What comes to mind when thinking about a coral reef is a colorful undersea garden teaming with life: corals, fish, urchins, starfish, molluscs, crustaceans, sponges and other animals and plants, many still unknown to science. French Polynesia coral reefs should
The most critical part of creating benthic habitat maps is the ground-truthing process for several reasons. First, exploring the research site improves the producer’s understanding of the landscape being mapped, thus allowing them to assess the maps qualitatively as they
One of our local partners, Dr. Sylvain Petek, from the Institute for Research and Development (IRD) in Tahiti studies sponges. He is looking at the taxonomy of sponges throughout French Polynesia and chemical compounds found within these animals. On every
This is my second mission on the M/Y Golden Shadow and I have enjoyed the company of the many scientists of different expertise and cultural backgrounds who have joined us. One participant in particular has really caught my attention. All
Clownfishes and anemonefishes are among the most iconic creatures residing in coral reefs. In Scilly and Bellinghausen, the science team sighted several colorful orange-finned anemonefishes (Amphirion chrysopterus) residing in anemones scattered throughout the shallows of the reef sites.
Mopelia and Scilly are beautiful coral atolls located in the Leeward group of the Society Islands. A coral atoll originally starts as a volcanic island. As the island and ocean floor subside, corals and other calcifying organisms build a near-shore
It is no coincidence that this charismatic Filipino joined the Global Reef Expedition as a Foundation Fellow in its course across the Pacific Ocean. For the last 12 years of his life, Badi has been identifying and counting reef fish
The first site in the Society Islands to be visited in French Polynesia is Mopelia (Maupihaa). This coral atoll has a well-developed reef encircling a lagoon in which numerous bommies occur. Islands sit atop the reef and host sea bird
Written by Dr. Andy Bruckner, Chief Scientist Society Islands from 1000 feet offers a unique perspective of the beauty of French Polynesia as well as some of the challenges we face on the upcoming research mission. We overflew the eight
One of our most ambitious research missions of the Global Reef Expedition to date will take us to the South Pacific, where we will spend more than six months exploring coral reefs throughout French Polynesia. We arrived late Thursday night
