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Puerto Rico & Vieques 2008 Cruise, day nine: April 03, 2008
Scientist
Brett Harrison
refuses to
let the
weather get
him down
(Credit:
Amy V. Uhrin)
Click to enlarge
Neon goby resting
on a small
colony of great
star coral
(Montastrea
cavernosa)
while patiently awaiting
the arrival of
his next customer
(Credit: Manuel
Merello)
Click to enlarge
Cymothoid isopod attached to the nape of a squirrelfish (Holocentrus adscensionis) (Credit: Brett Harrison)
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Pair of sharksuckers looking for someone to attach to (Credit: Brett Harrison)
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Although the winds subsided enough to permit dive operations, we faced overcast skies and a number of small squalls this morning to forge onward with our underwater surveys. Despite our gray ceiling, below the surface we continued to encounter a number of interesting creatures.
Cymothoid isopods (a type of crustacean) attach to the head region of fish using hook–like legs and scavenge food particles as their host fish feeds. These isopods are not parasitic on their host fish and once settled, lose their ability to swim and remain attached for life. Sometimes mated pairs will attach, and once the female dies, the male has the ability to change sex and await the arrival of a young male.
Sharksuckers have a suction cup–type disc on top of their heads that resembles the tread of a sneaker but is actually a modified foredorsal fin. The disc is used for attachment to sharks, rays, large fish, and turtles. The sharksucker feeds off scraps made by its host.
Neon gobies (Elacatinus sp.) are well-documented cleaner fish, setting up stations where larger fish come to have the gobies eat their small external parasites.
A diver’s–eye view of a small boat on this blustery day (Credit: Brett Harrison)
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Scientist Manuel Merello conducts a habitat survey over a mixed soft coral reef (Credit: Jack Javech)
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A curious barracuda offers to help scientist Kim Foley with her fish survey by getting up close and personal (Credit: Brett Harrison)
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