reef – Page 15 – A Darker View

Varicose Nudibranch

Postcard from the Reef – Regeneration

You may know that a starfish can regenerate a lost limb. Seeing it in process? More extreme… A single limb regrowing the rest of the body? It is a bit surprising to see such a bold example of regeneration in process.

The limb may have been parted by injury. Another possibility here is reproduction. Some species reproduce by simply detaching an arm in a process called autotomy. The detached arm becomes a new individual. An impressive capability indeed.

Regenerating Linckia — A green linckia starfish (Linckia guildingi) in the process of regenerating from a single arm

Postcard from the Reef – Too Close

It was a reasonably big eel, not the largest I have seen, but large. I stopped to take a couple pictures, even though I have plenty of photos of yellow-margin moray. The yellows are among the friendlier members of the morays, known to play with divers. Undulated morays, on the other hand, are downright nasty, biting at anything that intrudes on their space.

This is too close.

When this fellow comes out to inspect the camera, it is my turn to pull back a bit. True, it is the camera front and foremost, most likely to get nipped. Still, I give the eel a fair amount of respect, a “friendly” eel still possess a substantial bite.

Way Too Much Color

Ever take a photo you think is going to be great, to have it ruined by too much color?

Lobster & Cup Coral — A spiny lobster (Panulirus marginatus) among orange cup coral (Tubastraea coccinea) at 20′ depth, Puakō

I turned the color down in the image, then turned it down again. Even working from the raw data was of little use, the colors in this image are just too much. Not that it is a bad photo, just that given the elements of a pretty lobster and brilliant cup coral, I had expected it to be a great photo.

Some of the best underwater images I have are full of subtle colors and textures. While a splash of bright color can make a photo, too much bold color can take it too far. Another lesson in learning the art.

Postcard from the Reef – Sleeping Parrotfish

A number of parrotfish species can secrete an odd mucus cocoon in which the fish will sleep through the night. Divers will often find these fish at night, enveloped in a transparent balloon. The discarded cocoon makes an odd sight rolling around the reef the next day.

Even within the same species some fish will use this technique, some will not. It is not known how this behavior is useful to the fish. This very large bullethead parrotfish is sleeping without aid of a cocoon…

Bullethead Parrotfish — A large bullethead parrotfish (Chlorurus spilurus) sleeps in the coral

Postcard from the Reef – Honeycomb Coral

It is worth a moment, even in the limited time of a dive, to stop and look close at the coral itself. Never mind the psychedelic fish, the coral is what makes a reef. Untold billions of small polyps, each a separate animal, cooperate to build the largest natural structures in the world.

Some corals are easier to examine closely. Honeycomb coral has corallites much larger than most, easier to get a good look without magnification. Getting your mask close allows you to appreciate each little animal, part of the larger colony.

Whitemouth

Kakapa Bay

Access is through the Hualalai Resort. You must check in at the security shack just off the highway at the southern entrance, just 1/4 mile south of the main entrance to the resort. There you get a beach pass from the guard and head down to the public parking area. Get directions from security, you have to double back and take a right. There are only so many public parking spaces available, to ensure entry just get there early, arrival before 8am is pretty much guaranteed access.

From the parking area a nice concrete path leads to the Kukio Bay beach, a few hundred yards further north along the shoreline. The beach is not where you want to go! The beach is on Kukio Bay, we want Kakapa on the south side of the point. Divers only need walk a short distance to the dive entry into Kakapa bay, a good thing when weighed down by tanks, weights, and in a wetsuit.

A small sign noting the presence of public restrooms at the beach is the marker to turn off the path and head straight to the water. Head to the little inlet where a small point of rock creates a protected pool where you can finish gearing up and swim. The pool is deeper towards to the right and the small rocky point.

Continue reading “Kakapa Bay”

Calm before the Storm

Tropical storm? What storm, it was one of the prettiest days on the water we have ever seen. Apparently everyone thought so, the water was busy with dive and tour boats everywhere. The sky was clear blue, the water a blue crystal. No wind and just a bit of south swell. The day seemed at complete odds to the dire storm watch messages on the radio. We will do the storm thing tomorrow, today we dive…

With a storm watch out we did not go far from harbor. For both dives we used one of the moorings at Garden Eel Cove, the same moorings used for the famous Kona Manta Dives. These moorings also offer decent daytime diving, with rich coral and one of the shallowest places you can visit garden eels.

At one point I filmed a manta cruising the reef right below me. Just after it passed by the manta swung about and came right at me. I continued to film and the manta bumped the camera. Yes, it was that kind of day. The mantas were coming in close. These manta are familiar with the idea that divers mean food. During the night manta dives the dive lights attract plankton, creating a buffet for the mantas. The behavior seems to spill over into the daytime, with the mantas coming very close to divers.

Hawaiian Garden Eels — Garden eels (Gorgasia hawaiiensis ) at Garden Eel Cove

On the second dive Deb and I wandered in the other direction from the rest of the group. Crossing under another dive boat we dropped to the sand in the corner of the cove. Here is one of the shallowest places you can visit a garden eel colony. Usually you must drop to the sand at the base of the reef to visit the eels, 70-100ft down. Lying on the sand my gauge read 57 feet as I waited for the eels to poke back out of their burrows. A little patience rewarded Deb and I, as the eels re-emerged and allowed us to get a few decent photos.

After the last dive we often head for harbor. Today we just hung out at the mooring for a while, it was such a nice day. Out of air? Not problem, a mask and fins is enough, just take another swim.

Looking for Lavern

I dove with the usual crew the day before, but I did not go out with them Sunday. Now I am wonder if I should have. They came back with a fish tale and the video to prove it…

Lavern is a well known fixture around the entrance to Honokohau Harbor. She is big and easily identified through the messed up dorsal fin. She has not eaten any divers… yet.