#0008 – GHOST DORID - Leciphorus capensis

Ghost dorids are small nudibranchs (sea slugs) often found on densely colonised rocky reefs. Like all nudibranchs they bear naked rosette-shaped gills on their back, hence the name (‘naked gills’). These aptly named animals are almost see-through and if you look at the close-up image, you can see a dark shape, called a visceral mass, that contains the dorid’s organs. One of these is its digestive system, which gladly receives snacks such as encrusting bryozoans. On one of our dives we were excited to photograph an animal snacking - can you try and spot how the nudibranch in the second image contracts its head in order to scrape into the bryozoan? What these images don’t show is just how small Ghost dorids are, and it takes a keen eye to find them in the vast Great African Seaforest.

Pictures: Jannes Landschoff

#1001seaforestspecies #nudibranchs #ghostdorid #greatafricanseaforest #seachangeproject @saveourseasfoundation #marinebiology #natureconnection

Kelp forests are some of the most important ecosystems in the world. However, they face a range of serious threats. Protecting and restoring them is not only an environmental imperative, but a necessity for the wellbeing of communities and the planet. Read our @dailymaverick piece about Sea Change’s drive to get kelp forests on the global agenda. Link in our Stories.

Pictures: @helen_walne

#g20 #unoceanconference #unesco #greatafricanseaforest #kelp #biodiversity #natureconnection #ocean

Snaggle-toothed and stealthy, this box crab – found in shallow water while tracking in the Indian Ocean – has two vastly different pincers, which makes it so unique and fascinating. The right pincer is equipped with a large tooth, which the crab uses to break the shell of its mollusc prey and clamp it like a vice. Then the long and slim modified left pincer reaches deep into the severed shell and picks out the meat. It’s kind of like a biological can opener!

Pictures: Craig Foster

@darrosresearchcentre @saveourseasfoundation #westindianocean #marinescience #seachangeproject #natureconnection #boxcrab

Our work connects us with incredible people and organisations from across the world. One of these is @rewilding_argentina, who joined us in Cape Point a few months ago for a day of tracking, conversation and communing. Today we celebrate them for helping to sign into law the creation of Patagonia Azul Provincial Park, a 300,000ha marine protected area in the province of Chubut. This rugged, windswept coastline is a key breeding, feeding and migration site for a great diversity of life — and will remain so because of the collaborative work done by Rewilding Argentina, other non-governmental organisations, government and state entities, and local communities. We can achieve so much together.

Picture: Oceano Martina

@rewilding_argentina #patagoniaazul #patagoniaargentina #biodiversity #seachangeproject #marineprotectedarea #ocean #chubut

The seaforest is a three-dimensional sensory wonder. Ascending from the bottom, slender kelp stipes travel upwards, fish stream through dappled light, fronds glow as the sun grows nearer, algal swathes sway on semi-submerged rocks, and then you break through the surface, surrounded by drifting, living mounds.

Pictures: @helen_walne

#greatafricanseaforest #seachangeproject #kelp #ocean #natureconnection #biodiversity

Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey, directed by Oscar winner and Sea Change Project’s Pippa Ehrlich (@the_rewilding), is now screening on Netflix. This touching documentary follows the progress of a rescued pangolin from baby to adulthood, and the human who tirelessly guides him to freedom. The New York Times has described the film as ‘so sweet and soothing that you’ll be forced to admit that sometimes the universe — or in this case Netflix — gives you exactly what you need’.

@africanpangolinconservation @pangolincrisis and @johannesburgwildlifevet are passionately working to ensure pangolins do not disappear from our planet. See our bio to learn how you can help.

@johannesburgwildlifevet @pangolincrisis @africanpangolinconservation @maverick_gareth @funnykerk @africa_alive @netflix @lapalala_wilderness

In his latest book, Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World, Craig takes readers into Mother Nature’s blue heart, tracking animals that live in the Great African Seaforest and yearning to know their secrets. ‘There is no better feeling than to be in dialogue with the wild, to be able to speak the oldest language on earth,’ he says. Here, a patchwork cuttlefish invites Craig into its world, shapeshifting in colour and texture, its ancient mind a beautiful mystery.
Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World, published by HarperCollins, is now available in soft-cover.

‘On a few very rare occasions, I’ve been blessed to see this creature come in from the distant open ocean into the Great African Seaforest. Almost mythical in appearance, argonaut octopuses are pelagic animals who usually live in the water column. I’ve only seen females, who sculpt white shells as brood chambers for their eggs and fill them with a bubble of air for neutral buoyancy. Males are tiny in comparison and have no shell, and are able to detach their penis, which the female then carries until she is ready to use it to fertilise her eggs. Each female lays up to 150,000 eggs – and I was privileged to once witness miniature babies hatching.’ – Craig Foster

Pictures: Craig Foster

#greatafricanseaforest #argonaut #argonautoctopus #craigfoster #kelpforest #ocean #seachangeproject #myoctopusteacher