This is the fourth in a series of posts from a team of Aquarium staff and supporters who are participating in an extreme obstacle course event called the Tough Mudder this spring. They will be posting about their training methods, animals that inspire them to work hard and they will be raising funds to support the Aquarium. You can help them out by donating to support their efforts.

Today’s blog post comes from Deb Bobek, also known as Flame.

Teamwork. It’s one of those concepts that’s easy to talk about but not always easy to execute. And as noted in our first post, the only way to get through the Tough Mudder is through teamwork and collaboration. There are many examples of teamwork in the oceans, but here are three quick ones that Team Tiburon looks to for inspiration.

Schooling fish coordinate their movements to make themselves look bigger, which provides protection from predators.

 
Visitors can see schooling fish like these blueback herring in the Temperate Gallery of the Aquarium.

Aquarium researchers have been studying Surface Active Groups (SAGs) link in North Atlantic right whales for many years and have discovered that these groups provide opportunities for mating, social bonding and play.


Surface active groups (Photo by Tracy Montgomery on the Right Whale Research Blog)

And finally, check out this teamwork between our two baby sea lions who often make appearances during the Aquarium’s training sessions in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center.



So how did we put all of this inspiration to work? Team Tiburon recently spent a day at Hale Reservation on a ropes and wall course where we faced our own daunting challenges that could only be surmounted through teamwork – coordinating our movements, communicating and working together.  Check out the video here:



And if you really want to see some teamwork, join us on Friday at 12:30 or 2:45 p.m. in the Marine Mammal Center where we will take on the challenge that was extended to us by Team Phoca (made up of our Northern fur seals) and see which one of us is better adapted to survive the obstacles that the Tough Mudder is going to throw at us. 


Note: The Northern fur seals will not actually be participating in the Tough Mudder competition, although they’d be right at home in the cold water.


Team Tiburon practicing the Aquaman pose for our upcoming challenge.  Hopefully it will help! (Photo credit: Tina Mallios/Koukla)

Come cheer for your favorite team and see which team prevails!

~Flame

Stay tuned, there will be more posts from Team Tiburon as they prepare for this event. Please contribute to their fundraising efforts for the New England Aquarium and share this post to spread the word. Catch up on their previous posts here.