research

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 …

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 …

Aerial Reconn of the Tuamotus

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Our coral reef research in the Tuamotu archipelago began with an aerial survey, at an elevation of 500-1000 feet above sea level, using the Golden Eye seaplane. The Tuamotu islands constitute the largest archipelago in French Polynesia, spanning an area …

Preparing and Waiting for the Tuamotus

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The Golden Shadow is docked in Papeete, Tahiti and the scientists are arriving tonight for our second mission in French Polynesia. Originally, we had planned a midnight departure to arrive at Rangiroa to start research on the 16th. However, after …

Bringing the Message to Many

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My two weeks aboard the Golden Shadow have come to a close. During that time, I spent the days diving with the science team.  At night, as the ship swayed with the swells of the ocean, I reflected on their research as …

Thriving Alien and Declining Local Invertebrates

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The French Polynesian scientists participating on the Society Islands mission took the opportunity to quantify the abundance of a number of French Polynesia invertebrates… species that have, or may have, a commercial and food subsistence role in the near future. …

The Legacy Site – What Will the Future Tell?

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The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation works on a global scale to improve our understanding of coral reef health and the ecological integrity of coral reef ecosystems. Pollution, coastal development, overfishing, climate change, disease, and predation can negatively impact …

Reality TV – The Reef

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French Polynesia is a long way from my hometown of St. Albert in Alberta, Canada. For many of my students, coral reefs are an abstract concept. Fortunately, in my short time with the science team, I have acquired many amazing …

Investigating the Reef Slope

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For the last week, the Global Reef Expedition scientists have been diving and surveying the leeward side of fore reefs around Raiatea, French Polynesia, focusing their efforts on the reef slope. This particular reef community changes its structure along a …