If Mr. Garibaldi Damselfish lets us, it’s time for a close up look at his design and fun facts about his species. Even though Garibaldi males are very protective and caring of their algae patch and eggs, they still occasionally eat some of the eggs. Females like to lay their eggs near other newly laid eggs with a bright yellow coloring. Because of this, males will sometimes eat older eggs to encourage other females to lay their eggs. Other than just an aggressively protective homemaker, male Garibaldi fish can be peaceful. Males have been seen eating within a few feet of each other as long as they are both out of the other’s territory. Kelp forests are vital to the lives of Garibaldi fish. Not only do they protect this fish from predators, the kelp forest is also where these fish socialize. Garibaldi fish have been seen gathering in the kelp without quarreling and it is speculated that they get to know one another and choose mates there. The Garibaldi fish is one of the largest damselfish in its Pomacentridae family which includes damselfish and clownfish. One of the key identifying features of the Garibaldi fish that my art does not show is its bright orange color. As an adolescence, they are still orange but with bright blue speckles. This bright orange color helped to inspire its name (sort of..). Its name, Garibaldi comes from the last name of an Italian military figure whose army wore bright red shirts (Of course, orange is not red but I guess it’s close enough). If you have seen my Mama Sea Otter’s design, you may have noticed my Garibaldi Damselfish’s design is very similar. I was inspired to do both of these animals while watching Blue Planet 2’s kelp forest episode. I found the sea otter’s vital role in the kelp forest fascinating and the Garibaldi Damselfish’s aggression to be hilariously adorable as I watched him pick up a sea urchin and put it down far away from his well pruned algae lawn. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list of Threatened Species, the Garibaldi Damselfish is of least concern now. In the 1980s and 1990s, it became a very popular saltwater pet store fish and was vulnerable to being caught on fishing lines and spearing because of their territorial nature. As a pet store fish, its life span of about 15 years in the wild decreased. In 1995, California adopted the Garibaldi as their state fish and now only allows it to be taken out of its natural habitat with special permits. Check out my sources for more fun facts:
https://www.nps.gov/articles/garibaldi.htm https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/nature/garibaldi.htm http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/garabaldi https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/183367/8100806 https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hypsypops_rubicundus/
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Happy Father's Day!
This isn't a fish everyone references when thinking of Father's Day but I wanted something different. This is Mr. Garibaldi Damselfish with a look that says "Get Off My Algae!" and the aggression to push, pluck, and throw you away from his patch of Algae. The Garibaldi finds a patch of kelp forest floor and eats away everything except the red algae. He prunes his algae and keeps unwanted guests away. He picks up sea urchins and puts them down far from his spot. He gets up in the faces of other fish and rams them if they get too close (this also includes human scuba divers and cameras). All to protect this little patch of algae. On this algae a female Garibaldi Damselfish will hopefully lay her eggs. Mr. Garibaldi Damselfish will then chase her away to prevent her from eating some of them. He continues to care for his eggs and his patch of algae. When the babies hatch and go off on their own, he still stays on his patch of algae to continue to take care of it. Happy Father's day to all the types of father's out there! You may be similar to the protective Garibaldi Damselfish, creating a safe loving home for your little ones until they are ready to swim off on their own. You may be a different kind of dad. No matter what kind of father or father figure you are, you are loved and I hope you enjoy your special day! I have another surprise post for the instagram @wildlifewednesdaychallenge.
This is the Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly. This butterfly lays its eggs on the flowers of locoweed, deerweed, and rattlepod. My Palos Verdes Blue’s wing design is based on rattlepod which is a type of locoweed. It is called locoweed because all parts of this plant are toxic if humans or livestock eat it. Once the larvae hatch, they feed on the plants they are born on. A little while before the larvae form chrysalis, they form a symbiotic relationship with ants that is mutualistic. This means both animals, in this case insects, benefit. The larvae produce a sugary substance that ants can eat and the ants protect the larvae from predators and insect larvae that act like parasites. When the larvae are ready to form a chrysalis, they crawl to the base of their host plant, dig into the leaf debris, and go underground. They spend most of their lives in the chrysalis state. Thought to have gone extinct in 1983 due to the housing construction and expansion destroying what was believed to be their only breeding and home flowers, rattlepod, the Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly was rediscovered in March of 1994. A subspecies of the silvery blue butterfly, the Palos Verdes Blue is only found in the Palos Verdes Peninsula of Los Angeles and is still endangered. It's sad how easily we could wipe a species from the face of the Earth when we are not careful. References: Photo Reference: Jess Morton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jessmorton/27231164754/in/photostream/) Rattlepod http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2016/02/plant-of-month-december-rattlepod.html Palos Verdes Blue Articles: https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/science-magazines/palos-verdes-blue-butterfly https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/esa_works/profile_pages/PalosVerdesBlueButterfly.html https://bestofthesouthbay.com/palos-verdes-blue-butterfly/ Videos: https://youtu.be/1zTTArkKCIs Happy Monday! I have another surprise post from last Wednesday inspired by the Instagram @WildlifeWednesdayChallenge. This is my Whale Shark. The largest fish in the ocean, a whale shark can grow to 40 feet or more in length. The typical yellow school bus children in North America use is around 30 to 45 feet long! This gentle giant is a filter feeder. One of their main food sources, plankton, looks like the inspiration for aliens in movies. Plankton are organisms that cannot swim against the water current or tide. The origin of the word plankton means drifters or wanderers in Greek. They are split into two groups: Phytoplankton (plants) and Zooplankton (animals). Below I have a key of the different plankton I used. (Please excuse the krill’s position. I ran out of space on the Zooplankton and put krill on the Phytoplankton). Each Whale Shark has a unique pattern of dots and the scientists who study them use star mapping programs to identify each one. Sadly, the whale shark is vulnerable. These sharks are accidentally caught in nets (bycatch) and they are still hunted in some parts of the world for their meat and especially their fins. However, they have become more valuable as live tourist attractions and people come to see and swim with them in the wild. Whale Shark Reference Photograph by Dr Simon J Pierce
https://naturetripper.com/underwater-wide-angle-photography/ Zooplankton References https://marinebio.org/creatures/zooplankton/ Phytoplankton References https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Phytoplankton For more whale shark information check out these links: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/w/whale-shark/ https://oceana.org/marine-life/sharks-rays/whale-shark https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/rhincodon-typus/ For More Plankton information check out the link below: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/plankton.html Happy Monday Everyone!
Today I have my Red Panda! It was a quick piece so it is very simple! The Red Panda is known as the first panda because it was discovered 50 years before the giant panda. It is also called firefox for its red coat and its fluffy tail that it can wrap around itself to keep warm. It's closed up Monday! I have my surprise Instagram animal post from last Tuesday, the West Indian Manatee. This manatee has so many interesting facts but here are my favorite ones.
Florida manatees can't take long periods of temperatures below 68 degrees Fahrenheit. This is surprisingly due to their bodies not having a lot of fat insulation and their metabolic rate being low. Their bodies are mostly made up of their stomach and intestines. They can move between saltwater, brackish water, and freshwater with their kidneys helping to filter out too much salt. This water is for drinking purposes.
The West Indian manatee is vulnerable.
Historically they were hunted for their bone, flesh and hide. They are now protected but their populations are still in decline due to habitat loss and injuries from boats. Scars created by boating accidents are used by scientists to identify the individual manatee. For more information on the West Indian Manatee, check out my sources below. Photo References: Fun Facts:
PDF articles
Videos: Happy Endangered Species Awareness Day! A day to learn about Endangered Species and how to protect them! I have created many animals in 2019 and 2020 that are listed as critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable / threatened so I thought I'd shine a spotlight on them. My critically endangered species are the Axolotl and Hawksbill Sea Turtle. My endangered species are my Mama Sea Otter, Sunbathing Ringtailed Lady Lemur, African Painted Dog, and Maned Wolf. Although not endangered but still vulnerable and threatened are my Greyheaded Flying Fox (aka fruit bat), Giant Panda, Southern Hognose Snake, and the West Indian Manatee. I won't go into full detail on all the factors that have caused or contributed to these animals becoming critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable/ threatened.
Instead, I will focus on one major human impact that many if not all of these animals have faced: Habitat Loss. Habitat loss can include habitat destruction, fragmentation, and degradation. When you think of habitat destruction think of bulldozers and other construction equipment that change the layout of the habitat. Habitat fragmentation is basically cutting into their habitat like building roads or structures through their homes. Habitat degradation includes pollution, bringing in non-native species that thrive and can kill or compete for resources, and people trying to control the natural ecosystem processes. Why do we cause habitat loss? We want farms for food. We want land for houses, roads, and other stuctures. We want to control water flow. Our untreated waste, fertilizers, and pesticides can get into and pollute the water. There is no simple solution but if you would like to learn more and become involved in helping these animals and more. Check out my sources:
This is my Blue Dragon Sea Slug, also known as Sea Swallow, Blue Angel, and Blue Glaucus. It can grow as long as 1.2 inches, about the size of a regular paper clip, and eats the Portuguese Man O' War that can get up to 165 feet long, or the length of two female blue whales! A little air bubble in its stomach helps it to float. Some of the Portuguese Man O' War tentacles contain nematocysts, or venom coils, that are dangerous to people. Even unattached tentacles or dead Man O' War still have enough venom to cause intense pain (though it rarely kills). This sea slug takes that venom and concentrates it in its long "fingers". This makes it more deadly than the Man O' War! For more information check out my sources: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/inside-nature-featured-creature-blue-dragon/ https://oceana.org/marine-life/corals-and-other-invertebrates/blue-glaucus Happy Mother's Day! We may be quarantined but we can still celebrate our moms through the internet! I have three depictions on motherhood in my animals so far and coincidentally their babies are all referred to as pups. What is your favorite mother and baby relationship in the animal kingdom? This is the Southern Hognose Snake I surprise posted on Instagram last Tuesday for the @WildlifeWednesdayChallenge I’ve been challenging myself to go faster in my creative process. My goal was to finish this piece within a day and I did finish it in about 11 hours. I still felt rushed with all the scales but I think it came out very well for the most part.
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Artist and Blogger
I'm just a doodling artist. My current style started in a lecture class at MCLA where I began doodling in my notebooks. Now I've started a new series focusing on animals. Archives
April 2021
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