Redeeming Algae

The word "redeem" is a very rich, meaningful term for those of us in the Christian faith. Early in the Old Testament, God reveals the idea of the Kinsman Redeemer, one who will vindicate and rescue his needy relative. It is a picture designed to point us beautifully to the rescuing work Jesus would do on the cross many years later.
I had said in my very first post we would talk here about the animals and plants that we see while snorkeling near Long Key in Florida and so it's time to share a bit about some of the marine "plants". (Actually, most of the algae are not classified in the plant kingdom but belong in the kingdom Protista. There are marine plants which have roots like terrestrial plants do. Algae do not have roots but attach to the bottom with finger-like things called rhizoids).
Algae gets a pretty bad rap in freshwater locals like we have here in Ohio. Everyone with a pool, pond, or little fountain is trying to "control" (kill) the algae that so persistently wants to spread in our water. As a result, many species of algae, in these parts, all get lumped together under the less-than-favorable moniker of "Pond Scum".
Ah, but just like it does to other things considered lowly in Ohio (like worms), the sea "redeems" algae. After a week of Marine Biology with us, you will catch yourself before saying "pond scum" and you will (hopefully) never say "seaweed" again.
This is because the snorkeler in the near shore waters of the Florida Keys will lay eyes on many truly beautiful, interesting, and important species of algae.

There are 3 Phyla of algae we observe: Phaeophyta (Brown Algae), Rhodophyta (Red Algae), and Chlorophyta (Green Algae). Interesting brown algae includes Sargassum, which is often seen detached and floating on top of the water due to the air bladders in it's structure, and Dictyota which provides a classic example of a particular animal (Ragged Sea Hare) using a particular alga (Dicyota) for camouflage. Can you tell between the photos on the left which is a clump of Dictyota alga and which is actually a very cool animal called a Ragged Sea Hare? Not surprisingly, the sea hare spends most of it's time in locations where the bottom is covered with Dicyota alga whose y-shaped branches are nearly inseparable from the y-shaped papillae that jut out from the sea hare's body. You can imagine the slow, painstaking observation that is required to find this animal hiding among this alga!
All 3 of the algal groups perform photosynthesis and since there is so much ocean on our planet, algae is believed to produce as much as 87% of our planet's oxygen! Surely they deserve better than being pond scum and seaweed!

Halimeda

Rhipocephalus

The eye-catching beauties among the marine algae are the Green Algae. Very rarely, as you snorkel in The Keys can you look down and not see some species of green alga growing underneath you which is why they are such a crucial piece of the food chain in the ocean. Green marine algae come in a delightful array of shapes and sizes growing up from the sea bottom. Each species has it's own set of animals that prefer to feed on or hide in that particular species of alga. Here are some common ones we find:

Caulurpa

Pencillus

Udotea

Acetabularia

All living things that people discover are given a Latin, scientific name indicating their genus and species. Once a "thing" with a scientific name is observed often enough by non-scientists, it tends to be given what is called a common name that, for our country is in English and often descriptive of how the "thing" looks so we can remember the name more easily. All of the captions under the pictures list the genus of the alga's scientific name. Can you match these common names to the correct genus by their appearance? Mermaid Fan, Shaving Brush, Pine Cone, and Mermaid Wine Glass? Not too hard is it? That's the beauty of common names although common names have flaws as well since different common names spring up in different parts of the world. Both scientific names and common names have their place but it is interesting to find that enough people are looking at and enjoying the beautiful marine algae enough to be giving them common names.
So hopefully, we've helped redeem the algae a bit today and maybe when it warms up and green growth appears on your favorite water spot, you'll think twice before you mutter "pond scum". Everyone needs a little redemption!

The Exquisite Flamingo Tongue

The first time I ever snorkeled was off an abandoned island off the coast of Belize. It was 1985 and I was spending 3 months in Belize as part of Goshen College's Study Service Trimester. I will never, ever forget the first moment my mask went under the water. The vivid colors! The bizarre shapes branching up from the bottom! So many things vying for my attention! My friend, Jerry Hochstetler, who had just finished studying invertebrate zoology with me dove down below me and came up holding the most beautiful little shell I had ever laid eyes on. 

Cyphoma gibbosum

It's common name was as exotic sounding as the animal appeared: Flamingo Tongue. I marveled at the incredible pattern and colors of this inch long snail.
Many years would pass without me seeing my second Flamingo Tongue. Finally after leading many mini-term trips for Central Christian School, my brother-in-law, Von Schrock reported finding a Flamingo Tongue at Indian Key. Lake Center would be taking our very first trip just two weeks later. Flamingo Tongue would be at the top of my Most Wanted List! Our small group of guys was fortunate enough to find several of these gems that year and we have found Flamingo Tongue every time we have been to Indian Key since (but almost nowhere else).
The Flamingo Tongue's scientific name is Cyphoma gibbosum. It is from the Mollusca phylum in the class Gastropoda. Not all of the Gastropods have large external shells like Cyphoma does but when they do, they are created by a very important part of the snail's anatomy, the mantle. The mantle serves many important functions including secreting calcium carbonate which creates the hard outer shell which in turn provides safety for the soft animal to live in. The term "mantle" comes from the Latin word pallium which means "cloak" or "robe" because many Gastropods can extend their mantle, or robe, entirely covering over their shell much like a robe. Indeed, the brightly colored, polka dot pattern of the Flamingo Tongue is not the shell at all but the mantle extended out over the shell. Many a novice collector has unknowingly grabbed a Flamingo Tongue thinking they were taking a beautiful shell home only to end up with a relatively plain shell after the animal has died.

If you look closely at the above photo, you can see the mantle is slightly opened just at the peak of the shell. Here is a photo of some Flamingo Tongue shells; still quite pretty but not nearly so dramatic. These small snails feed almost exclusively on the polyps of the gorgonians, the soft corals. Often they are found on sea fans in the deeper reefs but in the shallower water of Indian Key we find them feeding on the genera Pterogorgia and Pseudopterogorgia. Below is a photo taken with a simple underwater point and shoot digital camera by student Hannah Horner last year at Indian Key.

Flamingo Tongue on Pterogorgia at Indian Key

 Notice in the photo that on most of the left side of the purple coral branches, you can observe the tiny yellow coral polyps which are the colonial animals that build the purple, branching structure you see. However, you can see that on the right side of the coral where the Flamingo Tongue is feeding, all the polyps are withdrawn, trying to avoid being eaten by the hungry snail. Normally there are few enough snails that they live in good balance with the corals but recently there was a population explosion of Flamingo Tongue in Puerto Rico that is putting the local soft coral population at risk. A video link showing this unusual problem can be found here
Cyphoma gibbsom is not the only species of Cyphoma that can be found at Indian Key. Two years ago at Indian Key, Central Christian's class had found an exceptional count of Flamingo Tongue there. Then two weeks later, Lake Center's class could find no live Cyphoma but oddly found 15 or 20 dead Cyphoma shells on ocean floor. However, we noticed that several of the shells we found were a bit longer and more white instead of the orange color Cyphoma gibbsom shows. A little research showed that these shells were the much less common Cyphoma mcgintyi, the Spotted Cyphoma and the following year we were able two discover two living Spotted Cyphoma with their snazzy mantles covered with purple polka dots bordered in red.

Cyphoma mcgintyi

Cyphoma signatum

Now we are in hot pursuit of the even more rare Fingerprint Cyphoma, Cyphoma signatum. Ice cream sundae for sure to the watchful diver who turns that one up!

The Magic of the Ocean at Night

"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination." So begins my favorite song from the Phantom of the Opera, "Music of the Night."
The underwater world is always a wonder to me but never more so than under the canopy of darkness. Many delights are observable at no other time than nighttime so our midweek night dive is fast becoming my favorite.
Almost everyone has to face some fears when they begin snorkeling in the ocean. Many fear sharks, some fear drowning, some fear being bit or stung, some just sense having less control than when standing on dry ground. We always get in several long days of snorkeling before we attempt our night dive in the middle of the week because jumping into the ocean and only being able to see what your small, underwater flashlight illuminates adds a whole new twist to a diver's fear level but the rewards to those who conquer their fears are always well worth it.
"Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor" begins the second stanza of "Music of the Night" and marvelously describes what happens to ocean life as darkness falls. During the light of day, everything is a hiding place for the invertebrates wanting not to be eaten by fish and other creatures cruising around. Coral, sponges, rocks, holes in the sand, and even trash like bottles, discarded pipes, old lobster crates, cement blocks, and whatever else falls to the bottom of the sea all are put to use as hiding places during the day.
Ah, but at night most of the fish are sound asleep and the invertebrates come out to play and feed. Yes, I did say the fish are asleep and yes this is very cool to see. Depending on the species, the sleeping fish may be floating right near the surface, directly on the sandy bottom, or my favorite, sleeping suspended right in the middle of the water column. I have swam up to a 4 foot long sleeping barracuda and poked it in its ribs and watched it take off like it was shot out of a cannon. Not the most considerate thing to do to the fish but certainly an eye-opening once in a lifetime sight!

Decorator Crab

But as I said, while the fish are sleeping away, the invertebrates will play and this is quickly visible to the night diver. Caribbean Spiny Lobsters are out walking around everywhere. Crabs of all varieties are out of their holes and climbing over every sponge, coral, and clump of algae. Recently we have been seeing many decorator crabs on our night dives. Decorator crabs are a fascinating, poorly understood group of crabs that gather other living organisms (anemones, sponges, corals, hydroids, alga) and attach them to themselves to provide camouflage, defense, and even food when supplies become short. Coral polyps which are withdrawn during the day are fully exposed, giving the corals a much softer, more colorful appearance as they filter the passing water for morsels of food. The water column itself is often alive with tiny invertebrates. One night there may be tiny jellyfish everywhere, another night you may catch glimpses of the red eyes of tiny shrimp always in the peripheral vision of your light beam. Always there are many things active that are normally quiet and hidden in the glare of day.

Echinaster Sea Star

Gulf Toadfish

Harlequin Pipefish

Surprise and discovery are the rule of thumb on these dives as we are constantly finding new and unexpected things. Last year a sea star of the genus Echinaster was found out in the open. Also out in numbers were the strange looking and normally reclusive Toadfishes. An exquisite Harlequin Pipefish, closely related to the seahorses, was found wrapped around a soft coral. During Lake Center's first ever night dive, we found what appeared to be a Giant Tube-Dwelling Anemone. A species we have never seen before or since. In the last 2 years in the same area of coral stubble, we have found several sets of strange tentacles reaching up through the coral that seem to belong to a bizarre, rare, very large worm called the Long-Bristle Eunice which when seen in its entirety looks something akin to a sea monster. Clearly it's time to expect the unexpected at night.
Above all these wonderful finds we've had during our night dives for me stands one particular find. Many marine animals use amazing camouflage to stay alive underwater. Perhaps the ultimate masters are the frogfish. These masters of disguise sit motionless, blending into the coral, algae, or sand they are sitting on during the day and are so well hidden I assumed I would never lay eyes on one. Incredibly, a student found one suspended in mid-column right at eye level in 4 feet of water.

Striated Frogfish

This was the Striated Frogfish, complete with a strange front fin called an illicium which has a lure (called an esca) on the end just like the nasty fish in the deep in Finding Nemo.
Surely darkness does stir and wake imagination and in the sea at night, reality lives up to our dancing imaginations.