Adaptations
Barbed Tail- The cownose ray has developed a barbed tail with a weak poison to help it fend off predators. There are sharks that have been found with the ray's stinger sticking out of them. The barbs on the tails help the stinger to get stuck in the predator. The poison in the tail is about the equivalent to a bee sting.
Modified Fins- The ray has two modified fins on its front side. The fins create a suction to help it get the food in its mouth. This adaptation helps the ray to eat.
Dental Plates- The cownose ray has developed strong dental plates. The plates help it to eat by crushing the hard clams This adaptation helps it to eat the hardest clams.
Organism Identification
The cownose ray belongs to the Animal Kingdom. They are multicellular, reproduce sexually, and they are able to respond quickly to external stimuli as a result of nerve cells, muscle or contractile tissue, or both.
Limiting Factors
Abiotic Factors-
Water Temperature
Salinity
Water Depth
Biotic Factors-
Food Sources
Predators
Other Cownose Rays (competition)
Negative Modern Human Activity
Human activity can be harmful to the cownose ray. Over fishing can cause a shortage of food for the rays. If there is a shortage of food, cownose rays will start to die off. Also rays can get caught in fishing nets. If this happens too often there will be less and less rays producing offspring. This can become problematic because the rays only have one pup at a time. We have to be very careful of how much we fish so that we don't damage the populations of organisms in the ocean.
Parasitism
The cownose ray is not a parasite. However it does have parasites. One of the most common type of parasite found in the rays are Cestodes (tapeworms). The cestodes tend to infect the spiral valve of the cownose ray. Some of the most commonly found cestodes include Rhinoptericola megacantha, Dioecotaenia campbelli,Rhodobothrium paucitesticulare, Eiweria southwelli, and Tylocephalum sp.
Innate Behaviors
Swimming- As soon as the cownose ray is born it has to be able to know how to swim so that it wont drown. The ray is born knowing this because it doesn't have time to learn how
Feeding- The cownose ray has to know how to eat in order to stay alive and healthy. The ray is born knowing this because they are independent at birth and have to know how to take care of themselves. They don't have time to learn these behaviors.
Barbed Tail- The cownose ray has developed a barbed tail with a weak poison to help it fend off predators. There are sharks that have been found with the ray's stinger sticking out of them. The barbs on the tails help the stinger to get stuck in the predator. The poison in the tail is about the equivalent to a bee sting.
Modified Fins- The ray has two modified fins on its front side. The fins create a suction to help it get the food in its mouth. This adaptation helps the ray to eat.
Dental Plates- The cownose ray has developed strong dental plates. The plates help it to eat by crushing the hard clams This adaptation helps it to eat the hardest clams.
Organism Identification
The cownose ray belongs to the Animal Kingdom. They are multicellular, reproduce sexually, and they are able to respond quickly to external stimuli as a result of nerve cells, muscle or contractile tissue, or both.
Limiting Factors
Abiotic Factors-
Water Temperature
Salinity
Water Depth
Biotic Factors-
Food Sources
Predators
Other Cownose Rays (competition)
Negative Modern Human Activity
Human activity can be harmful to the cownose ray. Over fishing can cause a shortage of food for the rays. If there is a shortage of food, cownose rays will start to die off. Also rays can get caught in fishing nets. If this happens too often there will be less and less rays producing offspring. This can become problematic because the rays only have one pup at a time. We have to be very careful of how much we fish so that we don't damage the populations of organisms in the ocean.
Parasitism
The cownose ray is not a parasite. However it does have parasites. One of the most common type of parasite found in the rays are Cestodes (tapeworms). The cestodes tend to infect the spiral valve of the cownose ray. Some of the most commonly found cestodes include Rhinoptericola megacantha, Dioecotaenia campbelli,Rhodobothrium paucitesticulare, Eiweria southwelli, and Tylocephalum sp.
Innate Behaviors
Swimming- As soon as the cownose ray is born it has to be able to know how to swim so that it wont drown. The ray is born knowing this because it doesn't have time to learn how
Feeding- The cownose ray has to know how to eat in order to stay alive and healthy. The ray is born knowing this because they are independent at birth and have to know how to take care of themselves. They don't have time to learn these behaviors.