FORAYS WITH MORAYS (4): EXPRESSIVE FEATURES

March 10, 2017 by Rolling Harbour

FORAYS WITH MORAYS (4): EXPRESSIVE FEATURES

Time to return to those extremely expressive characters of the coral reefs, moray eels. Specifically, some green morays. One hesitates to anthropomorphise or ‘project’ human emotions onto creatures but with some species it’s hard not to do so. Following Mr Grumpy (or perhaps Mr Sad) in the header image, here are some close-ups of morays appearing to express their emotions, from happy to downright furious… Eels featured here include Judy and Wasabi, and I remind myself that the human habit of naming familiar wild creatures is itself a (perfectly harmless) form of benign animism. Exactly as with the regular banded piping plovers featured elsewhere in this blog that overwinter on Abaco’s beaches, such as Harry Potter, Bahama Mama and the delightfully-named Felicia Fancybottom…

Happy and contented?

Something on my mind…

Slightly amused?

Pretty funny, actually

Ha ha…! Hilair!

Watch it. You are beginning to bug us, Mr Harbour, with your stupid captions

ANGRY. BACK OFF… NOW!!!

THE NEXT POST WILL BE FROM ABACO HQ NEXT WEEK

Credits: All morayvellous photos, Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba except 6, Virginia Cooper / Grand Bahama Scuba

FORAYS WITH MORAYS (3): LET’S GO GREEN…

July 1, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

FORAYS WITH MORAYS (3): LET’S GO GREEN…

A short while back I posted about SPOTTED MORAYS, which people seem to enjoy. It generated requests for more forays, specifically with green morays. I gotcha – here they are, as promised… All the eels shown below, familiar to the divers who regularly encounter them and given names such as “Judy’ and “Wasabi” (my favourite), were photographed by Scuba expert Melinda Riger, whose skills with a camera are well-known. Let’s go Green…

Like all moray species, Greens like to lurk in convenient hiding places to watch the underwater world – and possible prey – go by. Here are some typical ‘lurking’ shots.

Green morays also have the unusual breathing apparatus that resemble nasal plugs

Those who recall the spotted moray post and their singular dentition arrangements that included a long sharp tooth sticking down from the upper jaw will no doubt be thinking, “are we going be shown any dental close-ups?” But of course… why would I not?

Note the cluster of teeth in the upper jaw, differing from the spotted moray

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…….

All photos: Melinda Riger, Grand Bahama Scuba

FORAYS WITH MORAYS (1): EEL APPEAL IN THE BAHAMAS

August 4, 2013 by Rolling Harbour

FORAYS WITH MORAYS (1): EEL APPEAL IN THE BAHAMAS

MORAY EELS are found in most oceans, with around 200 species worldwide. In Bahamian waters, the 3 most common are the green, yellow and spotted morays, all featured below. These ones have been given affectionate names by the divers who encounter them regularly in their home surroundings – Rico, Judy, Wasabi and Earl.

Morays have something of a reputation for aggression, though (like many creatures with teeth) they much prefer to swim away or hide rather than attack. They will defend themselves resolutely, however, so it might be a mistake the get too close.

Hand-feeding morays has become a popular dive activity. However there can be drawbacks. They have poor vision, and may find it difficult to distinguish between food, finger-food and fingers. There are many cases of divers who have lost a finger while hand-feeding moray eels; in some places it has been banned.

The moray eel has strong clamping jaws, and its sharp teeth point backwards

This has two effects. A finger will be held as if by a fish-hook barb; and the eel will not release the grip of its powerful jaws without them being prised apart.

Moray eels have a strong sense of smell, and curious nostrils

Finally, here are two images of a fine spotted moray eel known as ‘Earl’, and a video of a different one

A GLIMPSE OF ARTIFICIAL REEF NIGHTLIFE – ABACO, BAHAMAS

August 29, 2012 by Rolling Harbour

A GLIMPSE OF ARTIFICIAL REEF NIGHTLIFE

This very short time-lapse video was posted on the always informative ABACO SCIENTIST website administered by Craig Layman of FIU (Florida International University). The site benefits from the wide knowledge of a variety of contributors in many different fields. As it says, “Abaco, just like all of the Bahamian Islands, hosts a wealth of natural wonders. From parrots to whales to blue holes to mangrove wetlands, it is no wonder that scientific research is thriving on the island. The Abaco Scientist is intended as your one-stop source for all things science on Abaco and throughout The Bahamas“.

The coral reefs of Abaco and the Bahamas (as elsewhere) are vital yet vulnerable eco-systems. The adverse effects of global warming (or however you describe it if you shy away from that specific term) are increasingly evident. To that damage can be added a slew of other major threats to coral survival – and to the marine life that thrives on the reefs. There are a number of research projects in progress in the Bahamas into the effectiveness of artificial reefs as a means of conservation of the ecology of reef waters. One of these is by FIU undergraduate student Martha Zapata. In her words, “We have recently been capturing time lapse video of the artificial reefs at night. Many reef fishes, like grunts, will leave the reef around dusk to forage in the nearby seagrass beds during the night. We wanted to be able to observe the fish on the reefs without influencing their behavior, so we used infrared light (which fish cannot see) to illuminate the reef. The image sequences have shown a stark difference in fish abundance from day to night. Also, we have been able to observe some of the more cryptic organisms that have made these reefs their home. Usually masters of disguise, urchins roam about the surface of the reef. Look out for the banded coral shrimp and crab that crawl up the side of the reef to graze on algae and detritus while the fish are away. Even a moray eel makes an appearance near the end!“

Besides specially constructed artificial reefs, other man-made objects provide good foundations for an artificial reefs and marine life – in particular, wrecks. There are many of these in the low waters of the Bahamas, some centuries old, others recent. Fred and Melinda Riger of Grand Bahama Scuba, Freeport, take their diving schools to wrecks because of the profusion of marine life that gathers around – and indeed inside – them.