News : Research : Conservation : Education : Get involved : Adopt a fish! : About us : Sponsors
You are here: Home : News & research updates
Research Newsletter: December '08
Check out what we've been up to lately... (here)
A new species for Manta!!
This is an ongoing study for Andrea and she is working collaboratively with a variety of scientists from Tom Kashawagi, a geneticist from the University of Queensland, in Australia to Leonard Compagno, a world renowned taxonomist from South Africa. Stay tuned for updates and also for the various scientific publications that will be out on this subject later this year.
Congratulations!!
Congratulations go out to Andrea for handing in her long awaited PhD thesis. I know that she cannot wait to share all of her hard work with everyone. Keep an eye out for her publications that I know she is working hard to get out at the moment.
A long overdue trip to Yap
MANTA MANIA IN MAY - Yap, Micronesia
Manta Mania proved to be a fantastic introduction year. This little island is fill of promise and the trip secured the development of a dedicated research program that will in the coming years contrbute to the growing information on the species. So far the folks over in Yap have identified aproximately 66 individuals most of which are seen on a regular basis at inshore cleaning stations around the island. I was fortunate to see a few of these individuals during my time there and had a fantastic time comparing the behaviour at the cleaning stations to what I have seen in Mexico and especially in Mozambique. I also had the opporunity to see some juvenile mantas which appear to spend the majority of their time feeding in the shallow bays and mangroves around the island. Very cool! I also very much appreciated learning from the divemasters and instructors who have been informally observing this population for as long as 15 years! Wow did they have some great information. I am also happy to report that after giving them some modified data sheets and instructions, they have agreed to formally start recording valuable data on the daily trips to the cleaning stations. I for one cannot wait to see how this developments... Here are some shots from my trip.
Website update!
(June 2008)
We're currently in the midst of a major website update. We have a whole bunch of new research results to report, lots more news, and loads of new content to add to the site.
Don't Miss this Special Opportunity 'Manta Mania'
MANTA MANIA IN MAY - Yap, Micronesia (May 2008)
Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers (in association with the Manta Ray Research Center) are proud to host Manta Mania 24th - 31st May 2008. This will be a week of combined science, underwater photography and fun with Andrea Marshall and professional photographer Tim Rock.
Andrea Marshall, the founder of the Mozambique Manta Research Project , is lending a hand to get another scientific research program off the gound and needs your help!!!! Together with Tim Rock, a Lonely Planet author and Micronesia-based photojournalist, the team will begin a long overdue photo-identification program in Yap, one of the largest manta ray aggregation sites in the world.
They will be on the dive boats daily along with Manta Man Bill Acker, a resident of the area. The week will include numerous manta dives as well as reef and wall dives. Evenings will feature captivating film shows and seminars by Andrea Marshall and Tim Rock about mantas, photography and diving in Yap.
Manta Mania participants will do more than just dive. They will actually be participating in manta ray research and will be kick-starting the official Yap Manta Ray Photo-Identification Program. Their photographs and observations will be used as part of Andrea's global comparative studies on Manta Rays. For more details about the trip including package costs, contact Andrea Marshall. Spaces are very limited for this unique engagement!!!
2nd year of successful research in San Benedicto
The SOS film crew and Andrea spent two weeks filming and conducting comparative research in the islands off Cabo San Lucas again this November (2007). Focusing our efforts in San Benedicto and Roca Partida, we identified and measured manta rays as well as took genetic samples of known individuals.
Unfortunately, even though this area is a protected marine reserve we came across miles of abandoned, submerged gill nets ('ghost nets'). In these nets we found dead manta rays, sharks, and dolphins. It was a sad reminder of the real threats still facing our marine life.
Our team and members of the Solmar V team spent many dives pulling up these nets to prevent the further death of marine life around the island.
MRWSRC on Facebook
Joining the 'Web 2.0 revolution', we have a Facebook group to disseminate and discuss research news about whale sharks, manta rays, and pretty much whatever else springs to mind...
1000th whale shark identified in the world!
Baby Whale Breaching
On September 6th, 2007 the crew experienced a unique show.A humpback whale calf repeatedly breached for about 15 minutes near the research boat while at manta reef. Accompanied by its mother, the calf was clearly learning to perfect the technique and carried on until it was barely able to lift its head out of the water. The humpbacks are regular visitors to our coastline from late July until late October.
New Volunteer (August 07)
Growing up in Northern Virginia, my interest in marine biology began as a fascination with Shark Week on the Discovery channel.In high school I spent my summers participating in programs run by Broadreach and the Living Classrooms Foundation, programs that allowed me to explore the estuary systems of America’s east coast as well as the reefs of the Caribbean.These experiences fostered my desire to become a marine biologist, a desire that I followed through with due to the constant support of my parents.
In May of 2007 I graduated from Duke University, earning a major in Biology with Distinction and a concentration in Marine Biology.I made sure to take advantage of my college experience by going abroad to James Cook University in Australia, studying coral reefs at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, tagging nesting leatherback turtles in Trinidad, and examining conservation issues in Hawaii.After graduating I moved to California to monitor a sea otter population for the Monterey Bay Aquarium before coming to Mozambique in late August.Helping Andrea with her work on manta rays is a fantastic opportunity for me to follow through with my early love for elasmobranchs before pursuing a graduate degree.
Research in Indonesia (May 07)
Andrea and Stephen Taylor, an Australian-based shark expert, headed to the islands of Bali and Lombok, Indonesia in May to conduct surveys and research at a variety of local fish markets.
Sharks and rays are commonly targeted and caught as by-catch in gill nets, on long-lines, and on handlines in these waters and the majority of the catch is landed and processed at colorful small town markets.
Manta rays are frequently caught, their meat, skin, cartilage and branchial plates are sold both locally and distributed to Asia. We took this fieldtrip as an opportunity to collect valuable biological and catch data, take morphological measurements, and collect genetic samples for use in our worldwide study. It was a real eye-opening experience and a harsh reality to face in such a beautiful part of the world.
Whale Shark Talk in London (April 07)
Simon will be presenting a talk on his whale shark research at the Natural History Museum in London for World Oceans Day on June 8th. Check out the Nature Live website at the NHM for further details. If you can't make it in person there'll be a live webcast, or check out the video archive at a later date to see if he bravely attempts to say 'ovoviviparity' in public.
Ocean Revolution (March 07)
We were very happy to host Tim & Koko Dykman and Jon Snow from Ocean Revolution for 10 days this month.Ocean Revolution is sponsoring our research and conservation efforts, while also working to increase local Mozambican participation in the diving and marine tourism industry in Tofo Beach. The first two sponsored teenagers are just about to complete their Open Water dive certification with Tofo Scuba. There are lots more initiatives planned; we look forward to a productive partnership!
Leatherback Turtle Spotted! (March 07)
It's not just about the manta's and whale sharks...
We were all very excited to see a rare visitor to Mozambique on one of our research trips, a large leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). These critically endangered sea turtles are the largest marine reptile in the world, reaching up to 250 cm long and around 900 kg in weight. A series of neat physiological adaptations allow leatherbacks to maintain their body temperatures up to around 18˚C warmer than surrounding waters, allowing the turtles to penetrate into very cold waters (including the arctic circle). Their normal habitat is in warmer waters, where they feed on their favourite prey: jellyfish. Leatherback turtles are the deepest-diving reptile, with dives to over 1200 m recorded. A few females still nest around St Lucia wetlands in northern South Africa - very few of these gigantic turtles have been seen in Mozambican waters.
Mexico Trip (Nov 06)
In November last year, Andrea joined the SOS Production Team in San Benidicto to film a high definition documentary fetauring her research on giant manta rays. While in Mexico conducting comparative research, the team was able to capture amazing footage of manta behaviour using fully closed rebreathers. Some of the most valuable footage included an unsuccessful attack by a Galapagos shark on an adult manta ray.
Over 300 miles off the coast of Mexico, this island group is frequented by both manta rays and whale sharks. Coming to the islands during the day to visit cleaning stations, Andrea and the SOS team were able to take genetics samples from several mantas in this population. They were also able to closely examine and compare the cleaning interactions at this location to those that occur in Mozambique.
Eyes on the Horizon (Feb 07)
Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a major problem along the Mozambican coastline, costing Mozambique around $40 million annually in lost gross national product. This fishing is also particularly devastating to the environment, with no concerns for sustainability of marine resources whatsoever. Sharks are a major target of these fisheries, and other vulnerable marine fauna such as turtles are also caught regularly.
The Eyes on the Horizon collective has been active for several years now in collecting reports of IUU fishing and acting to constrain the activities of these foreign-owned vessels in Mozambican waters. A website(www.eoth.co.za) has now been created to provide a centralised location for reporting illegal fishing activities, principally from tourist resorts and conservation-minded stakeholders right along the coast-line. EOTH is designed to become the focal point for problems to be highlighted, examined and resolved or exposed. Mozambique has continued and unabated problems with illegal long line fishing activities, and the EOTH initiative represents a powerful grassroots initiative to fight back.
Aerial Surveys with the Natal Sharks Board (Feb 07)
The Natal Sharks Board, based in Umhlanga Rocks on the east coast of South Africa, has conducted several aerial surveys for whale sharks over the last few years flying from Durban right up to Vilanculo in Mozambique. Simon was fortunate enough to be offered a seat on the Inhambane - Vilanculo return survey. The number of whale sharks sighted along the entire coastline were small compared to previous surveys, and a worrying trend was the large increase in fishing boats and drums (usually used as floats for long lines) along the Mozambican coast. Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity to view things from the air - thanks to the NSB for the trip!
The NSB plane, specially designed for low-level observation.
The Bazaruto Archipelago is rather pretty from above...
Praia de Rocha, just south of Tofo Beach is one of our 'hot-spots' for whale shark sightings - we regularly see large aggregations of feeding sharks off here. Only one today though...