Thursday, December 11, 2014

Bahamas 2014: Divers Down!

Aquarium divers have just returned from a trip to the Bahamas to collect fish destined for the Giant Ocean Tank. Over the next couple posts, they'll share pictures and information about interesting fish and explain what it takes to transport fish from the Bahamas to Boston. Today's post comes from staff diver Chris Bauernfeind (video by Don Campbell).
So what does it take to get 11 divers into the water to collect fish.  For one, you need buddy teams - usually 2 sometimes 3 per team.  We also designate 1 person as a safety observer for each dive, who stays on the boat, records data like bottom time and tank pressure, and makes sure all divers that go in the water come out.

Dave, giving the safety observer his air pressure

It takes about 10-15 minutes for all the divers to get in the water... or 38 seconds if you take a time lapse video of it:




Scuba divers generally are very happy to be going scuba diving, as you can see by the smiling faces of the participants:

Brian and Alex

Kit

Franco and Maris

Fran

Don

Alfred








Posted by NEAQ at 4:45 PM 0 comments
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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

MCAF Update: Where are those manta rays?

The Aquarium’s Marine Conservation Action Fund (MCAF) recently provided funding that allowed researchers with the Manta Trust to tag manta rays in the Pacific Ocean. Our Facebook community helped name the two females—Sylvia and Eugenie! This post follows up on Sylvia and Eugenie's whereabouts, thanks to the data from those satellite tags.

Our online naming contest was a great success, and ever since then we've been waiting to find out where Sylvia and Eugenie are spending their time. This is critical information that can help inform conservation efforts for manta rays off Mexico and around the world.

A frame from a beautiful underwater video of Josh tagging the manta rays

Researcher Josh Stewart took time off from his field studies to offer a little background about the project and the Aquarium's involvement through MCAF.



Josh mentioned that he would share the data on Sylvia and Eugenie as soon as possible. Well, the wait is over!

The researchers have gleaned important information from those tags and compiled the data in an impressive interactive map over at DataMares. Head over there to dive into this pool of data. You'll also find helpful tips for navigating the map, including ways to single out Sylvia and Eugenie's movements!

Go to the map




If you want to learn more, check out Josh's guest posts about this manta research:

Explore other projects supported by the Aquarium's MCAF program, all supporting grassroots research around the world to study and protect animals and habitats of our blue planet!
Posted by NEAQ at 5:18 PM 0 comments
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Saturday, December 6, 2014

Bahamas 2014 - Creole Wrasse Rodeo

Aquarium divers have just returned from a trip to the Bahamas to collect fish destined for the Giant Ocean Tank. Over the next couple posts, they'll share pictures and information about interesting fish and explain what it takes to transport fish from the Bahamas to Boston. Today's post comes from trip participant Dave Waller.


creole wrasse, Clepticus parrae

Creole wrasses are beautiful fish that school in open water above reefs.  Seeing them flit around mid water column in the Giant Ocean Tank is enjoyable for staff and visitors alike.  Which is why it's time for a wrasse rodeo!


Getting into position


We had been catching fish by the ones, twos and threes for a few days when Sherrie announced we were going after a school of about 50 creole wrasses. I didn’t even know what a creole wrasse was, but I knew all wrasses are fast and I hadn’t even caught one yet. So Sherrie and Captain Lou brought out the white board and explained their method, which sounded like more of a military operation than a rodeo. We needed twelve divers for this mission, and the most experienced would position themselves at the wings of the formation; the rest of us would swim between them. As the school approaches us, the leftmost wing will gently “herd” the fish in a spiral down into the reef, where Captain Lou will be waiting with his big nets. The divers, each holding fine mesh nets about the size of a butterfly net, will form a closed circle and gently (no sudden movements!) guide the fish into a tight ball, and when the ball gets small enough, the wrasses will try and make a break for it.  Exactly when they broke for it and where they would go was up to Lou, Sherrie and Chris.


"Slow.... slow... slow!" yells Lou underwater

Our first attempt ended rather miserably; we never determined if Lou had swum to a different coral head or whether the whole group just got lost. The second dive didn’t end up much better - we couldn’t find any wrasses at all, so we broke into smaller groups and spent the rest of our air finding other fish. But the third dive paid handsomely! As Lou gathered up his nets, all the divers waited in line to load the fish into transfer bags and swim back to “The Barrel” which was tethered to the ship at depth. Back on the boat, we hoisted the barrel five feet every 15 minutes to acclimate the fish to surface pressure. How many did we finally get? Exactly 50 healthy creole wrasses - just what the “Fish Wish List” called for. 

Lou transfers the creoles into Don's catch bag


Don says with his eyes "Lookie what I found"




Posted by Chris at 8:43 AM 0 comments
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Friday, December 5, 2014

Explore the Amazon!

The New England Aquarium would like to share with you a special opportunity to travel with Project Piaba to the heart of the Amazon, Brazil’s Rio Negro. Project Piaba is a community-based program organized by one of our talented aquarist, Scott Dowd. While not affiliated with the Aquarium, participants will have the opportunity to learn more about this unique freshwater ecosystem from one of our knowledgable aquarists!

Canoe ride on the Rio Negro

This expedition will be part of Project Piaba's long term study on the Amazon fishery for the global home aquarium fish trade. It will take place on January 24 to February 7, 2015. Participants will fly from Miami to Manaus, the capitol of the state of Amazonas (airfare not included in the $2500 trip fee). From there, you will board a very well-equipped Amazon river boat and travel up river, exploring the amazing diversity of the Amazon and encountering macaws, Amazon river dolphins, giant river otters, hundreds of fishes and even waking to the sound of howler monkeys.

You will also experience the annual Ornamental Fish Festival of Barcelos, the Amazonian version of the famous Brazilian Carnival. Teams are led by Project Piaba director and Aquarium biologist Scott Dowd, who has been exploring and studying this region for more than 20 years. You will be joined by other international specialists, Project Piaba’s Brazilian colleagues, experienced river guides and local fishers, who will share their knowledge of the area and its culture. You will be part of a long-term project, working to maximize the socioeconomic and environmental benefits of this fishery to the region.

Live-aboard Amazon riverboat
"Buy a Fish, Save a Tree"

Project Piaba was established to foster an environmentally and socially beneficial ornamental fish trade. The mission statement of Project Piaba is to increase the environmental, animal welfare, and social sustainability of the Amazonian aquarium fish trade, to develop and incorporate metrics through which this progress can be assessed, and to provide mechanisms to promote this industry. When communities thrive selling fish for the aquarium trade, local people protect the resource that sustains them. Project Piaba fosters the sustainable trade in wild-caught aquarium fish, encouraging people to safeguard both rivers and forests--and all the creatures they harbor.

Cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), the keystone species of the Barcelos fishery

The ornamental fishery in the Rio Negro is centered around the cardinal tetra. This Brazilian fishery has been in operation since the 1950s, but is now competing on the world market with cardinal tetras being farmed in other countries.  Without a thriving wild-capture fishery,  the economic base for the Rio Negro communities would be destroyed, and would open up a vast area of rainforest to the destructive practices of mining, forestry, and agriculture. The Project Piaba team is working with fishing communities and industry stakeholders to maximize socioeconomic and environmental benefits of the fishery.

When communities thrive by selling fish for the aquarium trade, local people protect the resource that sustains them. Project Piaba fosters the sustainable trade in wild-caught aquarium fish, encouraging people to safeguard both rivers and forests--and all the creatures they harbor.

Here's the trip at a glance:
  • 2 weeks on a well appointed live-aboard boat
  • Visit biological hotspots and fishing communities
  • English speaking guides
  • Participate in the Ornamental Fish Festival of Barcelos
  • Visit ornamental fish export facilities
Learn more about Project Piaba in Discover Magazine. For more details about the trip, see Project Piaba’s Facebook page. You may also contact Scott Dowd directly via email or by calling 617-973-5243.

Look for some of the beautiful fish from the Amazon in the Aquarium's freshwater exhibits. Meet these new kids on the freshwater block! And learn about some more local projects involving Scott Dowd.
Posted by NEAQ at 4:35 PM 0 comments
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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Bahamas 2014: Meet Maris

Aquarium divers have just returned from a trip to the Bahamas to collect fish destined for the Giant Ocean Tank. Over the next couple posts, they'll share pictures and information about interesting fish and explain what it takes to transport fish from the Bahamas to Boston. Today's post comes from trip participant Maris Wicks.

Sketch: Maris Wicks

Hello!  My name is Maris Wicks (that'’s me up there). You might be wondering “Why is that a drawing of Maris and not a photograph?” Well, I have an answer for you: I am an illustrator! I spend most of my waking hours drawing comic books about fun science-y things (primatology, human anatomy and physiology, hydrothermal vents …to name a few).  I was fortunate enough to hop onboard the RV Coral Reef II this past October and accompany the New England Aquarium in its collecting endeavors.

Oh, and I should also add: I’'ve been working part-time at the Aquarium for the past seven years as a program educator (teaching programs like this).

I had two objectives for this trip: a.) learn as much as I could about coral reef ecosystems (research for an upcoming comics project) and b.) document as much as I could (via sketchbook). This included helping myself pack for the trip:


Sketch: Maris Wicks (click for larger image)


Since as long as I can remember, I’'ve used illustration as a means to communicate, document and celebrate the world around me. I log a lot of hours behind a desk in my office, and I thought it might be a nice change of pace to do a little field research for my upcoming project about coral reefs. Plus, WHO DOESN’T WANT TO LIVE ON A BOAT AND HANG OUT WITH FISHES IN THE BAHAMAS???

Sketch: Maris Wicks

Speaking of the boat, please allow me to introduce to you the RV Coral Reef II, which is owned by Shedd Aquarium (my home for 10 days!):

Sketch: Maris Wicks

And the interior:

Sketch: Maris Wicks (click for larger image)

I am relatively new to diving; I completed my scuba certification over this past summer. Diving had been a “bucket list” activity for me (pun intended …since we used A LOT of buckets on the boat), and putting my newly-learned skills to the test was super-fun. Here is some of the additional gear that we brought with us on dives:

Sketch: Maris Wicks (click for larger image)

And here'’s a little breakdown of one of the methods we used to catch fish (and some inverts):

Sketch: Maris Wicks (click for larger image)


Okay, now that I’'ve got all my gear, let’s take a moment to explore the reef!  Here is just a fraction of the species I observed on this trip:

Sketch: Maris Wicks (click for larger image)

Sketch: Maris Wicks (click for larger image)

Sketch: Maris Wicks (click for larger image)

I should point out that the the term "“honkers"” refers to larger fish…, though sometimes it is hard to judge the scale of things underwater!

Truthfully, I would’ have stayed on that boat forever but, like all good things, the trip came to an end.  My legs sang out in protest:

Sketch: Maris Wicks (click for larger image)

And, once all of our fishy friends were packed up and shipped up to Boston, I had to do the same.

Sketch: Maris Wicks

I didn'’t just get to observe and explore coral reefs and their inhabitants, I got to work along side a group of truly amazing human beings. I went into the trip hoping that it would help make me a better illustrator, but I came out of it feeling like it had made be a better person. So long, everyone, and thanks for all the fish!  Until we meet again….

Cheers,

Maris
Posted by Chris at 3:09 PM 1 comments
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