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Green turtles were plentiful right across the reef
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date: 17/7/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Sunny
Air Temp: 20.2ºC
Wind: SW/ W 15-20 knots
Water Temp: 21ºC
Water Visibility: ~15m
Sea State: Wild
The westerly wind blew up again today making the western side of the island rough!
After getting a bit wet getting on the glass bottom boat everybody enjoyed the surprisingly clear visibility and incredible abundance of marine life on offer today. Plankton feeding fish were schooling everywhere indicating prime Manta Ray conditions. They didn’t disappoint either with two Manta Rays gliding down from the lighthouse and turning in the current so that their fins broke the surface of the water. Green turtles were plentiful right across the reef and allowed some terrific photo’s when they floated on the surface for a breath of air. When guests jumped in to go snorkeling they were greeted by hundreds of brightly coloured reef fish. One fish in particular was schooling in massive numbers and it was the Heller’s barracuda. This large carnivorous fish has a great mouthful of razor sharp teeth and appeared to be showing them off to guests today. After a good amount of time exploring the reef guests came in out of the wind and warmed back up with a big hot meal at the buffet.
Another activity that ran in the morning was the reef walk. Out in the lagoon guests saw the always impressive blue linckia sea star and posed for some great photos. They were also introduced to the topic of coral bleaching with a small part of the reef showing some stress perhaps due to the recent cold conditions. The guide explained that the coral animal is a creature that lives right on the edge of its comfort zone and if conditions change it can easily become stressed. Hard Corals are naturally green or brown colour due to the microscopic algae zooxanthellae that grow in its tissue and provide the animal with energy. The coral that the guide showed everybody today was actually a brilliant bright purple and looked very attractive. This colour change is due to a last ditched effort for the coral animal to survive, it abandons the microscopic algae in its tissue leaving only the pigment of the animal which is often a very nice colour. It was a great education tool with some very obvious bleaching areas and left the group with a very clear message. Coral is very fragile!
To finish a great day of discovery and education on the Great Barrier Reef guests came along to the education centre for a slide show presentation on dangerous marine creatures. It was great re-enforcement that the reef is a magical place that can be enjoyed without stress or worry if you use a bit of common sense.
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coral bleaching - J Fox
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click to download flash player