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
When I arrived on the Golden Shadow on October 1st as part of the Coral Reef Educator on the Water program, I knew I would be participating in a very unique opportunity – to be able to witness firsthand the
Coral reefs are often called the rainforests of the seas. Teeming with life, reefs harbor a broad range of organisms that rely on a complex network of ecological interactions and symbiosis (close and often long-term interaction between two or more
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
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
The last day of research brought us to Urvina Bay on the west side of Isabela Island. In passing from Pueto Ayora around the southern end of Isabela, we followed the same route that Darwin took aboard the Beagle in
Peter Glynn, Professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the University of Miami, was one of the first scientists to study the coral reefs of the Galapagos. He’s the head of the U. Miami team on board the Golden Shadow,
Iliana Baums, a marine biologist at Penn State University, explained her research last night after dinner. She’s looking at Porites lobata, a major reef-building coral in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and its identical-looking relative P. evermanni, and how they
