#0033 Cape gannet – Morus capensis

Cape gannets plunge-dive from heights of up to 20 metres – or rocket straight down from the surface – spearing through the water with powerful bills. To cope with the rush of water, they’ve evolved a unique trait: no external nostrils. Instead, these seabirds have a specialised respiratory system that includes air sacs and internal passages – a design that makes perfect sense once you see them in action. These blue-eyed birds dive with precision, power and speed, often in large groups, feeding on shoals of pelagic fish. During the winter months, the famed Sardine Run occurs along South Africa’s east coast, where gannets join dolphins, whales, seals and other predators in a spectacular feeding frenzy. The breeding range of Cape gannets is limited to Southern Africa, with colonies in South Africa and Namibia. While numbers have risen in South Africa, Namibian colonies have declined sharply over the past 50 years, linked to dwindling fish stocks. Could this contrast reflect variants in policy, conservation efforts or ecosystem management? And, if so, what could be done differently?

Images: Jannes Landschoff and @animal_ocean

@saveourseasfoundation #1001species #1001speciesproject #1001 #seachangeproject

‘As I was standing on the cliff at Gifkommetjie, I could feel the connection moving through the air. I sensed the presence of my people, as if their footprints were still fresh, moving through the rocks.’

Read our latest blog about two groups of young people reconnecting with nature and their roots through coastal tracking. Link in bio.

@khwattu @lawhillmaritime #seachangeproject #natureconnection #tracking #immersion #ocean

#0032 Four-coloured aeolid – Godiva quadricolor

Flamboyant and not averse to overseas travel, Four-coloured aeolids are real charmers, attracting divers and underwater photographers with their flame-like cerata and bold orange-patched head. Unfussy gourmands, these nudibranchs are voracious predators of other heterobranchs and Striped anemones – and even cannibalise their own kind. Baby aeolids emerge from untidy egg ribbons that resemble zigzags of white rice, and settle on sand, reefs, and in kelp and green seaweed beds. Some even travel further afield, turning up as invasive guests in Mediterranean and Australian harbours. From reef to harbour, this flashy traveller shows how marine species can shape – and sometimes disrupt – environments.

@saveourseasfoundation #1001seaforestspecies #1001species #seachangeproject #marinebiology #taxonomy #greatafricanseaforest

A roundup of positive news from across the globe — glimmers of hope during challenging times.

#seachangeproject #biodiversity #climate #motherearth #hope #togetherwethrive

Without nature, we are nothing. Without nature, we have nothing. One can’t do business or life amid ruins. We need a mindset shift among those who make decisions — decisions that impact all of us and our home planet. And we need it soon, as there is no time to lose.

#seachangeproject @brodie_rudolph_tanya #g20 #o20 #policy #climate #ocean

#0031 - Janbruin - Gymnocrotaphus curvidens

Bucktoothed and blue-eyed, this seabream is a shy loner, often found sheltering in overhangs and caves. Its eyes are startling – bright turquoise against the coppery-brown colour of its skin, and those protruding teeth come in handy for tearing prey such as tunicates, algae, bryozoans, worms and crustaceans from rocks. A large, plump seabream part of the Sparidae family, Janbruins are diurnal – active during the day and resting at night. Not much is known about the life history and longevity of these handsome fish. Like the reproductive cycle of other members of the family, Janbruin eggs are presumed to develop in the plankton, and they may be one of the seabreams that changes sex as they grow. There’s still a lot to learn about these blue-eyed fish … perhaps with timidity comes more privacy?

@saveourseasfoundation #1001seaforestspecies #1001speciesproject #1001species #greatafricanseaforest #seachangeproject #taxonomy #marinebiology

#0030 - Formidable shore spider - Desis formidabilis

With a name worthy of a Marvel villain, this intertidal spider is actually a survival superhero. Besides its huge fangs, which make up about a third of its body length and enable it to successfully hunt small crustaceans, it has two other unique survival tools. First, its silken nests – constructed by a single female in crevices and under the empty shells of mussels and limpets – are like biological scuba tanks. Air trapped in these nests allows the spider to shelter there during high tide. When the tide recedes, and night falls, they emerge to hunt for their favourite crustaceans – isopods and amphipods. Their second tool involves eggs and a smart decoy. The female spider lays a series of wedge-shaped sacs in the nest – but not all of them contain eggs. It’s thought that the extra sacs act as red herrings to reduce the likelihood of egg parasitism by the Shore spider egg-parasite wasp Echthrodesis lamorali. Air in their nests, air in their sacs – Spiderman would be super-impressed.

@saveourseasfoundation #1001species #1001seaforestspecies #taxonomy #marinescience #biodiversity #formidableshorespider #seachangeproject #saveourseasfoundation

#0029 - Broad chiton (Callochiton dentatus)

Meet the Broad chiton, a dorsally flattened mollusk endemic to South Africa’s intertidal zones. This low-profile grazer is a master of survival, equipped with a powerful muscular foot that anchors it to substrates, and a compact form that reduces drag in turbulent waters. Ranging in size from 20-55mm in total body length, Broad chitons have eight shell plates surrounded by a soft fleshy mantle, and dark spots, or ‘shell eyes’, on the side areas and growth lines. Solitary and herbivorous, these orange- to chestnut-hued animals use a radula – a tongue-like structure lined with rows of teeth – to scrape algae off rocks. First described by Danish naturalist Lorenz Spengler in 1797, the Broad chiton belongs to an organism group that has lived in our oceans for millions of years. Chitons trace back to the earliest lineages of mollusks, yet their design is anything but simple – their teeth are made of magnetite, the hardest material made by a living organism, and their ‘shell eyes’ have a crystalline lens and a pigmented photoreceptive retina.

@saveourseasfoundation #seachangeproject #1001species #1001seaforestspecies #1001project #greatafricanseaforest #taxonomy #marinebiology #chiton

#0028 - Red-spotted ascidian (Ascidia incrassata)

These solitary ascidians are so named because their outer coverings are inflated (‘incrassate’ means swollen, dense, or more substantial). An interesting feature of these outer tests is that they are composed of cellulose, a material normally associated with plants and found only in this group of animals. Cellulose might be a good choice for a protective coating as few animals have enzymes capable of digesting this material! Endemic to South Africa, Red-spotted ascidians – purple to red in colour – have inhalant siphons directed upwards and exhalant ones to the side, with the tips of both siphons folded into eight lobes. These are used to filter feed: seawater is drawn through the inhalant siphon and filtered though a net of mucous, which is continuously generated and passed across the mesh-like walls of the pharynx, before being rolled up into a threadlike cord and transported to the oesophagus. Even the simplest forms can harbour extraordinary complexity!

@saveourseasfoundation #seachangeproject #1001species #1001seaforestspecies #1001speciesproject #marinescience #taxonomy #storytelling #greatafricanseaforest

The latest round-up of positive stories from across the globe — from AI-aided crime busting to a safety net for fish.

Images: @pexels @helen_walne

#seachangeproject #positivenews #biodiversity #ocean #trafficking #ai #newzealand #china @sanbi_za