THE MOKELUMNE CURRENT SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2017 3

AMAZING PLANTS AND ANIMALS

By Raul Peralta and Kelvin AguilarHERITAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Flatfish swim sideways and theyhide on the ocean floor. They can alsocamouflage on the ocean floor to hidefrom predators and other fish.

These fish are fascinating creaturesbecause they have both eyes on oneside of their body. When they are onthe floor, they can look up to see theirsurroundings and other fish nearthem.

When you find a flatfish, they can befound in a group. Flatfish can live inbrackish water and freshwater. Flat-fish are about two feet long when theyare adults.

By Destiny MunozHERITAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

1. The California halibut is also called the flat-fish.

2. A California halibut can weigh up to 390pounds.

3. A female halibut can live up to 42 years.

4. California halibut have diamond shaped bod-ies.

5. Halibuts use their flat shape to camouflagethemselves on the ocean floor.

By Anthony Diaz SantamariaHERITAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

When you’re about to litter, think again what you’re about todo. When we litter, the waste ends up in the ocean, which willkill millions of plankton, and possibly plants.

You may not realize how important plankton and plants are.Below is some information on the ways in which both planktonand plants help humans. So if you’re grateful for what youhave, you won’t litter.

By William JonesBOY SCOUTS TROOP 199

An Eagle Project is the op-portunity for a Boy Scout todemonstrate leadership ofothers while performing aproject for the benefit of hiscommunity.

For my Eagle Project Ichose to install and monitor

nine woodduck boxesin the LodiLake NatureArea. LodiLake donat-ed some box-es that werein storagefrom anotherEagle Pro-ject.

The rea-son I chosethis for my

Eagle Project is my love ofinteracting and workingwith wildlife. Wildlife needsto be protected and managedfor future generation to en-joy.

As of May 7, we have hadone-box produce 12 duck-lings.

Destruction of riparianforests—the birds’ primarybreeding and winteringhabitat — and uncontrolledharvest were the two majorfactors that contributed tothe species’ decline. By thelate 1800s to early 1900s, ex-tinction of the wood duckseemed imminent, accord-ing to Ducks Unlimited.

Federal and state huntingregulations, habitat restora-tion and the nesting box pro-

gram have brought the num-bers of wood ducks up. Bythe 1940s, their numbers hadincreased enough so thatthere was no longer a fear of

extinction.Today, it is estimated that

wood duck nest boxes pro-duce 100,000 ducklings annu-ally in North America.

Eagle Scout Project: Buildingwood duck boxes at Lodi Lake

COURTESY PHOTOGRAPH

For his Eagle Project, William Jones installed and monitorednine wood duck boxes in the Lodi Lake Nature Area.

WANT TO JOINTHE BOYSCOUTS?Troop 199meets at 7p.m. eachTuesday atSt. Paul’sLutheranChurch, 701S. PleasantAve., Lodi.

DESTINY MUNOZ/HERITAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

During a trip on the Marine Science Institute’s research vessel, students were able to studyCalifornia halibut and other fish up close.

Have you heard of the flatfish?Facts about California halibut

Plants and plankton:They’re more importantthan you might think

Plants

• There are many ways inwhich plants help humansand animals.

• The most helpful thingplants do is they make oxy-gen. Without plants wewouldn’t have oxygen.Without oxygen, peoplewould die.

• Plants also give us food. Ifthere weren’t plants whatwould herbivores eat? Thiswould mean that many ani-mals would die.

• Plants help us by provid-ing resources to make med-icine. Everybody gets sickat some point. So every-body will need medicine.

• Even though humans pol-lute the air, plants help andfilter the air from pollu-tion.

Plankton

• There are many ways inwhich plankton (yes, tinyplankton) help humans andanimals.

• Many people like to eat fish.Not just because it’s good, be-cause it gives protein. Butwhere does the fish gets pro-tein? From plankton. Planktonprovides nutrition to fish andother ocean animals we eat.

• Plants aren’t the only thingthat gives oxygen. Plankton al-so make oxygen. In fact plank-ton make a quarter of oxygenin the atmosphere.

• Plankton are also good forhumans to consume. Eatingplankton can offer pain reliefand promote healthy bloodsugar. Plankton is also consid-ered “brain food” for humans.

• Just like plants, plankton areused to make medicine.

By Kai WallREESE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

• Turtles have been onEarth for more than 200 mil-lion years.

• Turtles live on EVERYcontinent except Antarctica.

• Turtles will live in al-most every climate that’swarm enough to completetheir breeding cycle.

• Turtles are in the reptilefamily.

• Turtles evolved beforesome reptiles, includingbirds, crocodiles, lizards, andeven snakes.

• A turtle’s shell is madeup of 60 different bones con-

nected to each other.• The top part of the tur-

tle’s shell is called a cara-pace, and the bottom part iscalled a plastron.

• Turtles range in sizefrom the 4-inch bog turtle tothe 1,500-pound leathery tur-tle.

• North America containsa large variety of turtlespecies, but in Europe theyonly contain two species ofturtles.

• Turtles lay their eggs onthe land and go back into thesea, leaving the babies.

• Turtles have a good senseof smell and good eyesight.

PAULINA LOPEZ/HERITAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

By Amelia DietzREESE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The drought was a reallybig thing in Lodi for a while,and that just barely endednot too long ago. During thattime, many people near ourarea were doing their best tosave water. During that time,many people near our areawere doing their best to savewater.

One way to do that is toplant drought-efficientplants. One of these kinds ofplants is called a Californialilac. It is a blue/purpleplant that is mostly knownto be a tree or a shrub. Thesewould look beautiful in anygarden.

Another example is theGeraldton waxflower. This

plant is also known as ashrub or bush and bloomsflowers that have a waxykind of feel.

These plants should notjust be used while in themiddle of a drought. It is al-ways a really good idea totry to conserve water all ofthe time. These plants workby keeping the water insideof them just like a cactusdoes, so every time you wa-ter them, the water doesn’tjust go down into theground, it gets sucked up in-to the plant and saved for lat-er.

Drought-efficient plantsare good for the environmentno matter what time of theyear it is or whether or notyou’re in a drought.

Fast facts about turtles

All about vulturesBy Samra SaeedHERITAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Vultures can be found inour area. They are scav-engers that will eat deadcreatures. Vultures might al-so attack newborn babybirds. They also have a sharp,pointed beak so they can cutoff the meat easily.

All vultures have a widewingspan, which lets themfly for hours to hunt for food.Most vultures can live 11 to47 years. Some vultures canbe as tall as adult humans.

Eagles and some owls arepredators of vultures.

JESUS RAMIREZ/HERITAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

RODRIGO ACOSTA/NEEDHAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOLDrought-efficient plants andwhy it’s important to use them