One of the first corals to catch my eye when I set out with my new camera in January 2020 was this stunning boulder coral that sits off the Salt House in Emily Bay. Regular swimmers would all be aware of its presence, but not many would realise that it is quite possibly an as-yet undescribed species of coral, which for the moment is known as Lobophyllia recta sensu Veron.
Read MoreA juvenile Hawksbill sea turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, inside Emily Bay lagoon, Norfolk Island, listed as critically endangered, according to the IUCN Red List, and vulnerable under the EPBC Act
'Barometers of life' – National Threatened Species Day
Today's National Threatened Species Day post discusses the conundrum of Australia's threatened species list and the IUCN Red List as they relate to vulnerable and threatened species here on Norfolk Island in the Marine Park. How, for example, do we offer protections to something that hasn't been formally identified yet, let alone listed as threatened?
Read MoreThe channel flowing into Emily Bay, Norfolk Island, 1pm on 20 July 2024
Groundhog Day in Emily Bay
Four years ago, we had what amounted to nothing short of an environmental catastrophe in our lagoons. In the intervening years we have had numerous reports commissioned and delivered, and I have written plenty of blog posts about our poor water quality. Three weeks ago, on 20 July 2024, it all happened again. In this post, I explain exactly what occurred. Groundhog Day in Emily Bay, Norfolk Island.
Read MoreGreen moon wrasse, Norfolk Island, 17 July 2024
Ageing colourfully. This guy!
I’ve been photographing this guy, a green moon wrasse, since 2020, when he was a young adult just transitioning from being a female to a male. Green moon wrasse are said to live five to seven years in the wild, which means that our lovely old friend here could well be classified as an elder. This post is dedicated to this cheeky and inquisitive fish, the boss!
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.
Read MoreMale birdnose wrasse, Gomphosus varius, Norfolk Island
Gender transitioning in the birdnose wrasse
All birdnose wrasses are born female but will change to males if the conditions are right. Its appearance changes radically throughout is lifecycle, from when it is a juvenile, through to being a female and then finally to being a male (known as sexual metamorphosis, or sequential hermaphroditism). For about three weeks you can see that transition taking place in the sequence of photos in this blog.
Read MoreThe mesmerising maze of the Paragoniastrea australensis
One hundred year-old coral gone in less than one hundred days
Paragoniastrea australensis is an incredibly slow growing species of coral. The colony featured in this post is probably 100 years old. When disease took hold in January 2024, it was gone, dead, in less than 100 days. Now it is a skeleton overgrown with algae. The worst part of this sad story is that it is our fault it died.
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Blue-barred parrotfish (Scarus ghobban), last seen in September 2021
Fish stocktake – the mysteries, the surprises and the wins
In my ‘Year in review for 2023 on Norfolk Island’s reef’, published in December 2023, I made a few observations about the apparent disappearance of some fish species from Norfolk Island’s lagoons. I thought I would revisit these, principally because since December there has been so much additional fish activity here, with some exciting population increases and a few new species turning up.
Read MoreThe view across Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay’s contiguous reef at low tide. Quintal’s Passage can be seen as two parrallel lines of rocks. It runs from Emily out to sea.
Blasting a passage through the reef, Norfolk Island
We have shaped Kingston, Norfolk Island, to suit our own ends, whether it is by draining the swamp, undertaking major earthworks, or by using it for agriculture and grazing. Our interventions have placed the reef at risk. But simultaneously, the confluence of human activity and a unique natural environment have created a place of incredible significance, which deserves some special management to preserve all its facets.
Read MoreSurge wrasse, Thalassoma purpureum, Norfolk Island
Meet George, the surge wrasse
George is a surge wrasse, also known as a green-blocked wrasse, purple wrasse or red and green wrasse, and more formally as a Thalassoma purpureum. All Norfolk Island’s lagoon-dwelling surge wrasses are referred to as ‘George’. These guys are insanely, eye-achingly colourful, so I decided they were worthy of a photo dump on these pages.
Read MoreHigh tide and pounding waves on Norfolk Island’s coral lagoon, southern shore, looking east towards Point Hunter
Norfolk Island reef's autopsy reports
More reports to add to a long catalogue of reports were delivered to the general public over the last few days on Norfolk Island’s water quality and reef health. Reassuringly, they all say the same thing. Our poor water quality is affecting the health of our reef. So the science must be good! So when are we going to do something about it?
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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.
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A territorial banded scalyfin, Parma polylepis (aatuti), Norfolk Island
Know your damsels – multispine damselfish versus banded scalyfins
The banded scalyfins and the multispine damselfish are arguably two of the most common species in Norfolk Island’s lagoons. People often confuse them, particularly the juveniles, so here are some photos to clarify which are which. Once the differences have been pointed out, you’ll never confuse them again.
Read MoreIs this Atramentous Necrosis? This January, examples of this disease are popping up across Emily Bay on Norfolk Island
Combine bacteria, fungi, and maybe a sponge = one toxic mess
This month, I have increasingly noticed a disease that is presenting differently to the white syndrome that we have sadly become used to seeing. With this disease the coral goes grey-ish black and sometimes looks like it is almost dissolving or melting away. The result is a tragedy for the coral. I talk to coral health researcher Associate Professor Tracy Ainsworth about what is going on.
Read MoreSusan's flatworm, Pseudoceros susanae, Norfolk Island
Susan's flatworm and the wisdom of sharing knowledge
Sharing knowledge is a fundamental aspect of human interaction that enriches both the giver and the receiver. Sharing and documenting knowledge ensures that valuable information and experiences are not lost but are instead preserved for future generations. So that is why I share.
Read MoreCemetery Bay, Norfolk Island, at low tide
Facebook fiasco – and the fishes
Readers of this website may be familiar with my Facebook page, Norfolk Island Time, on which I cross post my blog posts about Norfolk Island's marine life. I can no longer gain access to that page. It’s been taken over by a random person hell bent on getting a free lunch. But worse is that this particular scam has been doing the rounds for years while Facebook offers little assistance. We should be angry.
Read MoreNorfolk Island’s inshore reef during low tide and at sunrise
A year in review – 2023 on Norfolk Island's reef
Sadly, the year didn’t bring any obvious improvements to Norfolk Island's reef in terms of reductions in incidences of coral disease, or runaway algal growth. And while some fish seem to have departed the scene, another species has re-established its home. Here’s a rundown of what I've been doing during the last four years of observations, and what I've seen happening on our reef in 2023.
Read MoreFree weed!
I couldn’t resist posting these beautiful images of floating seaweed. Enjoy!
Read MoreAcropora coral, Norfolk Island, 14_StairwayReef, 14 November 2021
The journey from coral reef to rubble
For two years, I have stopped by and photographed this beautiful Acropora coral formation in Emily Bay on Norfolk Island. In my database for this colony, I called the folder 14_StairwayReef; 14 for the geographic location on a map, followed by my romantic name for it. Today it is just so much rubble.
Read MoreWhite syndrome on a Hynophora pilosa colony, Norfolk Island, 23 November 2023
The spatiotemporal dynamics of a coral disease
A pictorial study of the spread of white syndrome, over time, in a Hynophora pilosa colony on Norfolk Island. This beautiful coral colony is in the middle of the channel that runs between the contiguous Emily and Slaughter Bays, in Norfolk Island’s inshore coral reef lagoon. It’s one of my favourite places to pause and admire the scenery, when I’m out on my swim.
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