Troubling Taxonomy

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Expedition Log – Day 12 One of the largest challenges for our coral surveys is the proper identification of the corals.  When measuring and counting corals along transects we rarely identify them to species, mainly because there are some 450 …

Blue, You Say?

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Expedition Log: Palau – Day 10 While I perform my task of taking coral photo transects during our survey dives, I get a close look at the reef (one square meter at a time). One side effect of focusing my …

Angaur’s Marine Lakes

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Expedition Log: Palau – Day 9 After surveying the reefs located off Angaur, an oceanic Island about 10 km south of Peliliu, we headed ashore to explore the island.  Tucked away in a lush tropical rainforest at the northwestern end …

New Study Reveals Worrying Future for Corals

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Written by Alison Barrat A new paper, Galápagos coral reef persistence after ENSO warming across an acidification gradient, gives a more detailed picture than ever of how ocean acidification and increased ocean temperatures combine to spell disaster for the worlds reefs, …

Swimming with the Jellies

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Expedition Log: Palau – Day 7 I felt like I was floating in an emerald green broth chock full of mushrooms.  Thousands of mushrooms, actually more like 13 million mushrooms. I dove to the depths and looked up, rays of …

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 …

Palau’s Iconic Rock Islands

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Expedition Log: Palau – Day 1 We’ve embarked on our next research mission of the Global reef Expedition to Palau, a Freely Associated State with strong ties to the United States.  Palau is is in the western Pacific, fairly close …