Life On The Reef

So God created great sea creatures and every sort of fish and every kind of bird. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:21

Tony and Missy were on the beach in the Florida Keys looking out at the waves Tony said to Missy “I wonder what kind of animals live in the ocean?”

Suddenly a sea gull landed on the sand right next to them and said, “Hello.”

Well the two were very surprised, but did not want to appear to be rude, so they both said, “Hello to you, too.”

The sea gull introduced herself as Sally.  She said, “I heard you wondering about what kind of animals live in the ocean.  Would you like to go and see for yourselves?”

They looked at each other and said, “We sure would.  But, how can we do that?”

Sally said, “Just climb on my back and I will take you on a wonderful adventure.”

Tony said, “How can we get on your back?  We’re too big.”

Sally said, “Oh, I can fix that.”  And she began to fly around the two; faster and faster.  Then suddenly she flew straight up, making a big loop, and swooped down and scooped up the pair, who were now only two inches tall!  Sally soared up into the air and headed out over the water.

Tony said, “This is really cool! I am so excited! Hold on, Missy, this is going to be so much fun!” Sally flew and flew until they were out over the ocean. From way up high our adventurers could look down into the water and see many wonderful things. There were schools of fish darting this way and that; pelicans flying along in search of their morning meal.

Finally Sally said, “Hold on, we are going to land”.

“Land?  Land where?” Missy asked, looking around and seeing nothing but water.
But Sally kept gliding down.  Just before they got to the water she said, “There you are.”

“There who is?” asked Tony.

“Gretchen, the green sea turtle,” said Sally.  “She is my best friend.”  Then she landed on Gretchen’s back.

“Hello Sally,” said Gretchen in a slow but very cheerful and friendly tone.  “It has been a long time since I have seen you.  Oh, who are your friends?”

Education Station
Green Sea Turtles:
Length; 31-44 inches weight; 150-410 pounds.
The largest one ever collected was 5 feet and weighed 871 pounds!
Sea turtles can not retract their fins or head like their cousins the tortoise.

Sea turtles are reptiles like snakes, lizards and alligators they have lungs and must come to the surface to breath.
Most sea turtles nest about 6 times per year, laying about 100 eggs.  Many won’t hatch, many won’t make it back out to sea, and even then they are easy prey.  Only about 1 in 1000 live to adulthood.
Diet: Most sea turtles are carnivores (meat eaters), but the green turtle is an herbivore (a plant eater that eats sea grass and algae).
There are 5 main types of sea turtles:  Leatherback, Loggerhead, Ridley, Hawksbill, and Green sea turtle.

“This is Tony and Missy.  They would like to learn more about life in the sea,” said Sally.

“It is very nice to meet both of you,” said Gretchen. “Would you like to go down and see what life is like on the reef?”

“Yes!  We would love to!” the adventurers replied together.

“I think I will stay up here,” said Sally, as she flapped her wings and took off.

“Ok then. Hold on, here we go” said Gretchen. And she dove down under the waves. Suddenly Tony and Missy were gliding under water into a new world of discovery. As they swam down deeper the wonderful creatures of the reef began to come into focus. There were many brilliantly colored fish swimming around; some in groups called schools, others by themselves. Tony saw some coral growing up from the bottom. “The colors are just so beautiful,” said Tony. “It looks like somebody painted them all the colors of the rainbow!”

Education Station
Coral may have the look and feel of rock but it is made up of tiny animals called coral polyps which are the size of a pin head and it takes millions of them to form colony. As many colonies grow together they form coral reefs. The brilliant colors of the coral come from tiny plants called algae. The algae and coral depend on each other to survive; this type of relationship is called Symbiosis

“Look over there!” shouted Missy in a very excited voice. “It’s a porcupine! I didn’t know that they lived under water.”

Gretchen said, “Well actually, that is a sea urchin and they have spines that sort of look like quills.”

The three continued on their journey.  Along the way they saw angelfish, parrot fish sergeant majors, sting rays and many other wonderful sea creatures. Gretchen said, “Look over there a starfish.”

Education Station
The star fish has an amazing survival trick.  If a fish tries to take a bite, the starfish’s arm will fall off.  Well that surprises the fish so much that it drops the arm and leaves the starfish alone.  And that’s when the really amazing part comes in. The starfish will grow a new arm. The arm grows a new starfish! That is called regeneration. Isn’t God’s creation amazing?



As our friends were gliding along beneath the waves Tony thought that he saw a flash of silver. “What was that?” he asked.

“What was what?” asked Missy.

“There it was again, over there,” shouted Tony, very excited. “And look, all the fish are swimming away!”

Then Gretchen saw why.  Buster the Barracuda had swum in for a little lunch. “Hello Buster,” said Gretchen.

“Hello to you, too” said Buster in a very fast voice. Buster does everything very fast. In fact, Buster relies on his speed to survive in the open water. “So, what are those things on your back, Gretchen?” asked Buster, with a slightly sinister look, showing his teeth.

“They are not things.  These are my friends, Tony and Missy, and they will not be on your menu today, Buster!” said Gretchen, in a very stern voice.

“Well that’s too bad,” said Buster. “I guess I will have to look somewhere else then.” Buster took off in a flash and was gone just as fast as he appeared.

“I’m glad that he is gone,” said Missy. “He was kind of scary”

Gretchen said, “Yes, there are some scary things in the ocean.  But, there are many very wonderful creatures also. Each one has a place and purpose in God’s wonderful creation. Hey look!  All the reef fish are coming back to their homes”.

“Home -  I guess we should be getting back to our home too” said Tony.

“Oh, do we have to?” asked Missy.

“Yes,” said Gretchen. “It has been a long day.  I will bring back to the beach”. Gretchen swam all the way into shore and dropped our adventurers off on dry land. “I hope that you come and visit us again,” said Gretchen, as she swam back out to sea waving her flipper.

“Good bye and thank you” our adventurers called out waving good bye.

“That was way cool!” said Tony. “I can’t wait until our next adventure.”