“Linguini” Lillian and I spent the bulk of yesterday and the day before working on our transects. For the uninitiated, we put out 15 meters of transect tape and count all the herbivores (urchins, parrotfish, damselfish, and surgeonfish) that we can see within around 1 meter of the tape, then we record what substrate is underneath the tape every 10 centimeters. I have to say, I quite enjoy doing these, as I find them relaxing (although I’m sure I will regret posting this thought as soon as I submit this blog post; I am preparing internally to have to do 50-meter transects as soon as Prof. Warren sees this). [Ed note: What a fantastic idea Neil ! We’re on it!] When you do a fish count for a transect, you must move very slowly so as not to scare them away, and so I’ve been noticing smaller, more unusual animals that might escape my view had I been moving at my normal speed. That’s how I came across this mantis shrimp, which I believe is Gonodactylus curacaoensis.
A very skittish mantis shrimp (Gonodactylus curacaoensis)]
I have seen several mantis shrimps on this trip, but they are small and incredibly skittish, so getting close to them is near impossible. For comparison, the estuary mantis shrimps (Squilla empusa) that we have on Long Island are huge, up to a foot, and extremely aggressive. You can’t get too close to a Gonodactylus because you’ll spook it away, but you can’t get close to S. empusa because it’ll spear you with its claws.
A VERY angry estuary mantis shrimp (Squilla empusa) that my friends and I found in Old Field Bay on June 17, 2021. DO NOT pick them up unless you know how to handle them!]
While Lillian did her final fish and urchin count, I poked around in the patch reefs a little more, emboldened by my (admittedly not very good) mantis shrimp photos, and that’s when I saw a species I’ve been wanting to see since the day I made my application for this program: the Christmas tree worm (Spirobranchus giganteus).
Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus giganteus)]
These little, coral-dwelling worms come in a wide array of colors, and are aptly named for their festive whirl of radioles, which they use to catch tiny planktonic organisms. Seeing the mantis shrimp, a fearsome hunter, and the Christmas tree worms, small filter feeders, situated in the same area of patch reefs, I couldn’t help but think of how diverse the animal kingdom is. To me, these little animals are just small, shy curiosities, but if you’re a fish or a copepod, the mere thought of these organisms may strike fear into your heart. These are both full-on, specialized predators and—oops, Lillian’s done with her fish count. See you later!
“Nutter Butter” Neil