The Golden Shadow is docked in Papeete, Tahiti and the scientists are arriving tonight for our second mission in French Polynesia. Originally, we had planned a midnight departure to arrive at Rangiroa to start research on the 16th. However, after
My two weeks aboard the Golden Shadow have come to a close. During that time, I spent the days diving with the science team. At night, as the ship swayed with the swells of the ocean, I reflected on their research as
The French Polynesian scientists participating on the Society Islands mission took the opportunity to quantify the abundance of a number of French Polynesia invertebrates… species that have, or may have, a commercial and food subsistence role in the near future.
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation works on a global scale to improve our understanding of coral reef health and the ecological integrity of coral reef ecosystems. Pollution, coastal development, overfishing, climate change, disease, and predation can negatively impact
French Polynesia is a long way from my hometown of St. Albert in Alberta, Canada. For many of my students, coral reefs are an abstract concept. Fortunately, in my short time with the science team, I have acquired many amazing
For the last week, the Global Reef Expedition scientists have been diving and surveying the leeward side of fore reefs around Raiatea, French Polynesia, focusing their efforts on the reef slope. This particular reef community changes its structure along a
When I arrived on the Golden Shadow on October 1st as part of the Coral Reef Educator on the Water program, I knew I would be participating in a very unique opportunity – to be able to witness firsthand the
Most coral reefs thrive in shallow depth, where light can easily penetrate the water. Corals depend on the energy of sunlight, through the photosynthetic microscopic algae that reside within their tissue, to grow and survive. For the first time in
Coral reefs are often called the rainforests of the seas. Teeming with life, reefs harbor a broad range of organisms that rely on a complex network of ecological interactions and symbiosis (close and often long-term interaction between two or more
At first sight, Huahines’ reefs appeared to lack vertical relief; the bottom was barren and without much life. It was obvious to all of us that a disturbance had impacted these reefs sometime in the past. Locals indicated it was
