Happy Valentine’s Day to Earth’s Oceans
iStockWhale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are just one reason — and a very big one! — why divers love the ocean. These sharks are gentle filter-feeders that can grow to be nearly 40 feet long.
When scuba divers try to explain why they love diving in the ocean they mention “a sense of peace,” “the extraordinary connection to ocean animals,” “the thrill of adventure” and “the gift of freedom from whatever weighs you down” — whether it’s a physical disability, mental stress, grief or any other troubles or limitations.
These 10 photos capture why we wanted to say, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Ocean. We'll try to show our love 365 days a year.”
The Thrill of Exploration
Every dive into the ocean offers the possibility of discovery — a fish we’ve never seen, a wreck we’ve never dived, a pristine coral reef far from the crowds.
iStockA diver fins through a school of fish. Fish form a baitball like this as a last-ditch defensive measure when they are threatened by predators.
Colorful Reef Fish
Many divers often keep fish life lists or participate in annual fish counts so that scientists can estimate their global populations.
iStockPalette surgeonfish (Paracanthurus hepatus) are also known as regal tang and blue tang. By eating algae on coral reefs, these surgeonfish prevent the algae from growing out of control and choking the coral to death. The character Dory in Finding Nemo was based on a palette surgeonfish or blue tang.
The Liveaboard Life
Liveaboards are like floating hotels — they can take you to remote reefs and let you explore the ocean in a way that landlocked divers can’t. From the moment you wake up, you are catered to, whether it’s at a meal, gearing up for a dive or enjoying a sunset cocktail.
iStockArenui is a luxury boutique-type liveaboard. You’ll explore the best of Indonesia on Raja Ampat itineraries and more aboard this beautiful yacht.
Finding Nemo
Depending on the species, clownfish or anemonefish are yellow, orange or a reddish or blackish color, and many have distinctive white bars or patches. The ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) — aka the false percula clownfish or common clownfish — are found in different colors, depending on where they live. When Amphiprion ocellaris are in the juvenile stage, they go to the bottom of the ocean to find shelter in an anemone. Once they find their anemone, they form a symbiotic relationship with them.
iStockNemo's father — a character from the popular animated movie Finding Nemo — was based on the ocellaris clownfish and should have turned into a female, according to scientists who have discovered that male clownfish change sex if their mating partner dies.
The Kingdom of Coral
The “rainforests of the sea,” coral reefs are diverse ecosystems built by colonies of tiny animals found in the ocean that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which are made from polyps that cluster in groups. Corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which support and protect the coral polyps. Most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny day and prefer agitated water because water movement brings in needed nutrients. Climate change, pollution and human activities are the greatest threats to coral reefs’ survival.
iStockCoral reefs make up less than 0.1 percent of the world's oceans, but they’re home to one-quarter of all marine species.
The Splendor of Sharks
The earliest known sharks date back to more than 420 million years ago; since then, sharks have diversified into more than 450 species and they are found in all oceans and seas. Contrary to popular belief, only a few sharks are dangerous to humans. Only four are blamed for many of the fatal, unprovoked attacks on humans: great white, oceanic whitetip, tiger and bull sharks. In fact, many shark populations are threatened by human activities such as overfishing and finning.
iStockA blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) in Fiji. Blacktips are harmless to humans and quite shy.
The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms, billions of tiny coral polyps. It supports a wide diversity of marine life and was named a World Heritage Site in 1981. The GBR has more than 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands that stretch for more than 1,400 miles.
iStockAn aerial view of a portion of the Great Barrier Reef. This incredible reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia, and like coral reefs around the world, is threatened by climate change, pollution and human activities.
The Majesty and Magic of Manta Rays
There are two types of manta rays — the larger one is Manta birostris reaches 23 feet from wingtip to wingtip, and the smaller one, Manta alfredi, measures 18 feet in width. Mantas are found in warm waters. M. birostris migrates across open oceans, while M. alfredi tends to prefer coastal waters. They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton (shrimp, krill and planktonic crabs). Both species are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
iStockScuba divers often encounter mantas at popular “cleaning stations” — shallow places on the reef where cleaner fish gather to consume external parasites on the rays.
Diving into History on Wrecks
Scuba diving on a shipwrecks is often a step back in time. Some are purpose-sunk — such as Florida’s Spiegel Grove, Vandenberg and Oriskany, but many went down as the result of war, severe weather or human error. Some are considered gravesites and should be treated with respect. These wrecks serve to remind divers of a country's maritime history.
iStockThe Rhone was wrecked off the coast of Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands on Oct. 29, 1867, in a hurricane, killing 123 people.
Spectacular Sea Turtles
The seven species of sea turtles are green, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley, hawksbill, flatback and leatherback. Sea turtles can be found in oceans except for the polar regions. It takes decades for sea turtles to reach sexual maturity. Turtles may migrate thousands of miles to reach breeding sites. After mating at sea, adult female sea turtles return to land to lay their eggs. The gender of a baby sea turtles is determined by the temperature of the sand while the egg is incubating.
iStockA green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) makes its way over a shallow reef. In the cooler Pacific around Hawaii and the Galapagos, these turtles haul themselves out of the water to bask in the sun.
