On our second day of diving we had our first encounter with a sea snake. While most of the 62 described species are true aquatic snakes, we observed one of the more primitive snakes, banded sea kraits, Laticauda colubrina. This
The Kingdom of Tonga contains some of the most unique and extensive coral reef environments found in the central south Pacific, with over 1500 square kilometers of reef area. These Tonga coral reefs are located due east of the 35,000
From September 2012 to May 2013 we conducted one of the most extensive assessments of French Polynesian reef systems ever done. Our Scientists researched in four of the five archipelagos, Society Islands, Tuamotu, Gambier and the Austral Islands. These research missions gave us a
When we set out to survey the reefs on Pedro Bank, Jamaica, we didn’t know that we were going to find two fish mysteries to solve: one about small stoplight parrotfishes and the other about much larger nurse sharks …
Over the past couple of decades, the future outlook of coral reefs has been dismal. With an increasing pressure from anthropogenic and natural stressors, coral reefs are declining around the world. The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation recognizes the
Chief Scientist Dr Andy Bruckner answers students from the Middle East and the US how he became so passionate about coral reefs.
A cultural view of Totoya sharks written by the high chief. As a young boy growing up Totoya, I recall that there were incidents of shark attacks on some of our villagers. In our culture, this type of incident is
In the middle of towing Ron across the local marine protected area (MPA) set up in front of Mavana Village, on Vanuabalavu Island, he popped his head up to shout, “Hey, this MPA is really working! The fish are huge.
As the crew and science team watched from the M/Y Golden Shadow, a bigger, brighter moon filled the night sky rising above the island of Vanuabalavu on June 23, 2013. When the moon is closest to Earth, called perigee, it
Roko Laitia Raloa, Assistant Roko Tui Lau at the Lau Provincial Council’s Office, and I are greeted at the boat tender by the head teacher of the primary school to which we are presenting our talk on Fiji coral reef
