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By Raquel Gilliland and Breilly Roy; Sea of Change Foundation interns

Welcome to our third “Creature Feature!” Each week we briefly introduce you to some fascinating facts about a sea creature, why it is special and unique, and its conservation status. This week’s creature is the graceful hawksbill turtle. These underwater reptiles belong to the family Cheloniidae. Turtles in this family are the only known turtles that have front limbs stronger than their back.

Hawksbill turtles can be found throughout the tropical oceans of the world, usually occupying coral reefs. As these animals are predominantly spongivores (they eat sponges), their narrow, pointed beaks, resembling that of a hawk, are a useful tool in removing the invertebrates from clefts in the reef.

In 2015, a hawksbill was found near the Solomon Islands during a night dive, but this was no ordinary reptile as this turtle glowed in the dark! Scientists determined that this female was exhibiting signs of biofluorescence. Unlike bioluminescence, biofluorescence is not a chemical reaction within an organism but rather an organism absorbs light and projects it as a different color.

Sadly, hawksbill turtles are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List and are decreasing in numbers. Due to their uniquely decorated shells, they are often harvested illegally and sold around the world despite their protection under CITES (Conservation on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

With proper conservation and preservation methods put into practice, such as reducing light pollution, plastic pollution, and nesting beach conservation, this ancient species has the potential to recover its declining populations.

By Raquel Gilliland and Breilly Roy, Sea of Change Foundation interns

Welcome to another “Creature Feature” where we briefly introduce you to some fascinating facts about a sea creature, why it is special and unique, and its conservation status. This week’s creature is the amazing thresher sharks. They belong to the class Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays, skates, and chimaeras) comprised of fishes that have skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. The three species of threshers (Alopias spp.) stand out among sharks or elasmobranchs with their unique tail, or caudal fin, that can be as long as their body.

Their habitats are primarily pelagic, meaning open ocean, and they often travel into shallow coastal waters when hunting large schools of fish. They feed mainly on juvenile tuna, bluefish, and mackerel. They use their long tails to slap schools of fish thereby herding and stunning their prey. As with many species of sharks, they are vital apex predators helping to keep our oceans healthy.

According to the IUCN Red List, the common thresher shark is “vulnerable” to extinction with decreasing population trends. These negative trends are most likely due to their low reproductive rate and the effects of overfishing often driven by demand for shark fins for Asian markets and restaurants. In 2017, the common thresher shark was added to CITES Appendix II providing some protection from international trade in its parts including fins.

Given sharks’ vital role in marine ecosystem health and that many shark species are threatened by overfishing and habitat loss, the Sea of Change Foundation supports research that can help protect sharks. In 2017, with our partners Ocean First Institute, ConnectOcean, and the University of Costa Rica – CIMAR, we helped fund and launch the first-ever shark and ray assessments at Las Catalinas, Costa Rica, an area where sharks have likely been overfished. In 2018, the Foundation will continue to support research and conservation in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica focused on sharks and rays.

Please consider supporting the Sea of Change Foundation as we focus our efforts on threatened species and habitats and work to create positive change for the oceans we all love to dive and explore. DONATE HERE. Thank you.

By Raquel Gilliland and Breilly Roy, Sea of Change Foundation interns

Welcome to our new series “Creature Features” where we’ll briefly introduce you to some fascinating facts about a sea creature, why it is special and unique, and its conservation status.

This week’s creature is the long-spined or black sea urchin (Diadema antillarum), a sharp specimen that hides in small crevices along the reef. They belong to the phylum Echinodermata – exclusively marine invertebrates that are characterized by a hard, spiny covering or skin, and that also includes other familiar reef residents such as sea stars, sand dollars and feather stars. They have a test or “shell” with venomous spines that grow as long as 10-12cm. Their ventral (underneath their bodies) scraping mouths were originally described by Aristotle as being lantern-shaped and scientists today still refer to them as “Aristotle’s lantern”.

Their habitats are crevices in coral reefs at depths of 1-10 meters deep. These creatures are nocturnal and feed mainly on algae; and they, in turn, are a favorite food of queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) that use their powerful jaws to pull out the spines and break the test. The urchins’ role in a healthy reef ecosystem is to graze on algae that otherwise can outcompete corals for limited space to settle and grow. Unfortunately, in the early 1980’s there was a significant die off of long-spined urchins due to disease with 90% of the species being wipe out throughout Florida, the Caribbean and Bermuda from which many reefs in the region are still recovering.

Given that Diadema produce many eggs, their slow recovery from the disease outbreak almost 30 years ago has long puzzled scientists. Recently, researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography found that when staghorn coral (Acropora cervicorni) – a threatened species on the U.S. Endangered Species List – populations increase, Diadema populations decrease. They theorized that the reason for this could be the aggressive and territorial behavior of the threespot damselfish (Stegastes planifrons) that competes with Diadema for algae grazing patches on the reef. “These damselfish pick up urchins and move them off the coral with their mouths,” said Cramer, a postdoctoral scholar at Scripps and lead author of the study. “Damselfish populations appear to have grown recently as their predators have been overfished, which is one plausible explanation as to why long-spined urchin populations have failed to recover.”

Currently, the global conservation status of these urchins has not been evaluated by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List, they have no special status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and under CITES (the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species) they are also not protected from collection nor international trade.

Given their vital role in coral reef recovery and resilience, we hope to see populations of important reef grazerscome back in full force. You can learn more about how the Sea of Change Foundation has helped support research to reintroduce long-spine sea urchins to the reefs of the Bahamas, here; Reversing the Decline of Bahamian Coral Reefs – Herbivory Study, 2018.

Please consider supporting the Sea of Change Foundation as we work to create positive change for the oceans we all love to dive and explore. DONATE HERE. Thank you.

First Blog of Many for Our Oceans
By Samantha Whitcraft, Director Conservation & Outreach

Welcome to our new website and our new blog! On the webpage, you’ll find information about the Sea of Change Foundation – who we are, what we do, and how you can join us in supporting ocean conservation that creates positive change for our oceans.

For example, did you know our Board of Directors and Advisors is comprised of leaders in the dive industry who combined represent over 225 years of dive experience? We’ve funded and advised on projects all around the world, including New York, Georgia, and Florida in the USA; and internationally in the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Palau, and Costa Rica. We’ve raised funds to support the both the scientific study and protection of sharks, whales, and the restoration of coral reefs. We believe in the value of conservation; that’s why 100% of funds donated to our foundation go directly to conservation and why we’ve leveraged over 5000+ hours of volunteer support since our founding in 2015!

Our monthly blog will highlight not only the projects we are funding and the partners we are working with, but will also feature news about science and conservation from around the world that is pro-active and delivering results that will help protect the oceans we all love to dive and explore.

We look forward to sharing exciting content and meaningful conservation work with you over the coming years. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @seaofchangefoundation, #SeaOfChange.

Should you wish to submit a blog to be considered for publication or have any questions or comments about our new website, please contact us at info@seaofchange.com.
Thank you!