Corals without Skeletons

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One of the most colorful and diverse groups of invertebrates found on coral reefs are soft corals (known scientifically as Alcyonaceans). These cnidarians are related to stony (scleractinian) corals, but they lack a massive, calcified skeleton and have eight hollow …

Beche-De-Mer

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If you follow our blogs, then you might recall the blogs about harvesting sea cucumbers in Fiji. In Tonga, they are also collecting sea cucumbers and processing them. When the sea cucumbers are processed and dried, they are called beche-de-mer. …

Tonga Coral Reef Education & Outreach Launched

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The coral reef education team is underway while on the Global Reef Expedition in Tonga. On the first day, five different environmental education programs were conducted in Ha’apai throughout the Lifuka district, including one secondary school and four primary schools. …

SNAKES!!!

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On our second day of diving we had our first encounter with a sea snake.  While most of the 62 described species are true aquatic snakes, we observed one of the more primitive snakes, banded sea kraits, Laticauda colubrina.  This …

Coral reefs of Tonga

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The Kingdom of Tonga contains some of the most unique and extensive coral reef environments found in the central south Pacific, with over 1500 square kilometers of reef area. These Tonga coral reefs are located due east of the 35,000 …

The Triton – Golden Shadow Shines on Global Tour

The Triton met Capt. Steven Breen during the Miami International Boat Show in February 2011. At that time the 220-foot M/Y Golden Shadow was preparing to embark on its scientific journey. The captain wrote this update from the summer expedition …

Tonga Album

Here are some beautiful ocean images and underwater photography from Tonga in the Pacific Ocean taken on Living Oceans Foundation Global Reef Expedition.

Conservation Photography

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From September 2012 to May 2013 we conducted one of the most extensive assessments of French Polynesian reef systems ever done. Our Scientists researched in four of the five archipelagos, Society Islands, Tuamotu, Gambier and the Austral Islands.  These research missions gave us a …

Raising Awareness: Faces of the Future

Over the past couple of decades, the future outlook of coral reefs has been dismal. With an increasing pressure from anthropogenic and natural stressors, coral reefs are declining around the world. The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation recognizes the …

Galapagos Islands

The Living Oceans Foundation conducted coral reef research in the Galapagos Islands in June of 2012 as part of the Global Reef Expedition. Unusual current patterns and low levels of human impacts provided us with a unique field laboratory to …