Dr. Randi Rotjan, Saudi Arabia Expedition

Getting back to reality is always a difficult transition for me, since I'd rather be working on/in the ocean than be anywhere else. Even though field work is difficult, intense, and exhausting, the field is where science comes alive. Salty breezes, blue oceans, and more science than I can possibly handle is definitely my preferred M.O.


photos by Randi Rotjan

However, if you have to be on dry land, the desert sands of Saudi Arabia are a fascinating place to be. I posted earlier about KAUST - the new Saudi university that opened in September - and it's terrific to spend a few more days exploring this fascinating new world where East meets West. The transition from boat to abaya was a bit abrupt, though we were used to it because the women on-board had to don our abayas whenever we interacted with the Coast Guard. Abayas (aka burqas, chadors, or hijab) are required by Saudi Arabian law whenever women are in public, enforced by the muttawwa (religious police). They are surprisingly comfortable, though a bit impractical on a boat (too breezy!).



Upon returning to KAUST, the abayas again came off, and the work began. Sorting samples, preserving samples, entering data, sorting permits, cleaning dive gear, beginning data analysis... the hectic flurry of post-boat, pre-flight madness. Amazingly, we got everything all set with enough time to explore the KAUST Grand Mosque, accompanied by some helpful students.


photos by Randi Rotjan

To get a taste of life off-campus, we donned our abayas again and headed out for a fish dinner in Thuwal (the city surrounding KAUST). It's very strange to eat the organisms we are studying, but we found a way to use the fish for both food and science. At the dinner table (all dressed up and clean), we dissected the fish to collect additional tissue samples. Waste not, want not! Seems that you can take the scientist away from the sea, but you can't take the sea away from the scientist.


photos by Randi Rotjan

On our way to the airport, we stopped at the Souq to purchase some souveniers and get a taste of the real Jeddah. After purchasing pashminas and spices, it was close to midnight and time for me to run (literally, abaya and all) to catch my 1:00 am flight.


photos by Randi Rotjan

So. Back in Boston now, it's hard for me to face the cold (though I'm sure it will feel balmy to Brian, who's been in Antarctica all this time!). This trip will stay with me for a long time. Travel is usually solely about the science for me, but this trip had a magical combination of great science, fascinating culture, wonderful collaborators, and unfamiliar landscape (both above and below water).



As the sun set over the Red Sea on my last day, I looked out at the KAUST Beacon and wondered whether the KAUST experiment will work. To quote Robert Lacey (the author of the most recent book on Saudi):

"Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz is eighty-six, and is an old man in a hurry. For more than thirty years his most cherished ambition has been the creation of an internationally prestigious college that will bear his name, the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), a graduate-only, Arabian equivalent of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The world's leading scientists and scholars will gather and mingle freely on its campus, dreams the king - men and women, East and West, all united in their pursuit of learning."

I hope so. Insha'Allah!



-Randi-

Labels: Jeddah, KAUST, Randi Rotjan, Saudi Arabia, Souq

Sunnye Dreyfus, South Africa Expedition

False Bay, South Africa

This event was unique (and obviously tragic) for both human and shark, which have had a particularly tumultuous relationship since 1975. It's amazing how a simple movie can boil a fine-tuned apex predator down to "a mindless eating machine." What do you get when you combine Benchley's story, Spielberg & Butler's vision, and John William's infamous cellos? Decades of swimmers shaking in their board shorts and in special cases (like myself) fearing shark attacks at the deep end of swimming pools. I convinced myself that Jaws could find his/her way through the pool drain. I'm not even kidding.

(note to self: this is a photoshopped image. Do not use as an excuse to skip exercise.)

Although we humans are a few hundred million years or so behind white sharks in terms of evolution, I was completely surprised by the lack of sensationalism in the media. The South African press, by and large, portrayed the event as it was, playing nothing up or down, but rather using the tragedy as a platform for education. Information linked to the event included:

• White sharks are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
• White sharks are apex predators.
• White sharks are usually offshore to Seal Island in the winter and are closer to shore in the summer months.
  
• False Bay has recently been experiencing a spike in white shark sightings.
• False Bay is a hub for large schools of fish.
• 70% of shark/human encounters are not predatory.
• the longest journey of a fish ever recorded was of a great white making a round trip from South Africa to Australia.
• The last shark bite fatality in False Bay was in 2004.
  
• There is still so much we don't know about white sharks.
  

Conservation Considerations:

Unless we relentlessly continue to scratch the surface, our fear of what lies beneath remains.

Wildlife List:

1. Steppe Eagle
2. Black eagle
   
3. Sacred ibis
4. Spectacled dormouse (it was licking cheese off the bread knife at our campsite)
5. Baboons, baboons, baboons
6. Dog piles of African penguins

Labels: False Bay, Fish Hoek, Jaws, Spielberg, Sunnye Dreyfus, white shark

Brian Skerry, Antarctica Expedition

Over the last week or so I have made several dives in locations throughout the Antarctic Peninsula. Water temperatures have ranged from 28.5-degrees Fahrenheit to 33-degrees. Visibility in most locations I've dived has not been great, generally averaging between five and ten feet. I did make a couple of dives however, that were wonderful, the first being a wall dive at a location called Cape Well-met on the north side of Vega Island and also very close to a place called Devil's Island (always comforting when making a dive where the water is deep, you're on a sheer wall and you are praying your drysuit zipper doesn't fail!).


Gentoo penguin with chick. Photo credit: Brian Skerry

Cape Well-met was named by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901-1904 and it was here that the relief party under Dr. J. Gunnar Anderson and the winter party under Dr. Otto Nordenskjold rendezvoused after 20 months of forced separation (reference Below Freezing by Lisa Eareckson Trotter). I was diving with Lisa and Lindblad undersea specialist David Cochtran and our plan was to slip off the Zodiac near a cliff face and descend to the bottom in about 15 feet of water. The bottom here was covered with hand-sized volcanic rocks and no marine life could be seen, as icebergs scour this shallow region removing all life. We swam about 100-meters offshore and came to a dramatic drop off -- a wall that was sheer and disappeared into the inky blackness below. I hit the inflator button on my drysuit pumping in more air and swam head first over the wall.


Wall at Cape Well-met, photo credit: Brian Skerry

I descended to 30 feet, then 40, then 50, but saw only bare wall. At 70 feet however, the wall came alive! Leveling off at about 80 feet I looked left, then right and saw color and life in all directions. It was an explosion of invertebrate marine life in a rainbow of colors from yellow and pink to reds and orange. There were brittle stars clustered amongst tunicates and sponges and every few feet giant anemones reached into the frigid sea feeding in the nutrient-rich waters. I adjusted the settings on my camera and began shooting. At one point it became especially dark and I looked up to see the shadowy shape of a giant iceberg drifting overhead, blocking out the sunlight for a few moments.

I fired a few frames aiming up towards the surface to capture some of the ambient light above and lighting the foreground with my strobes. At a depth of 106 feet, I framed a lovely scene of one of these anemones in the middle of all the surrounding life. I cruised along the wall, moving with the current until it was time to ascend. I was using a 10-liter tank and was limited as to bottom time. I slowly drifted upward stopping every so often to look at these strange animals living in this hidden corner of a frozen continent and wondering if another camera's flash had ever illuminated them before.

At about 30 minutes into the dive I crested the top of the wall and was back amongst the rocky scour zone in a depth of 20 feet. I was slowly kicking into the current now, just trying to hold position, studying the anchor ice that was frozen to the bottom when I looked up to see a massive iceberg coming straight for me. I looked to my left and saw Lisa about 15 feet away and yelled through my regulator to get her attention. She heard me and we both scrambled to get out of the way. With only about 700 psi of air left in my tank, I hoped the berg wasn't too large and that I had enough air to safely make it out of harm's way. I did and the iceberg sailed by, just clearing the bottom by about a foot.

Another memorable dive was made at Deception Island along another bluff face though here the bottom was not a sheer wall, but more like a staircase that gradually stepped downward. Though not as prolific as the wall at Cape Well-met, it was still very impressive with a bounty of life clinging to undersea rocks. Also here I came across whalebones scattered on the bottom, remnants of the whaling days in the early part of the 20th century.


Whale bones, photo credit: Brian Skerry

Diving in cold water takes a lot more work than tropical diving; layers of undergarments, drysuits with thick gloves attaching limiting dexterity and lots more weight needed to descend. And the cold is harsh on equipment, not to mention your body, with lips swelling up like you've had an over dose of botox injections and fingers and toes getting numb and hurting from the cold. But there is a stunning beauty in these waters that is unique. I especially love the remoteness of Antarctica and exploring places that few have ever seen and having penguins diving around the boat as you're suiting up is rather special. Cruising back to the ship aboard the Zodiac, with that frigid wind in my face after a dive always gives me a peaceful, albeit cold, feeling.

With the gentle rocking of the ship steaming to our next location, I will sleep well tonight.

- Brian

Labels: anemone, Antarctica, Brian Skerry, David Cochtran, drysuit, icebergs, Lisa Eareckson Trotter, penguins

Kara Robinson, Dominica Expedition

So much has happened since my last post. I have officially seen the largest tooth whale on the planet, the sperm whale! What an amazing and strange creature, so different than the baleen whales I am used to in New England. We saw a couple of singles and a group of three that swam right under the boat, we could see the white patch around their mouth.


A juvenile sperm whale heading towards us, with its one blowhole on the left of its head open.
Photo credit: Kara Mahoney Robinson

Later, I got in the water when no whales were around; we were just 3 miles off shore and probably in close to 5,000 feet of water with nothing at all around us. The Caribbean Sea is soo blue and clear and incredible!!

Also, since last time I wrote we have really gotten into the work that we are here to do! On Monday, we trained 4 teachers from Soufriere Primary School and 5 folks that work with youth throughout Dominica. This day of intense training was followed by our big kick off day at the school in Soufriere, a fishing village 30 minutes south of here, with the teachers and the students, it was FANTASTIC! We were mostly working with the 4th and 5th grades, but when the inflatable whale went up, the whole school came out to see it. They were so excited to learn more and ask TONS of questions.


Teaching students at Soufriere Primary School
Photo credit: Jake Levenson

I have learned a lot from them as well. Most of the students had seen sea turtles nesting on the island--leatherback, green and hawksbill sea turtles nest here on the island. All the students have had "ballau", which is the local word for a type of fish called ballyhoo. Most of the students have never seen a whale, and more shockingly most of the teachers and students have never been in the ocean before, so have never seen the beautiful coral reef and fish that live just feet from the shore. I look forward to spending some more time at this school and visiting another school on the East side of the island, La Plaine, which is a community next to the largest leatherback sea turtle nesting beach on Dominica.

More to come ...

- Kara

Labels: green, hawksbill sea turtles, Kara Robinson, leatherback, sperm whales

Dr. Randi Rotjan, Saudi Arabia Expedition

For the past 10 days, I (+ 8 colleagues) have been onboard the R/V Dream Island, diving and working everyday around the clock in order to answer questions about fish-coral interactions (and other things) in the Red Sea. To give you a glimpse of the on-boat experience, I'm thrilled to have some video footage to include (shot and narrated by Nancy Berumen). This first short clip shows Michael and I in prep for a dive (hydrating and getting gear together), with a reef in the background (our boat is anchored to the reef). Check out the changes in surface coloration - you can see the reef from the surface:



By day, we were working mostly underwater doing transects, collecting samples, capturing images, recording behavioral observations, etc. By night, we had to work up our samples, enter our data, download our images, and prepare for the next day's dives (3-5 dives per day!). However, space was limited, and we turned our dive benches into lab benches. Using headlamps for light, luggage for seating, and dive gear surrounding us as ambiance, we worked around the clock to make sure that all the work was done properly (again, video by Nancy and Mike Berumen):



So, what's it like underwater? What are we doing, exactly? As I've previously mentioned, there are many different scientific objectives on this boat, and I've already given you all of the details on the Finding Nemo project. As always, I was working on fish-coral interactions, trying to figure out which fish eat corals, why fish eat corals, and what that means for the corals. I'll spare you the gory details, but this basically involves (among other things) having a pretty good handle on coral taxonomy. The Red Sea hosts some unusual corals, so I spent a lot of time studying! Here's a glimpse of some of my favorite Red Sea coral critters:





One of these, (middle row, R) Cynarina lacrymalis, is my new favorite coral. It's only a single polyp and very rare, but it's extremely distinctive and very beautiful. I also love Mycedium umbra (middle row, L), Galaxea (top row, middle) and Astreopora (bottom row, middle with the gratuitous Chromodoris quadricolor nudibranch for fun). I won't bore you with all of the taxonomic details, but it's clear that the Red Sea hosts a high diversity of corals, and it's a challenge to be able to identify them all quickly underwater!



We measure the corals along a transect (see the measuring tape above), and from these coral counts and measurements we get a sense of the benthic cover and coral health (among other things) at a site. But of course, to measure them, we first need to know who they are.


Gerrit and Mae topside, identifying corals

In addition to coral identification, we often need to measure something more closely - see this coral above? It has some scars on it (likely made by a fish that was eating the coral), and some dead patches. Using a ruler, we can estimate the amount of living tissue. And, though we're pretty good with our coral identifications, sometimes we have to use photographs to help us - immediately after a dive, we compare our notes and photographs with taxonomic guides to confirm what we've seen.

We also need to keep our samples organized. Underwater, things are collected and carefully recorded onto underwater paper. Then immediately on boat (often still in a wetsuit!), samples are placed into tubes, labeled, categorized, and properly stored. Without constant vigilance, samples would get lost, disorganized, mislabeled... and all of that work underwater would be lost. Data are also immediately transcribed onto a computer and data sheets stored for reference.




Finally, naturalists at heart, we try to identify things outside of our research areas that are new to us. For example, I saw a lot of new (to me) bivalves on this trip. The first time I saw Pedum spondyloideum (the coral scallop - below left), I immediately checked our references to determine its identity. Needless to say, we had a staring contest - but I blinked first. See all of the eyes? They are red, and line the mantle. These scallops are extremely interesting - they are embedded within corals and are thought to feed on plankton. Similarly, I had never seen Spondylus mafrisrubri before (the Red Sea thorny oyster, which is actually another scallop, below right), so it was great fun to add these creatures (and more!) to my repertoire.



Being a naturalist is an important part of being a field biologist. Knowing how to identify species, where they are commonly found, and who they are related to is essential to really knowing an ecosystem. After all, without taxonomic knowledge, it's hard to get perspective on ecology. Many of you are probably naturalists as well - many hobbies are born of naturalist tendencies (birding, gardening, fishing, etc). Still, coral reef ecosystems are among the most complex and diverse on earth - so it's not always simple (but don't get discouraged).



So, for me, science at sea is a mix of taxonomic identification, ecological categorization, collecting samples and behavioral observations. Above all, organization is the key to a successful trip. My time at sea is basically at an end for now (more on that next post), so I'll take my 10 days worth of data, samples, and impressions and will begin the terrestrial task of trying to understand all that I've seen. It will take several months to unravel all of these observations, but in the end, we will (hopefully) have answered some of our questions, discovered new ones along the way, and have a better understanding of coral reefs in the Red Sea. As for science at sea, it's been fantastic. But now, land ho! It's time to head to shore.

-Randi-

Labels: Coral, Dream Island, KAUST, Nemo, Randi Rotjan, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, video

Dr. Randi Rotjan, Saudi Arabia Expedition

For most of us, the Red Sea probably conjures a biblical image, if any image at all comes to mind. After all, how many of us have had the privilege of spending any time on or in this relatively tiny stretch of ocean?

Well, time to part the waters and reveal the mysteries that lie beneath. Diving the Red Sea as a scientist is a religious experience of sorts. It's pretty magical down here.


photo: R. Rotjan

To start with, it's beautiful. Relatively calm seas (despite our one day with 40+kt winds and rain... in the middle of a desert) mean clear waters with wonderful light penetration to the depths. These waters are teeming with Anthia spp. fishes, little damsels, clownfish, groupers, turtles, manta rays, dolphins... and of course, corals!!


photos: R. Rotjan

For me, the corals are always the star of the show. One of the most incredible coral experiences I've had here is my introduction to Xenia and Heteroxenia spp. soft corals that actually move (see the underwater movie posted below). Corals are animals that behave like plants and produce a hard calcareous skeleton. As a colleague of mine like to say, they are sea monsters: animal, vegetable and mineral all rolled into one. Corals are (usually) colonial, and have many polyps on a colony. Each polyp is a mouth (think of each polyp as an anemone--same idea, and corals and anemones are closely related). Many corals extend their polyps at night to feed, and keep them retracted during the day. But, these intriguing soft corals feed all day, pulsating to gather plankton and particulate matter from the water column wherever available. In other words, Xenia and Heteroxenia spp. showcase the animal side of corals--they visibly behave!



Speaking of animals, they are everywhere! In contrast to other reefs in the world that host a diverse and abundant flora, the Red Sea is all fauna. The benthos here is overwhelmingly invertebrate, which is stunning. But, how can I talk about animals without mentioning the fishes? Onboard, we've been studying parrotfishes, butterflyfishes, snappers, clownfish, surgeonfishes, pufferfishes and damselfishes, which is a very fishy cruise by my standards. This research agenda has kept us fish-focused for almost all of our science.


photos: M. Noble

However, we've also stolen a glance at some non-research related animal while we've been here--and we've avoided injury, too. Yup, there are lots of toxic animals here. Lionfish, scorpionfish, jellies--we've seen 'em all.


photos: R. Rotjan

The only person who has been stung so far is me. I got a small puncture wound by a crown-of-thorns seastar (shown below) because I was trying to pick it up to see what it was eating (I study organisms that eat coral, and this seastar is the ultimate corallivore). Yup, just another part of being in the water.


photo: R. Rotjan

We've also seen some big organisms--silky sharks, dolphins, manta rays, reef sharks, turtles, spotted eagle rays, coral groupers, giant bumpheaded parrotfish, tuna, and Spanish mackerel ... but they have been rare. In most parts of the world, these large organisms have been overfished, so it's comforting to see them here in the Red Sea.


photos: R. Rotjan

As for me, it's time to strap on my tank and literally part the waters again. There's more science to do, more critters to see, more questions to answer. All in order to do my part ... for the waters.


photos: R. Rotjan

-Randi

Labels: Coral, Randi Rotjan, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Sharks, turtle, video

Sunnye Dreyfus, South Africa Expedition

Last week I visited the Two Oceans Aquarium. It is centrally located on the waterfront, with a sweet little cafe and gift shop, sand tiger (ragged-tooth) sharks, African penguins, and fantastic staff, just like us!



Because of the location of Cape Town (the southern tip of Africa), the 2OA's collection hails from both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. According to Head of Education, Russell Stevens, there is little need to look any further than their own "backyard" for their exhibits. They have just a handful of species that don't call the Indian or Atlantic Oceans home. Some of the highlights of my visit included:

• Plankton exhibit: the lifeblood of the ocean should have spotlight, right?
• Soles and puffer fish exhibits: it was great fun trying to find them hiding in the sand.
• Shy sharks: endemic to the south and west coast of South Africa; mostly cold water species. I believe there are 5 species ... abundant and beautiful. They are called shy sharks because they use their tail to cover their eyes and snout when they feel threatened. Shark yoga, if you will. Puff adder shy sharks, leopard shy sharks, pajama shy sharks. Great names, huh? They come complete with fantastic specimens, big screen monitor, and an enthusiastic interpreter.

• Kelp Forest: they play soothing music and some people swear that the fish and kelp choreograph accordingly. I found myself wanting to curl up at the holdfasts and take a nap.

• Upper, middle and lower river region exhibit: I loved how the exhibit started high and ended low. Clanwilliam yellowfish, sawfin, sandfish—the level of endemism (species found in a specific area) decreases as you get to the lower regions because they are more susceptible to invasive species of bass, trout, and catfish as well as runoff from agriculture.

• Fynbos exhibit: Plants native to the Western cape of South Africa! Pronounced "fane-bohs" meaning "fine bush" in Afrikaans, there are about NINE THOUSAND species and 6,200 of them are endemic to the Cape. They account for the highest density of plant species in the world (over 1,300 species per 10,000 square km)! Fynbos are packed like the Green Line on game day in just 6 percent of the country, but they account for over half of all plant species in South Africa and 20 percent of all species found on the entire continent! Yeah! How cool is that? I love (sniff, sniff), love (cough, cough) love (ah-choooo!!!) fynbos. I have never experienced so many plants, colors, flowers, fruits, seeds, and sinus congestion!
  

• Wild cape fur seals (30 of them!): lounging on the docks just outside the cafe.

• Learning labs: they have two and I voiced my loving envy. The first classroom (formerly a computer lab) had enough lab tables and chairs for 60 students and enough permanent tabletop tidepools to allow 1 per every 2 students! The second classroom had a border of marine animal tanks to choose from depending on the program.

• My lunch: Marine Stewardship Council certified hake and chips. Yum.

• Rethink the Shark: this was a corridor next to the predator exhibit in which they had large photos of sharks, information and statistics, and the Rethink the Shark video looping on a large screen.

• Last, but not least is the hagfish exhibit. I love hagfish and it is about time these beauties have their own spotlight.

Conservation considerations
Something that really stood out to me after visiting the 2OA was their inclusion of Homo sapiens into their exhibits. There were three creative and simple ways I observed this being done.

Lining the base of the predator tank are species ID placards and I just happened to notice that one of them was for the human. It read: "Human, Homo sapien, A fierce predator found in both warm and cold waters. Preys on sharks, finning them alive and leaving them to drown in open seas. Offspring, if uneducated, may imitate behavior of adult species."


There was a sign posted from the INSIDE of the predator tank that read: "Warning: Predators beyond this point."



As I was leaving the main exhibits, there were giant images of a shark and a lion and in between was a giant mirror with text reading: "Planet Earth's most dangerous predator." It made me think and shook up my perspective a bit. And I'm sure that is what we who work at zoos and aquariums want to encourage our guests to do, right? Because perspective-shaking thought leads to learning, learning leads to knowledge, knowledge gives way to awareness and awareness has great potential to evolve into action. All of this can happen from a simple mirror installation. I love education.



Wildlife List:
Cape wagtail (Motacilla capensis)
Red-winged starling (Onychoganthus morio)
Rock pigeon (Columba guinea)
Sugar bird (long tails, very cool flight pattern)
Heron (hanging out with the thousands of penguins at Betty's Bay)
Hyrax, "dassie" (their closest relative is the elephant)
Blue crane with chicks! (national bird of South Africa)
Grey-winged francolin
White stork
Grey mongoose
African millipede
Sunbird
Bomslang (venomous back-fanged arboreal snake that likes bird eggs)
Baboon spider (thankfully, it did not know how to open car doors)
Weaver birds
Goats, duck, geese, rabbits, Bantams and Rhode Island reds (chickens)
African grey parrot named Rastus, and a Jack Russell named Bob

-Sunnye

Labels: conservation, Sharks, South Africa, Sunnye Dreyfus, Two Oceans Aquarium

Dr. Randi Rotjan, Saudi Arabia Expedition

Let me tell you something about our boat. It's got an observation hatch, a top notch research library complete with first edition volumes of all of our published works, a sauna (we keep a Swedish massage therapist on staff), and a video room so that we can create documentaries in the field. There are also two albino dolphins that swim with the boat; they're supposed to be very intelligent, but I haven't seen any evidence yet. We also have a helicopter and a deep-sea submersible on-hand and ready to go at all times ... Oh wait, no. That's only in the movies. :-)


Expedition team member Mae (Photo: R. Rotjan)

Unlike the legendary Jacques Cousteau or the fictional legend Steve Zissou, our accommodations here are a bit more modest (and realistic). The R/V Dream Island (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) is a great diving boat--with a large diving deck equipped with a compressor, hangers, shelves, and 2 dive ladders off the back, it is perfectly suited to our needs. Beyond that, we make do with a freezer top and a dive bench for our research lab space, which works surprisingly well.


Dive deck (R) and fish dissection by M. Berumen and R. Rotjan on the R/V Dream Island dive bench (L) (photos: G. Nanninga).

Our dining room is also our office, our game room, and our library. The top deck is our observation tower, our favorite picnic spot, additional research space, and a place to bake in the sun to try to warm up after a winter dive in the Red Sea (75 deg F may sound warm, but remember, that's more than 20 degrees below body temp--brrrrrr!). All in all, we have everything we need, but it's not quite the romantic life that some may think it to be. Nonetheless, we have had dolphins in our wake every day--and unlike the dolphins with Team Zissou, ours are intelligent enough to keep a safe distance from us, despite our best attempts to play with them.


Top deck empty (L) and active with research (R); Kelton McMahon (WHOI) and Randi cataloging invertebrates (photos: Gerrit Nanninger)

There isn't too much time on a research cruise for fun and games; every day is a precious opportunity to collect more data. There are multiple research projects concurrently underway (investigations of clownfish population genetics, zooxanthellae diversity, corallivory, food web dynamics, etc.), which leaves scant time for anything but the science. The boat moves from spot to spot in between dives--it's a good thing that the Red Sea is calm (sometimes even glassy!) so that we can still work while in transit.

Yet, despite our ambitious research goals, we've managed to get a few good laughs in so far. Marine science is full of fun-loving people, and moments of pure silliness are important (though rare). and we've somehow managed to find time to watch a few episodes from the Jacques Cousteau box set, and The Life Aquatic. We also have a giant on-board octopus, which Noah (a KAUST masters student) has affectionately named Intern II.


Intern II (center) with the rest of the crew


Group shot (photo: G. Nanninger)

The best things about life at sea are (for me): the science, the wind, the camaraderie and the view. I love, love, LOVE looking out on the horizon and seeing nothing but blue. And then even more than that, I love diving and spending an hour (or 5) underwater each day with my favorite critters on the planet--asking questions about them and looking for answers. More about the critters next post--I promise. But now, back to the blue to go check on those albino dolphins. :-)


Red sea coral reef with the R/V Dream Island above. (photo: R. Rotjan)

-Randi

Labels: dolphins, Dream Island, KAUST, Randi Rotjan, Saudi Arabia

Brian Skerry, Antarctica Expedition

Although I had seen a number of penguins in the first few days of this journey, I really got to see penguins when we landed at a Gentoo nesting colony in a location called Culverville. The numbers of Gentoo penguins on the peninsula have been steadily increasing in recent years, largely due to the fact that more land is becoming available with the retreating glacial ice. Gentoos nest on rocks, not ice, and recent climate change has actually helped to increase their stocks.


Gentoo penguins on ice. (Photo: Brian Skerry)


Penguins on the snow. (Photo: Brian Skerry)

I landed by Zodiac on the beach and immediately saw penguins walking at the water's edge. I hiked up the side of a mountain to where the land leveled out a bit and found penguin central! Everywhere I looked I could see the little black and white birds waddling around. Thousands of Gentoos were in this location, with tightly grouped individual colonies scattered over the mountainside.



Gentoo penguin with a chick. (Photo: Brian Skerry)

I have photographed a number of bird species in my career, but nothing quite like this. As anyone visiting the New England Aquarium knows, you just cannot get enough of penguins! These little birds have an awful lot of personality and I spent hours just watching their behaviors and making pictures. They showed no fear of our presence among them and simply went about their daily routines of nest building, caring for eggs or chicks and swimming in the frigid seas.


Gentoo penguins with icebergs. (Photo: Brian Skerry)

The sky was overcast with some patches of blue and from my high perch I looked out over an ocean filled with icebergs. It was a spectacular setting. The wilderness of mountain, sea, snow, ice and penguins was breathtaking. We were the only people for hundreds, maybe thousands of miles around and we were enjoying an encounter of a lifetime.

- Brian

Labels: Antarctica, Brian Skerry, climate change, Culverville, Gentoo penguins, icebergs

Kara Robinson, Dominca Expedition

After taking off from Boston Logan International Airport, flying 35,000 feet above a blanket of fluffy white clouds, landing in Miami, I then took off the next morning for San Juan, Puerto Rico. I transferred to a smaller plane, flying at 17,000 feet, and finally, after the ride through the interior rain forest with beautiful views, ups and downs, I have made it safely here to beautiful Dominica and ready to get started!


(Photo: Kara Robinson)

I am so excited to help out with International Fund for Animal Welfare's (IFAW) Floating Classroom program. I have been a marine science educator now for about 8 years, and have been lucky enough to have helped out on some whale research projects as well. Any opportunity to share my passion and love for whales, the ocean and, of course, educate at the same time is what I love to do.

Today was about getting oriented with the curriculum guide we will be giving the teachers, putting our plan together and getting to know some of the government officials who have worked with IFAW for years. I am getting more and more eager to both see this wonderful marine life that I have read and heard so much about, and also SO eager to get to know the teachers and children that are our target audience. I am eager to know what their thoughts are currently about the animals that make the Dominican waters their home.

Tomorrow we meet with the boat program staff to discuss the at-sea element of the program. With any luck we might even get the opportunity to go out to see sperm whales. I couldn't be more excited! Dominica is an island formed from many volcanoes, and as such the island's size grows underwater. Just a few miles offshore the water is deep enough for sperm whales to dive, feed and nurse their young. I look forward to blogging about what we see! Stay tuned for more about our activities on this beautiful island!

- Kara

Labels: Dominica, IFAW Floating Classroom, Kara Robinson, sperm whales

Randi Rotjan: Saudia Arabia Expedition

As a coral reef scientist at the New England Aquarium, I sometimes walk past the reef tanks in our exhibit for inspiration, or to reacquaint myself with the public opinion on coral reefs. Without fail, within less than 2 minutes of reef tank observations, a very smart Aquarium visitor notices "Nemo" on exhibit in the main building. Pixar's Finding Nemo has captivated audiences across age and culture, and clownfish have also captured the attention of Dr. Michael Berumen (KAUST) and his team. There are multiple scientific objectives on this boat; examining clownfish population genetics is one of them.


Clownfish (Amphiprion bicinctus) with a host Heteractis spp. anemone in the Red Sea.

Clownfish have a symbiotic relationship with Heteractis anemones. Each clownfish has a resident anemone. In this mutualism, clownfish have a protected shelter (the stinging anemone keeps predators away), and anemones also receive protection (clownfish are aggressive defenders of their anemone dwelling). In the Red Sea, there is only one species of clownfish: Amphiprion bicinctus. Given the relatively small size of the Red Sea (approximately the size of California), and the single species of clownfish, Michael and his team have an ideal study system to determine the population genetics of clownfish. In other words, how closely related are clownfish on the same reef? On neighboring reefs? On reefs across the Red Sea? These questions matter because Marine Protected Areas rely on the concept of preserving healthy marine habitats, and one indicator of a healthy habitat includes genetic diversity.


Red clownfish eggs on the reef wall, protected by the host anemone.

Clownfish are a perfect study system because their eggs are spawned demersally (and guarded by the parents), and their larvae spend a relatively short period of time in the plankton. Because adult clownfish always live within their host anemone, Michael can repeatedly sample the same fish and the fish won't move to a new location. So, day after day, dive after dive, Michael's team heads out on the boat to find Nemo--quite literally. Mae, Noah, Gerrit, Humberto, and Mike Sr. search for clownfish on anemones, gently catch them, take a tiny clip of their fin (like getting a haircut, the fin will grow back very quickly).


Mae Noble (KAUST) taking notes (left); A netted clownfish (right).

It takes a team of 5-6 people per site to collect 50 fin clips quickly and efficiently, and this team is amazing! Headed to each reef armed with nets, clipboards and tiny scissors, they give each clownfish a lucky fin. These fin clips contain enough genetic material for analysis to answer these important questions about population genetics and reef connectivity. These data will be among the first to document connectivity in careful detail for any species in the Red Sea.


"Lucky" tail fin after being clipped. Notice the fork in the tail which will grow back within days (left); Dr. Michael Berumen (right) taking notes on the clownfish after taking a small fin clip for genetic analysis.

Importantly, Nemo is already a poster species for ocean conservation since he has inspired so many people to care about the ocean and its denizens. However, this study could make Nemo a poster species for ocean conservation in the scientific community if we understand how much space is needed to maintain a healthy and diverse population. This Nemo connectivity study could thus help to inform the spatial planning of Marine Protected Areas - and may help to save Dori, Gill, Jacques, Bubbles, Bloat, Deb, Flo, Mister Ray, Peach, and everyone else. In the Pixar film, all of the reef creatures are working to save Nemo and to help him find his way home. Now, Nemo is returning the favor. As for these divers, "they have some serious thrill issues, dude," but they are "totally awesome."



Go team!
- Randi

Labels: anemone, clownfish, Marine Protected Area, Nemo, Randi Rotjan, Red Sea

Brian Skerry, Antarctica Expedition

Our next destination after Deception Island was the Weddell Sea. We headed south along the eastern side of the peninsula where the air and water turned even colder and icebergs became more plentiful. I stood on the bow of the ship in awe watching massive tabular bergs drifting past us like city buildings painted in hues of blue and white. These waters were quite unlike any I have seen before. In the thirty plus years I've explored the world's oceans I have been privileged to cover a fair bit of territory, including arctic locations and have seen many ice covered seas. But here the scale was grander, more spectacular with gigantic icebergs up close and ice covered mountains as the backdrop.


Tabular icebergs (Photo:Brian Skerry)

It was in the Weddell Sea that Ernest Shackleton became trapped in ice aboard Endurance, eventually abandoning ship, watching her become crushed by ice and sink into the inky black ocean. The epic tale that ensued remains one of the greatest survival stories in human history, and standing here today I had an even greater appreciation and respect for all that he and his crew accomplished. I can only imagine what they would think of us here now, cruising the same seas aboard a ship with amenities ranging from a coffee bistro and sauna to satellite telephones. I am convinced that people were just built tougher in Shackleton's day.


Explorer in ice (Photo: Brian Skerry)

In the afternoon, the captain navigated the ship towards huge stretches of fast ice. This term refers to ice that has adhered itself or has been made fast to the shoreline. This ice can be extremely thick and we searched for a place where we could make a landing. Without a great deal of searching, the bridge crew located a place that looked perfect and they piloted the Explorer directly into the ice. The Explorer is an ice-class ship, meaning that her hull is reinforced for such conditions. We are not an icebreaker, but can push through even heavy ice conditions. Our bow sliced into the fast ice and we slowly came to a stop. The side gates were opened and the Zodiacs were launched for a very short ride to the ice off to the side.


Crabeater seals (Photo: Brian Skerry)


Adelie penguin (Photo: Brian Skerry)

I joined the crew for the first landing and plodded through the ice and snow around to the front of the ship stopping to photograph this unique sight. On the ship's port side a pair of Crabeater seals were resting on the ice. From a distance of about 15 feet, I crouched down and began photographing them. About the time I decided that I had more than enough frames of sleeping seals, I spied a single Adelie penguin sliding along on its belly in our direction. Using its feet and wings it swam along the ice surface, making very good speed. As it got closer, the penguin rose to its feet and waddled even closer. Clearly he (or she) was curious about us. The little Adelie walked around the seals and around us for a few minutes, then flopped back down onto its belly and cruised off. A wonderful little chance encounter, in the middle of a frozen Weddell Sea.

- Brian

Labels: Adelie penguin, Brian Skerry, crabeater seals, National Geographic Explorer

Brian Skerry, Antarctica Expedition

When I awoke on the morning of the 11th, we were officially in Antarctic waters, having crossed the Antarctic Circle during the night. Night is a relative term here however, in that it never gets completely dark, and even in the wee hours of the morning it is quite bright outside.

Labels: Antarctica, Brian Skerry, National Geographic, penguins, Whalers Bay

Sunnye Dreyfus, South Africa Expedition

This is a tale of shark bites, baboon encounters, broken bones and garden penguins.

Labels: Baboons, Cape Point, South Africa, spider, Sunnye Dreyfus, wasp

Brian Skerry, Antarctica Expedition

Exactly one year ago, I was traveling south to Florida to begin a magazine assignment to photograph manatees. I spent just about a month swimming with these wonderful creatures and photographing them underwater and from the air (in the Goodyear Blimp). [Note: A book of photos from this expedition is available here.] Today I am once again heading south, but this time I'm traveling a bit further in that direction--all the way to Antarctica. The purpose of my journey is to serve as National Geographic staff on board a ship called the National Geographic Explorer operated by Lindblad Expeditions. About 140 guests would be on this 10-day trip to the frozen continent and my job entails lecturing on the ship about my work as a photojournalist and assisting people with their own photography. The other guest lecturer on this trip is astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon.


Sea lions hauled out on the rocks in the Beagle Channel off Ushuaia, Argentina (Photo: Brian Skerry)

My route took me from the Providence airport to Atlanta to Santiago, Chile where I arrived on the morning of the 8th. The next morning I was up at 5:30 a.m. and off to the airport for a charter flight to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern most city in the world. Before boarding the ship, I joined the passengers on board a catamaran cruise of the Beagle Channel. This channel is a brackish water system that contains waters from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and animals such as cormorants and sea lions can be easily seen. [Note: Penguin biologist Caitlin Hume was the last Aquarium explorer to visit the Beagle Channel, and she almost had her glove stolen by a skua. See the video in her expedition post.]


Tierra del Fuego National Park in Argentina (Photo: Brian Skerry)

Around 5:00 p.m., we boarded the Explorer and soon after began our steam down the Beagle Channel, reaching the Drake Passage around midnight. The Drake Passage has the reputation as being one of the roughest bodies of water in the world and making the passage across to Antarctica can often be unpleasant. As I write this post, we are about 350 miles south of Cape Horn and the conditions are relatively calm. If all continues well, we will reach Deception Island by tomorrow afternoon.

This will be my first trip to Antarctica and I truly cannot wait to arrive. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to travel here and to make pictures on the ice and beneath the water. My work over the last thirty years however, has always taken me to other locations but finally; I am on my way and getting very close. My plan is to be here for two trips, about three weeks in total and my hope is to photograph as much as possible, from penguins to seals to spectacular frozen landscapes--and to photograph underwater. So, in the days ahead I will be posting as often as possible and as much as satellite internet service permits and sharing with you my observations and explorations.

-Brian

Labels: Antarctica, Beagle Channel, Brian Skerry, Drake Passage