Day 4 started off with my favorite and deepest dive of 100 feet. In this dive I was astounded by the underwater terrain, the numerous tunnels and arches. These tunnels and arches I found were full of a very high amount of diversity. For example, in a small nook in the wall at about 70 feet, I saw a cleaner shrimp, several royal gamma basslets, and sea urchins in addition to several corals. I really enjoy the intricate way that all of these organisms work together for the mutual good. In the second dive, I saw more fish than I have in any of my other dives. I also saw the most interesting fish of the week including my first lion fish. I was amazed by the number of schools I saw and the amount of fish in each. Fish travel in schools because of their advantages like protection from predators and the ability it gives them to move faster and more efficiently due to reduced drag but I have always marveled at how fluidly they can maneuver. I found that schooling fish have pressure sensitive pores along their body called the lateral line. They can use these pores to feel the waves of their neighbors and move a accordingly. Fish also have preferred positions in the school, some prefer leading while some prefer to follow.
After lunch we travelled to (scuba) stingray city. I strongly preferred this to the wading stingray city I visited last week. It is enlightening to see how these creatures move up close. I was interested though in the stingray’s spiracle. They use these holes on the top of their head to expunge sand and shells and other inedible objects they suck up. They also can use them as a secondary respiration aid. For example if a stingray is laying gills down in the sand, they can use their spiracles to breath instead.
After returning from stingray city and dinner, we watched the documentary mission blue about Dr. Sylvia Earle’s mission to save the Ocean. It was eye-opening to see how much the ocean has changed even in just Sylvia’s lifetime. The most shocking aspect to me was the amount of overfishing taking place in the ocean. Also how widespread it has become even that the place 108 nautical miles off of the coast of Australia was even destroyed by fishing and was left with no fish and dead coral. It is sad to thing that many important parts of the Ocean like sharks may become extinct in my lifetime. But just like the hope sanctuary’s, I have hope that the oceans will be restored to all of their might and glory one day.
