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® Br ca ti anni LEARNING L I B R A R Y Creatures of the Waters Encounter fascinating animals that live in and around water CHICAGO LONDON NEW DELHI PARIS SEOUL SYDNEY TAIPEI TOKYO PROJECT TEAM Judith West, Editorial Project Manager Christopher Eaton, Editor and Educational Consultant Kathryn Harper, U.K. Editorial Consultant Marilyn L. Barton, Senior Production Coordinator Editors Theodore Pappas Anthony L. Green Mary Rose McCudden Andrea R. Field Michael J. Anderson Colin Murphy Locke Petersheim Indu Ramchandani (Encyclopædia Britannica India) Bhavana Nair (India) Rashi Jain (India) Design and Media Specialists Nancy Donohue Canfield, Design Megan Newton-Abrams, Design Karen Koblik, Photos Joseph Taylor, Illustrations Amy Ning, Illustrations Jerry A. Kraus, Illustrations Michael Nutter, Maps Copy Editors Barbara Whitney Laura R. Gabler Dennis Skord Lisa Braucher, Data Editor Paul Cranmer, Indexer ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA PROJECT SUPPORT TEAM EDITORIAL Linda Berris Robert Curley Brian Duignan Kathleen Kuiper Kenneth Pletcher Jeffrey Wallenfeldt Anita Wolff Charles Cegielski Mark Domke Michael Frassetto James Hennelly Sherman Hollar Michael R. Hynes Sandra Langeneckert Gene O. Larson Michael I. Levy Robert Lewis Tom Michael Janet Moredock DESIGN Steven N. Kapusta Carol A. Gaines Cate Nichols ART Kathy Nakamura Kristine A. Strom Nadia C. Venegas ILLUSTRATION David Alexovich Christine McCabe Thomas Spanos MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT Jeannine Deubel Kimberly L. Cleary Kurt Heintz Quanah Humphreys COPY Sylvia Wallace Jennifer F. Gierat Glenn Jenne Mary Kasprzak Thad King Larry Kowalski Joan Lackowski Dawn McHugh Julian Ronning Chrystal Schmit Sarah Waterman INFORMATION MANAGEMENT/ INDEXING Carmen-Maria Hetrea Edward Paul Moragne Marco Sampaolo Sheila Vasich Mansur G. Abdullah Keith DeWeese Catherine Keich Stephen Seddon EDITORIAL TECHNOLOGIES Steven Bosco Gavin Chiu Bruce Walters Mark Wiechec COMPOSITION TECHNOLOGY Mel Stagner MANUFACTURING Dennis Flaherty Kim Gerber INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Leah Mansoor Isabella Saccà ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, INC. Jacob E. Safra, Chairman of the Board Jorge Aguilar-Cauz, President Michael Ross, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development Dale H. Hoiberg, Senior Vice President and Editor Marsha Mackenzie, Managing Editor and Director of Production © 2008 BY ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, INC. Cover photos (front): Robert Yin/Corbis; (back): Royalty-Free/Corbis. Cover insert photos (left): Royalty-Free/Corbis; (center): Royalty-Free/Corbis International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59339-516-2 No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. BRITANNICA LEARNING LIBRARY: CREATURES OF THE WATERS 2008 Britannica.com may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.britannica.com. (Trademark Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.) Printed in U.S.A. Creatures of the Waters I N T R O D U C T I O N How did the “dabbling duck” get its name? What fish can leap up waterfalls? Is a sponge a plant or an animal? What animals can live both in water and on land? Creatures of the Waters, In To help you on your journey, we’ve provided the following guideposts in Creatures of the Waters: ■ Subject Tabs—The colored box in the upper corner of each right-hand you’ll discover answers to page will quickly tell you the article subject. these questions and many ■ Search Lights—Try these mini-quizzes before and after you read the more. Through pictures, article and see how much—and how quickly—you can learn. You can even articles, and fun facts, you’ll learn about the great diversity of animal life make this a game with a reading partner. (Answers are upside down at the bottom of one of the pages.) ■ Did You Know?—Check out these fun facts about the article subject. With these surprising “factoids,” you can entertain your friends, impress found in waters around the your teachers, and amaze your parents. world. ■ Picture Captions—Read the captions that go with the photos. They provide useful information about the article subject. ■ Vocabulary—New or difficult words are in bold type. You’ll find them explained in the Glossary at the end of the book. ■ Learn More!—Follow these pointers to related articles in the book. These articles are listed in the Table of Contents and appear on the Subject Tabs. Br ® ca itanni LEARNING L I B R A R Y Have a great trip! © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Creatures of the Waters TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 WATERBIRDS Salmon: Leaping Up the Waterfall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Sharks: Predators of the Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Albatrosses: Forever Gliding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Ducks: Dabblers, Divers, and Perchers. . . . . . . . . . . . 8 MOSTLY MARINE MARVELS Geese: Fine-Feathered Travelers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Coral: Builders in the Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Gulls: The Ocean’s Cleanup Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Deep-Sea Life: Flashing Lights!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Penguins: Well-Dressed Swimmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Jellyfish: Boneless Blobs of the Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Swans: Birds of Beauty, Grace, and Speed . . . . . . . . 16 Mollusks: Shell-Dwelling Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Octopuses: Eight-Armed Wonders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 WATER-WISE AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES Sponges: Plants or Animals? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Amphibians: The Land-and-Water Dwellers . . . . . . . 18 Frogs: Amazing Changing Amphibians . . . . . . . . . . 20 AQUATIC MAMMALS Alligators and Crocodiles: Modern Dinosaurs. . . . . . 22 Buffalo: Water-Loving Beasts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Anacondas: A Tight Squeeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Hippopotamuses: Kings of the River . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Turtles: Taking Their Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Manatees: Mermaids of Yore?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Muskrats: The Town Builders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 FRESH FISH! Walruses: The Whale Horses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Fish: Citizens of the Waters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Whales: The Biggest Animals of All . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Carp: The Fishy Survivor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Piranhas: Frightening Little Fish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Br ® ca itanni LEARNING L I B R A R Y © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. SE A  T GH RCH LI Which of the following can be said about an albatross? a) It spends most of its time on land. b) It eats other birds. c) It goes to land only to lay eggs. Albatrosses use their long wings to soar and glide on air currents. They can stay in the air for hours without flapping their wings. The black-browed albatross, shown here in flight, has a dark marking around the eye that makes it look as though it is frowning. © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. ALBATROSSES Forever Gliding T he albatross is an amazing seabird. It spends most of its life soaring above the water. The only time albatrosses ever go ashore is when they lay eggs and raise their chicks. Groups (called “colonies”) of the birds build nests on isolated Antarctic islands. A single large white egg is laid in a bowl-shaped nest built from plants and soil. Sometimes the nest is just a patch of bare ground. A young albatross grows slowly. It takes at least four months for it to develop all the feathers it will need to fly. Once it’s able to fly, the albatross will spend the next five to ten years out at sea. The albatross can glide for Scientists measuring an albatross’ wingspread. © Wolfgang Kaehler/Corbis hours at a time, without flapping its long narrow wings. To stay in the air like this, it needs windy weather. In calm weather the albatross has trouble keeping its heavy body in the air, so it rests on the water and floats like a cork. It feeds on small squid and fish. But it will also follow fishing boats and eat scraps that are thrown overboard. DID YOU Some kinds of albatrosses are brown, but most of them are white KNOW? with some brown or black markings on their bodies or wings. In the past, Albatrosses are the largest of all flying birds. In fact, the wandering sailors believed albatross has the largest wingspread among living birds. The wings of albatrosses had a wandering albatross can measure 11 feet from tip to tip. special powers. Albatrosses live very long lives and are one of the few species of They believed that killing the birds that die of old age. bird would bring bad luck. © Peter Johnson/Corbis Answer: c) It goes to land only to lay eggs. © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. ★ LEARN MORE! READ THESE ARTICLES… DUCKS • GULLS • PENGUINS 7 KNOWrs?waterproof DID YOkU the e their fea t the . They ge Ducks ma il on them o g in b b on their by ru ial glands c rs e p s m o eir feathe oil fr b it on th ru d n a ts ches bills. with their SE A  © Gary W. Carter/Corbis 8 © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. T GH A male wood duck is easily identifiable by his purple and green head, his reddish-brown breast flecked with white, and his bronze sides. RCH LI Unscramble these words that have to do with a duck. wsmimre nblbiadg dlwaed DUCKS Dabblers, s r e h c r Di vers, and Pe D © Roger Wilmshurst—Frank Lane Picture Agency/Corbis © Royalty-Free/Corbis ucks are champion swimmers and are at home almost anywhere near water. Some feed and nest in streams and ponds. Others live near deep wide lakes. Some make their homes on rocky cliffs by the ocean. There are three kinds of ducks: “Dabbling ducks” put their heads underwater to eat plants that grow there. This way of feeding is called “dabbling.” They build their nests in hollows near the water. There they also eat plants and insects found near the shore. Dabbling ducks can fly very fast. “Diving ducks” dive deep down into the water to find things to eat. They mostly eat fish. They are very strong swimmers. “Perching ducks” make nests in trees and hold on to the branches with their long-clawed toes. This is called perching. Some may perch on the tall stalks that grow over marshy ponds. All ducks are graceful fliers and swimmers. But on the ground they waddle from side to side, moving slowly in a funny, jerky way. You usually don’t see a duck waddling too far away from water. (Top) A dabbling gadwall duck; (bottom) young girl holding a fluffy In winter many ducks fly south, where the duckling. water is warmer and there’s more to eat. But icy cold water doesn’t bother them. A thick inner layer of soft fluffy feathers called “down” keeps them warm. And their bigger outer feathers help too. They’re waterproof. Feathers are a duck’s raincoat. Every year ducks lose their old feathers, and new feathers grow in. This is called “molting.” Until the new feathers grow, ducks can’t fly. So they hide in the grass or on the water to keep safe from enemies. Answer: wsmimre = swimmer nblbiadg = dabbling dlwaed = waddle © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. ★ LEARN MORE! READ THESE ARTICLES… GEESE • GULLS • SWANS 9