The Pawikan's Problem

     Marine ecosystems are very much like dominoes. Should one piece of it fall, the rest will soon follow. And we regret to inform you, dear readers, that the first piece in what could be a disaster is falling at this very moment--and that piece is the Pawikan.

Pawikan

     Pawikans aren't just beautiful, they're vital to the survival of numerous species. You see, Pawikans are one of the very few creatures who eat the very important sea grass, and sea grass needs to be cut short in order to grow healthily and spread. There has been a decline in sea beds over the decades, and this may be linked to the decline of Pawikans. Many species of fish, shellfish, and crustaceans depend on sea grass beds for breeding and developmental grounds--should Pawikans continue to die off and leave sea grass untended, those species will all in turn die off. Farmers will have less to catch, we'll have less to eat, and the roles of the dead species in the water ecosystem will go unfulfilled, further destroying the precious ecosystem. 

Global Warming :(

     "What's killing Pawikans off in the first place?" you're sure to be thinking. Mainly, global warming. The heating of the earth's waters bears MANY ill consequences for them. For starters, the warming of the water kills off many of the plants and animals that serve as their food. Should none of said plants and animals be found in a Pawikan's environment, it will leave in search of a new one, which poises many dangers because at the same time, global warming kills off the regular food supply of sharks and whales--causing them to prey on Pawikans. Also, Pawikans are very easily stressed, and you can imagine how devastated they'd be by having to leave their environment in search of food...not to mention the very unpleasant fact that sharks are now out to get them. While stressed they are far less likely to mate, and if they do they'll have less eggs which further exacerbates the problem that only about 10% of their offspring live past a year...which is in turn exacerbated by the fact that warmer temperatures drastically reduce the chance of hatchlings' survival.

Pollution

     "Wow." you must be saying. "Global warming sure has it hard on Pawikans." Well, I hope you don't forget the fact that we human beings are the cause. Our pollution rapidly speeds up the global warming process, which rapidly kills off entire species in both land and sea--including Pawikans. So, what can we do? Refrain from throwing garbage into the ocean, which Pawikans can mistake for jellyfish. Support conservation centers and movement that aim to combat global warming. Shout it out, make it known what global warming is doing to Pawikans--no matter in what way, you need to get involved. Saving the Pawikans is an important task, and one you should be a part of.
                                                                                                                          

Pawikans: Our Friends

    There are few things more exciting than field trips--you really can't go wrong with taking trips to diverse and interesting places together with your friends. And fortunately, just this month back on February 3rd, we were blessed to have a field trip to Morong, Bataan and visit two main venues--the Pawikan Conservation Center, where we learned more about Pawikans and released hatchlings into the sea, and the currently idle Bataan Nuclear Power Plant where we learned about its construction and why we should go nuclear. However, in this entry we'll be discussing only the former, so read on for more about Pawikans.

PCC in Morong, Bataan

   First of all, we had this field trip because life is beautiful. A journey of the heart, the mind, the soul, a beautiful gift from our Everlasting Father. And it's not just the precious lives He's given us humans that deserves to be admired; but also the lives of the wonderful creatures He has created. One of which is the Pawikan--a beautiful creature we couldn't wait to learn more about. Our inner children called to us to be in awe of their simple beauty, and we were all to eager to do just that.     

Pawikan Hatchlings

    We joined the field trip because there was no way we were going to miss out on such incredibly fascinating venues--we were thrilled to learn more about, see, and release Pawikans into the sea! 

   Before the actual field trip, if we could use one adjective to describe us as we waited to get on the bus, it would be sleepy. Bataan is a long ride, so we had to be there very early. Also, Andy's bowels were on fire, but the less said about that the better. But, even if we were really sleepy, the exciting thoughts of meeting those adorable Pawikans and visiting a nuclear power plant weren't erased. 

Adult Pawikan

   We expected to learn a lot from the Pawikan Conservation Center, and we did. As a Conservation Center whose employees were once Pawikan thieves it was an interesting experience.  Let us give you some facts about the Pawikan or Sea Turtle that we learned from the trip and the previous talks we had from speakers in school like Sir Rye and Mr. Nacu. There are 7 species of Pawikans with 5 of them in the Philippines, namely the Green Sea turtle, Leatherback, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, and Olive Ridley. The beautiful pawikans that we saw in the conservation center were the Olive Ridley Turtles also known as Lepidochelys olivacea. 

  The Olive Ridley turtle is named for the generally greenish color of its skin and shell, or carapace.This interesting creature has the smallest size among the sea turtles. It has a unique heart-shaped carapace that measures only from 60 to 70 cm. Olive ridleys are found only in warmer waters, including the southern Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. 

Olive Ridley Turtle

   These turtles are solitary, preferring the open ocean. They migrate hundreds or even thousands of miles every year, and come together as a group only once a year for the arribada, when females return to the beaches where they hatched and lumber onshore to nest.

    The Olive Ridley is mostly carnivorous, feeding on such creatures as jellyfish, snails, crabs, and shrimp. They will occasionally eat algae and seaweed as well. Hatchlings, most of which perish before reaching the ocean, are preyed on by crabs, snakes,and birds, among others. Adults are often taken by sharks and humans for decorations and things (frames of eye glasses, guitars, bracelets,etc. ). The Olive Ridley eggs are mostly preyed on by humans who eat and sell it. 

Here is the taxonomic classification of the Olive Ridley Turtle:

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Reptilia
Order	Testudines
Family	Cheloniidae
Genus	Lepidochelys
Species	L. olivacea

Baby Olive-Ridley Hatchlings

   We had the pleasure of releasing Olive-Ridley hatchlings into the sea, and it was amazing. Seeing these beautiful creatures wriggle between our fingertips was absolutely unforgettable--it was downright moving to see such simple, incredible beauty. As we set them down near the shore they raced eagerly to get to the water, and we cheered them on giddily. Their first step of their journey was over, and ours was almost finished too. Keep looking out for the next posts, where we'll continue our discussion about our field trip.

The Curiosity Kids 

The Child Within Us

Salve! Yassou!

     Those are Latin and Greek for hello, respectively—and hello indeed. Welcoming you warmly to our blog with the languages of Science is the energetic and occasionally frightening Ayie, the completely frightening and cheerful Nica, our English teacher’s loveable rabbit Moshe, and last but not least, the gleeful writer and ferocious debater Andy.

     And now that we’ve had a few words of introduction, we’d like to move on to answer the big questions—“What’s the point of this blog?”, “Why bother?”, “How on earth does this concern me?”



     Well, we mean to celebrate something with this blog. Something resonant with all of us— we mean to celebrate and nurture our childhoods. “Childhoods?!” you ask. “What do those have to do with this?” Childhood is, well-agreed to be, the best time of life. A time of wide-eyed innocence, curiosity and above all wonder at this magnificent and exciting world around us.

     And that is where Science comes in. There is still a child in all of us, the same child who once asked "Why is the sky blue?", and although that child’s questions may change and grow bigger, more complex, the simple awe and curiosity remains. The Lord’s creation is truly wonderful, and a hunger to learn more about it comes naturally. Science provides us the means to feed that hunger, and we hope that you join us as we nurture our inner children while documenting our final months in Science class.