Astrea curta corals are ‘small, moderately plocoid [flattened], distinct, and almost circular’ . Normally grey-green in colour, you can see from the images here, ours are often beautiful rich gold, although they do vary. They have a neat growth habit and button-like corallites, which can grow in columns, spherically or flattened. Large colonies of these can form gorgeous undulating bumps.
Read MoreThe Emily Bay’s massive ‘brain’ coral, Paragoniastrea australensis, photographed on 6 July 2024
While you were sleeping ...
This massive and incredibly slow-growing Paragoniastrea australensis sits in Emily Bay on Norfolk Island and is one of our most recognisable bommies. While all looks reasonably calm during the day, at night, while you are sleeping, the surface of the coral colony seethes with millions of tiny tentacles busily reaching out to find food, while others aggressively ward off opportunistic interlopers.
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Green moon wrasse, Emily Bay, Norfolk Island
I only have fish eyes for you!
Do fish have eyes that move independently? Well, no, not really, but, yes, sort of, in some species, sometimes!
Read on for a brief ‘Fish eyes 101’ summary of how they work.
Read MoreEmily Bay, full moon rising, by Norfolk Island photographer Joelene Oliver
Full moon, low tides and Norfolk Island’s reef
With the low, low tides associated with a full moon, the bays on Norfolk Island are like a huge, calm swimming pool, giving us some great snorkelling opportunities. These low tides should also let us view the causeway, which will no doubt be exposed too. This post explores these opportunities as well as what the low tides mean for corals. Read more in this fact packed blog post.
Read MoreMy grandson
For the sake of our grandchildren
What will my grandson see when he is old enough to snorkel on Norfolk Island’s reef? Will there be anything left as I know it? Or will he think it is all great because of that hoary old phenomenon called ‘shifting baseline syndrome’? This record of all my photos and observations will give him some idea of what we had in our bays in the 2020s.
Read MoreEmily Bay, Norfolk Island, #thecoloursarereal!
Beneath the waves in Emily Bay, Norfolk Island
Looking across Emily Bay, do you wonder what is beneath the waves in there? Although this is not strictly part of Norfolk Island’s reef, it is part of one continuous ecosystem; therefore, in today’s March focus on Norfolk Island’s reef I thought it was worth showing you what you can see at your feet as you wade into the shallows.
Read MoreNorfolk Island's Blenny Fest
At this time of year, as the mating season begins, the delightful little Lady Musgrave blennies, Cirripectes chelomatus, change colour from dark inky blue black with a few barely visible red spots to a showy and vibrant mustard yellow.
Read MoreA flatworm, Pseudobiceros sp, dining on the tunicates
Sea squirts – friend or foe?
Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay have recently experienced a significant increase in the numbers of overgrowing tunicates. In this post I take a look at these critters – which, incredibly, are distant cousins to humans – and ask some questions about their presence and impact on our coral reef ecosystem.
Read MoreSurge wrasse – Thalassoma purpureum
No, it's not a parrotfish!
Wrasse and parrotfish often get confused, but they each have quite differen roles to play on our reefs. Parrotfish are vital to the health of coral reefs. They clean up the surface algae that live on and compete with the coral. Read more to find out how they differ.
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Tonna melanostoma
Citizen science in action on Norfolk Island
My photos of the Tonna melanostoma, a giant underwater mollusc, are the only ones of the live animal in the public domain. We are so fortunate to have these special and rare creatures living in our coral-reef lagoons; their existence here serves to highlight what a special habitat Norfolk Island’s reef really is. It is an ecosystem that must be preserved at all costs.
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Old Gnarly the swal doodle, Emily Bay, Norfolk Island
Old Gnarly, the swal doodle
When I’m out on my swim, one guy I always stop by and say hello to is Old Gnarly, a spotted porcupinefish known here as a swal doodle. He knows when I arrive. The first thing you see are his big luminescent white lips as he floats to the door of his cave. We pause, study each other for a moment, then I give him the thumbs up before continuing my swim. It is a precious moment when you connect with a wild animal like this, and it makes my day.
Read MoreStylocheilus striatus – commonly called the lined sea hare, blue ring sea hare or furry sea hare
Furry sea hares as eco-warriors
Stylocheilus striatus – commonly called the lined sea hare, blue ring sea hare or furry sea hare – have appeared in numbers at one end of the shallows of Emily Bay. These little sea hares are great to have around as they consume the toxic blue-green alga that fish and other herbivores don’t or can’t eat or tolerate.
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#LittleFig, my puppa, following me in for a swim at Cemetery Bay, the island’s dog beach.
Penis fencing flatworms
Here’s a quick round up of what has been happening on Norfolk Island’s reef in the last couple of weeks. There is always so much going on. Read on to find out about the mating habits of flatworms, and see a busy bluestreak cleaner wrasse hard at work cleaning his wide variety of customers.
Read MoreSurge wrasse - Thalassoma purpureum
Nuptial colouration in blennies
Warmer water and some behavioural changes: some fish are getting their nuptial colours on, while others have started incubating eggs in their mouth. It is all happening ‘out on a swim’. Catch up on the last week in Norfolk Island’s lagoons here.
Read MoreA school of sand mullet, Myxus elongatus
Report released into the health of Norfolk Island's reef
This week’s observations while out on a swim, included some very active and inquisitive green moon wrasse. One, in particular, followed me for a good half an hour as I made my way around the reef off the Salt House. Find out more about what was happening beneath the waves on Norfolk Island this week.
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Convict snake eel - Leiuranus versicolor
Banded, convict and spotted snake eels - know the difference
A beautiful banded snake eel, Leiuranus semicinctus, popped into view on Saturday. These gorgeous guys are docile and will dive head first into the sand if you get too close. Read on to discover how many types of snake eel we have in Norfolk Island’s lagoons.
Read MoreSlaughter Bay from Point Hunter, Lone Pine, low tide 27 June 2021
Mid-winter fabulousness
There’s been plenty going on under the waves here on Norfolk island, while above the waves we’ve just had the most fabulous mid-winter weather. With a full moon on 24 June, we experienced some wonderful low, low tides. Did you know that peak low tides always lag the full moon (and new moon) by a day or so?
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Halfmoon grouper - Epinephelus rivulatus
Close encounter with a halfmoon grouper
A close encounter with a halfmoon grouper causes an amazing transformation from mottled red to mustard yellow.
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Juvenile Norfolk cardinalfish, Ostorhinchus norfolcensis, under the raft, Emily Bay
Mouth-brooding Norfolk cardinalfish
Norfolk cardinalfish are called big eyes on Norfolk Island, and it is easy to see why! These guys are mouth brooders, as in the male nurtures the eggs in his mouth.
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The elite fleet
Like fragile jewels floating on the ocean currents, the common violet snail feeds on a fellow compatriots in the pleustal zone just beneath the ocean’s surface, the bluebottle. We should be grateful, because they are doing us a service by chomping on those stingers!
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