Shark Savers Billboard Campaign!

I have recently donated to an innovative campaign by Shark Savers and Wild Aid who have been asking for US$100 which will buy two billboards in China that aim to educate people on the plight of global shark populations. Shark finning is decimating the world's shark populations and is primarily fueled by demand from China and other Asian countries. Hitting demand at its source I consider to be the way forward!

Shark Savers recently reached their target of 1,000 billboards to be displayed for a year. This is brilliant but they can always benefit from further donations to continue this project. They plan to expand into a third city in China to reach an even greater audience.

This would be a brilliant Christmas gift, they'll send a certificate as evidence! Often we buy gifts that are never to be seen/used again after a few weeks. This gift will literally keep on giving. Maybe there will be sharks left in fifty years. With current trends this might be unlikely but fingers crossed Shark Savers can make a difference.

Follow this LINK to donate!

Identifying Rhinopias Species

One of my pet peeves is the misidentification of members of the scoprionfish genus Rhinopias. There are 3 members of this genus that are commonly seen by divers in South East Asia - Rhionpias aphanes, R. eschmeyeri and R. frondosa. Actually geography plays a much greater part in the identification of them that people realise.

Rhinopias aphanes / Lacy Scorpionfish - is endemic to the Coral Sea area of Papua New Guinea, Great Barrier Reef, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia. They differ in habitat preference from the other two species as a result of the predominant environ

mental conditions in the Coral Sea. They are found on rich coral bommies and walls sitting out in the
open, mimicking crinoids. The patterning on the body is made up of a network of line rather than spots and colouration is quite variable as with the other species.

Rhinopias eschmeyeri / Paddle Flap Scorpionfish - This is the easiest species to identify. The body is generally only one colour with very few other markings. There are also ha

rdly any filaments on the skin and the dorsal fins are completely lacking in skin filaments or indentat

ions adjacent to the spines, hence the common name. I have seen red, pink and purp

le individuals. The range is throughout much of the tropical Indo West Pacific. It prefers 'muck' dive sites with black sand and algal beds.

Rhinopias frondosa - Weedy Scorpionfish - Basically this is the only species of filame

ntous Rhinopias that is found in Indonesia and Philippines but is often incorrectly identified as the Lacy / R. aphanes species. It shares the same habitat as R. eschmeyeri and the two often co-occur. This species is found in white, yellow, purple, red and all manner of other colours. It has circles rather than lines covering the body. It is also found throughout the Indo West Pacific as far west as Mozambique. It can therefore occur in the Coral Sea but habitat type and body patterning easily distinguish it from R. aphanes.

Wakatobi Final Blogs

My final weeks at Wakatobi Dive Resort flew by and I seem to have forgotten to post the links to my last two FiNS blogs:

Week 7

Week 8

Since my focus is so specifically about the pygmies, it is easy to get caught up in all the adventure of that, but I would like to make a point of thanking all the staff and owners of Wakatobi for their support and enthusiasm for my project. Without them it would have never been possible.

Wakatobi Dive Resort really is one of a kind, an oasis, with every feature of a 5 star resort and more! The resort has maintained pristine reefs and an ethos of sustainable management, whilst other reefs in Indonesia are systematically destroyed.

If you ever have opportunity to visit Wakatobi don't pass it up! You won't regret it!

Working/Planning!

As Christmas draws ever closer I am trying my best to remain focused on the work at hand rather than become distracted by exciting times ahead!

I am currently working on the final draft of a scientific journal submission provisionally called 'Extreme habitat specialisation and unusual population structure in two gorgonian-associated pygmy seahorses'. This is based on the work I have been doing at Wakatobi Dive Resort over the past few years. I have also begun reading for my next journal article/PhD chapter about the behavioural and reproductive observations I made on Denise's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise) also at Wakatobi.

It is only two weeks until I head to Maluku Divers in Ambon for Christmas and New Year and from there I am headed to Raja Ampat aboard the Peter Hughes vessel Paradise Dancer. I will be aboard the Paradise Dancer for two trips from 5-16th and 18-28th January, during which time I will be taking promotional shots of the boat and UW creatures as well as giving presentations about pygmies, conservation and biodiversity (if people are interested!). Of course I'll be taking the opportunity to look for the newly described Satomi's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus satomiae) and searching for the stunning red and white colour morph of Denise's pygmy which appears restricted to the Raja Ampat region.

Meanwhile back to reading about seahorse operational sex ratios, potential reproductive rates and sex role reversal! All in a day's work for a marine biologist!