Surface Currents

Grey Triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) Triggerfish are diurnal,...

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 08:55:58 -0400

Grey Triggerfish (Balistes capriscus)

Triggerfish are diurnal, meaning they feed during the day and sleep at night (humans may refer to this as “normal”). They usually eat benthic invertebrates like shrimp, crabs, mollusks, sea urchins, sand dollars, sea stars, and sea cucumbers. Since some of these animals are often hidden in the sand, the triggerfish uses it’s kissy mouth to shoot out a stream of water and fluff up the sand, exposing things like sand dollars sitting just below the surface. They then use their strong jaws and incisors to flip over the prey, chisel holes in its shell, and suck out the soft insides.

Phytoplankton (Asterionella japonica) These microscopic...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:50:39 -0400

Phytoplankton (Asterionella japonica)

These microscopic organisms live in the euphotic zone of a body of water, which means simply that it’s shallow enough for there to be sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis. They take inorganic nutrients like nitrates, phosphates, and sulfur and convert it into organic compounds - a vital chain in the aquatic food web. NASA has reported that phytoplankton account for over 50% of the world’s photosynthetic activity!

Image Credit: NOAA Mesa Project

Mermaid’s Tea Cup (Udotea cyathiformis) These paper-thin...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:38:50 -0400

Mermaid’s Tea Cup (Udotea cyathiformis)

These paper-thin cups are actually a type of green algae that grow in sandy areas near coral reefs. They thrive in protected areas with very low current, as the walls are extremely delicate and easily torn. The cups remain at maximum cuteness by growing in small groups around 2-6 inches high. Underwater tea party time!

Image Credit: Paul Humann, Reef Coral Identification

Polka Dot Batfish (Ogcocephalus radiatus) The batfish, one of...

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 08:26:00 -0400

Polka Dot Batfish (Ogcocephalus radiatus)

The batfish, one of the more bizarre looking creatures around, have an extremely short “fishing lure” reminiscent of their anglerfish cousins. It supposedly secretes an odor as they walk (yes, walk) around the seafloor on pectoral fins, looking for worms, crustaceans, and small fish to eat. Their odd shape seems like they’d be slow and easy to catch - which they are - but a spiny, rough, polka-dotted outer skin helps protect and camouflage them from predators.

Image Credits: Kevin Bryant, Missi Bellande, Missi Bellande

Even though barrel sponges are hermaphrodites, they choose a...

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 16:13:06 -0400

Even though barrel sponges are hermaphrodites, they choose a single gender role during each spawning event. The sperm erupts from “male” sponges and makes its way through the water column into any nearby “female” sponges, where fertilization occurs internally and planktonic larvae are eventually released. Spongy sexual roles may (or may not) be totally different the next time around.

Image Credit: Mark Rosenstein

Giant Barrel Sponge (Xestospongia muta) These beauties are often...

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:30:50 -0400

Giant Barrel Sponge (Xestospongia muta)

These beauties are often called the “Redwoods of the Sea” thanks to their enormous size and record-breaking life span. Multiple X. muta have been documented in the Caribbean at over 2,000 years old, and the average size is over a meter in both height and diameter! They are important to reef ecosystems as very large amounts of seawater are filtered into their pores and expelled through the “barrel” of the sponge. (Sidenote: Here’s my favorite webpage regarding barrel sponges.)

Snake Star (Asteroschema bidwillae) These deep sea snake stars...

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:19:10 -0400

Snake Star (Asteroschema bidwillae)

These deep sea snake stars were among hundreds of specimens found on the Tangaroa Seamount, residing at a depth of 4,000 feet (1,220 meters)! They wrap spindly arms around coral branches (such as this plexaurid gorgonian) in order to catch microscopic food particles as it drifts by on the water currents.

Image Credit: NIWA

Leather Finger Coral (Sinularia sp.) Although finger coral as a...

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 20:04:36 -0400

Leather Finger Coral (Sinularia sp.)

Although finger coral as a group is easy to identify - they look like creepy, grabby ocean fingers - there exists a plethora of individual species that are really hard to distinguish between. Divers have to zoom in and check out the coral’s sclerites, or tiny calcareous particles, for identification. Soft corals produce these little bits inside of their tissues for skeletal support and sometimes as a means of reef attachment.

Upside-down Jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana) These jellyfish are...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:37:25 -0400

Upside-down Jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana)

These jellyfish are named because they live face-down (well, what humans would imagine to be “face-down” for a jellyfish) in the mud of shallow inlet bays and ponds. They sit in large groups with tentacles waving about, preferring to be wholly benthic and looking like a a field of gorgeous underwater plants. However, if anything in the water column seriously disturbs the population, a bunch will pop up and flail their stinging tentacles about before settling back into the substrate.

Mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda) Mantis shrimp have the most...

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 18:31:00 -0400

Mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda)

Mantis shrimp have the most incredibly complex eyes in existence. There’s way too much to read about, so here’s the short of it to lead you in the right google-searching direction:

1. Mantis shrimp see single objects with three different perspectives (three!) because each eye contains 12 ommatidia divided into distinct regions. These contain at least 16 different types of photoreceptor pigments: 12 for color sensitivity and the rest for color filtering.

2. Since the eyes are mounted on stalks, they can look at least 70° (seventy!) around an axis in any given direction. Seriously, check out that range in the video clip.

3. They can see 10,000 colors (ten thousand!) and circular polarized light, a form of light not detectable by ANY OTHER CREATURE ON EARTH.

Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) Mantis shrimp...

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 22:59:00 -0400

Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus)

Mantis shrimp can live to be over 20 years old and exhibit highly variable relationships. Some shack up with the same mate for their whole lives (even moving into a burrow together, how cute!), while others never stop playing the field. Personal choices aside, all tend to undergo 20-30 breeding periods in which the female can literally house the sperm inside her body until she chooses the best possible time for fertilization. Peacock mantis shrimp like to ensure the safety of their eggs by carrying the sack in their forelimbs, incessantly turning and cleaning the 50,000+ eggs until they hatch.

Image Credit: Arthur de Bock

Moray Eel (Muraenidae) Moray eels are too thin to vacuum-suck...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 17:02:00 -0400

Moray Eel (Muraenidae)

Moray eels are too thin to vacuum-suck food (like most other fish), so they developed a double set of jaws just like your favorite movie character. Once the outer jaw nabs some prey, the inner set thrusts forward and transfers food into the esophagus.

Image Credit: National Science Foundation

Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) Male cardinalfish...

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:20:00 -0500

Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni)

Male cardinalfish protect their young by keeping ~25 eggs (and later the hatched fry) inside of their mouths. The dedicated dads don’t eat for a good 4-5 weeks of brooding.

Video

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:10:22 -0500

Sea Lovers!

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:15:57 -0500

I know there hasn’t been much posting lately - the truth is, I’m back in the States and trying to make my Bermuda research publication-ready. I’ll be back to a more regular posting schedule as soon as I turn this paper in on Friday.

Cheers!

Clown Triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum) To reproduce, these...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:03:00 -0500

Clown Triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum)

To reproduce, these adorable fish dig a hole in the sand, lay eggs, and take turns guarding their nesting territory. Both the mom and dad will aggressively defend an inverted cone-shaped area above the eggs by chasing, biting, and generally attacking anything that swims too close.

Hey I came across your blog and I love it. It's all the more interesting to me because I'm from Bermuda :)

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:21:26 -0500

Thank you! The Bermuda diving experience has been one of the best times of my life thus far - I’m here for 2 more weeks until my project time is up. The reefs are beautiful!

Aeolianites Bermuda’s exposed land is composed primarily...

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:52:00 -0500

Aeolianites

Bermuda’s exposed land is composed primarily of wind-blown sand dunes that have since compacted into limestone. Intense glacial fluctuations during the Pleistocene caused high seas to flood the platform, creating an environment perfect for dune-building. There are outcrops all around the island that show beautiful examples of the depositional layers!

Porous Sea Rod (Pseudoplexaura porosa) These soft corals undergo...

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:59:07 -0500

Porous Sea Rod (Pseudoplexaura porosa)

These soft corals undergo mass spawning events about 5-6 days after each of the summer’s full moons. Both sexes (yes, they have a gender) eject gametes for about 30 minutes, allowing them to combine in the water column. Some studies have shown that their ability to reproduce is based on size, as only colonies larger than 50cm have been observed to participate in this synchronized lunar activity.

Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone (Condylactis gigantea) As...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 16:20:33 -0500

Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone (Condylactis gigantea)

As cnidarians, giant Caribbean sea anemones have stinging cells called nematocysts. The tip of each tentacle contains a neurotoxin that can injure (or even destroy) the nerve tissues of an attacker - however, the concentration is too low to harm a human. The stinging method is also used to catch prey by stunning small animals as the arms pull them in toward the anemone’s mouth.