Reef Creatures

A Big Mouth

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Expedition Log: Palau – Day 6 When our benthic team is conducting surveys, we are usually looking down at the benthos, concentrating and writing furiously on our dive slates. We often come back to the boat and hear excited questions …

Longjawed Mackerel: A Real ‘Big Mouth’

These weird and wonderful fish are the Longjawed Mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta). They swim around with their mouths open and gill rakers exposed, filtering zooplankton from the water for food. They swim in densely packed schools and are widespread throughout the …

Raging Remoras

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Expedition Log: Palau – Day 2 Remoras are a unique type fish. They use their distinctive specialized dorsal fin to attach to larger marine animals for transportation, protection and food. These fish are most commonly seen underwater hitching a free …

Manta Encounter

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Today we were conducting our ground-truthing operations in the beautiful lagoon of the Reef Islands in the Solomon Islands.  The Reef Islands are a collection of remote islands and reefs located in the Santa Cruz group of islands, southeast of …

Diving with Spectators

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Currently, the Reef Islands has no airport and barely any visitors make their way to this group of islands in the south eastern Solomon Islands. In fact, our ship is one of only four to make it out this year—with …

Cephalopods

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During the course of our survey dives we see many representatives of the Phylum Mollusca (mollusks). Frequently we see gastropod (snail) shells but most are carried about the reef by small hermit crabs which have taken up residence in the …

Solomon Islands Reef Survey Reveals Unexpected Sights Underwater

LANDOVER, MD, November 24, 2014 – The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has completed a large-scale survey of Solomon Islands reefs, and what they saw was quite unexpected. The team of scientists boarded the M/Y Golden Shadow at the …