#0037 Strap caulerpa – Caulerpa filiformis

They might look like seagrass and sway like seagrass, but these dark-green ‘meadows’ are actually a type of algae. With strap-like fronds that emerge from a smooth white stolon – a creeping horizontal stem – Strap caulerpa grow in the sand with root-like rhizoid anchors that attach to buried rocks in intertidal pools and shallow reefs. They form ecologically important habitat and locally enhance biodiversity, especially of gastropod species. An unusual distinction is that the frond of the Strap caulerpa is one enormous cell containing many nuclei. An easy way to understand this is by imagining a house: usually, it’s divided into lots of little rooms (like cells), each with its own light source. But here, the house is one huge open hall, and instead of one light bulb , there are many lamps around the hall. This species is sometimes confused with seagrass, which is a flowering plant, not an alga. However, like seagrass, it relies on photosynthesis and forms these dense beds that can appear almost luminous in bright sunlight.

@saveourseasfoundation #1001species #1001speciesproject #strapcaulerpa #seachangeproject #marinebiology

It`s not often the Sea Change team gets to dive together. Each of us is juggling projects, engagements, research, outreach, filming, editing, writing, recording, conferencing! So this day last week was a treat - exploring the seaforest together, our bare skin a conduit for connection and a sense of wonder.

#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #natureconnection

#0036 Pink-edge bluebottle – Physalia megalista

Many of us are familiar with blue-hued bluebottles, known for their painful sting. But did you know there are not one but at least two species in the Great African Seaforest, including this pink-tinged one? While its trim colour differentiates it from the familiar blue P. utriculus, other distinguishing features include a strongly crimped sail (the inflated float one sees at the surface) and considerably longer feeding tentacles. Bluebottles are colonial hydrozoans, with each colony male or female. They reproduce by shedding sperm and eggs into the water, forming larvae that drift in the water until a float-forming zooid develops, lifting the colony to the surface. Those formidable tentacles aren’t for malice but for survival: they paralyse small fish and crustaceans, reel them in, and deliver them to feeding zooids for digestion and nutrient sharing across the colony.

#1001project #1001seaforestspecies #1001species @saveourseasfoundation #taxonomy #marinebiology #pinkedgebluebottle #bluebottle

Here’s a roundup of positive news from across our planet. 🌎

#seachangeproject #natureconnection #goodnews #biodiversity #hope

#0035 Ornate amphipod – Cyproidea ornata

Fondly known as the Bumble bee amphipod, these teeny tiny creatures have earned their stripes in warning colouration. Common on shallow reefs, they scuttle boldly in the open, their yellow-and-black bands presumably warning off predators. Bean-shaped bodies, red eyes and striped side plates give them a striking look, despite their tiny size – just 3-4mm, not counting their short antennae. Beloved by macro photographers, they are often tracked as they feed on bryozoans, such as the Rustic lace bryozoan Membranipora rustica, a familiar face from post #0016. Gathered in swarms upon these hosts, Ornate amphipods create a buzz of ‘bumblebees’ riding out mealtime together. 🎬 Swipe to see this in action.

Image and video: @jannes_landschoff

@saveourseasfoundation #1001project #1001seaforestspecies #1001species #greatafricanseaforest #seachangeproject #saveourseasfoundation #marinebiology #amphipods

#0034 Sunburst soft coral – Malacacanthus capensis

When you’re one-of-a-kind, your uniqueness deserves recognition. That’s exactly the case for the Sunburst soft coral, whose tall, cylindrical stalk sets it so far apart from other octocorals that scientists recently placed it in its own family. These rounded balls bearing yellow-to-orange polyps, each with eight pinnate tentacles, are found only in South Africa, from the subtitdal to depths of about 40 metres. The polyps can be retracted into the head when disturbed – and, in another display of special behaviour, a specialised polyp called a siphonozooid acts like a pump, reinflating the colony into the golden fuzzball that delights those who come across it.

@saveourseasfoundation #1001species #1001seaforestspecies #1001speciesproject #greatafricanseaforest #taxonomy #marinescience

Being a marine scientist in the field requires a host of attributes: eagle eyes to spot tiny animals; an excellent memory that can quickly rake through years of accumulated knowledge to identify a species; endless curiosity to piece together seaforest puzzles; patience and persistence – and, in this case, the ability to descend to the seabed with the elegance of a yogi. On a recent dive, Jannes spied a small sea cucumber on a stretch of rippled sand. While most people might have swum past it, thinking it was just another Stephenson’s sea cucumber, Jannes’s science brain knew there was something different about it. Instead of dendritic, tree-like, soft-tipped tentacles for filter-feeding, it had shorter, stubby ends to probably catch other types of prey. After dipping down numerous times to examine it with a torch, he declared it a species he had not seen before, and it would require some digging to figure out the mystery. This quest for answers is just one of the reasons the seaforest keeps calling Jannes back – every dive comes with the possibility of newness and surprise.

#seachangeproject #greatafricanseaforest #taxonomy #marinescience #seacucumber #1001species #1001seaforestspecies

#0033 Cape gannet – Morus capensis

Cape gannets plunge-dive from heights of up to 20 metres – or rocket straight down from the surface – spearing through the water with powerful bills. To cope with the rush of water, they’ve evolved a unique trait: no external nostrils. Instead, these seabirds have a specialised respiratory system that includes air sacs and internal passages – a design that makes perfect sense once you see them in action. These blue-eyed birds dive with precision, power and speed, often in large groups, feeding on shoals of pelagic fish. During the winter months, the famed Sardine Run occurs along South Africa’s east coast, where gannets join dolphins, whales, seals and other predators in a spectacular feeding frenzy. The breeding range of Cape gannets is limited to Southern Africa, with colonies in South Africa and Namibia. While numbers have risen in South Africa, Namibian colonies have declined sharply over the past 50 years, linked to dwindling fish stocks. Could this contrast reflect variants in policy, conservation efforts or ecosystem management? And, if so, what could be done differently?

Images: Jannes Landschoff and @animal_ocean

@saveourseasfoundation #1001species #1001speciesproject #1001 #seachangeproject

‘As I was standing on the cliff at Gifkommetjie, I could feel the connection moving through the air. I sensed the presence of my people, as if their footprints were still fresh, moving through the rocks.’

Read our latest blog about two groups of young people reconnecting with nature and their roots through coastal tracking. Link in bio.

@khwattu @lawhillmaritime #seachangeproject #natureconnection #tracking #immersion #ocean

#0032 Four-coloured aeolid – Godiva quadricolor

Flamboyant and not averse to overseas travel, Four-coloured aeolids are real charmers, attracting divers and underwater photographers with their flame-like cerata and bold orange-patched head. Unfussy gourmands, these nudibranchs are voracious predators of other heterobranchs and Striped anemones – and even cannibalise their own kind. Baby aeolids emerge from untidy egg ribbons that resemble zigzags of white rice, and settle on sand, reefs, and in kelp and green seaweed beds. Some even travel further afield, turning up as invasive guests in Mediterranean and Australian harbours. From reef to harbour, this flashy traveller shows how marine species can shape – and sometimes disrupt – environments.

@saveourseasfoundation #1001seaforestspecies #1001species #seachangeproject #marinebiology #taxonomy #greatafricanseaforest

A roundup of positive news from across the globe — glimmers of hope during challenging times.

#seachangeproject #biodiversity #climate #motherearth #hope #togetherwethrive

Without nature, we are nothing. Without nature, we have nothing. One can’t do business or life amid ruins. We need a mindset shift among those who make decisions — decisions that impact all of us and our home planet. And we need it soon, as there is no time to lose.

#seachangeproject @brodie_rudolph_tanya #g20 #o20 #policy #climate #ocean