NEWPORT, Ky. — Move over, zoo babies, the hatchlings are coming for the spotlight.
A new exhibit at Newport Aquarium, opening March 3, will give visitors the chance to examine hundreds of colorful animals — many of them babies who will grow up before guests' eyes, the aquarium announced Tuesday in a press release.
Hatchling Harbor provides a new Caribbean seagrass habitat in one of the longest tanks in the aquarium, spanning 25 feet. It will be home to a wide variety of marine life, from the scrawled filefish adorned with color-changing camouflage to young lobsters and crabs to a school of young parrotfish. Visitors will be able to watch the young creatures change in shape, color and patterns as they grow into adulthood, the aquarium said.
"We work hard to make sure we're taking guests 'beyond the glass' when we create a new exhibit," said Rebecca Foster, the aquarium's executive director, in a press release. "You can better connect with the animals if you really feel like you're with them in the environment where they live."
In this case, the environment will feature a pier jutting out into the harbor, encrusted with barnacles, Newport Aquarium announced. Visitors will stand below, at eye-level with the fish, able to experience the habitat the way those living in it do, the press release said.
Seagrass provides important shelter and protection for many kinds of aquatic life, providing a safe space for many animals to lay their eggs amid the flowing grasses. Babies are then able to benefit from the protection with plenty of food around.
The parrotfish school plays a particularly interesting role in the tank, using their bird-like beaks to crunch on corals as they eat the algae on it; the crunched coral then creates sand, Newport Aquarium said.
"An estimated 70% of the white sandy beaches in the Caribbean are created by these little beach-builders," reads the aquarium's press release. "Seagrasses also capture carbon dioxide from the air 35 times faster than rainforests, making them an important tool in fighting climate change."
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