Gambier, 800 feet above sea level

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After a 3.5 hour flight on the Golden Eye, we reached Hao to begin our third research mission in French Polynesia at Gambier. Hao is a large (56 km X 15 km), low-lying coral atoll at the southeastern end of …

Celebrating Fish Diversity

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Fish communities in the Tuamotu Archipelago have been much more diverse than in Society Islands, especially on the fore reef.  The fish are not only more abundant, but they are larger overall, meaning greater biomass, which is good for reefs …

Reefs Around Rangiroa, Aratika and Raraka

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After two weeks, we’ve completed reef assessments around Rangiroa, Aratika, and Raraka and are now examining Fakarava. Tuamotu reefs are dramatically different from Society Islands.  Besides the near absence of crown of thorns seastars (we’ve seen a handful in the …

Safety First

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There are risks in every work environment, so working on and around boats brings with it unique safety concerns. We stress safety at the beginning of every mission, and give reminders of various risks throughout the mission. In order to …