Okay, it’s not a reef story, but it is a good news story from the world of ocean conservation, and for that reason alone, I think it is worth sharing. Humpbacks and blue whales are making a comeback! Believed to be the largest creature ever to have lived on Earth, the blue whale (along with [...]
The Red Sea offers some of the best growths of corals in the world, which explains why I keep heading back there. So you’ll understand when I say it’s the reefs that are impressive, not necessarily the images. This series of images was taken on some amazing reefs towards the south of [...]
I came across this anemone on a well-known dive site in the northern Red Sea; it’s a great looking animal and possibly one of the busiest I’ve ever seen. Folks familiar with anemones will recognize it as the magnificent anemone, Heteractis magnifica. This is a widespread species, [...]
Seahorses are remarkably hard to find. I’ve known divers with thousands of dives under their (weight)belts, who have never seen a single solitary member of the seahorse stable. Non divers may find this hard to appreciate, but hopefully these images will help reveal the difficulty [...]
A colorful wrasse swims over soft corals, but this isn’t the South Pacific, this is the dark and cold waters off the UK coastline. Imagine if you will, being raised in a fishing community centuries past. You’ve no safety equipment, no weather forecasting and every time you venture [...]
Anthias species are, as any one who has watched them will know, not an easy group of fish to photograph. They’re skittish and easily spooked and swim so very fast. Every so often though you com across a nice well-lit reef where the conditions and the fish combine to allow you to get some [...]
Leaf fish are found across the Indo pacific, and as I write this I’m aware of the double meaning here. Perhaps I ought to say: They range across the Indo pacific, but they’re rarely found! Leaf fish, or the Leaf scorpionfish (Taenianotus triacanthus) is a member of the [...]
We all know that corals contain symbiotic algae within their tissues and that a delicate and mutually beneficial relationship exists, which when all goes well keeps both parties happy. But how do corals regulate the populations of algae within their tissues? New research using anemones, which are [...]