Motherhood on the Reefs

About a month ago I had the privelage and luck to find a single Broadclub Cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) at a dive site here in Palau. I shot a lot of footage of it and vowed to go back as soon as possible, which I did, it was still there, and if anything had grown. Great news I thought but again was determined to go back again as soon as possible.

It was a calm, bright, sunny day here as I jumped in the water and swam in the direction of my favourite subject, and as I was slowly finning over the reef my mind wanderered and my imagination started to formulate possibilities.

What if the lone cephalopod wasn't alone anymore? What if somehow it had found a partner?

I told myself not to dream and to concerntrate on actually finding it first.

So I arrived at the site, and it was there in exactly the same position but then I see as I swim around a coral head another! I can't beleive it! Two of my favourite animals right there for me to observe and film, but it didn't stop there....

Because as I continued to watch, keeping my distance so as not to disturb them I noticed that one was behaving differently, bunching it's tentacles up underneath itself in an almost puckering fashion, then relaxing, colour changing, stretching out the tentacles before swimming in my direction to a large coral head, there it hovered over an area, before moving to another and, there I realised that it was in fact a she and she was laying eggs! I couldn't believe my luck, not only had the local population doubled since my last visit, the population could potentially explode and here I was as it was happening!

The process was mesmorising, and followed a set pattern each time and in the 77 minutes that I was there watching and filming she laid over 15 egg masses.

The process was repeated over and over: the female "puckering", the colour change and stretch, the move to the coral head, the choice of the site, the production of egg in tentacles (pictured pale mass in tentacles), deposition, then dramatic colour change and move back to near where the male was waiting at which time the male had a colour change and held his tentacles in a lopsided fashion. Over and over again I watched the process.

According to literature it takes (in captivity) 55 days for the eggs to mature and the juveniles to swim free. The couple will mate possibly twice during this time and there could be 3 laying events. According to the literature the female dies once the eggs have hatched......but her sacrafice has bought new life to the reef.

Richard

photoshop@fishnfins.com
richardwbrooks@hotmail.com
http://www.lightningstrikeproductions.co.uk/

Blood in the water.

In the world of underwater photography and videography, proximity to subject is all important. The water column between the camera and subject robs you of light, colour and clarity and pays you back with suspended particulate matter in spades. That is why I was so happy to be in the right place at the right time with this crowd:




In places like Palau there can be found a interspecific hunting relationship where different species of fish rely on and interact with each other in the pursuit of food.

The main players in this case are Moray Eels, Napoleon Wrasses, Red Snappers, Brown-marbled Groupers, White-tip Reef Sharks, Grey Reef Sharks and usually Giant and Blue-fin Trevallies.

The moray hunts by entering small cracks and crevices in the reef where small fish often hide, the Napoleons and Snappers know that any fish encountered may try to escape and so follow the Moray as it moves over the reef, waiting for any fish to be flushed from it's hiding place by the Eel.
In the above clip, two eels were under the yellow flat coral and flushed out a small fish that was within a fraction of a second chomped by an alert Red Snapper, the tiny amount of blood released was carried by the current and was quickly picked up by the huge number of White-tip and Grey Reef Sharks in the area.
The Shark's incredibly well honed instincts snap into action and they swim over as fast as they can to investigate closely followed by an assortment of other predators with every animal focused on finding the source of the blood.
Each species has developed it's own hunting strategy, White tips being slender with flexible fins placed well back along the body can get their heads and most of their bodies into cracks and crevices in the reef, the Napoleons with their size and "aggressiveness" can threaten the sharks, butting them out the way, then use their enourmous mouths to "hoover" up any prey that gets close enough. The Grouper is very well camouflaged, resembling a large rock where it lies in wait. All these species are out-manouvered by the Trevallies with their ability to accelerate and change direction incredibly quickly.
The Fathom Imaging wide-angle lens I have mounted on the front of my Gates underwater video housing produces an image that appears smaller and further away than in real life, this enables me to get very close to a subject and still keep it in frame. The point of this is that the water column is much reduced and the image clearer than when viewed with the naked eye.
I have been watching these fast and furious displays in the past and up until now have either been too far away for a good image or too close and have disrupted the animals natural behaviour with my bulk and bubbles, this time however I could see that the key players (Moray, Napoleon, Grouper) were poised and the stage set and I carefully manouvered into position, slightly up-current, attaching my reef hook to a rock so I could hang relatively easily in the current, and I waited.
I wasn't disappointed.
At times the sharks are passing only centimeters away from the lens and there are moments in these situations where you have to remind yourself that they are very highly evolved hunters who are not interested in a great big ,rubber clad, stationary human being holding a big black monocular box and blowing noisy, shiny bubbles.
However this all means nothing if you are not in the right place at the right time. Keep your eyes open and watch for the signs, just like the observant Red Snapper.....


photoshop@fishnfins.com
www.lightningstrikeproductions.co.uk