A reef destroying invasive species…
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Nightmare starfish
…that isn’t man. Let me introduce you to a Crown of Thorns, A voracious and difficult to destroy starfish, owing to its spiny carapace and neurotoxin defense. Rumors also abound that slicing it up causes it to regenerate in Hydra fashion, but that’s not exactly true.
They are the subject of campaigns to control or eliminate them, as they’re destroying reefs in many parts of the world, as they eat live coral. Australia has been particularly hit, though I’ve seen plenty in the Andamans.
Theories as to why they’re spreading include human-caused reductions in their natural predators and algal blooms (caused by fertilizer runoff) providing alternative food sources to the fish that might otherwise eat starfish larva.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, crown of thorns, divemaster training, india, photography, scuba diving, starfish, wildlife
Toxic beauty…
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Lionfish
Lionfish at Minerva’s Ledge.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, divemaster training, fish, india, lionfish, minerva's ledge, ocean, photography, scuba diving, wildlife
What oceans look like when we don’t take all the fish…
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Abundance for the time being...
Tags: andaman and nicobar, divemaster training, fish, india, jackson's bar, ocean, photography, scuba diving, wildlife
Tucked away, waiting for dark
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Shy
What I presume is another type of feather star, hiding away until dark when it will unfold and feed.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, divemaster training, india, jackson's bar, ocean, photography, scuba diving, wildlife
Back to the ocean
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Like a clenched fist
This is some sort of feather star, brought to us from Jackson’s Bar off near Havelock Island in the Andamans. I’ve been obsessing about diving lately as my next trip will be focused entirely on breathing compressed air and marine conservation research in a central American country this March.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, divemaster training, feather star, india, jackon's bar, ocean, photography, scuba diving, wildlife
Dark in deep places
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
A lot of light already gets filter out when you’re 30 meters below the ocean’s surface. Overhangs, gorges and swim-throughs make things all the more eery when sunlight seems so far away.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, divemaster training, fish, india, jackson's bar, ocean, photography, scuba diving, silhouette, wildlife
A man yesterday asked me why I care about the ocean…
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under india
Lionfish...
And I actually struggled briefly. I can list all the ecosystem services the ocean provides: carbon sink, climate regulation, regional weather control, vital food chains. I can talk about all the direct human needs that are satisfied by the ocean: the billions that live off fish for protein, the hundreds of millions whose jobs depend on the seas.
Those are all reasons why I care. But my passion is really driven by the wildness of the blue below, and how exhilarating and yet also peaceful it is to visit that world.
Tags: andaman and nicobar, divemaster training, fish, india, lionfish, ocean, peace, photography, scuba diving, wildlife
