My name is Jane Vinesky and I am writing to you from the town of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. La Paz is a small town on the Sea of Cortez, which is nicknamed ‘the aquarium of the world’. Many amazing animals visit the Sea of Cortez like blue whales, seahorses, whale sharks, orcas, and my personal favorite, manta rays.
I am a marine ecologist, which means that I am a scientist who studies animals in the ocean and how they interact with each other and their environment. My work focuses on Chondrichthyan fish, which is the scientific term used to describe sharks and rays. Chondrichthyan fish have skeletons made of cartilage, the same tissue found in our ears and noses. You already have more in common with sharks and rays than you think!
I love studying sharks and rays because of how mysterious and unique they are. They are responsible for keeping our oceans clean and healthy, which is important, because the ocean is a big place. Actually, 71% of our planet is covered by oceans! A writer named Arthur Charles Clarke once said "How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Ocean." Would you agree?
Although my life now is all about the ocean, it hasn’t always been this way.
