The Man-Eaters

Written by

South Pacific legends describe giant clams as man-eaters.  The largest of all molluscs, giant clams, were once thought to be voracious predators that wait patiently on the seafloor to trap an unsuspecting swimmer.  It’s no wonder  with a life span …

Natures Cement – A Tale of Two Dives

Written by

With wind and swell building from the south and east, we identified two relatively sheltered sites north of Ile des Pins for the morning surveys. Ominous rain clouds were building in the sky to the east, but we were glad …

Isle of Pines

Written by

As we arrived into Ill des Pins (Isle of Pines) on the first day of the mission, one type of vegetation struck me. Pine forests tower above the landscape, and stretch right down to the shore! Though we came to …

Sea Snakes Galore!

Written by

Yesterday, while exploring a nearby island, Dive Safety Officer, Nick Cautin, spotted 15 sea snakes on the beach!  We seem to be seeing them everywhere – on land, SCUBA diving, and even on the aft deck of the M/Y Golden …

Shivering for Science

Written by

Cold Water Diving Shortly after sunrise the main dive boat, Calcutta, set out from Golden Shadow to survey a gently sloping spur and groove reef system on the south eastern side of Ill des Pins. The dive team and crew …

Unraveling Algal Biodiversity

Written by

A key aspect of the work being done during the GRE involves the characterization of the diversity (number of different species) of different organisms – fish, corals, other invertebrates and algae. While species inventories for algae have been completed here, …

Trick or Treat?

Written by

Several hours after dark on Halloween, a large school of bait fish attracted to the lights given off by the Golden Shadow, congregated near the aft deck to feed on plankton.  This fish behavior (and the lights) also attracted other …

Amazing Algae

Written by

The average person doesn’t get too excited about algae, which most know as seaweed.  It smells when it accumulates on the beach and rots, it can outcompete coral when left unchecked, and it’s generally considered bad for reefs, especially when …

Surveys and Sampling

Written by

Two days of diving and our coral reef research is well underway in Isle de Pins, New Caledonia.  Although sea conditions were very murky, we explored three lagoonal patch reefs yesterday and successfully completed our standardized coral, benthic and fish …