Reef building corals start out from a small larvae (planula) that settles onto the reef, or from a fragment that has broken off another colony. The polyps that make up the coral divide, repeatedly, into two or more daughter polyps,
Research dives can be distilled down to lists of what is seen and what is not seen. Surveying the reef means figuring out what is there and what is missing. For the last few days, the science team has been
The first day of spring was the last day of diving for the Pedro Bank mission. Winston “Shucksman” Kerr, a local fisherman, guided us to two sites within sight of the Golden Shadow. No nurse sharks today, but lots of
Throughout most of the Caribbean, there are species of coral that are common and easily spotted on a dive, and those that are rare corals and difficult to locate. Experienced divers can usually characterize a reef fairly quickly based on
As the Living Oceans Foundation circumnavigates the globe, one of our core activities is rapid assessments of the health and resilience of coral reefs. Our assessments tell us about the diversity and population structure of corals and fishes, the types
Our research team headed south for today’s dives, surveying two reefs off the southwestern end of Nevis and one off the northwestern end. The first site, Caverns, was a raised terrace with large volcanic boulders at its margin and a
