My Out on A Swim blog is rated in the Top 20 Coral Reef Blogs in the world.
It serves as a record of what has caught my eye when ‘out on a swim’ in the lagoons of Norfolk Island, as well as providing some short stories about the characters under the waves.
Healthy montipora coral, Norfolk Island
Today’s focus on Norfolk Island’s reef is a photo essay. This series of photographs taken over the course of a year demonstrates how disease affects a montipora coral bommie by gradually killing the coral and creating an environment that allows algae to gain a foothold and to eventually take over.
Read MoreA common view of an aatuti as you swim into its territory!
One species that is doing remarkably well on Norfolk Island’s reef as it inexorably transitions from coral-dominated to algal-dominated is the banded scalyfin, Parma polylepis, which is unsurprising as their main food source is algae. The downside is they harass and bully all the other species that come anywhere near their territory, to the detriment of our biodiversity. Find out more here.
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