For the most part ocean life is nocturnal; everything feeds at night. All the fun little critters that sleep inside the coral may be seen walking or swimming on top of the coral and above the ocean floor at night.
On a clear night when the moon is shining, divers can actually turn off their dive lights and see one another 30-40 feet away (depending on the visibility).
A few reminders for safe night dives:
1) Begin setting up for your dive at dusk.
2) Keep your dives relatively shallow 30-50 feet.
3) You should have good buoyancy control before attempting a night dive
4) Wear a full wet suit for warmth and extra protection.
5) Review light signals, such as: okay, yes, no, circling motions, etc. Be extra careful not to blind others with your light, you may not receive an invite for the next dive.
6) When diving from a boat, hang strobes in the water to help you spot your way back. If diving from the beach leave lights on the shore and do an occasional compass check with the current strength and direction in mind for your kick cycles.
7) Never swim on the surface at night. Jellyfish may be floating. Sharks may be feeding- And remember, we are NOT on their diet, but there is an ever so slight chance of an accident. As long as we are submerged, it’s never an issue. Swim from below the boat and climb up the ladder. You’ll be fine!
At some point during your night dive get your group together in a big circle on the sandy bottom. Turn off your lights or set them light side into the sand. Have everyone wave you’re their arms in big circular motions and watch the bio-luminescence fly like underwater sparklers on the fourth of July! It’s a beautiful sight!
Everyone has some amount of anxiety during their first few night dives in the ocean. It’s best to be very comfortable day diving first.
Night dives are typically INCREDIBLE, as you will see some of the most magnificent creatures and beautiful marine life. Things you will not even realize are alive unless someone points them out to you.
A really good dive master or instructor, they will explain in advance, most things you will be likely to see and write them on an underwater slate and point them out to you as you encounter them.
One of the most exciting things about day and night diving is learning about all that you see, recognizing it, spotting it, and pointing it out for others to see.
You won’t believe what an adventure it is until you try it!
If you’re new to scuba diving or may be a little rusty, we’re here to make you feel safe and comfortable so that you may experience this fun and relaxed atmosphere of the underwater world.
Scuba Explorers will train you to scuba dive right here in Kansas City and then take you on adventures to islands that will surpass your expectations!
We teach in North Kansas City, Lees Summit, Kansas City, & Blue Springs, MO, Overland Park, Leawood, Prairie Village & Olathe, KS…and many other cities.
The pristine reefs will take your breath away as you peer over the coral walls into the deeper water…where, if you’re lucky, you may see a pod of dolphins swimming past or a group of rays and possibly friendly interaction with playful seals! You will learn about marine life, plants and coral on every dive!
The most exciting part is- you never know what you’re going to encounter. You may rest assured, you’ll be quite safe!
We put special emphasis on providing students & guests with individualized instruction at their own pace. In the water and out, we’re with you every step of the way. When you enter our world, you can expect to dive the best sites in the islands while gaining insider knowledge of the history & culture.
If you’re a beginner, we invite you to learn PADI scuba diving. If you’re an experienced diver, we invite you to buddy with us or plan and execute your own dives.
You have the opportunity to complete your Open Water instruction, we except dive referrals or you may choose to upgrade your certification in the warm waters of the Caribbean.
We have partnerships with some of the finest hotels on the islands. In short, we have exceptional service in extraordinary settings.
Discover our world on your next vacation, and why diving with Scuba Explorers is the best way to enjoy island diving!
August 14, 2010 at 7:19 PM · Filed under Marine Life
Most people think slugs are ugly & slimy! But these sea slugs are downright beautiful!
Nudibranchs are soft, unlike snails with hard shells.
Can you believe their bright colors help protect them? Some use their colors to hide from predators. Others use their colors to warn predators that they are poisonous!
June 26, 2010 at 7:43 PM · Filed under Marine Life
David Shiffman loves all things sharks! He is a graduate student in South Carolina studying the ecology and conservation of sandbar sharks, writes for the blog Southern Fried Science as “WhySharksMatter”, and even has his own book coming out in order to educate more people on why we should all be involved inprotecting the world’s shark populations!
What is your favorite species of shark, and why? What is your favorite shark quality?
A lot of people would probably think I was crazy if I claimed that sharks are beautiful animals, but no one can deny how gracefully they swim through the water. I used to sit by the shark tank at the Pittsburgh aquarium for hours just watching them.
My favorite species of shark is the Megaladon, which is basically an extinct 60 feet long great white. Their teeth can be five or six inches long, making them a pretty impressive predator!
Why do sharks matter, and what does the welfare of sharks mean for the welfare of the ocean?
Predators are always important to the health of food chains because they eat weak and sick prey. Most sharks are apex predators, which means they are at the top of their food chain and are therefore vital regulators of ocean ecosystems. Predators exert a force known as “top down control”, which helps keep food chains in check. The loss of this top down control can lead to the destabilization of economically important food chains.
What research have you been working on concerning sandbar sharks? What does it involve and why is it important?
My research focuses on the diet and trophic level of sandbar sharks. Basically, I’m studying what they eat and how they fit into food chains up and down the East coast of the United States. The old way of figuring out what sharks eat involves cutting open the stomach to see what falls out. This is a direct approach, but it involves sacrificing lots of sharks. I use a technique called stable isotope analysis, which involves taking a tiny muscle sample from sharks and from suspected prey species. I then put these samples into a machine called a mass spectrometer in order to compare the isotope levels between the prey and predator samples. This tells me how similar the samples are chemically and by interpreting this data we can determine what the sharks are eating. This data is very important to natural resource managers who are trying to protect this important species.
Besides your research, what do you do in order to protect sharks? What can others do?
Other than my research, I spend a lot of time educating the public about sharks. I do this through writing. I currently have an upcoming book called Why Sharks Matter, write for the blog Southern Fried Science, and also do many public education talks. I believe that sharks are in trouble worldwide not because nobody cares, but because no one knows what is happening to them.
The most important thing that people can do is to learn about sharks, their importance, and the threats they face. Once you’ve learned about them, tell a friend or family member what you’ve learned. I also recommend eating marine stewardship council certified sustainable seafood, which has relatively low shark bycatch rates.
Tell us about your writing! What is your book about? What is Southern Fried Science?
My upcoming book is all about why sharks are important to ecosystems and economies, why sharks are in trouble, and how people can help them. I honestly believe that if everyone knew these facts that the oceans would be a lot better off.
Southern Fried Science (southernfriedscience.com) was started by my good friend and former college roommate Andrew Thaler (the Southern Fried Scientist), who studies the deep sea. We also have a third author, Amy Freitag (Bluegrass Blue Crab) who studies the sociology of blue crab fisherman in the outer banks. I write as “WhySharksMatter”.
Our primary goal is to educate the public about science and conservation, but it also serves as a virtual meeting place for scientists, students, conservationists, and interested members of the general public to discuss important issues. We welcome comments from all of our readers and encourage anyone reading this interview to read the blog and join in the discussion!
I write primarily about shark science and conservation issues, but anything ocean or science related is fair game. Though many posts are designed merely to explain a new piece of shark news, I enjoy writing about controversial issues because they tend to generate interesting discussions. I personally learn a lot by observing both sides of a debate argue it out.
It’s wonderful that there is a place where people can discuss and learn about difficult topics! We recently read about your opinions on dolphin safe tuna. What do you believe people should know about this subject? How can this problem be solved?
Most people believe that eating “dolphin safe” tuna is an environmentally responsible decision. In reality, while “dolphin safe” tuna fishing methods are much better for dolphins, they are much worse for sharks, as well as endangered sea turtles and sea birds. The hard truth is that while no one wants to see flipper killed by a fishing net, dolphin populations were never endangered as a result of tuna bycatch. Bycatch from “dolphin safe” tuna fishing affects many endangered species. Many open ocean shark species, which the International Union for the Conservation of Nature says are in danger of extinction, are killed by this fishing method.
On an individual level, people can eat troll-caught tuna, which is much more expensive but doesn’t have any bycatch issues. You can also just not eat tuna. A global solution is much more complicated because tuna is one of the cheapest sources of protein around, which means that many of the world’s poor can’t really afford a more environmentally friendly food source.
Clearly this is a very complicated issue. What kind of things do you feel need to be done, on both small and large scales, in terms of marine conservation?
I believe that there are too many fishermen catching too few fish. We need a global fisheries management plan that includes lots of marine protected areas (some conservationists say 1/3 of the ocean) and tax incentives for fishermen to choose a new career. Aquaculture and fish farming will probably be a part of the solution as well, but a lot of present day aquaculture technology has a lot of pollution issues as well.
David Shiffman is a graduate student studying marine biology at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. His research focuses on the feeding ecology and conservation of sandbar sharks. Originally from Pittsburgh, David graduated with distinction from Duke University in 2007 with a B.S. in Biology and a concentration in Marine Biology. In addition to his research, David is actively involved in educating the public about the importance of sharks and the threats they face. He writes for the marine biology blog SouthernFriedScience.com and gives shark conservation presentations. After completing his masters degree he plans to get his PhD and continue researching shark ecology and conservation.
June 13, 2010 at 2:41 PM · Filed under Marine Life
Dolphins use echolocation to navigate and hunt, bouncing high-pitched sounds off of objects, and listening for the echoes.
Fish and squid are the diet of the common dolphin, where the dolphins have been seen hunting and working together to herd the fish into tight balls.
“The greatest threat to whales, dolphins and porpoises is entanglement in fishing gear, also known as bycatch. If current trends continue unabated, several cetacean species and many populations will be lost in the next few decades.”
Since Spinner dolphins swim with yellowfin tuna, hundreds of thousands are slaughtered by tuna fisheries. Thus the enactment of national and international laws for dolphin safe tuna.
Baby dolphins are sucked forward by the motion of their swimming mothers — giving them a needed assist — when they position themselves to the right and behind their mothers.
Dolphins sleep with one half of their brain plus one eye closed, then switching to the other side of the brain and the other eye closed during other parts of the day — slowing down everything inside their bodies and moving very little.
A dolphin swims alongside a humpback whale to say “hello”!
June 10, 2010 at 2:47 PM · Filed under Marine Life
These must really migrate because we found two of these while diving in Cozumel last week!
They are kind of creepy looking given the fact they resemble a spinal cord.
Mating and egg laying occur during the spring and fall migration. Internally fertilized eggs are surrounded by a transparent mass of albumen, a gel-like material, and are laid in protective flat, rounded egg capsules joined to form a paper-like chain of egg cases, also known as a “Mermaid’s Necklace”.
On average each capsule contains 0-99 eggs, with most strings having 40-160 capsules. After laying their egg cases, female knobbed whelk will bury one end of the egg case into the substrate, thus providing an anchor for the developing fertilized eggs and preventing the string of egg cases from washing ashore where it would dehydrate. Fertilized eggs emerge as juvenile knobbed whelks approximately .15” (4 mm) in length.
Knobbed whelks are native to the North Atlantic coast of North America from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to northern Florida. This species is common along the Georgian coast. It is the state shell of New Jersey and Georgia.
Knobbed Whelk Shells
The knobbed whelk lives sub tidally and is migratory, alternating between deep or shallow water, depending on the time of year.
During the weather extremes of the summer and winter months, these sea snails live in deep water, at depths of up to 157’ (48 m). In the milder weather of the spring and fall they live in shallow water, on near-shore or intertidal mud flats and sand flats.
In the shallow-water mud flats whelk prey on oysters, clams, and other marine bivalves. They wedge a bivalve open by inserting the edge of their shell, and insert their long proboscis to eat the flesh of their victim. They rasp at the flesh using their rough tongue-like organ that has thousands of tiny tooth-like protrusions.
One of the many reasons scuba diving is so fascinating!
At some point during your night dive get your group together in a big circle on the sandy bottom. Turn off your lights or set them light side into the sand. Have everyone wave you’re their arms in big circular motions and watch the bio-luminescence fly like underwater sparklers on the fourth of July! It’s a beautiful sight!
