Tuesday, July 26, 2011

More Images from Indonesia

Earlier this year, New England Aquarium explorers joined an expedition to Raja Ampat, Indonesia (this post by Dr. Mark Erdmann has more about the history of this region). The expedition members posted some amazing aerial photography, shared findings from Remote Operated Vehicle dives and reported on transects of coral reefs. Overall it was a fascinating expedition.

Last June, Photographer Ethan Daniels went on expedition to the same area, and he is generously sharing some of his images with the Global Explorers Blog. Check out the four images below and scroll through more of Ethan's images as they appear on the Aquarium's tumblr account. If you're in the Boston area you can meet Ethan and hear him speak about his work at a Boston Public Library lecture on Wednesday, July 27.

A large, female Broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) hovers above a diverse coral reef growing in the shallows of Batanta Island.  This species is incredibly adept at using both chromatophores and skin texture in order to blend into its surroundings. (Photo: Ethan Daniels)

A manta ray (Manta birostris) glides along the edge of a dropoff near the island of Penemu. Not uncommon throughout West Papua, mantas are one of the largest species resident to the area. Their smaller cousins, Mobula rays, are also found in the region. (Photo: Ethan Daniels)
[Note: Check out this expedition post by Curator Steve Bailey about encountering manta rays in Fiji.]

A thick school of Golden sweepers (Parapriacanthus ransonneti) congregates above a well-camouflaged Tasseled wobbegong, (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon). Tasseled wobbegong are common in northern Raja Ampat but become scarce further south, then again are quite common around northern Australia. The explanation for their current geographic distribution can only be speculated. (Photo: Ethan Daniels)

A rounded coral head, probably (Porites lutea), grows in the midst of a protected sandy lagoon. Coral larvae generally have a difficult time colonizing this type of substrate since sand continually shifts. However this colony began, it now grows unhindered horizontally and only the low tide line prevents it from growing any further vertically. (Photo: Ethan Daniels)

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