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Secrets of the Deep Blue course icon

Secrets of the Deep Blue

Like Duolingo, but for Secrets of the Deep Blue. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.

26 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free during early access · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Marina the Manta Ray
Secrets of the Deep Blue
with Marina the Manta Ray
26
Levels
3
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in Secrets of the Deep Blue

  • Mussels use byssal threads to tether to rocks
  • Soft-bodied creatures must stay submerged or in damp crevices to avoid desiccation
  • Limpets and sea stars use different forms of suction and grip to resist being swept away
  • The undersides of overhanging rocks provide shade and moisture even when the tide is out
  • How different creatures physically anchor themselves against wave action
  • Predicting where to find creatures based on their need to stay moist
  • Shelled animals like snails trap a small amount of water inside their shells
  • Crabs and small fish move into deep 'surge channels' or under kelp canopies to stay wet
  • Identifying behaviors or traits used to prevent drying out
  • Crescent tails minimize drag for long-distance travel
  • Rounded tails provide a large surface area for quick starts but create drag
  • Thin, flat bodies allow fish to slip into narrow crevices
  • Compressed bodies are ideal for making tight turns in complex environments like reefs
  • The relationship between tail shape and swimming performance
  • Predicting habitat based on body profile
  • Torpedo-shaped (fusiform) bodies reduce resistance in open water
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives Secrets of the Deep Blue the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

Anchors and Hideouts

Arr! Why does a soft-bodied anemone hide in a damp crevice when the tide retreats?

Get it right to open this lesson and 25 more in the app.

Course map

Where Secrets of the Deep Blue takes you

Ever wondered why the ocean is full of glowing creatures and giant travelers? Dive in to see how life survives in the world's biggest playground and learn to spot the hidden connections beneath the waves.

  1. 1

    Spotting Life in the Wild

    • Finding Creatures in Tide Pools
    • How to Tell Fish Apart
    • The Busy Life of a Coral Reef
    • Giant Travelers of the Open Sea
  2. 2

    Surviving the Extreme Ocean

    • How Fish Breathe Underwater
    • Living in the Crushing Deep
    • Animals That Glow in the Dark
    • Staying Warm in Icy Waters
    • The Art of Underwater Camouflage
    • Finding Food When It's Pitch Black
  3. 3

    The Big Picture of Ocean Life

    • Who Eats Whom in the Sea
    • How the Moon Moves the Water
    • Why Salt Matters for Marine Life

3 sections · 13 units · 26 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
The Pirate

Secrets of the Deep Blue is taught in the The Pirate style: arr, learning be an adventure!. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

Keep going

More Nature on Tomo

Start free

Start Secrets of the Deep Blue today.

Download Tomo, search Secrets of the Deep Blue, and play your first lesson in under a minute.