Page 27 - aruba-today-20190713

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science Saturday 13 July 2019
HEALTH
Sea dragons captivate visitors at California aquarium

DOCTOR ON DUTY
By JULIE WATSON Moffatt, director of animal
Associated Press care at the Birch Aquari- Oranjestad
LA JOLLA, California (AP) — um. Hospital 7:00 pm / 10:00pm
At first glance, it looks like a The exhibit is the latest ef- Tel. 527 4000
branch of kelp, but then an fort by the aquarium that is San Nicolas
eye moves among its leafy a world leader in seahorse
appendages, and ridges propagation. IMSAN 24 Hours
Tel.524 8833
of tiny, translucent fins start Sea dragons swim by spin-
to flutter, sending the crea- ning translucent fins while Women in Difficulties
PHARMACY ON DUTY
ture gliding through the their tails act as rudders.
water like something from They have no natural pred- Oranjestad:
a fairy tale. ators, in part because their Centraal Tel. 585 8077
A Southern California slender bodies are cov- San Nicolas:
Aloe Tel. 584 4606
aquarium has built what is ered by bony plates. Women in Difficulties
believed to be one of the If both types of sea drag- OTHER
world's largest habitats for ons can be bred, scientists Dental Clinic 587 9850
the surreal sea dragons, believe that could reduce Blood Bank Aruba 587 0002
whose native populations the number being taken il- Urgent Care 586 0448
off Australia are threat- In this Friday, May 17, 2019 photo, a sea dragon swims at the legally from the wild.q Walk-In Doctor’s Clinic
ened by pollution, warm- Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the +297 588 0539
Women in Difficulties
ing oceans and the illegal University of California San Diego in San Diego. EMERGENCY
pet and alternative medi- Associated Press
cine trades. Police 100
527 3140
Oranjestad
The Birch Aquarium at the weedy, each repre- and one female — and 11 Noord 527 3200
the Scripps Institution of senting its own genus. Both weedy sea dragons. The Sta. Cruz 527 2900
Oceanography at the Uni- are found only in a small 5,300-gallon (20,062-liter) San Nicolas 584 5000
versity of California San area of temperate waters tank is a vast space, espe- Police Tipline 11141
Diego hopes the exhibit, off the southern and west- cially for the smaller leafy Ambulancia 911
which opened this month, ern coasts of Australia. sea dragon, which grows Fire Dept. 115
will lead to the leafy sea Little is known about them to only about 14 inches (36 Red Cross 582 2219
dragon, the lesser-known because their populations centimeters) in length. TAXI SERVICES
cousin of the seahorse, be- are so small and in remote The tank has grassy plants, Taxi Tas 587 5900
ing bred for the first time in areas. a sandy bottom and rocks. Prof. Taxi 588 0035
captivity. So far, only the weedy sea Scientists hope the large Taxi D.T.S. 587 2300
"It literally just looked like a dragon, a bony fish that space will foster breeding. Taxi Serv. Aruba 583 3232
piece of kelp," said Steven resembles seaweed when Sea dragons mirror each A1 Taxi Serv. 280 2828
Kowal, 25, who was visiting floating, has been bred in other in a courtship dance, Women in Difficulties
San Diego from Greens- captivity, and only a hand- spiraling upward before TRAVEL INFO
boro, North Carolina, and ful of times. the female deposits her Aruba Airport 524 2424
took time to see the exhibit. The Aquarium of the Pa- eggs onto a patch on the American Airlines 582 2700
"It was crazy to me that it cific in Long Beach was the underside of the male's tail. Avianca 588 0059
was, like, actually living first in the world to breed Like seahorses, the male Jet Blue 588 2244
and swimming around, so the weedy sea dragons carries the young and gives Surinam 582 7896
that's cool. I've never seen in 2001. It also is trying to birth.
anything like that." breed leafy sea dragons. "We're already seeing Women in Difficulties
That's a common reaction. The Birch Aquarium's great courtship behaviors, CRUISES
"They look like something 18-foot-long (5.5-meter- and so we're hopeful we
out of this world," said long) tank has three leafy can get some egg transfers
Leslee Matsushige, the sea dragons — two males really soon," said Jenn Nero
aquarium's associate cu-
rator, who noted the sea
dragons' amazing ability to July 16
Freedom of the Seas
camouflage themselves. July 17
"When people see them Monarch
move, you hear them say, Women in Difficulties
'What? That's alive? Wow! AID FOUNDATIONS
That's crazy.'"
Scientists like Matsushige FAVI- Visually Impaired
Tel. 582 5051
hope the creatures' mag-
netic power will prompt Alcoholics Anonymous
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people to read signs next Narcotics Anonymous
to the tanks that outline Tel. 583 8989
ways to protect them and Women in Difficulties
what can be done to make Tel. 583 5400
oceans healthier, such as Centre for Diabetes
picking up trash and stop- Tel. 524 8888
ping pollutants from going Child Abuse Prevention
down the drain. Tel. 582 4433
Few aquariums have sea Quota Club Tel. 525 2672
Women in Difficulties
dragons. General Info
There are only two types of
sea dragons, the leafy and Phone Directory Tel. 118