A new scientific survey studying the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) offers aquarists the chance to take a ‘virtual dive’ on the GBR. Although the survey is not yet fully underway, you can take a look at a number of coral bommies around Heron Island. To see the demo go to: The Catlin Seaview Survey

This has the potential to be a great resource for reefkeepers looking to put together a more natural, captive reef display.

The Heron Island images range from a depth between approximately 6m to 16m, giving you an appreciation of natural coral colouration on the reef.

The Catlin Seaview Survey, which was officially announced today, marks the launch of a pioneering scientific expedition that aims to carry out the first comprehensive study to document and reveal the composition and health of coral reefs on the Great Barrier Reef across an unprecedented depth range (0-100m).

Chief Scientist for the project, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg from the Global Change institute at The University of Queensland said that the scientific data gathered during the project will strengthen the understanding about how climate change and other environmental changes are likely to affect ocean ecosystems like the Great Barrier Reef. He stressed that the visual nature of the project will also help bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and public awareness.

“The Catlin Seaview Survey comprises a series of studies which will reveal to the public one of the last frontiers on Earth: the oceans. For the first time in history, we have the technology available to broadcast the findings and expedition through Google. Millions of people will be able to experience the life, the science and the magic that exists under the surface of our oceans. This project is very exciting.”

The Survey is not just another scientific expedition – it aims to capture the public’s imagination and engage people with the science like never before.

The Catlin Seaview Survey camera, developed specifically for the expedition, will capture thousands of 360-degree underwater panoramas which, when stitched together, will allow people to choose a location, dip underwater and go for a virtual dive at all of the locations visited by the expedition.

Google is collaborating with the Catlin Seaview Survey and is working on a new feature on Panoramio (which links photos to locations), so that the 360-degree panorama images can be uploaded and made available to millions of people worldwide. This will eventually mean that roughly 50,000 panoramas from the Survey will be accessible on Google Earth and Google Maps. The project will also have a dedicated YouTube channel and the ability to broadcast Hangouts on air, which allows people to watch live streams of the expedition team from the ocean floor.

The Catlin Seaview Survey will include a shallow reef survey, a deep reef survey and a mega-fauna survey, which combined will provide a baseline assessment of the composition, biodiversity and wellbeing of the Reef. The expedition will launch on the Great Barrier Reef in September 2012.

The Catlin Seaview Survey:

1. Shallow Reef Survey:

The shallow reef survey will use a custom-designed underwater vehicle with a 360-degree camera to generate imagery of the reef. In collaboration with The University of Queensland, this will be assessed using image recognition software to enable a rapid visual census of corals, fish and many other organisms at 20 sites across the entire length of the 2,300km Great Barrier Reef. This will provide a broad-scale baseline for understanding climate change on coral reefs.

2. Deep-water Survey:

Using diving robots, the deep-water survey will explore the reef at depths of 30-100 metres, of which little is known, yet may hold some of the secrets of whether or not the coral reefs will survive rapid climate change. Using a combination of HD cameras, deep diving robots and survey equipment, the deep-water component will provide a comprehensive study of the health, composition and biodiversity of the deep-water reefs.

3. Mega-fauna Survey:

The mega-fauna survey team, led by Emmy award winning cinematographer and shark researcher Richard Fitzpatrick, will study the migratory behaviour of tiger sharks, green turtles and manta rays in response to increasing seawater temperatures. A total of 50 animals will be tracked with satellite tags that continuously monitor their geographic position, temperature and depth. This data can then be compared against oceanographic data to get a better understanding of the animal’s behaviour and migrational responses to the warming of the oceans.

The Catlin Seaview Survey is collaboration between global insurance company Catlin Group Limited, not for- profit organisation Underwater Earth (project creators) and partner Google.

The content captured through the Catlin Seaview Survey will be added to Google platforms and will also be available on the Catlin Seaview Survey website – catlinseaviewsurvey.com. Over the coming years, the Survey intends to expand globally to reveal the oceans in regions of importance all over the world.

People often ask, “Is the Miracle Mud system proven?” or, “Does the Miracle Mud system really work?” The answer is a definite, “Yes!”

This brief article is intended to give you a glimpse at just a few of the successful reef aquaria around the world that run on EcoSystem Miracle Mud.

First off it has to be the reef belonging to Leng Sy, the inventor of the Miracle Mud system. These photos were taken a few years back when I visited EcoSystem in California. Leng referred to this as a ‘Soft coral and angelfishes’ display, remarkably it featured a pair of adult Emperor Angels, alongside a number of other exotic angelfish species.

The second aquarium using Miracle Mud is one of my own. I’ve included it because this is the aquarium where I experienced a soft coral reproducing through sexual reproduction. The species in question is a Briarium species, commonly referred to as ‘Star polyps’. Spawning has taken place irregularly over the years and on at least one occasion the planula larvae have successfully settled creating new corals.

Stay tuned to this station …

… this article will continue to be updated over the next day or two

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

EcoSystem Aquarium UK

©2012

]]> http://reeframblings.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=2874 0 http://reeframblings.co.uk/?p=2862 http://reeframblings.co.uk/?p=2862#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:16:40 +0000 Tim Hayes http://reeframblings.co.uk/?p=2862 There’s news this week from Phuket that government researchers have reported an improvement in the condition of the coral reefs around Phuket and along the Andaman coast.

In May 2010 we started to hear reports of extensive warm water coral bleaching in the Andaman Sea. It was believed to be the worst case of bleaching in Thai waters for 20 years. Coral reefs off Phangnga, Krabi and Phuket, including popular diving sites such as the Similan, Phi Phi and Surin islands were affected. Coral reefs in the Andaman Sea had previously suffered severe bleaching in 1991 and 2003.

            Bleached coral at Koh Payu at the Similan Islands Marine National Park.

            Photo: Marine National Park Operations Center.

I wrote about this at the time in Reef Ramblings: see ‘Andaman Sea coral reefs hit by bleaching’

Last Monday Boonchob Sudthamanaswong, Director-General of the dep. of Marine and Coastal Resources Andaman Coast Group (DMCR-Andaman), chaired a seminar in Phuket to debate government plans to revive damaged marine resources in addition to reviewing the progress of environmental monitoring systems in Phuket and the Andaman Coast provinces of Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun.

Mr Boonchob told the media there were great improvements in the conditions of coral reefs within the region since the devastating coral bleaching episode in 2010. Concluding “I am happy to announce that more than half the coral damaged has already returned to its original condition,”

You can find out more about coral bleaching, its cause and the effects it has on the reef, by going to Reef Ramblings: ‘Global Bleaching 2010’.

Further articles on Reef Ramblings discussing the condition of the reefs and the various threats to their survival are listed below:

• ‘Is the End in Sight for the World’s Coral Reefs?‘
• ‘Reefs at Risk Revisited‘
• ‘Reefs Require Greater Care at Both Global and Local Level.‘
• ‘Our Dying Planet by Professor Peter Sale – the end of the Coral Reef Ecosystem.‘

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

Today while I was doing some house keeping on the Reef Ramblings website I was surprised to discover that it has now been going for five years.

The first Reef Ramblings online was published on the 10^th February 2007 at 17.05 and entitled, ‘Reef Ramblings Revived!’ and featured the following subtitle…

Reef Ramblings.

or …

A philosophy of sorts, on all things reef …

Reef Ramblings was originally a print column in Practical Fishkeeping magazine at a time when I provided the bulk of its reef content, offhand I can’t recall the date of the first column, probably sometime during 2004 or 2005, and ran until late 2006.  I then had numerous queries about what had happened to the column so, as a result of the interest shown, decided to resurrect the column online.

Over the last five years more than 220 articles of one sort or another have been published here, that’s around 44 per year, considerably more than the 60 columns that would have appeared in print over that time.

It remains a fairly eclectic mix of content with news about the natural environment, issues concerning reef keeping, talking about new equipment, commenting on different ways of running a reef, and now features a lot more coverage of the ethics and responsibilities of the hobby.

I don’t know how many of you out there actually read these articles but I hope you have enjoyed them to date and found some value in them, I also hope that you’ll agree that I’ve stayed true to my introduction in the first ever column where I promised an occasional series of incoherent ramblings on all things reef! I just hope its not been too incoherent…

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012-02-12

Commonly referred to as Plate or Mushroom corals (not to be confused with mushroom anemones), these are free-living corals that are found living directly on the bottom substrate. Do not place these corals on rockwork; it’s neither natural nor safe. These corals are capable of moving themselves around so if placed up on the rocks there is a very real danger of it trying to move to a new position and ending up falling on to some other coral below; usually with disastrous results to the coral it lands on, as these are strongly stinging corals. In some circumstances it may be necessary to corral these corals with small pieces of live rock to prevent them from moving into a position where they can sting other corals.

Genus Cycloseris

Genus Fungia

Common species: Plate corals, Mushroom corals.

There are a number of species of these two genera that are difficult to identify to species level. Circular, low-lying corals with a single mouth. Very hardy but should be placed on the bottom substrate of the aquarium. A naturalistic display can be achieved by placing a number of the corals together in a group on a sand substrate.

Excellent choice for those new to stony corals.

Genus Heliofungia

Common species: Long tentacled plate corals.

Similar to Fungia species these are circular in form but have long tentacles and may appear reminiscent of certain Anemone species. This is one coral that cannot be recommended as being suited to any other than advanced aquarists. The majority of these corals imported do not survive in captivity.

Genus Herpolitha

Genus Polyphyllia

Common species: Slipper corals.

Difficult to distinguish to species level these corals are very similar to Fungia except rather than being round they are elongated plates with rounded ends.

Fungiids – Mobile corals

Click for full image.

Unlike the majority of corals attached to the limestone substrate that makes up the reef, Fungiids can actively move around and find themselves better habitats. Compared to other species, they have a relatively thick layer of fleshy tissue covering the top of their calcium carbonate skeleton, expanding and contracting this tissue allows them to move around.

Corals on loose substrate, such as sand, are vulnerable to being covered by sediment if there is any shifting of the substrate owing to weather conditions or if foraging fish, digging for food, dump sand on them. Under these conditions corals can become smothered and suffocate, some species can dislodge sediment by expelling mucous but as a free-living corals Fungiids use the same technique as they do for movement to rid themselves of sedimentation.

To investigate how these corals coped with being buried in sediment Dr Pim Bongaerts, from the University of Queensland, brought specimens into the lab and put them in aquaria in order to film the process using time-lapse photography.

The corals were covered in a sediment made up of coarse sand (0.5 – 1.0 mm) and then over 20 hours were photographed every 10 seconds, the resulting footage shows the corals inflate and deflate their entire body in a series of rhythmic pulses shedding the sediment in a matter of hours.

Dr Bongaerts findings have been published in the journal Coral Reef:  Mushroom corals overcome live burial through pulsed inflation (P. Bongaerts, B. W. Hoeksema, K. B. Hay, & O. Hoegh-Guldberg)

For more information about Fungiids on Reef Ramblings, see also:

• Previously Unknown Feeding in a Large Polyped Stony Coral.
• 3 Aquarium Corals Feature in Top 10 List of Endangered  Coral Species.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

Back in December 2011 prestigious CBS news magazine ‘60 Minutes’ showed a 12 minute feature focusing on the plight of the world’s coral reefs, Correspondent Anderson Cooper visited Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) with the Ocean Foundation’s Senior Fellow, Dr. David E. Guggenheim to take a look at a uniquely preserved ecosystem that illustrates the way a healthy coral reef looked like compared to the majority of reefs in the region which have becoming seriously degraded over the past 50 years.

The Gardens of the Queen have been described as one of the world’s most vibrant coral reefs, an anomaly at a time when many of the world’s reefs are in danger – or already dead.

Click on the link to below  to view the 12 minute feature:

The Gardens of the Queen

This is interesting viewing for reef aquarists for many reasons.

Caribbean coral reefs, along with the rest of the reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, are markedly different to those of the Indo Pacific. Alcyoniidae, the leather corals that we are familiar with from the Indo Pacific are largely absent; in their place are an abundance of Holaxonia, the sea fans and gorgonians.

It is an inspiring program to watch if you are contemplating putting together a biotope based on this region. Although we don’t have access to stony corals from the area there are plenty of other interesting invertebrates and colourful fishes available that can be made into a fascinating reef display refreshingly different from the usual mishmash of Indo Pacific species.

It is encouraging to see a healthy reef, showing little degradation, although on reflection most reefs shown on television are either ‘pristine’ or devastated.

This program caused much debate amongst coral reef scientists, some of it nit-picking, but I think the consensus was that it was a positive event with at least 18 million Americans seeing this film on the night it was broadcast. The biggest problem facing coral reefs today continues to be the lack of awareness among the general public regarding their deteoriating condition and the causes of that condition. Anything that helps to get this message across, as with the recent BBC2 Great Barrier Reef series, is invaluable to reef conservation.

The fish, particularly the groupers are stunning. Also watch out for the short segment showing what looked to be Periclimenes species shrimps engaged in cleaning activity.

Again, one to watch and to recommend to friends and colleagues to increase their appreciation of coral reefs, and their awareness of the issues affecting them.

Additional links:

CBS ’60 Minutes’ – The Gardens of the Queen

Dr. David E. Guggenheim

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2012

Since its launch in 2005 the magazine Amazonas, edited by Hans-Georg Evers, has been widely considered to be one of the finest aquarium hobby publications in the world.  Up until now it has only been published in German. This year, 2012, sees the launch of the long-awaited English version with Volume 1, Issue 1, dated January/February 2012.

Amazonas issue 1, January/February 2012.

It’s fair to say that no better publication currently exists for dedicated freshwater hobbyists. Each issue featuring cutting-edge articles on fishes, invertebrates, aquatic plants, field trips to tropical destinations plus the latest in husbandry and breeding breakthroughs by expert aquarists, all accompanied by excellent photography throughout.

From the publishers of Coral magazine, this is a freshwater-only magazine with the same excitement and cover-to-cover excellence as Coral. Richly illustrated with high quality colour images and packed with in-depth articles by renowned authors, Amazonas appears every two months.

Coverage includes: new species, new ideas, new expert accounts on keeping and breeding freshwater fishes and invertebrates, planted tank aquascaping, travel to tropical source countries, visits to the fish rooms of legendary home aquarists and breeders, aquarium practice, biological background reports, aquarium technology and chemistry, interviews and much more. All printed on high-quality, sustainably harvested papers and non-toxic, soy-based inks.

The name ‘Amazonas’ is derived from the native Portuguese and Spanish name for the Rio Amazonas, the river that the Western world calls the Amazon.

I have a pre-publication sample issue and have to say that it lives up to the reputation of Coral magazine with amazing photography and in depth articles of a quality not seen elsewhere. If you are a serious fish keeper and value information, rather than the same old aquarium magazine content, you will not be disappointed.

Following the lead of Coral, the cover subject is dealt with in detail through extensive photo-reportage, accompanied by several in-depth accompanying articles.

As with the early issues of Coral, this first issue of Amazonas is sure to become a collector’s item.

See Midland Reefs: Amazonas

Retailers, if you are interested in stocking Amazonas, please contact us at Midland Reefs.

Tim Hayes, Midland Reefs, January 2012.

Watch out for the new BBC2 series about the Great Barrier Reef, ‘Nature’s Miracle’, starting at 8pm on Sunday 1^stJanuary 2012.

The three-part series presented by Monty Halls explores the 2000-kilometre length of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of the world and the largest living structure on our planet.

The first film explores the complex structure of the coral reef itself, the wildlife that lives on it, and features underwater photography showing scenes that have never been filmed before.

To find out more about this new series see BBC Great Barrier Reef.

If you go to Great Barrier Reef clips you can see 18 videos connected to the series ranging from just under a minute to a series preview of almost eight minutes in length. Included are some web exclusive videos.

Part of the success of the series was due to a partnership with James Cook University in Cairns. Their scientific research facilities include a giant reef tank where a variety of reef animals are studied.

The facilities here enabled the team to capture specialist close-up shots that would not be possible in the wild. Look out for the sequence capturing the first stages of a coral’s life when a free-swimming coral polyp settles and begins growing its stony skeleton.

Being able to precisely control light and nutrient levels, whilst leaving cameras running for days at a time, enabled series cameraman and marine biologist Richard Fitzpatrick to film time-lapse sequences of corals. A first here is footage showing how corals bleach, expelling their symbiotic partners, the zooxanthellae that give them their colour, a feat that hasn’t been achieved before in a wildlife documentary.

Please tell your friends, family, and colleagues about this new series highlighting the many wonders of the reef environment.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

The poster by Greg Michalski, an assistant professor at Purdue University, highlights a quirk of science that although amusing, may be of concern to aquarists wanting to ensure their fish are fed an appropriate diet.

The poster presentation was a report on research based on chemical analysis of nitrogen isotopes in the food chain. The heavier isotope nitrogen-15 accumulates with each level on the food chain whilst the lighter form, nitrogen-14, tends to be excreted. An animal retains the heavy nitrogen from the animals it eats, while losing some of the lighter nitrogen. With each step up the food chain, the ratio of heavy to light shifts in favour of nitrogen-15. So, a plant would have the lowest levels of heavy nitrogen, and a top predator, say a shark or a tiger, would have the highest. This is a similar mechanism to the accumulation of the toxic element mercury in animals higher up the food chain

Michalski, who uses isotopes to study pollution and nitrogen cycling, had his students test seafood as a training exercise. Not surprisingly, they found that filter-feeding animals, like clams, came up with relatively low nitrogen-15 levels. Fish at the top of the food chain, like tuna and swordfish, had the most. However, as they studied a wider range of subjects they discovered an anomaly when they found some of the highest levels of heavy nitrogen ever recorded in …

 … the common guppy!

Tim Hayes Midland Reefs ©2007-11

The nitrogen enrichment being studied is expressed as the ratio of heavy to light nitrogen in the air. In the guppy, however, they found an increase in heavy nitrogen of 0.149 percent relative to that ratio. By comparison, they analyzed a sample from a thresher shark, a predatory shark, and found it had a 0.143-percent enrichment. Comically this turns the humble guppy into a predator at the very top of the food chain.

The reason for the anomaly turns out to be the aquarium fish food fed to the guppies. Their analyses revealed that fish food is positioned in the middle of the food chain, in the vicinity of salmon, mahi mahi, octopus or cod. Generally fish food comprises the leftovers from commercial fisheries: fish heads, guts and fins, the heavy nitrogen contained in it becomes further concentrated when eaten by the top predator, aquarium fishes, in this case, specifically the common guppy.

Although we don’t know what make of aquarium food was being fed to the guppies in the study it does open up questions about the formulation of fish foods and how appropriate they are for the species that they are being fed to.

In nature guppies are fairly low in the food chain, digestive tracts of wild guppies, Poecilia reticulata contain mainly benthic algae and aquatic insect larvae, a diet far different to the one rich in fish represented by the aquarium food in the above study. That’s not to say that all fish foods are poorly formulated, companies such as JBL go to great lengths to produce nutritionally appropriate foods with an increasingly species specific range of foods. See PDF presentation about the JBL Novo food range

For some time now I’ve been pointing out that the majority of fishes kept by reefkeepers are not fish eaters, rather they have a diet comprised of small zooplankton. Similarly the majority of the popular small fishes in the freshwater hobby are not fish eaters.

When you choose a food for your fishes do some research, examine the manufacturers literature and the content on food labels to ensure that you are feeding your fish an appropriate diet. You may find that you need a variety of foods to accommodate the diets of the different species that you keep.

Tim Hayes

Midland Reefs

©2011