
Plankton are tiny aquatic organisms that cannot move on their own. They live in the photic zone. They include phytoplankton and zooplankton. Phytoplankton are bacterium and alga that use sunlight to make food. Their counterparts, Nekton, are aquatic animals that can move on their own by "swimming" through the water. They may live in the photic or aphotic zone. They feed on plankton or other nekton. Examples of nekton include fish and shrimp.
Pufferfish diets can vary depending on their environment. Traditionally, their diet consists mostly of algae and small invertebrates. They can survive on a completely vegetarian diet if their environment is lacking resources, but prefer an omnivorous food selection. Larger species of pufferfish are able to use their beak-like front teeth to break open clams, mussels, and other shellfish. Some species of pufferfish have also been known to enact various hunting techniques ranging from ambush to open-water hunting.
Quagga mussels are extremely effective filter feeders, removing large amounts of phytoplankton and suspended particulates from the water. A single mussel is capable of filtering over a liter of water each day. The spread of quagga mussels has been aided by their prolific breeding, with a single female producing up to one million eggs per year.
The cushion star is a sea star that gets its common name from its inflated, pillow-like appearance. This species lives on coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific, and its species name (Culcita novaeguineae) reflects its discovery and commonness in New Guinea. Juveniles look like typical sea stars, but as the cushion star grows, it becomes more inflated and the arms grow together, eventually reaching a point where they are almost no longer discernible. On the underside, however, the cushion star clearly shows its five-part symmetry, particularly near the mouth.
Hector's dolphins have one of the most restricted ranges of all dolphins; they live only in some coastal areas of New Zealand and nowhere else. They prefer shallow waters less than 100m (328ft) deep and 16km (just under 10 miles) from New Zealand’s shore. Preferring to stick to where they know, individual dolphins usually cover an area of about 50km of coastline, and scientists have recorded the same individuals in the same general area year-round for over 20 years. These days, their distribution is patchy around New Zealand’s coast – a stark reminder of the difficulties they face. Due to a major decline in numbers, only small, fractured populations remain.