I’m thankful for wild spaces and so much more
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Tomato clown
I have a lot to be thankful for: people I love, the direction of my life, numerous opportunities and wild spaces like this anemone+tomato clown.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, anemone, anemonefish, divemaster training, fish, india, ocean, photography, reef, scuba diving, the wall, tomato clownfish, wildlife
How far would you swim off the drop off…
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Pseudo wall at South Button
South Button is essentially a knob of rock sticking out of the ocean. Part of it features something of a drop-off that heads down far deeper than humans safely dive with needing decompression time.
It makes for fantastic diving, however, as there are cracks, semi-caves, overhangs and walls to dive along. And all harbor immense amounts of life.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, divemaster training, india, ocean, photography, reef, scuba diving, south button
Glorious, even on the verge of death
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
This reef won't last long
The reefs around South Button continue to bleach, thanks at least in part to human impacts such as acidification and climate change. It’s sad to think: If degraded reefs can support this much life, how much more are we missing by not taking care of these rain forests of the sea.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, climate change, conservation, coral bleaching, divemaster training, environment, india, longfin bannerfish, ocean, photography, reef, scuba diving, south button
What’s the value to a healthy reef?
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
How much would you pay?
My first (short) paper of graduate school is due Wednesday. I am valuing an environmental amenity. Not surprisingly, I’ve chosen coral reefs. And specifically, the coral reefs of Havelock.
Above, we see a somewhat healthy reef at South Button. What’s its value? For fishing? For tourism and recreation? For biodiversity? For coastal protection?
Does it have intrinsic value, beyond any use or option-to-use value?
And just how do we determine these values? What methods or metrics?
These are the questions I’m answering in my paper at present.
And must everything be translated into dollar amounts? (Short, unfortunate but practical answer to that last question is yes, if we’re going to make policy recommendations for preservation.)
Tags: andaman and nicobar, divemaster training, fish, india, ocean, photography, reef, scuba diving, south button
Wart slug on ailing reef…
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
The reef be dying...
Reefs the world over are suffering, as warming water (and possibly other factors) disrupt their productive symbiosis with a specific protozoa, zooxanthella. Each relies on the other for nutrients and energy, and the protozoa also give hard coral blocks their color.
But when this is cycle is disrupted — again, mostly my warming waters due to global warming but also acidification — the corals can’t maintain this balance and typically expel their zooxanthellae. This leads to a bleached — white or light colored — reef, which is my experience is typically then recovered by a different algae, like we see above.
This whole imbalance also typically wipes out other sensitive populations. For example, in the Andamans, the fast-evolving delicate nudibranchs have all but disappeared according to environmentalists and the dive community. When I was diving there, only the varicose wart slugs (above) were left.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, coral bleaching, divemaster training, environment, india, ocean, photography, pollution, reef, scuba diving, south button, varicose wart slug
I’m funny how? I mean, funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you?
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Yes, you are amusing
Clownfish. Defensive, angry little clownfish.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, anemone, anemonefish, divemaster training, fish, india, ocean, photography, reef, scuba diving, south button, tiny, wildlife
Coral macro
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Blue phase
Tags: andaman and nicobar, coral, divemaster training, fish, india, ocean, photography, reef, scuba diving, south button, wildlife
