Samples 9-12

  • Hovering slowly over a mountain of polka dots, the cowrie's shell protects the snail like the security of a blanket. The cowrie shell eats algae and controls it from getting out of hand. The cowrie has an important role inter-tidal waters by keeping a leash on algae as they feed on them. IF cowries don't show up for work, algae may take over and smother the other marine and sea life organisms.
  • Dipping it's slender and meandering neck into the algae-laden lagoon, the flamingo protects the imperiled wetlands with every meal. The solitary, spindly leg of the flamingo stands amid the pea green pool providing a hot pink beacon of environmental awareness. Nearly everyone knows what flamingos look like ---pink birds with long legs. You can see them at just about every zoo. But did you know that some flamingos live high up in the Andes Mountains of South America? Flamingos can swim, and flamingos can fly. Ornithologists ,scientists who sturdy birds, spent many years arguing whether flamingos are more like ducks, or more like storks, until they decided that flamingos belong in a group by themselves. There are 5 species of flamingos that occur throughout the world. The greater flamingo is as tall as a grown-up person is. The lesser flamingo is as tall as a first-grader. No matter how big they are they always are hard at work keeping our waterways clean by eating algae for dessert.