Trouble at Trident Academy (7 page)

I
think all shrimp and krill are disgusting, but if I had to pick a favorite, I would pick the anemone shrimp. I like its purple and white spots because they look a little bit like pearls. This shrimp can live beside an anemone without getting stung.

ANTARCTIC KRILL

By Kiki Coral

I
think Antarctic krill are interesting, but I am very worried about them. Because the waters are getting warmer, there are fewer krill. A single blue whale can eat as many as four million krill in a day. What will happen to the whales if the krill disappear? I think merfolk should find out what is making the waters warmer and stop it.

WORDS BY DEBBIE DADEY

REFRAIN:

Let the water roar

Deep down we're swimming along

Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

VERSE 1:

Shelly flips her tail

Racing, diving, chasing a whale

Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

VERSE 2:

Pearl likes to shine

Oh my Neptune, she looks so fine

Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

VERSE 3:

Shining Echo flips her tail

Backward and forward without fail

Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

            
VERSE 4:

Amazing Kiki

Far from home and floating so free

Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

O
CEANS ARE HUGE, WILD,
wonderful places that need our help. Grandpa Siren knows the dangers of oil in the ocean, and I hope you do too. We must do what we can to protect our waters from pollution.

Scientists find new creatures in the ocean all the time. Maybe one day they will find a mermaid! Check out the glossary for some interesting information about
oceans and their inhabitants. Write to me on Kids Talk at
www.debbiedadey.com
and tell me your favorite sea creature.

Take care,

Debbie Dadey

BLUE WHALE:
The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived. Its heart is the size of a car!

CLAM:
In real life, the giant clam is usually only five feet wide.

CLEANER SHRIMP:
These shrimp clean parasites and bacteria off fish.

CONCH:
Sea snail shells are sometimes used for decoration or even for blowing to make noise.

CRAB:
The Japanese spider crab is the largest crab and can sometimes live for one hundred years!

CRUSTACEAN:
Krill, lobsters, crabs, and shrimp are all part of a group of animals known as crustaceans.

DOGFISH:
The piked dogfish is actually a shark. It can live to be one hundred years old.

DOLPHIN:
The bottlenose dolphin is known to play with humans in the wild.

EMPEROR SHRIMP:
Emperor shrimp live on sea cucumbers.

GLASSWORT:
Common glasswort can be eaten. Sometimes it is boiled like asparagus.

GREEN SEA TURTLE:
Green sea turtles lay up to two hundred eggs at a time, but their
numbers still have dwindled because they are hunted for human food.

HAMMERHEAD SHARK:
The strange, broad shape of this shark's head actually helps it in hunting for food.

HARLEQUIN SHRIMP:
Somehow these small shrimp are able to work in pairs to catch much larger starfish.

HINGE-BEAK SHRIMP:
Some shrimp actually glow!

HUMPBACK WHALE:
Male humpback whale songs can be heard from miles away by other humpbacks.

JELLY FISH:
The moon jellyfish is the most common of the two hundred types of jellyfish, some of which glow.

KILLER WHALE:
The killer whale is not a whale at all, but a dolphin.

KRILL:
Antarctic krill are only about two inches long. Krill feed on algae that grow under the ice.

OCTOPUS:
The giant octopus changes color to suit its mood. If it's mad, it turns red.