I am back from my leave, and so very lucky to be here for Ari's first swim in the Giant Ocean Tank. It was a long road to recovery for her--almost 2 1/2 years from the time she was found on a beach in Louisiana to now.








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Labels: Ari, Chris, Kemp's ridley, Our Reef Residents, sea turtle

On Tuesday evening Sherrie drove to Logan Airport to pick up a very special package--a Kemp's ridley sea turtle! This turtle was found on a beach in Cameron Parish, Louisiana in 2007, with severe injuries to its head and back flippers, most likely due to a propeller strike. She was nursed back to health at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans and later at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species Center in Algiers, Louisiana.

Labels: Andrea, Giant Ocean Tank, Our Reef Residents, sea turtle

The Giant Ocean Tank Dive Team and the Aquarium Health Division recently joined forces to begin a series of shark medical exams. After weeks of planning, the first two of four exams were scheduled for August 4 (Bimini the nurse shark) and August 6 (Markham the sand tiger shark).

Staff and volunteers arrived at 6:00 a.m. to begin the preparation process. Shark exams require an enormous amount of planning as well as a lot of highly specialized equipment.




Once the injectable anesthesia has taken effect (shark is a bit groggy), divers use a wand attached to a spray bottle full of liquid anesthesia to further anesthetize the animal. The liquid anesthesia has a sleep like effect, much like anesthesia that is used on humans. Additional divers use long poles with tennis balls on the ends to help direct the shark towards the wand.

Once it is determined that the shark is drowsy enough to handle, divers use the poles to gently guide him into the stretcher.




Bimini was a bit light on anesthesia, and made quite a fuss when placed in the exam box. She eventually settled down nicely.

A hose within a PVC tube that is attached to a pump is placed in the shark's mouth. This ensures a constant flow of water; important for respiration.



The most challenging part of the exam is radiographs. The shark has to be taken out of the water and placed on the radiograph plate. When not breathing the anesthetized water, the shark can wake up, so this has to be done very quickly.

Once the exam is completed, the shark is returned to the exhibit in much the same way that he/she was removed. They are brought to the bottom in a stretcher, and observed closely by the dive staff until they are up and swimming.

Stay tuned the next exams will be in early September with Judith and Galilee ...

- Sherrie

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Labels: Bimini, Markham, Nurse Shark, Our Reef Residents, sand tiger shark

As you look into the Giant Ocean Tank you can see that the fish come in many different shapes and sizes. Some of our more uniquely shaped fish are a group call the boxfishes. They get their name for their less-than-streamline boxy shape. The way they hover and dart around the tank and how they will suck squid tentacles out of you hand like slurping spaghetti makes them a favorite of both the visitors and the divers.



Here are a few of the boxfish that you might find in the GOT.



In this video you can see a trunkfish and the honeycomb cowfish swimming around. To distinguish them look for tiny horns above the cowfish's eyes.



Watch in this video as I feed some of our trunkfish and cowfish along with some of our other oddly shaped fish, like an ocean triggerfish, individual squid tentacles.




A little while ago the divers noticed the scrawled cowfish had sustained an injury to its dorsal fin. It was removed from the exhibit to a tank behind the scenes where the vets in our Animal Health Department sutured part of the dorsal fin back on. While under their care, the health department staff affectionately named the fish Wasabi. Wasabi spent some more time behind the scenes to rest and recoup, and I am happy to say that Wasabi is healed and is ready to go back into the Giant Ocean Tank.

Here is a picture of Wasabi in its tank behind the scenes recuperating.


Wasabi in a formalin dip awaiting his release into the GOT

Labels: Andrea, boxfish, cowfish, Our Reef Residents, wasabi

Once the fish have finished their dips, they go into acclimation chambers within the GOT. Here the cuda is in a floating pen where he will remain for a couple of weeks along with the needlefish.


-Sherrie

Labels: barracuda, cuda, Our Reef Residents

A little known fact about the Giant Ocean Tank is that the entire reef structure is hollow and sealed off from the tank proper by a hatch, what we call the 'cave door.' We do this to prevent the tank's inhabitants from wandering up into that dark and creepy place. Periodically senior dive staff enter this cavernous space in order to do various maintenance tanks (see a future blog entry for more on that!), but it's not a place for the faint of heart. (Nor the untrained!)

So imagine my surprise when I opened the hatch today and was confronted by the probing tentacles of a giant squid that must have been hiding in there for decades!!!

Luckily Chris was there to catch the monster on camera before it withdrew back into the inky darkness ...





Oh, wait...


Never mind...


April Fools!!!


(Sorry, but I had to do it.)


- John


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Labels: April Fool's Day, Chris, giant squid, GOT, John Hanzl, Our Reef Residents

Animal donations are a sensitive subject. We at the New England Aquarium make it a policy to not accept donations from pet owners. Some animals grow to an unmanageable size, and when this happens, some people unknowingly expect us to take their pet, which we simply cannot do. Also, never release a pet back into the wild. Its survival is unlikely and any released animals could spread diseases to local populations. Be responsible, educate yourself and do your research, and avoid any animals that will outgrow your aquarium.

Labels: animal donations, Chris, Dan D., green moray eel, Our Reef Residents, video

Labels: balloonfish, fugu, Our Reef Residents, porcupinefish, spike, striped burrfish, valentine's day, video

Labels: feeding, loggerhead, Our Reef Residents, Sherrie, video

Parrotfish are found in tropical waters all over the world. They are named for their parrot-like beaks which are used for crunching corals and encrusted rocks in search of algae, their main food source. Parrotfish swim by flapping their pectoral fins, giving the appearance that they are flying through the water.

Some species of parrotfish excrete a mucous bubble that envelops their bodies at night when they are at rest. Depending on the species, they can range in size from seven inches (green blotch parrotfish) to five feet (rainbow parrotfish). Identifying the different species can be quite challenging due to the dramatic changes in shape, color, and markings that occur as they mature. In many species the females and juveniles look similar, while the adult males look completely different. The adult males are usually much more colorful with ornate combinations of blues and greens highlighted with red, yellow, and pink. The different age groups are classified as "phases." They include juvenile phase, initial phase, and terminal phase.

Stoplight Parrotfish -- Initial Phase



Stoplight Parrotfish --Terminal Phase


This is our rainbow parrotfish

He is only about a foot long now, but he could get as big as five feet when full grown!

There are currently six species of parrotfish in the Giant Ocean Tank; princess, striped, redband, stoplight, rainbow, and yellowtail. They are all doing quite well, but the yellowtail is by far the most successful. We have two yellowtail parrotfish; one is only a few inches long, while the other is a little over a foot. The larger one was introduced to the GOT as a new species several years ago when it was no bigger then a few inches itself.



The smaller one came from our 2008 Bahamas fall collecting expedition, and has only been in the GOT for a little over a week.



- Sherrie

Labels: Our Reef Residents, parrotfish, Sherrie, video

I remember when I first started scuba diving one of the things I liked best about it was the peace and quiet; all you hear is the sound of your own bubbles. However, after several dives in the Giant Ocean Tank, I began to hear other things. To my surprise, the fish were making noise! The first sound I heard was a loud grunting noise, clearly coming from one of our Nassau groupers. It appeared to be territorial, as when he did it, a smaller Nassau grouper quickly left the area. After that experience, I began listening carefully whenever I was under water. Since then, I've heard hundreds of different noises--grunting, drumming, clicking, crackling, and squeaking. Some sounds I can identify, some I can not. Some fishes are named for the sounds they make.

For example, the black drum (left and above) makes a drumming sound, while the French grunt makes a grunting sound. Fishes make sounds for a variety of reasons. Some sounds are intentionally produced to ward off predators, discourage competitors, attract mates or as a response to fright. Involuntary sounds are usually the result of feeding or swimming. The way fishes make sounds depends on the species. Some fishes hit or rub bones together while others use muscles to contract and expand the swim bladder.

Click play to listen to the sound a black drum makes:


- Sherrie

Labels: audio, black drum, cownose ray, grunts, Our Reef Residents, rock hind, Sherrie

Our fall Bahamas collecting expedition just wrapped up this week. One of the most challenging aspects of these expeditions is to get the fishes and invertebrates to Boston alive. After many hours of "packaging" them up, they were loaded into the cargo bay of a plane and flown north.



A little over 3 hours after taking off from Miami, they touched down at Boston Logan airport. It was then our job to get them unloaded, unboxed, unbagged, and into their holding tanks with cleaner water as soon as possible.



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Labels: Bahamas Collecting Expedition, Chris, Our Reef Residents

Labels: acclimation, Chris, Giant Ocean Tank, needlefish, Our Reef Residents, redfin

This is the first entry in a series we're going to call: "Our Reef Residents." Each entry will profile one of the species in the Giant Ocean Tank's tropical reef!

This entry is the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum). Blueheads live in the tropics and are found around coral reefs and in seagrass beds. We collected several specimens (along with blackear, bluehead, dwarf, rainbow, and yellowhead wrasses) on the recent Bahamas Collecting Expedition.

Wrasses are fast swimmers and it is an exhausting process to catch them underwater. Although challenging, it is worth the extra effort to bring these beautiful fishes home to Boston and introduce them to the Giant Ocean Tank.

Wrasses belong to the Family Labridae which contains over 600 different species. Many members of this family, like the bluehead, have an interesting reproductive biology. Blueheads are typically born female. Males are produced when a female sexually reverses after a dominant male is predated upon or dies. This process is called protogyny. The "supermale" wrasse maintains reproductive control over a smaller group of females, or harem, while also keeping geographical control over a certain area. The male has striking coloration and is referred to as a terminal phase male.

Females are less brightly colored and are called initial phase wrasses. Occasionally, a bluehead will be born male; it is also considered an initial phase wrasse. These smaller males will never become dominant and will not change sex. They are also called "sneaker" or "streaker" males because they quickly move into a supermale's territory to mate with his females. This helps to ensure a high level of genetic diversity. Blueheads are pelagic spawners and release eggs into the water column for dispersal by ocean currents.

The illustration above shows both the terminal phase and initial phase of the bluehead wrasse. The terminal phase bluehead has a bright blue head, two vertical black bars separated by a white bar, and yellowish-green body. It can grow up to six inches long. The initial phase bluehead pictured is a juvenile and has a yellow back, white underside, and black spot on its dorsal fin. The appearance of initial phase blueheads varies depending on the age of the wrasse and its geographic location. They range from one to four inches in length. Both the terminal phase and initial phase blueheads reside in the Giant Ocean Tank here at the New England Aquarium.

-Sarah

Labels: Bahamas Collecting Expedition, bluehead wrasse, Our Reef Residents, Sarah