This sea-grass bed is grazing ground for the dugongs(sea-cow). It looks large and it is, but how long will it stay that way for the marine-life that depends on it?
Some sea-grass are long, leaves up to 1.5 meter in length. At low-tide it is unable to support itself upright. This is one of the better times to spot Syngnathids or more commonly known as seahorses & pipefishes.
Moggie doing the moonwalk?
Researcher, student and volunteers gather round a found specimen.
The syngnathid males carries the fertilized eggs. In the case of pipefish, the eggs are external sort of like 'glued' to the underbelly.
Can you see the eggs?
A juvenile alligator pipefish.
Record sex, size, pregnancy, colour, evidence of injuries/scars/diseases:
Isn't she adorable?
This is a male seahorse. Males have a pouch to hold the eggs inside as opposed to the pipefish.
"I got you wrapped around my little pinkie... oh wait, you are wrapping my little pinkie!"
From the seahorse's eye-level...
"Nyeh, nyeh ... cannot find me."
"Now can I get on with my life?"
More photos posted here -> http://picasaweb.google.com/divemuster/MNSTripSOSVolunteerProgram
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9 comments:
Hello,
Thank you for this very lovely post. The seahorses are gorgeous. When I was a kid I lived in Bermuda and they have seahorses there too.
Hopefully talking about what is becoming endangered and showing its beauty will help to make us all more aware of the effects humankind is having so we can make it better.
Cheers
I went to see the slideshow, it's great! But unfortunately I was unable to find the seahorse in the photo. Can you point out where it is? :)
It was a wonderful experience. The seahorses are gorgeous and so fascinating. Great photos. Great memories.
dweezeljazz, hopefully the awareness programs will educate the public on the how much we and the generations to come will lose should the mangroves and sea-grass beds are not preserved. Oh, sorry about the "naughty" post in the slideshow section. There is no seahorse in the picture. It was meant to represent how hard it was to locate one amongst the sea-grass.
ladyhawk, indeed it was a very rich experience and one that deserves more awareness. Hopefully our photos and blogs can help spread the word.
Wahhhh fantastic captures of the seahorses!! Hope you have more pictures ??
excellent photos, dude. thoroughly enjoyed the trip. experiencing seahorses, pipefish etc in the wild is a first for me. very educational.
Oh My!!!
Truly amazing! To see such beautiful creatures up so close, and being protected and recorded is wonderful.
I will do my best to help promote S.O.S.
Hugs
Whisky
xxxxx
Hi Divemuster,
I signed the petition. Seagrass beds are vital nurseries for many species of fish that live as adults in the open seas and on coral reefs. To destroy these seagrass beds would seriously damage those ecosystems, and ultimately bring hardship to the people who depend on them too. Good luck, and keep up the good work!
Whisky, they are God's magnificent creation for us to admire but now stand at the brink of destruction from man's greed.
Tony, thank you for taking the time to drop by and standing up for these beautiful creatures.
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