Catalina Island Leadership Program

Phoenix Country Day School

Kelp Forest Information Links

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuaries

Made by Jace

Our Bat Ray Report

For our field project, our class went to Howland’s Landing on Santa Catalina Island. Santa Catalina Island is off of the California Coast in the Pacific Ocean. It is southwest of Long Beach. Howland’s Landing is on the Northern side of Catalina. We had to travel for a while in order to get to our final destination. First, we took a plane from Phoenix to Los Angeles. Next, we took a bus to San Pedro. Last, we took a ferry to Santa Catalina Island. While we were at Catalina, we studied the four main themes of nature. They were everything is connected, there is no waste in nature, everything runs on energy, and biodiversity is important for a healthy ecosystem.

Our question was “What are Bat Rays like?” Our methods for finding out information about our question were snorkeling, doing water tests, using the GPS, and researching. We made points on the GPS each time we saw a Bat Ray, so we could get a sense of where the Bat Rays live in the area that we were staying. We checked the water turbidity and the depth of the water by using scientific instruments.

We only saw three Bat Rays while snorkeling, so we could only pull together a small amount of information during our trip. What we concluded was that Bat Rays are most active at night and that they like to bury themselves in the sand. We also found that they have pointed wings, a long tail, and an eye on each side of their face. We researched Bat Rays by reading books, searching the web, and Taylor went to Sea World for a hands on experience at the Ray exhibit.

During our research, we found that Bat Rays are shaped like broad angular disks, have a lobe-like snout, and a long whip-like tail with at least one venomous spine located near the base of the tail behind the dorsal fin. They can have up to three spines. We also found that they have an eye and a nostril on each side of their head. They have small, flat, dull teeth that are replaced as they fall out. They have smooth, dark colored skin on top and smooth, white skin on the bottom of their body. They spend their time on sandy and rocky bottoms of the ocean and in kelp forests in water less then 165 feet deep from Oregon to the Gulf of California. They travel alone or in groups of up to 1,000. They can dig pits in the sand up to eight inches deep and 13 feet long. They are also called Eagle Rays because when they are searching for food, they flap their fins in the sand, so their buried prey, such as clams is exposed. While fishing on the coast of California a week after our trip, Taylor caught a juvenile Bat Ray when he was using squid as bait. After he caught it, he took the hook out of it’s mouth and let it go.

They eat small animals like shellfishes, crustaceans, squid, and small bony fish. Their diet changes as they grow older. Young Bat Rays love to eat clams and squid and older Bat Rays love to eat worms. Females are bigger than males and can reach up to six feet wide and weigh 200 pounds. Some females live to be 23 years old. The males usually weigh under 100 pounds and are usually about three feet wide. Their enemies are sea lions, white sharks, and broad-nosed seven gill sharks. They mate in the spring and have two to twelve pups. When the pups are born, they are 12 to 14 inches wide and weigh about two pounds.

We had some uncertainties about the differences between Bat Rays and Stingrays, but now we can tell them apart easily. Stingrays’ nostrils are on the bottom of their bodies, while Bat Rays’ nostrils are on the sides of their face, behind their eyes. Also Bat Rays’ spines are at the beginning of their tail, while Stingrays’ spines are at the end of their tails. If we had a chance to return to Catalina, we would stay there for a longer period of time, so we could see more Bat Rays and get a better understanding of them.

If the climate changes, or if there is an El Nino year, the Bat Ray may be harmed, because their food might be killed and this will either kill the Bat Ray, or they might have to try to adapt to the conditions that they are in. An El Nino would also make the water murky, so it would be much harder for Bat Rays to find food. We enjoyed our trip and hope that someday you will get the opportunity to enjoy Santa Catalina Island.