Coral Reef Photos » Worms + Other Sea Creatures

Red-Spotted Horseshoe Worm, Protula sp, Tube Worms

barry — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 10:56:30 +0000

Good morning from rainy Curacao. Yesterday I did another deep dive out in front of the Substation with our Smithsonian researcher Barret. We dove down to 125 feet or at least I did, he went to 165 in search of algae!! Although the dive was very fast and not much time to look around I found a few very cool things that I will go back and shoot possibly today. This is one of my favorite little reef decorations called a Red-Spotted Horseshoe Worm, Protula sp. Horseshoe worms are know as Calcareous tube worms, class; Polychaeta, order; Sabellida and family; Serpulidae. Serpulids build hard, calcareous tubes which are often hidden in or on rock, coral, or occasionally sponges. Their extended crown of colorful radioles form spirals and whorls. Like Christmas tree worms (fan worms), the radioles are used to catch food, and will instantly retract when disturbed, (like in the movie Avatar). A hardened structure, called an operculum, covers the tube opening when the worm withdraws, Horn-like growths that often extend from the operculum are useful in species identification.

Today is a holiday here in Curacao, it’s called Flag day and everyone will be dressed in blue and yellow. I have so much to do today to get ready for the Padi assignment that starts tomorrow morning at 7:00. I also have to take Aimee to the airport tomorrow morning at 5:00, she on her way to see the parents. I trust you will all have a great weekend and remember I may not be sending the blog out this week as I will just be way too tired, but I will try!! See you all soon, Barry

Magnificent Feather Duster, Sabellastarte magnifica

barry — Sat, 21 May 2011 11:37:03 +0000

Good morning from still raining Curacao!! Pretty incredible that we have had almost a week of on and off rain and our island is again back to being nice and green!! And yes, I am to blame, I prayed and wished for this rain as everything was getting way to dry and was in need of water, so be careful what you wish for! Yesterday morning I met a lady who was staying at Royal Resorts who wanted a private photo shoot so I took her to Directors Bay and granted her wish. The whole shoot only took around two hours and then after returning her back to her hotel I raced into work to do a dive with sub. We ended up doing two dives with the sub, one at 1:00 and one at 3:00, we have been pretty busy this month. At 5:30 the owner of Joy, our little black puppy stopped by to pick her up, she has been with us all week and it has been great! I then spent the evening working on my photos from the mornings shoot and then went back to the hotel at 8:30 and dropped them off and didn’t get back home till after 10:00, what a day!!

Here is a new Magnificent Feather Duster, Sabellastarte magnifica that I found the other day while out playing on the reef. These animals have to be one of the coolest creatures on the reef and can be found almost everywhere. Feather duster worms open their feathery plumage to filter plankton and other microscopic nourishment from the ocean and sway back and fourth with each passing wave. Feather duster worms are found sprouting from holes in coral heads like bouquets of flowers. These worms are extremely sensitive to movement and will pull their plumage back into their protective tube in a split second if approached by a fish or diver. This one here has found a home right in the middle of a field of Finger Coral and is protected by a head of Star Coral on the right.

Well, it’s raining but I need to get the dogs out, have a great weekend, Barry

Magnificent Feather Duster, Tube Worms

barry — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:52:11 +0000

Good morning friends, I am getting e-mail after e-mail asking “where are my daily blogs”? This once again proves that most people just look at the photo (which is fine) and do not read the text! I told everyone over and over before I left that during my vacation I would be posting everything here. Also someone asked how do you find a certain photo that was sent out weeks or months before? Just type in a word like “Mini Sub” in the small Search box (on the right side) and you should be able to find what your looking for. I have to be at the airport in 2 hours and I think Aimee is already in the air, she arrives home a day before I do. Yesterday was again spent with last minute shopping. It’s a great time of the year to find shorts and flip-flops on sale so I loaded up! I think I bought 3 pairs of beach shoes, bought 5 watches for friends, 4 pairs of reading glasses, a few little flash-lights, a big package of zip-ties, and lots of biking stuff, all stuff that would cost a fortune to buy in Curacao. The weather here has been great! I am planning on being back in April again to do some Sage Grouse” photography in Wyoming and to try and renew my South Dakota drivers licence. Well, that’s about it from me, I am on the way back to the Caribbean, there will be no blog posted tomorrow morning, maybe Thursday evening if our Internet is working? A BIG THANKS to everyone who made our trip so wonderful and again I am sorry if we did not get together, just too much to do!

This one is my mom who loves these Magnificent Feather Dusters. This one belive it or not has been living in the end of this metal pipe since we first came to Curacao and everytime I swim by I take a photo. For those of you wanting to see this yourself it’s near the Tugboat at Caracasbaai along side one of the underwater concreate pillars, you can’t miss it. These feather dusters feed all day on plankton that passes by and with all those arms they have it’s fairly easy, Aimee and I just love watching them.

I will miss you all, we have the greatest friends in South Dakota! See ya, Barry

Split Crown Feather Duster, Anamobaea orstedii

barry — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:03:23 +0000

Hi gang, I found another fun face out on our Sea Aquarium House Reef the other day and have been waiting to send it out. Yes, we all know by now what a vivid and wild imagination I have! When I am out on the reef I search for everything and believe it or not these natural faces are very hard to find! Usually when I find these Split-Crown Feather Dusters I have to ever so carefully and quietly sneak up on them because any sudden movement from you or your dive buddy will cause them to retract their crowns and disappear into their tubes! The featherduster worm lives in a tube that it makes from a combination of fine sand particles and mucus. It may have a calcareous (composed of or containing calcium carbonate) tube which it secretes. The worm’s body is made up of muscle, separated from the internal organs by a layer of fluid. The common name “featherduster” comes from the crown of tentacles attached in two groups, one on each side of its head. Internal skeletal rods support the tentacles. The featherduster worm uses its tentacles to breathe and to capture its food. The tentacles have fine cilia (tiny hairs) on them, and are grooved so that the particles are guided to the base of the tentacle. Featherduster worms found in deeper water tend to be larger than those found in shallower water. As you see here the featherduster has its tentacles extended to trap food particles as they pass by. The particles are then channeled to the base of the tentacles where they are sorted by size. The smallest particles are sent to the mouth and the medium-sized particles are used to build the tube. They are kept in ventral sacs where they are mixed with mucus. The sacs then secrete strands of mucus and sand and are sent to the collar at the top of the tube and in time the tube is lengthened as the worm rotates inside the tube. Once the tube is formed and firmly attached to a hard surface, the worms stay inside it for the rest of their lives. And remember I told you I had to sneak up on them in the beginning, well that’s because the tentacles contain light sensing spots. When a shadow passes over the worm, its muscular structure reacts instantly, and retracts the worm into the tube and then you must wait patiently for them to re-open.

We have the puppies back and so far it’s going surprisingly well which is mostly due to the us taking them out on the trails and running the energy out of them! Off to bed, later, Barry

Christmas Tree Worms, Spirobranchus giganteus

barry — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 01:19:21 +0000

Good evening all and yes Aimee made it back to Curacao safe and sound! She arrived last night at around 8:00 and less than 20 minutes later was already thru customs and outside, that’s fast for Curacao! I must say I was a bit shocked at how much luggage she had, two monster size suitcases, a big backpack and her carry-on suitcase, that’s quite a load! Unfortunately she had no rest time and had to be back to work bright and early this morning and of course she is on another time zone so her sleeping and waking times are really messed up!

Here’s a beautiful colony of Christmas Tree Worms that I found the other day on our drift dive back from Directors Bay, I found these near the now destroyed and falling apart tugboat at Baya. Speaking of sunken tugboats here’s something I didn’t know, Saba which was were we have or should I say had the most beautiful sunken tugboat ever is now no longer a complete boat! I guess during Omar the tugboat at Saba got rolled and turned and the top part “the cabin” was completely separated from the rest of the ship, my best dive site is gone! At least I got the split level shots I did way back when it was a sight to behold! Anyways back to the picture. Here’s a great description of what your looking at from www.marinebio.org “The Christmas Tree Worm, Spirobranchus giganteus, is a Christmas tree-shaped serpulid tube-dwelling worm with magnificent twin spirals of plumes used for feeding and respiration. This cone-shaped worm is one of the most widely recognized sedentary polychaete worms. They come in many colors including orange, yellow, blue, and white and, though they are small with an average 3.8 cm in span, they are easily spotted due to their shape, beauty, and color. The colorful plumes, or tentacles, are used for passive feeding on suspended food particles and plankton in the water. The plumes are also used for respiration. Though the plumes are visible, most of the worm is anchored in its burrow that it bores into live calcareous coral. Christmas tree worms are very sensitive to disturbances and will rapidly retract into the burrow at the slightest touch or passing shadow. They typically re-emerge a minute later, very slowly, to test the water before fully extending their plumes.”

Have a great evening, be back tomorrow, Barry

Christmas Tree Worm, Curacao

barry — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:50:34 +0000

Christmas Tree Worm

Good evening everyone. Do your days pass as quickly as mine do? It seems just minutes ago that it was morning! Time really flies some days, especially down here. It is super hot in Curacao right now, with not much of a breeze and pretty flat water. But, the good news is that the current is going in the correct direction and we are not getting any bad water from the harbor. Curacao without our trade winds just becomes stagnant. The breeze is really a blessing!

Well I did hear from Barry this evening and he is having the time of his life! He found several new species of fish that he has not photographed before so that is super exciting. It is hard to believe, but true that some species of fish, corals etc do not just “jump” from island to island. That means that you can find some very different photo subjects, and a trip to our neighbor, Bonaire, is well worth it!

The photo below is a wonderful one of a Christmas tree worm with a brilliant red sponge background. It is really amazing that even though you may have the same subject, the background can just make it outstanding. For those of you who have seen the movie “Avatar”, you may recall in the beginning that in the jungle there were huge “plants” that when the main character touched them they immediately withdrew into themselves. Well, this is exactly what the Christmas tree worms do! I heard through an interview that the director of the film is a big diver, and you can really see that influence! So, everyone have a great weekend! Stay safe.

Aimee

Split-Crown Feather Duster

barry — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:47:35 +0000

Split-Crown Feather Duster

Hello Amigos! How is everyone this fine Tuesday evening?? I had a pretty busy day at work so not much to report tonight. I did get to spend a good part of the day with our trainer Junior and the two greatest dolphins we have Tela and Pasku! I got a bunch of fun momma and baby together shots today again and also a fun shot of Junior holding baby Pasku so be on the look-out for that soon.

Here’s a close-up shot of a small Split-Crown feather Duster living on top of a mound of star coral. These feather dusters, also known as fan worms, do not appear to be worms at all, because their bodies are hidden inside parchment-like tubes attached to the reef. The flexible tube is constructed of fine sand held together with glue that is secreted by collar glands just below the head. Feather dusters have a highly modified head with a crown of feather-like appendages called radioles that are normally extended from the tube. These work as both gills, and for capturing plankton, which is moved to its mouth at the center of the feathery crown. The dramatic colors and patterns of the radioles are often the keys to visual identification. Feather duster worms are very sensitive to nearby movement and changes in light intensity and, if disturbed, instantly retract the crown. Cool huh!! That’s word for word from our underwater bible, Reef Creature identification by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach.

I just got home from another fast one hour bike ride. I can see I am going to have to start the o’l two-three hour rides again to get back what I lost so quickly! Aimee and I are planning on taking the dogs to a place called San Juan in the morning for a different change of pace, it’s an hour drive but should be well worth it!

Thanks for all the compliments on yesterdays shrimp, glad you liked it so much!! I’m out, Barry

Christmas Tree Worms in Curacao

barry — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:05:15 +0000

christmas-tree-worms

Good evening from sunny Curacao! Don’t have much for you this evening so this will be short. These are Christmas Tree Worms on a piece of fire coral. I think I have told you before that these beautiful little creatures are literally covering everything and are found in every color you can image! The hard part for me is to find one with a dark background like you see here normally they kind of blend in with whatever they are attached to.

I just got home from doing a photo shoot with a couple of girls that I work with. I met them at the Baya castle right after work and we took photos until dark, that place is perfect for people pictures! While there we found a momma dog and her seven puppies, we left them with a bag of food and lots of water will go back and check on them again tomorrow.

Sorry so short gang, feeling really tired after the bike ride to Baya and my snorkel with the dolphins today, yeah, yeah I can hear it now, poor me right? See you tomorrow, Barry

05-06-2009