The “Unicorn of the Sea” also known as the narwhal; monodon
monocorus, is believed to be a mythical creature. Many people have the idea
that the narwhal is the descendent of the unicorn, and could be the ancestor of
the mermaid. In reality the narwhal is an arctic whale and dolphin mixture. The
characteristic that makes the narwhal stand out is its tusk that protrudes from
the upper left jaw. This tusk was believed to be used for killing their prey
and hunting, but the tusk is also used for mating and playful male interactions.
The narwhal is a very rare animal that has not had very much research done on
them, therefore making some parts of the project hard to locate on the
internet. There is very basic information on narwhals, but complex information
takes time to research.
One of the best parts of this project was being able to enlighten my own knowledge of an animal that is not well known around the world. My enjoyment of the project was mostly during the part of finding the probability of narwhal offspring to have tusks and what color they could be. Along with the punit squares, researching the ancestors of the narwhal gave me a better idea of how they functioned and why they acted the way they do. Overall it was most interesting to see how uncommon they are and how they use their tusk for different functions.
The most challenging section of the project was researching the habitat and interactions with other animals. The narwhal is centralized in one area, but there isn’t much recorded evidence of how they interact with other animals. Each part of the project had drawings that tested my artistic ability, and each drawing consisted of more than one illustration of the narwhal. The most research was the narwhals input into the carbon cycle. The narwhal itself does not contribute to the carbon cycle directly but it does release carbon into the ocean. The ocean contains 50 percent more carbon than the atmosphere. Before this project I didn’t know the factors that contributed to the carbon cycle, but now I know what releases carbon into the atmosphere.
What I enjoyed learning most during the research of this project was the way the food web works in the ocean compared to on land. The most interesting and hard to comprehend was how only 10 percent of the nutrients and energy carry over to the next consumer. On land grass and plants are the producers, and in the ocean seaweed and phytoplankton are producers. They both use the sun to make their own food, but they provide for different animals. Along with the food web and food pyramid I also really enjoyed writing about the habitat that the narwhal generally live around. Things that I have never experienced before interest me, and therefore all the ice and cold weather of the Arctic Ocean is unfamiliar and informing to research. The narwhal live in the Arctic Ocean but they live in small pods. You would think that they would travel and live in larger groups to protect themselves from predators, but they separate. During the summer they gather together and travel inland closer towards the coastline. This entire project has been new information every part and very enjoyable information to research.
One of the best parts of this project was being able to enlighten my own knowledge of an animal that is not well known around the world. My enjoyment of the project was mostly during the part of finding the probability of narwhal offspring to have tusks and what color they could be. Along with the punit squares, researching the ancestors of the narwhal gave me a better idea of how they functioned and why they acted the way they do. Overall it was most interesting to see how uncommon they are and how they use their tusk for different functions.
The most challenging section of the project was researching the habitat and interactions with other animals. The narwhal is centralized in one area, but there isn’t much recorded evidence of how they interact with other animals. Each part of the project had drawings that tested my artistic ability, and each drawing consisted of more than one illustration of the narwhal. The most research was the narwhals input into the carbon cycle. The narwhal itself does not contribute to the carbon cycle directly but it does release carbon into the ocean. The ocean contains 50 percent more carbon than the atmosphere. Before this project I didn’t know the factors that contributed to the carbon cycle, but now I know what releases carbon into the atmosphere.
What I enjoyed learning most during the research of this project was the way the food web works in the ocean compared to on land. The most interesting and hard to comprehend was how only 10 percent of the nutrients and energy carry over to the next consumer. On land grass and plants are the producers, and in the ocean seaweed and phytoplankton are producers. They both use the sun to make their own food, but they provide for different animals. Along with the food web and food pyramid I also really enjoyed writing about the habitat that the narwhal generally live around. Things that I have never experienced before interest me, and therefore all the ice and cold weather of the Arctic Ocean is unfamiliar and informing to research. The narwhal live in the Arctic Ocean but they live in small pods. You would think that they would travel and live in larger groups to protect themselves from predators, but they separate. During the summer they gather together and travel inland closer towards the coastline. This entire project has been new information every part and very enjoyable information to research.