As a marine scientist, visiting the Kingdom of Tonga to study the coral reefs was a treat. We observed so many beautiful marine animals and habitats that were unlike anywhere else on the Global Reef Expedition. One of my favorite
Maggie Dillon is a Science and Education Intern for the Khaled bin Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF). She is a senior at St. John’s College in Annapolis Maryland. After graduating, Maggie is interested in pursuing a Master’s Degree in Marine
In 1998, we visited Rangiroa Atoll shortly after sea temperatures rose 6 degrees greater than summer norms and caused massive coral bleaching. Virtually all of the branching coral Pocillopora died and a quarter of the mound-shaped coral, Porites, lost almost
Navigation hazards are many in Hao Atoll, due to a myriad of submerged patch reefs that rise to the surface from the 60 m deep lagoon floor. These reefs are distributed in a seemingly random pattern. Some are circular and
Like other animals, corals need to reproduce to survive. Unlike most other animals, corals are attached to the seafloor and cannot move around to find a mate for coral reproduction. To address this challenge, corals have developed several alternative reproductive
We have had many interesting dives within the lagoons around the Tuamotu Archipelago, but the Fakarava lagoonal habitats have been the most unique. There are thousands of small patch reefs that extend from the water’s surface to depths as great as
After two weeks, we’ve completed reef assessments around Rangiroa, Aratika, and Raraka and are now examining Fakarava. Tuamotu reefs are dramatically different from Society Islands. Besides the near absence of crown of thorns seastars (we’ve seen a handful in the
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
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
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
