There’s no scent like home

Damselfish and smell: Marine scientists working on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have uncovered evidence that baby damselfish, only a centimeter long, manage to find the way to their home coral reef across miles of open sea by using their sense of smell!

In damsels and other fish, a pair of tiny nostril-like holes, called nares, open to a chamber lined with sensory pads. When water moves across these pads, chemical signals incite the fish to react. In baby damsels, the chemical makeup or “smell” of home (a rich mixture of the proteins and amino acids emitted by corals) encourages them to chose a current that leads to their original reef.

 

Look, but don’t touch!

Sea anemones and touch: The sea anemone’s acute sense of touch has two very important roles – feeding and protection. Tentacles surround the end of the anemone’s body and mouth and each is lined with nematocysts, or stinging cells. Small sensory hairs on these cells can detect even the slightest touches and subtlest vibrations in the water. When the anemone senses prey – or a potential predator – it triggers the release of venom-laden, harpoon-like structures, paralyzing the food or enemy! Only the clownfish is immune to the sea anemone’s sting.

 

What is so delicious on the bottom of a pond?

Catfish and taste: Imagine a big swimming tongue; in a way, that’s what a catfish is. The smooth scaleless skin of this fish is completely covered with taste buds – 250,000 cover a 6-inch-long catfish. (Humans, by contrast, have only 10,000!)

Most fish that have taste buds have only a few located in or near the mouth, but a catfish has dense concentrations of them in its mouth, as well as on its fins, back, belly, sides, and tail. Those covering the body detect chemicals to help locate food, even in dark, muddy water. The highest concentrations on the outside of the body are on its long, tapered whiskers, or barbels, which it uses as feelers to cautiously sample food before eating.

 

A celebration of migratory birds

Join a flock of Aquarium staff and visitors on May 10, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. as we observe International Migratory Bird Day. Enjoy crafts in celebration of birds that fly from one region to another, and participate in indoor and outdoor (weather permitting) activities showing the lifestyle and habitat of local migratory birds including the Baltimore oriole, Maryland’s state bird. Plus, meet Puffin, the Aquarium’s mascot, and get an eyeful of the many other amazing bird species that the Aquarium cares for.