Well, I've been searching and searching for shrimp and have finally found two. This is exciting for me. I've finally got some to film. This should be pretty good for me. On July fourth I swam with a turtle and two days ago I swam with two more. My count is up to four green sea turtles, 1 huge american stingray, 1 large octopus (not sure of the species), and millions of other fish. So far this has been a wonderful experience.
Yesterday we went diving for the first time. The first location was a place called the stadium. It was a sand flat surrounded by angled walls of coral that was reminiscent of a stadium. At the end there was a small swim through cave. The cave was pretty awesome, but overall the best part was the corals that surrounded the flat. The second location was that of a National Geographic plane wreck (no one was harmed.). That was a pretty awesome little site that snuck up on you. It was at 60 feet and was covered in corals. This has been my favorite experience on the island so far.
Here is a view from the dock that I took a while ago. This is the first time I've been able to upload photos!

My Independence Day - July 4, 2014

July 4, 2014   

            Fireworks may be exploding all around the country tonight but the stars in the sky here are doing the same.  1,000’s to see with only a crescent moon in the sky.  I haven’t been able to see the Milky Way since I can’t remember when with so much light pollution at home.  The Big Dipper hanging low in the northern sky was shining brilliantly as were all the other stars and planets.  We went down to the docks to see if the Spotted Eagle Rays were hanging around like previous nights, but to no avail.  Seeing “shooting stars” and all the constellations was awesome though. 

            I tackled the Northwest side of the bay this time, towards the point (1/2 mile as the crow flies) but did not make it all the way to the point as the winds starting picking up and the current was slamming me all over the reef area before I even made it to the point.  It is one long swim going diagonally across the bay, over the deeper area, fighting the current, but that’s where I get to see the turtles and rays (but not today).

            This area of the bay seems to get a lot more current flow than the opposite aide of the bay (Southwest towards the point).  As with the section of fans on the southeast shore area with 100s of fans, this area on the northwest side held a similar section loaded with fans.  An average of 30-40 fans per 3m².  Overall, this side of the bay looks healthier with more corals and Flamingo tongues and less algae.  

          The coral are darker purple in color like the second picture, although some still have a lot of algae.   You can see the “black streak” the FT made as it moved along the fan, eating the coral polyps.this particular FT did not have very much of its mantle displayed and it can be seen that the shell itself is very plain, white and creamy in color.  The first pic shows a Flamingo Tongue with it's mantle almost fully displayed on a very small (as you can see from the size of the FT which is only about 2.5-3.0 cm long) purple rod coral surrounded by the heavy algae plaguing the area.

            More pics for your viewing pleasure.  Blue Branching Vase Sponge from various angles.   Enjoy.

July 3, 2014

            Went back to the first site to check on the movement of the flamingo tongues I found yesterday.  Found 4 of the 7 in this area had moved, one almost a meter away, and 3 others had remained on the fan they were on yesterday.  I also found quite a few more and marked those.  Quite a few were found on other coral than the Common Purple Sea Fan.  Yesterday I found 1 dead one (shell) at the bottom of a sea fan.  I also found what I thought was a dead one (but wasn’t) in the sediment near a sea fan. 

     The black and white measures 1 cm per stripe.  Gives you an idea of the size of these Flamingo Tongues.  Most do not get over 3 cm but  a few stretch that.  The bottom picture shows the location on the fan, in a cleared area of algae, that I might assume has been cleared by the snail as it usually covers the fan more evenly.  The 2nd pic shows Christmas Tree Worms that grow all over hard corals such as brain and boulder.  The 3rd pic I believe is a Split-crown Feather Duster worm that disappears instantly when swimming by it.

            I did not see the large spotted eagle ray today that I did yesterday.  Its tail must have been all of 5 feet long and possibly longer.  Due to the poor clarity of the water I did not get great photos of it.  It sure was beautiful though.

     Still behind blogging but trying to catch up.  So much to see.  Enjoy the pics

July 2, 2014

Catching up for lost time and internet issues.

            After having a chance to explore the northern half of the bay I have found a few less sponges and a lot more algae compared to last year, both along the shore and near the point.  There are millions of anchovies and other small fishes throughout the bay.  Much more than I remember last year.  According to Mike, the proprietor of Turtle Bay Eco Resort, (on a deserted island – not really a “resort”) has informed me that due to a change in the winds this year, coming from the east (backside of the island) instead of the west it has affected the bay by not clearing it out as much which may be the reason for the higher algae content.  He also said that due to the change in winds, also being stronger than usual, it has kept the fisherman off the water.  They have not been catching bait fish (the anchovies and other small fish) so the population of these fish may be up because of this.  I would have thought this would have helped keep the algae content down, but it does not appear so.

            After looking over the south side of the bay, the fans on this side seem less healthy although they are prevalent, in the 100’s in one stretch, mostly small to medium size fans in this location.  Most are lighter purple or yellow, many with a high algae content on them.  The north side comparatively had less fans overall, but most were much healthier, of a deeper purple color, not so light, and not as much algae and other growths on them as I show in these photos.  As I found the flamingo tongues along the way I placed flags next to the coral they were on, or the bottom if that is where they were, to follow up in the following days the movement of these animals.  I am also trying to determine if they show a “preference” for certain fans, such as deeper purple, lighter purple, algae ridden, other corals, etc.

Darla

Cayos Major Honduras July 1, 2014

July 1, 2014

            Well, off to a rough start with cameras and computers but finally obtained some decent photos of all sorts of underwater creatures.  I am continuing research I started last year on the Common Purple Sea Fan, a gorgonian coral, and its relationship with the Flamingo Tongue snail.  I am attempting to find out if the snail vectors the Apergillus sydowii fungus to these fans or if it aides the fan by removing the fungus.  It ingests the fungus and uses it as a toxin to protect itself against predators.  I am theorizing that the Flamingo Tongue is aiding the fan, gorgonians being its primary source of food, a feeds only a little on the fans, not decimating them, and then moves on to another fan.  It may be very difficult to determine this, but I am going to give it a go. 

            Although I am studying these soft corals (non-reef building) I have captured a lot of images of other sea life besides and share it with you now.  Unfortunately I was not prepared with a camera and missed a fabulous shot of a Sea Robin.  It was very disappointing.  That will teach me to take a camera, every time I get in the water. I hope you enjoy these pics and more to come in the following days.

update 2014

we are switching to the old site as the new one is not working well.  So we will be posting from this blog.

We are in the middle of our first week,adjusting to time changes and weather.  It is clearly a nino year; wind from east,lots of algae,  no rain, but few mosquitoes.  All of our projects are started.  Darla is seeing fewer flamingo tongue snails.  Rob is locating his shrimp.  We have labeled shells and the land sites are really showing good results.  Students will be blogging about their work.