SCUBA Travel News

Cyclone Larry, which has hit Queensland, has done little physical damage to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and may even do it some good. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg from the University of Queensland says the cyclone has cooled the waters and may prevent coral bleaching this year.

Coral bleaching is when corals lose their colour, due to the loss of their symbiotic algae. These algae provide the coral with nutrients and many corals die after a bleaching event. (Some manage to attract new algae and recover.)

A major factor in coral bleaching is high water temperature.

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Labels: sealife

The list of the world's top 100 dive sites, as voted for by SCUBA Travel readers, is now updated. The Yongala (a wreck in Queensland, Australia) keeps its top spot but there are new entries for Dominica, Polynesia, Nassau, Roatan, New South Wales and elsewhere.

Disagree with this list? Cast your vote at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/topdiveslong.html

1. Yongala, Australia
2. Thistlegorm, Egyptian Red Sea
   
3. Blue Corner Wall, Palau, Micronesia
   
4. Barracuda Point, Sipadan Island
   
5. Shark and Yolanda Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
   
6. Navy Pier, Australia
   
7. Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
   
8. Big Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
   
9. Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
   
10. Elphinstone Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
    
    
11. Great Blue Hole, Belize
    
12. Sodwana bay, South Africa
    
13. Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan
    
14. President Coolidge, Vanuatu
    
15. Ras Mohammed, Egyptian Red Sea
    
16. Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
    
17. Darwin Island, Galapagos
    
18. Similans, Thailand
    
19. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
    
20. Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
    
21. Richelieu Rock, Thailand
    
22. Bloody bay wall, Little cayman
    
23. Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
    
24. Stingray City, Grand Cayman
    
25. The Zenobia, Cyprus
    
26. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
    
27. Jackson Reef, Egypt
    
28. Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
    
29. Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
    
30. Puerto Galera, Philippines
    
31. Poor Knights, New Zealand
    
32. Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
    
33. Half Moon Wall, Belize
    
34. Protea Banks, South Africa
    
35. Wolf Island, Galapogos
    
36. Peleliu Express, Palau
    
37. Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
    
38. The Canyons, Utila, Honduras
    
39. Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
    
40. Mnemba Island, Tanzania
    
41. Cozumel, Mexico
    
42. Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
    
43. Gili air, Indonesia
    
44. The Point, Layang - Layang
    
45. Dirty rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
    
46. Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
    
47. Rainbow Warrier, New Zealand
    
48. The Express, Kuredu, Maldives
    
49. Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
    
50. Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
    
51. Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
    
52. Hanging Garden, Sipadan
    
53. Booroo, Isle of Man
    
54. Sound Drift, Isle of Man
    
55. Chickens Rock, Isle of Man
    
56. Toucari Caves, Dominica
    
57. Barra Reef, Mozambique
    
58. Wreck of the Bahama Mama, New Providence, Bahamas
    
59. Blue Hole, Malta
    
60. Joel's, PNG
    
61. Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, Polynesia
    
62. Seal rocks, NSW, Australia
    
63. Diamond Rocks, Kilkee, Ireland
    
64. Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
    
65. Sugar Wreck, Grand Bahama Island
    
66. Umbria, Sudan
    
67. Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
    
68. Office, Mozambique
    
69. South Point, Sipadan
    
70. Chios island, Greece
    
71. Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
    
72. Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
    
73. Bay of Pigs, Cuba
    
74. Tiputa pass, Rangiroa, New Zealand
    
75. St Johns, Egypt
    
76. Turtle tavern, Sipadan
    
77. Hin Muang, Thailand
    
78. Great Basses reef, Sri Lanka
    
79. Port Royal, Roatan, Honduras
    
80. Eye of the Needle, Saba
    
81. Tubbataha, Palawan, Philippines
    
82. Steel Forest, Nassau Bahamas
    
83. alcyone, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
    
84. Tormentous, Cozumel, Mexico
    
85. Eel garden, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
    
86. Boulari pass, New-Caledonia
    
87. Am chesonet, St Lucia WI
    
88. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
    
89. RMS Wreck of the Rhone, British Virgin Islands
    
90. Santa Rosa Wall, Cozumel, Mexico
    
91. New Dropoff, Palau
    
92. Kunkungan, Lambeh Strait, N. Sulawesi, Indonesia
    
93. Cenotes, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
    
94. Fernando de Noronha, Brasil
    
95. Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia
    
96. Punta Sur, Cozumel, Mexico
    
97. Lake Malawi, East Africa
    
98. Japanese Gardens, Koh Tao, Thailand
    
99. James Barrie, Scapa Flow
    
100. Los testigos islands, Venezuela
     

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Labels: SCUBA Travel

You see the Moorish Idol in ones, twos or large groups in
the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It's not found in the
Northern Red Sea though. They are very easy to recognise,
with their daytime black, white and yellow colours. They
also have a distinctive orange band over the long nose
which they poke into cracks and crevices on the reef to
feed on coralline algae and sponges.

Moorish Idols change to a darker colour at night, to
reduce their chances of being spotted by nocturnal
predators. The darker hues blend in with the gloom and
help to break up their outline.

The common name, Moorish Idol, is said to originate
from the Moors of Africa who purportedly believed the
fish to be a bringer of happiness. It is the only species
in the family Zanclidae.

Like the butterfly fish, Moorish Idols mate for life.
They live at depths of 3 to 180 m.

Further Reading:
Coral Reef Fishes, Indo-Pacific and Caribbean



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Labels: sealife

Beautiful Oceans
Science Diver & Science Snorkeler Program
$66.55

When asked to review an on-line marine science course I was sceptical. I thought it might just be an e-book with little original content. However, when I previewed the course I was very impressed.

The idea for on-line courses specifically designed for
divers comes from Stephan Becker and Ian Popple.
Becker has a Diploma in Environmental Studies and a
background in interactive education programs.
Popple has a MSc in marine biology and has written
extensively for many publications including National
Geographic and New Scientist. Together they want
to give divers the opportunity to learn about coral
reefs and directly benefit the ecosystem that
they explore.

Don't be put off by the term "course". You don't
have to attend any virtual lectures and one of the
main aims is to be fun. You are given access to
the web site where you can see marine videos and
read the course materials. You can work through
at your own pace, and if you need any help, or
want to talk to other students, you use their web
forum. Optionally, you can get the course book
as a pdf file or printed manual.

The manual is well-designed, clear to read with
a photograph or diagram on nearly every page.
Unlike other marine biology texts, it is
specifically aimed at divers but is not just an
identification guide. It instead helps you
understand the layout of a reef and why animals
and plants that live in each reef zone do so.
Organisms are not discussed in isolation but
relative to their environment and behaviour.
A full index would have been helpful though.

Throughout the course there are boxed "quick
quizzes" which reinforce the message given in
the previous pages. Other asides include
"Science Facts" and "Did you know?" which were
some of my favourite bits of information. For
example, "...The plural of fish is 'fishes'
when referring to a group that comprises more
than one species, but 'fish' when referring to
a group that comprises just one species."

The course doesn't try to give a comprehensive
account of a large number of animals. If this
is what you are looking for then you would be
better off buying an identification guide of
the marine life of your diving destination.
What it does do is concentrate on just a few
typical organisms of each coral reef zone:
shore, reef flats, drop-off, etc. It teaches
how to relate the animal's behaviour or
structure to the conditions in which it lives.

This new venture provides a good introduction
to coral reefs. However, it also gives much
information to interest experienced reef
watchers. I certainly learned things from it,
and I've been diving for over 20 years, have
a biology degree and regularly consult half
a library of sea-life and marine
biology books. It is also refreshing to
see a project with such a commitment to
preserving the marine environment that they
donate 10% of their profits to marine conservation.

For more information or to sign up for a
Beautiful Oceans course visit
http://www.beautifuloceans.com/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=109_0_1_10
(As we were impressed with the course we have
accepted Beautiful Oceans invitation to become an
affiliate, and so make a commission from each
sign-up via the above link.)



We are also pleased to offer you the chance to win free access to
the course. Just subscribe to our newsletter then e-mail us with "Beautiful Oceans" as the
subject line.


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Labels: coral