The Man-Eaters

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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 …

Tonga Field Report

Between September 10, 2013 – October 3, 2013 the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducted a research mission to Tonga as part of the Global Reef Expedition, focusing on coral reefs surrounding the islands in the Ha’apai group (Sep 11-21), …

Mangroves of Tonga

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Mangroves are unique trees that grow in intertidal areas of subtropical and tropical regions. They are highly specialized in adapting to distinctive environmental conditions they occupy. For instance, some mangroves are able to absorb seawater from the ocean and expel …

Sea Turtles of Tonga

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Today we arrived in the Niua Island Group. The science team will spend the next two days surveying Niuatoputapu, while the education team will provide land-based education programs. These are also the last two days of our Tonga mission before …

Scientific Collaboration

In order to understand the dynamics of a coral reef ecosystem, we must conduct standardized research techniques, which include scientific surveys and habitat mapping. This data helps our scientists to understand the entire picture for what is happening with coral …

Global Reef Expedition

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation completed one of the largest coral reef studies in history: the Global Reef Expedition. Over the course of 10 years, the Expedition circumnavigated the globe aboard the M/Y Golden Shadow surveying some of …