by Kate Leavitt | Director of Mission
We get this question a lot. Nearly every day, visitors ask our naturalists why they can’t find sea stars in our Tide Pool Touch Tank anymore. It’s not because these animals are really good at hiding, or that we’ve forgotten to put any in the tank. Unfortunately,
Read MoreLined Seahorses (Hippocampus erectus) mate for life and are monogamous. The male typically courts the female for several days before mating. Females produce eggs and deposit them in the male’s pouch, where he incubates them for approximately 21 days. Uniquely, the male gives birth to the young and can have 100-1,000 babies at one time!
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By Ashley Stokes | Marine Mammal Rescue Manager
On Tuesday, January 8, we received a call on the SSC Marine Mammal Rescue hotline about a hooded seal, a species that migrates down from the Arctic during the winter. This is a species we rarely see; in fact, it’s only the second one since
From UNH Today | originally published Monday, February 5, 2018
Warmer ocean temperatures will accelerate reproduction in invasive tunicates
They’re lovingly called “sea squirts,” but these marine soft-bodied animals, or tunicates, could cause a giant-sized problem in cold water areas like the Gulf of Maine.
New UNH research indicates
The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a venomous coral reef fish that makes its way all the way up to the Gulf of Maine during the warmer summer months. Native to the Indo-Pacific region, lionfish were accidentally introduced into the Western Atlantic. Because they have no known predators, they have become an invasive species.
Read MoreOcean Runner Nichole finds SSC’s Marine Mammal Rescue volunteer Patty Adell monitoring a gray seal on a Hampton, NH beach during her afternoon run. Patty fills her in on what to do and not do if you encounter a seal on the beach (dead or alive): stay back and call the MMR hotline at
Read MoreKaren Provazza | Director of Marketing
On Monday, September 12, 2016, our Marine Mammal Rescue Manager Ashley Stokes received an unusual report: a swordfish washed up on Cable Beach in Rye. While not a marine mammal, our Rescue Team was eager to assess the situation and equipped to remove the carcass from the beach.
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Ocean Runner Nichole is curious about the perfect little round holes she has seen on empty periwinkle, mussel and clam shells. Seacoast Science Center’s Ashley Stokes explains how some snails are herbivores (plant eaters) and some, omnivores (meat eaters). Omnivores, such as dog whelks and moon snails, use their radula to “drill” a hole in
Read MoreOur summer campers got to learn about whales in a unique way: by climbing inside one! Staff members from the Blue Ocean Society recently brought their inflatable baleen whale named Ladder to the Seacoast Science Center. Our campers were able to go inside to see the whale’s skeleton and organs, and learn how whales
Read MoreAshley Breault | Marketing Intern | Ocean Studies and Communications Student at University of New England
Father’s Day is a great time to thank all the dads out there who step up their game for life’s most important job! Inarguably, the most notable dad in the animal kingdom, the seahorse, has some pretty unique traits that qualify them for the