Resources

Where the forest meets the ocean. Mangroves are land plants that are able to live in saltwater. Find out more about these specialised plants.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

Not your normal grass. Seagrasses area a marine flowering plant that can live underwater.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

Spiny-skinned creatures from the ocean. With echino meaning spiny and derm meaning skin - 'echinoderms' have to be spiny-skinned animals.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

Ancient, colourful and full of holes! Not only for use in the bath.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

Soft bodies, hard shells. Molluscs, one of the largest groups in the animal kingdom, have soft bodies and generally have a hard shell for protection - so they are often called 'shellfish'.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

These animals are covered with a protective outer shell so are names crustacean, meaning 'hard-shelled'. Crustaceans belong to the group of animals called arthropods, meaning 'joint-legged'.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

Why do dead fish float? how do fish that live on the bottom stay there and not float to the surface? How do fish move around in the water? These are all serious questions about fish survival and the ancient science of physics.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

The name cnidarians comes from the greek word 'cnidos', meaning stinging nettle. A key feature of these animals is the presence of 'nematocysts' or stinging cells, found mainly in the tentacles.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

For a species to survive, it must reproduce successfully and in the ocean, as on land, this is not always easy.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

In the ocean, as on land, communication happens between individuals and between species.

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With the existence of many predators in the environment, aquatic animals have developed an amazing variety of defence mechanisms.

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Christmas Island is 2,650 kilometres north-west of Perth, Western Australia and is part of the Indian Ocean Territories (IOTs).

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

Estuaries are an essential part of Western Australia's coastal environment. The sheltered waters, abundance of food and lack of large predatory fish provide a key habitat for many fish species, for either some or all of their lifecycle.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

There are a number of finfish species found within Western Australia's nearshore environment - waters from the high tide mark, seawards to a depth of approximately 20 metres.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

Pelagic fish mostly live in the open ocean, although part of their lifecycle maybe spent in nearshore waters. Unlike demersal species such as pink snapper that live near the sea bed and coral trout that live around the reefs, pelagic fish can be found anywhere from the surface down to depths of more than 1,000 metres.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019

There are approximately 500 shark species worldwide and more than 100 of these are found in Western Australian waters.

Resource type: PosterLast updated: 06.06.2019