Spring 2004: Joanne Ducas, University of New Hampshire
Thus far my EcoQuest adventure has been riddled by new experiences, but I must say that this last one definitely rivals the rest. It seems that things just keep getting better and better. This past week we traveled north to the Cape Rodney Marine Reserve at Goat Island located in Leigh, and later on to the Poor Knights Marine Reserve located 24km offshore on the east coast of Northland. It was first at Leigh, and then the Poor Knights, that we were admitted into the world ‘under the sea’.
When I first put my face into the water after stretching on my wet suit, I was amazed by all the different things that I saw. By the time we had finished swimming amongst the snapper (Pagrus auratus), blue maomao (Scorpus violacsus), spottys (Notolabrus celidotus) and kelp (Ecklonia radiate) forests, I was convinced that it couldn’t get much better. Then we took the hour and a half boat ride out to the Poor Knights islands. Here we saw huge schools of plankton feeding fish at the surface feeding off the abundant food source that flows down the East Auckland current from the tropics. Because of the warm current this area contained much more colorful tropic and subtopic fish. We saw long-tailed sting rays (Dasyatis thetides) as well as eagle rays (Myliobatis tenuicaudatus) and a carpet shark (Cephaloseyllium isabilhem). The large variety of sponges, nudibranchs, bryozoans, sea squirts, anemones, corals, hydroids and urchins colored the walls of the steep caves created by air pockets that formed during the volcanic explosion 10 million years ago. Because the caves extend so far back into the island organisms that generally live far below the surface of the water in the absence of light are able to persist within diving depths on the dark back walls.
While we did see many amazing things underneath the water we also met some interesting people above. We spoke with many graduate students working at the University of Auckland Lab at Leigh. Dr. Bill Ballantine, a notable marine biologist, and major force behind marine reserves here in NZ shared with us the importance of having networks of marine reserves. Marine organisms reproduce in ways that create a need for vast expanses of ocean to remain sustainable. Organisms utilize the currents for different floating larval stages and are carried to other parts of the ocean to establish colonies. Because of these reproductive strategies, intricate networks of no-take areas are required for percentages of all populations to thrive. It is his hope that ten percent of each of New Zealand’s four identified marine habitats along the coast will eventually boast reserve no-take status. We also met Wade Doak, who is the author of twenty books describing marine life, and participated in the early days of scuba technology. He told us anecdotes of his early days experimenting with different technologies including his own home made scuba helmet and dry suits. Overall it was a wonderful experience, and has instilled a newfound interest in marine life for me.