Ecosystem
Our Ecosystem Series
Explore the Gulf of Maine Ecosystem
Explore 24 species that help make the Gulf of Maine one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. Our Ecosystem Series brings each species to life through infographics, blog posts, and videos, exploring their adaptations, behaviors, and connections within the larger food web.
Browse the species below, watch the videos, or download the infographics to use at home or in the classroom.
Build the ocean food web in your own classroom:
Please feel free to share your feedback and ideas!
Northern Gannets
Welcome back, ocean warriors! Can you believe it…we have made it to the final species in our ecosystem…
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Shearwaters
Why did the shearwater bring a map to the party? Because it is never “shore” of its next…
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Wilson’s Storm Petrels
Welcome back, friends! We hope you enjoyed hearing all about our time in Turks & Caicos. As we’ve…
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Minke Whales
Welcome back ocean explorers, and happy March! Our whale watching season is just around the corner, and we…
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Sei Whales
Hold onto your hats because we are about to race through the ocean with one of the speediest…
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Right Whales
This week we are going to learn about the right whale to love--the North Atlantic right whale! Of…
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Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola)
Imagine a giant, pancake-shaped fish drifting through the ocean, waving its tiny fins like it’s doing a goofy…
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Leatherback Sea Turtle
Why did the sea turtle cross the ocean? To get to the jellyfish buffet on the other side!
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Lion’s Mane Jelly
Why are jellyfish so good at school? Because they are always up to date on current events!
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Bottlenose Dolphins
Happy New Year and welcome back to our ecosystem series! I want you to try this exercise with…
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Risso’s Dolphins
Have you ever wondered how animals get their names? I know someone who is reading this has wondered…
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Gulf of Maine
Welcome back ocean advocates and explorers! While we’ve learned a lot about the incredible animals that call the…
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Blue Whale
Hey there, ocean explorers! In the previous weeks we’ve talked about some pretty big creatures, like the basking…
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Basking Shark
Imagine a shark so big it could be mistaken for a sea monster, yet all it wants to…
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Fin Whales
As you’ve been able to see throughout our weekly species highlight, the Gulf of Maine is home to…
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Zooplankton: Krill
A few weeks ago, we learned about Phytoplankton and our favorite rhyme, “we need whales because they poo,…
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Atlantic white-sided dolphins
If you’ve made it this far in our blog posts, you may have noticed that the topic each…
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Phytoplankton health of ocean food web
What if we told you that EVERY OTHER breath you take is thanks to the phytoplankton in the…
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Zooplankton: Copepods Food web ecosystem
What if we told you that ‘Plankton’ in the show Spongebob Squarepants lives in the Gulf of Maine?…
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Schooling Fish
It’s a common misconception that all baleen whales exclusively eat plankton. While many baleen whales do consume large…
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Humpback Whales
A year in the life of a humpback whale is marked by epic migrations and profound changes. During…
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