As a pastor with a shepherd's heart, I am always aware of guests visiting our church and sensitive to what they may be feeling their first time inside our doors. Some have just moved to the area and are "church shopping": visiting a number of local churches and getting a feel for each one. Some are eager to find a place to roll their sleeves up and jump into serving at their new church home and seemingly anxious to meet everyone. Others have had little church experience recently, or ever, and are very cautiously sticking their toes in the water to see what this "church thing" is all about. Still others have had a past, painful church experience and come determined to stay very unattached, testing to see if this place could truly be safe.
Guests in the last two categories usually have an obvious plan for staying invisible; seeking to blend into the surroundings while they are feeling vulnerable.
This hiding due to a feeling of vulnerability is an extremely common phenomenon in the ocean. We see camouflage on land as well but it seems far more frequent under water. The food chain feels like a much more pervasive reality under the sea and as a result, the observant diver can witness a plethora of delightful examples of the vulnerable blending into their surroundings.
Here are a couple of examples of camouflage we see most frequently near shore in the Florida Keys.
The Yellow-spotted Stingray is a notoriously expert hider. See how it's coloring and pattern help it blend well into the algae and sand mix on the bottom. The only way to see it is by the distinctive outline. Many times the stingray will solve that problem by wiggling it's large pectoral fins throwing sand, often covering the animal to the point where only the eyes are sticking above the sand. These animals do not attack. They are in fact very docile allowing for very close viewing but it's always a good idea to watch your step in sandy areas so you don't accidentally step on a submerged sting ray.
The Scorpionfish is another fish that is perfectly designed to hide on the bottom of the ocean. Like the stingray, scorpionfish can give a nasty sting to the careless diver who places their foot or hand down without paying careful attention to what they are doing. Not only does the color pattern help the scorpionfish to blend in but they have an incredible array of growths shooting out in every which way perfectly mimicking the silt-covered algae on the bottom where they so often sit motionlessly.
Secretive critters such as these are why we are always urging our students to move very slowly through the water, learning to examine every sponge, coral, rock, algae, blade of grass and patch of sand. Life is hiding almost everywhere in the sea! And we are always pleased when students take our counsel to heart and find things that leave their instructors scratching their heads as to how that student ever found such an impossibly hidden animal.
Last year, it was Elsa Miller, from Central Christian, miraculously finding the brittle star Ophiothrix suensonii on the soft coral Pseudopterogorgia. Like this:
Except that the coral's yellow polyps were completely extended like this; blending in with the yellow arms of the brittle star. (by the way, clicking on any photo anywhere on this blog will give you an enlarged view of that photo).
And the arms of the brittle star were intertwined with the coral branches like this. All in combination made the brittle star almost completely invisible. The colors where an exact match. The only hint at all to the eye was the line of the brittle star arms forming lines that didn't quite match up with the rest of the coral but this was truly one of the most remarkable examples of careful observation that I have ever seen.
Another fine discovery was made in our lab. Each year we bring a variety of algae back to the lab for identification. We also bring in a bucket full of the algae Saragassum which often is found floating in large clumps throughout the ocean. Many organisms rely so heavily on hiding in the Sargassum that they are named by the algae: Sargassum Shrimp, Sargassum Frogfish, Sargassum Nudibranch to name just a few. All have camouflage that blends perfectly into the light brown colored algae so we often sort very carefully for these creatures. Sure enough, after coming up empty on several occasions, we turned up a Sargassum Crab.
Can you find the crab hiding in the center of the bucket on the left? Click on the photo to make it bigger. There is actually a second crab above and to the left of the center crab. On the right is a close-up of a Sargassum Crab. You can easily see how the pattern & colors of the crab make it blend wonderfully into the Sargassum algae.
Several marine animals can actually change their color at will to blend into their surroundings like a chameleon. Last year at Looe Key, I was able to find a fish I had long been looking for due to it's interesting elongated shape and it's habit of swimming vertically instead of horizontally. There, right in the open, swam this bright golden Trumpetfish, doing anything but hiding.
Ah, but when they are alarmed and feeling unsafe, the Trumpetfish has the ability to use it's unique swimming style and color-changing gifts in brilliant fashion; choosing locations that make this large fish incredibly hard to see. (right) Trumpetfish have color-changing cells called chromatophores in their skin. By making the chromatophores of a certain color bigger, Trumpetfish can become a different color as well as change their banding pattern. Chromatophores are connected to the nervous system and controlled by muscle contraction. It takes a lots of energy so the fish don't change colors unless they have to.
Another wonderful marine animal that changes it's colors at will is the squid. In the keys we see the Caribbean Reef Squid. The squid uses the same muscle-controlled chromatophores to change colors. However, squid can also produce light through the amazing process of bioluminescense. But that's a whole other blog in itself. Between color changing and light producing, the squid can bear an incredible array of appearances as need be. The 3 photos above are just a small sampling of the range of appearances a Caribbean Reef Squid can have.
So if you ever have the privilege of snorkeling the Florida Keys or another reef, GO SLOW! Look carefully! You will be amazed at what you see hiding, blending into the background.
Guests in the last two categories usually have an obvious plan for staying invisible; seeking to blend into the surroundings while they are feeling vulnerable.
This hiding due to a feeling of vulnerability is an extremely common phenomenon in the ocean. We see camouflage on land as well but it seems far more frequent under water. The food chain feels like a much more pervasive reality under the sea and as a result, the observant diver can witness a plethora of delightful examples of the vulnerable blending into their surroundings.
Here are a couple of examples of camouflage we see most frequently near shore in the Florida Keys.
 |
| Yellow-spotted Stingray |
 |
| scorpionfish |
The Scorpionfish is another fish that is perfectly designed to hide on the bottom of the ocean. Like the stingray, scorpionfish can give a nasty sting to the careless diver who places their foot or hand down without paying careful attention to what they are doing. Not only does the color pattern help the scorpionfish to blend in but they have an incredible array of growths shooting out in every which way perfectly mimicking the silt-covered algae on the bottom where they so often sit motionlessly.
Secretive critters such as these are why we are always urging our students to move very slowly through the water, learning to examine every sponge, coral, rock, algae, blade of grass and patch of sand. Life is hiding almost everywhere in the sea! And we are always pleased when students take our counsel to heart and find things that leave their instructors scratching their heads as to how that student ever found such an impossibly hidden animal.
Last year, it was Elsa Miller, from Central Christian, miraculously finding the brittle star Ophiothrix suensonii on the soft coral Pseudopterogorgia. Like this:
Another fine discovery was made in our lab. Each year we bring a variety of algae back to the lab for identification. We also bring in a bucket full of the algae Saragassum which often is found floating in large clumps throughout the ocean. Many organisms rely so heavily on hiding in the Sargassum that they are named by the algae: Sargassum Shrimp, Sargassum Frogfish, Sargassum Nudibranch to name just a few. All have camouflage that blends perfectly into the light brown colored algae so we often sort very carefully for these creatures. Sure enough, after coming up empty on several occasions, we turned up a Sargassum Crab.
Can you find the crab hiding in the center of the bucket on the left? Click on the photo to make it bigger. There is actually a second crab above and to the left of the center crab. On the right is a close-up of a Sargassum Crab. You can easily see how the pattern & colors of the crab make it blend wonderfully into the Sargassum algae.
Several marine animals can actually change their color at will to blend into their surroundings like a chameleon. Last year at Looe Key, I was able to find a fish I had long been looking for due to it's interesting elongated shape and it's habit of swimming vertically instead of horizontally. There, right in the open, swam this bright golden Trumpetfish, doing anything but hiding.
Ah, but when they are alarmed and feeling unsafe, the Trumpetfish has the ability to use it's unique swimming style and color-changing gifts in brilliant fashion; choosing locations that make this large fish incredibly hard to see. (right) Trumpetfish have color-changing cells called chromatophores in their skin. By making the chromatophores of a certain color bigger, Trumpetfish can become a different color as well as change their banding pattern. Chromatophores are connected to the nervous system and controlled by muscle contraction. It takes a lots of energy so the fish don't change colors unless they have to.
So if you ever have the privilege of snorkeling the Florida Keys or another reef, GO SLOW! Look carefully! You will be amazed at what you see hiding, blending into the background.
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