Benthic underwater photography
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Ecsenius dilemma, the twocoat coralblenny, is a species of combtooth blenny in the genus Ecsenius.It is found in coral reefs in the western Pacific ocean, specifically in the Philippines. It can reach a maximum length of 3.1 centimetres. Blennies in this species feed primarily off of benthic algae and weeds. Mabini, South Luzon, Philippines.
The ornate ghost pipefish or harlequin ghost pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus, is a false pipefish of the family Solenostomidae. The species name comes from the Greek paradoxos, referring to this fish's unusual external features. Ornate ghost pipefish are found in the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean along reef edges prone to strong currents from the Red Sea to Tonga.They reach a maximum length of 12 cm. They vary in color from red or yellow to black and are almost transparent. Although relatively common, ornate ghost pipefish are very well-camouflaged and difficult to find. It occurs either as solitary individuals or in pairs, among the branches of gorgonians, in floating weeds, or crinoids where the feed on mysids and small benthic shrimp. (Wikipedia) Mabini, South Luzon, Philippines
Published in Fishipedia. www.fishipedia.fr/
Wish I could remember the name of this Guy. Could he be a Puffer or Blowfish? I'll just call him Hootie :-)
He was very interested in my camera and seemed to enjoy posing for a portrait.
Thanks to Flickr Friend, Sheri Rapstra, I have Hootie’s Identification. He’s just what he resembles… a Cowfish.
Call me silly, I should have guessed :-)
The longhorn cowfish, Lactoria cornuta, also called the horned boxfish, is a variety of boxfish from the family Ostraciidae, recognizable by its long horns that protrude from the front of its head, rather like those of a cow or bull. They are a resident of the Indo-Pacific region and can grow up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) long. While badly suited to the home aquarium, the cowfish is becoming increasingly popular as a pet.
Adults are reef fish, often solitary and territorial, and live around sand or rubble bottom up to a depth of 50 m. They are omnivorous, feeding upon benthic algae, various microorganisms, and foraminiferans that it strains from sediments, sponges, polychaetae worms from sand flats, mollusks, small crustaceans, and small fish, able to feed on benthic invertebrates by blowing jets of water into the sandy substrate.
(Wikipedia)
Found at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California.
Nikon - 105mm - 1/125 @ f4 - ISO 2000
The brown dipper can either feed by diving into streams to eat larger benthic organisms, or wade in shallower parts of streams and pick smaller organisms of the bottom. The adults will dive for food from December through April, which is when there are more large benthic organisms. Since this period is also the breeding season of the brown dipper, more food is required, so diving for large food is necessary. However, the adults will forage by wading and picking at the stream bottom for the rest of the year. Brown dipper chicks and fledglings will also forage by diving. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below -55 C. Following typhoons, brown dippers in upland Taiwanese streams are displaced by flooding into relatively poorer quality streams that likely play an important refuge
The Oosterschelde storm surge barrier (1976-1986)
The construction of the 9 kilometer long storm surge barrier the “Oosterscheldekering” is a complex and unique project. A structure of such enormous dimensions has never been built. The barrier consists of 65 pillars of 30 to 40 meters high and 62 sliders of 42 meters wide and 6 to 12 meters high. That makes the defense barrier (cost 2.5 billion euro) one of the most impressive hydraulic constructions in The Netherlands.
A lot of discussion precedes the construction of the barrier. At first, the plan is to close off the Oosterschelde with a solid dam. However, fishermen and nature conservationists revolt against this plan. The Oosterschelde is a unique nature reserve with more than 70 species of fish, 140 species of aquatic plants and algae and 350 species of benthic animals, which live on the sea bed. Building a solid dam would result in this nature reserve suffering irreparable damage.
Oosterschelde Open
Completely closing off the sea arm means the end of the salt water environment in the Oosterschelde and therefore also the cultivation of mussels and oysters. The protest – with the Oosterschelde Open as battle cry – does not fall on deaf ears. In 1975, the then Cabinet came up with the proposal to build an open barrier that could be closed by means of gates – if necessary.
A permeable barrier is much more expensive than a solid dam and thus the Cabinet’s proposal leads to fierce debates. In 1979 parliament approved the plan for the construction of the Oosterscheldekering.
On a sunny summer morning at Frank Lake we found several Black Terns feeding their babies.
It was easy to find an incoming parent with a fish, as the babies floating in the water or sitting on reeds would start loudly calling when they saw their parent.
While the parents would fly around in circles with the fish, calling for their babies who seemed to move all over the place waiting for the next food delivery.
This adult black tern has a Prussian Carp which is a harmful invasive species to the native fish and benthic communities.
The parent delivered the fish to the fledgling without landing in the water. This feeding by the hard working parents went on most of the day for a few weeks. .
The young black terns are capable of flight around 23 days after hatching but are fed by their parents for another two to three weeks.
-Chlidonias niger
Typically restricted to rocky shores, black guillemots utilize the cliffs, crevices and boulders for their nests, hunting the inshore waters for benthic prey. Compared to other auks they forage fairly close to the colony, in the breeding season mostly in inshore waters more than 50m in depth, farther afield in the winter months.
They dive for food from the surface, swimming underwater. They mainly eat fish and crustaceans, also some mollusks, insects and plant material.
This is a Banded Jawfish which lives in small holes on the bottom, surrounded by shells and ocean "litter". The light was striking it right on the eye where all the colors of this benthic denizen are concentrated. I would never have seen this Jawfish if it wasn't pointed out to me by Elaine and Judy, introduced to me by Scott. They are skilled at both spotting hidden treasures and not disturbing the bottom. I have a lot to learn from them. Thanks to you all. (Opistognathus macrognathus)
We were watching this Little pied cormorant diving for food for on a sunny day in eastern Australia. Mostly he came up with plant matter and mixed with small crustaceans and insects.
It was a surprise when he came up with this large fish.
The little pied cormorant is a benthic feeders.
The Little-pied cormorants have an orange beak which helps identify them from the larger Pied cormorants. They are the smallest of the five cormorant species found in Australia.
- Microcarbo melanoleucos
All alone in the dark...
Arothron stellatus is a medium-sized fish which grows up to 120 cm (47 in) in length. Its body is oval shaped, spherical and relatively elongated. The skin is not covered with scales but is prickly. The fish has no pelvic fin and no lateral line. The dorsal fin and the anal fin are small, symmetric, and located at the rear end of the body. The head is large with a short snout that has two pairs of nostrils, and the mouth is terminal with four strong teeth.
The background coloration goes from white to grey, and the body is harmoniously dotted with black spots. The ventral area is usually clearer. The size of the spots is inversely proportional to the size of the fish; thus, a young individual will have large spots and adults of maximal size will have small spots. The juveniles have a yellowish body background coloration with dark stripes. The young adults still have stripes on the ventral area that will turn to spots later, and also some recollection of yellow on the body. Arothron stellatus feeds on benthic invertebrates, sponges, algae, the polyps of corals such as Acropora, crustaceans and mollusks.
This pufferfish is diurnal. It is mainly solitary and defends a territory. Arothron stellatus contains a highly toxic poison, tetrodotoxin, in its ovaries and to a lesser extent its skin and liver, which protects it from voracious predators. It becomes toxic as it eats bacteria that contain the toxin. To ward off potential enemies, they can inflate their bodies by swallowing air or water. (Wikipedia)
Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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The brown dipper can either feed by diving into streams to eat larger benthic organisms, or wade in shallower parts of streams and pick smaller organisms of the bottom. The adults will dive for food from December through April, which is when there are more large benthic organisms. Since this period is also the breeding season of the brown dipper, more food is required, so diving for large food is necessary. However, the adults will forage by wading and picking at the stream bottom for the rest of the year. Brown dipper chicks and fledglings will also forage by diving. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below -55 C. Following typhoons, brown dippers in upland Taiwanese streams are displaced by flooding into relatively poorer quality streams that likely play an important refuge.
In case you didn’t see my last post, Ron Bielefeld (Whistling Wings Photography) and I just got back from a Dalton Highway trip to Deadhorse, Alaska to photograph birds that nest on the northern tundra. Yesterday I posted a Spectacled Eider pair, the only pair we found. This is a post of a King Eider, one of several Eider species and a spectacular one at that. We found several pairs, but they were not very tolerant of our presence. However, with patience we were able to approach close enough not to push them and allow enough time for them to approach us. This is the colorful male of the species who gave us the pleasure of a fly by. I haven’t seen the other species of Eiders but from the pictures this guy is, in my opinion, the most striking.
I read that they migrate in great numbers in the spring, a sight I would love to behold. They can fly at night and in dense fog, another of natures mysteries. During the nesting season they move into northern coastal areas and nest in small depressions built by the female and lined with her down. She alone cares for the eggs, and I read that she is extremely reluctant to leave the nest, instead flattening herself in an effort at concealment. Unlike the male she is a relatively drab patterned brown. During the preliminaries of nesting both male and female are in freshwater tundra waters, dabbling and eating small invertebrates. For the rest of the year they are at sea, diving for benthic invertebrates, sometimes as deep as 80 feet.
(Somateria spectabilis (an apt name)) (Sony a1, 200-600 lens @ 600mm, f/6.3, 1/2000 second, ISO 640)
This dwarf moray was not intimidated by my close approach. He kept his tiny jaws wide open and didn't back down at all. Dwarf morays reach a maximum length of 12 inches.
All spikey and showing its colours. The ornate ghost pipefish or harlequin ghost pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus, is a false pipefish of the family Solenostomidae. The species name comes from the Greek paradoxos, referring to this fish's unusual external features. Ornate ghost pipefish are found in the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean along reef edges prone to strong currents from the Red Sea to Tonga. They reach a maximum length of 12 cm. They vary in color from red or yellow to black and are almost transparent. Although relatively common, ornate ghost pipefish are very well-camouflaged and difficult to find. It occurs either as solitary individuals or in pairs, among the branches of gorgonians, in floating weeds, or crinoids where the feed on mysids and small benthic shrimp. (Wikipedia)
At first I thought it was a piece of plastic. And then it moved....
Also known as Flatfish, Flatfish Sole, Mimic Flatfish, Spotted Sole, White-blotched Sole, Tongue-fish.
Found singly partially buried in or on the sandy areas in shallow protected lagoons and seaward reefs. This highly compressed fish buries itself beneath the sand, exposing only its eye and tubular nostril, they moves extremely fast when disturbed and is difficult to detect when it resettles.
More active at night.
They feed on benthic fish and invertebrates.
This flatfish mimics the Polycald Flatworm - Pseudoceros dimidiatus -
Flatfish, Soles and Flounders are placed in their families by location of their eyes. Their are both left eye and right eye dominant families.
Flatfish bury themselves in sand to hide from predators and use their eyes as periscopes as these can rotate 180 degrees.
During pelagic larval stage these fish are not flat but become so as they grow, their bodies flatten, and one eye migrates across the head next to the other eye. (Whatsthatfish.com)
Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
This was the label on this display at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon. Sea cucumbers are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide. Sea cucumbers serve a useful role in the marine ecosystem as detritivores who help recycle nutrients, breaking down detritus and other organic matter, after which microbes can continue the decomposition process.
This is a breaching Grey Whale in San Ignacio Lagoon on Mexico's Baja peninsula. Grey Whales are "Baleen Whales" meaning they have filtering baleen (whalebone) plates instead of teeth. An old term for Baleen Whales is Rorqual, which comes from Norwegian meaning "ridged whale" as most species have expandable ridges down the throat so the whale can gulp huge quantities of plankton-laden seawater like this: www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/10622305786/in/photolist But you will notice that the throat of this Grey Whale only has three throat grooves. Grey Whales feed on benthic (bottom dwelling) invertebrates so they plough the seabed and filter out the tasty bits. To feed in this manner they need to have a robust lower jaw, and their scientific name robustus reflects this. Also feeding Grey Whales have a preferred side for bottom feeding, usually the right side, so one side of their head is usually free from barnacles and whale lice that live on Grey Whales: www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/8553265697/in/photolist
Brittle stars, an alternate common name is the 'serpent stars', are a species-rich class of echinoderms with outstanding regenerative abilities. Living under rocks or in crevices with only the tips of the arms exposed, they are known to be seafloor ecosystem engineers. They reshape the seafloor sediment surface and influence the distribution of other seafloor species. They also provide nutrition to fish, sea stars and crab predators.
Their presence in a sediment sample is one indicator of a healthy benthic community. They embody nature's fragility and resilience.
Shot from the Three Pools shoreline during low tide.
The brown dipper can either feed by diving into streams to eat larger benthic organisms, or wade in shallower parts of streams and pick smaller organisms of the bottom. The adults will dive for food from December through April, which is when there are more large benthic organisms. Since this period is also the breeding season of the brown dipper, more food is required, so diving for large food is necessary. However, the adults will forage by wading and picking at the stream bottom for the rest of the year. Brown dipper chicks and fledglings will also forage by diving. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below -55 C
Est une espèce d'insectes de l'ordre des mégaloptères et de la famille des Sialidae.
La larve aquatique (essentiellement benthique) de cette espèce, quand elle est présente en grande quantité peut être bioindicatrice d'une forte pollution organique (par des eaux d'égout non épurées par exemple) bien que pouvant aussi être trouvée en grande quantité dans des lacs d'altitude (comme dans le Lac de Port-Bielh par exemple dont les sédiments sont fins et inhabituellement liquides).
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Is a species of insects of the order Megaloptera and family Sialidae.
The aquatic larva (essentially benthic) of this species, when present in large quantities, can be a bioindicator of strong organic pollution (by untreated sewage water for example) although it can also be found in large quantities in high-altitude lakes (as in the Lac de Port-Bielh, for example, whose sediments are fine and unusually liquid).
European shag
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_shag
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The European shag is one of the deepest divers among the cormorant family. Using depth gauges, European shags have been shown to dive to at least 45 m (148 ft). European shags are preponderantly benthic feeders, i.e. they find their prey on the sea bottom. They will eat a wide range of fish but their commonest prey is the sand eel. Shags will travel many kilometres from their roosting sites in order to feed.
Over the past month or so, I've been watching this juvenile Commerson's frogfish which stays on the same coral head. It's grown quite a bit but hasn't changed into its camouflage coloration yet.
The Spotted Linckia (Linckia multifora) is capable of reproducing by shedding an arm, which then regenerates into a complete animal. During this process, the creature is referred to as a "comet" with the original arm forming the "tail".
Dunbar, East Lothian -
Similar to a Cormorant however smaller in build. A darkish metallic green / black plumage, with a yellow throat patch. During the breeding season, the Shag has a distinct elegant crest on its head. Deep divers compared to the Cormorant, as the Shag is a benthic feeder (finds its prey on the seabed). The collective noun for Shags, is known as a "Hangout of Shags"
The black guillemot or tystie (Cepphus grylle) is a medium-sized seabird of the alcid family, Alcidae, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the high arctic migrate southwards in winter. The bird can be seen in and around its breeding habitat of rocky shores, cliffs and islands in single or smalls groups of pairs. They feed mainly by diving towards the sea floor feeding on fish, crustaceans or other benthic invertebrates. They are listed on the IUCN red list as a species of least concern.
Both sexes have very similar appearances with black plumage and a large white patch on the upper side of their wings in summer. The bill is also black, being rather long and slender, while the feet are coral-red. In winter adult underparts are white and the upperparts are a pale grey with the back and shoulders exhibiting barred light grey and white patterning.
The birds breed in solitary pairs or small groups during their breeding season starting in late February and early May. Breeding pairs will typically lay 2-egg clutches and raise 2 chicks to fledging. Incubation typically lasts 28 to 32 days, once hatched chicks receive care from the parents until they fledge aged 30 – 40 days. Once fledged chicks are totally independent and by age three or four years they will begin to re-join their natal colony.
The genus name Cepphus is from Ancient Greek kepphos, a pale waterbird mentioned by Greek authors including Aristotle. The species name grylle was the local dialect name for this bird in Gotland at the time of Linnaeus's visit there in 1741.[2] The English word "guillemot" is from French guillemot probably derived from Guillaume, "William".[3]