50 | ULTRAMARINE It’s a Small World After All! By Tony Wu Digital illustration ©Christopher Hart

have a quaint little habit that reflects in Hong Kong waters, and I thought it But a thought lingered in my mind as I my early struggle to learn the English worth seeing them first hand. we headed back through the by-products language — using a dictionary. A well- of our civilisation. It was a nagging worn, bulky hardcover dictionary sits I signed up with Hong Kong Dolphin thought — we humans were headed on my bookshelf next to my computer; Watch and headed out to their boat. I back to our homes to produce more torn, frayed and dog-eared from years listened attentively to the informative litter, some of which might end up in of use. briefings from the dedicated and help- the home of these dolphins. I wondered ful staff, and imagined in my mind’s momentarily what effect our garbage, After a recent trip, I tried looking up eye what the dolphins would do if we both seen and unseen, had on these dol- the term “ecotourism”, and was some- found them. We soon reached the pier, phins and other marine animals, but I what surprised to find that this word boarded the boat and headed out in quickly realised that it couldn’t possibly isn’t in my dictionary. Perhaps I should search of these pale cetaceans. be good. get a new dictionary, or perhaps there’s something more meaningful to consider. What struck me though was quite un- It was then that the concept of ecotour- expected. From the top deck of the boat, ism came to mind. I asked a few friends to define the term I found myself not so much looking for ecotourism. There were some creative dolphins, but staring at the considerable You see, “tourism” is intended to be answers, but nothing I thought really hit quantities and forms of garbage floating entertainment. We’re supposed to travel the mark. Many referred to the concept in the water. Styrofoam, plastic bags, and enjoy. But unlike a family trip to of visiting nature, seeing animals in PET bottles, tin cans, aerosol contain- some place like Disney World, where their natural habitat, and so forth. Oth- ers, small appliances… everything you can litter and abuse with relative ers suggested a component of philan- but the kitchen sink. And not just an impunity because the staff will clean thropy should be involved, perhaps a isolated bit here or there, but streams everything up by the next morning, a donation to a worthy cause. and piles of refuse like armies of ants trip like my journey to see the white dol- swarming on a molasses patch. phins shows that the real world doesn’t All the input was good, but something operate this way. was still missing. There were a lot of other people on the boat, perhaps 40 or so. Some seemed to The lesson for me was that “ecotour- What got me on this train of thought notice, but for the most part, few seemed ism” is not just about entertainment was a recent trip to Hong Kong, when to pay attention to the unsightly pollu- in the Disney World sense, and it’s I managed to take a short trip out on tion. Everyone was, after all, excited certainly more than taking a yuppie the water to look for the Chinese white about the prospect of seeing dolphins. adventure to far-flung, pristine resorts. dolphin, Sousa chinensis. It is about travelling to places, whether Time passed, and we did see dolphins. far or near, pristine or not, to put into I had heard about these dolphins before I was actually the first to spot one swim- perspective the often adverse effect that — about their mysterious pinkish-white ming by, and took a few pictures for good we have had on the world, with the ob- skin colour, and their loss of critical measure. The dolphins actually are very jective of trying to avoid making those habitat due to large-scale projects like pink, almost impossibly so, and are as play- same mistakes again. the construction of the new airport and ful as any others I’ve ever seen. The trip was Hong Kong Disney World. I had read superb, and I can wholeheartedly recom- Ecotourism is about understanding, in that the population of these mammalian mend it if you find yourself in Hong Kong the words of an entertainment pioneer, cousins of ours is dwindling rapidly and don’t feel like shopping yet again. that “It’s a small world after all”.

June/July 07 | 51 52 | ULTRAMARINE Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

By Tony Wu Digital illustration ©Christopher Hart

he brittlestar is a humble animal. It animal’s arms is a single calcite crystal, friend, who after hearing about some of Thas no head, a disk-shaped body, and and each “window” is in the shape of a the vexing issues facing the ocean, said, five long-thin “brittle” arms that it uses double lens... Interesting. “It’s quite sad, but one person can’t make for locomotion. An echinoderm, the brit- a difference.” We talked about this for tlestar is closely related to other familiar Curiosity peaked, they exposed some some time, and I brought up examples reef crawlers like starfish, urchins and of the crystals to light, and found that of individuals I know who have made sea cucumbers. Most divers have prob- the clear, window-like areas are able important contributions to changing the ably come across brittlestars; very few to direct and focus light. Even more world around us. (including me) pay much attention to exciting, the researchers meticulously them. measured the optimal focal distance for Then echinoderms came to mind, these miniature lenses, and found that it specifically Ophiocoma wendtii. But there’s more here than meets the corresponds precisely with the depth at eye. which nerve bundles are located beneath In the case of this animal, it’s reason- each of the lenses in the brittlestar’s able to conclude that just one lens A few years ago, a group of research- arms. Finally, the quality of the lens im- wouldn’t make much of difference. After ers published a study about a particular ages is such that some researchers believe all, the small lenses can only point in one brittlestar – Ophiocoma wendtii – a species the lens construction to be superior to direction at a time, with a very limited that ranges from Bermuda to Brazil and manmade lenses. field of view. Predators and such are grows to about the size of an outstreched rarely so kind as to approach from the adult hand. If we put two and two together, it side where you just happen to be looking. appears very likely that the unassuming At first blush, there’s nothing par- brittlestar uses a complex network of For O. wendtii, it’s the collective result ticularly special about this brittlestar. lenses to process images from its sur- of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of indi- It’s brittle, it lives on the reef, it looks roundings. Being small, each individual vidual lenses that give it an advantage in awkward and alien. lens is probably not terribly effective. the quest for survival. Individual lenses But if all the lenses, which are distrib- do make a difference, but much more so Gordon Hendler, a marine biologist uted over the animals arms, are linked when other lenses are also functioning at the Natural History Museum of Los through the nervous system, what results and cooperating. Angeles County, noticed that O. wendtii is an elegant compound eye that imparts changes color from dark red during the vision to the brittlestar, and enables it to In many ways, we are like the lenses of day, to a black/ grey at night. This ap- change colours, detect predators and seek the brittlestar. Each of us can contribute parently trivial talent, of course, implies refuge. a lot of valuable information and effort to that the brittlestar can sense light, which preserving the environment, but we can would be extremely difficult for an Makes you think, doesn’t it? A simple be much more effective sharing what we animal without any obvious eyes or other animal, relatively low on the evolution- know, and cooperating with others. photoreceptors. ary ladder, may have one of the most complex, and effective photoreceptive/ So the next time that you come across Hendler and other researchers then vision systems in the animal kingdom. something (good or bad) that affects our noticed that among the many bumps reefs and waters, let others know. Write, and markings on the arms of the brit- Which brings me to the reason I started email, fax…whatever. tlestar were what appeared to be tiny, thinking about this. clear “windows”. With further work, The more lenses we have, the better they found that each of the bones in the At dinner recently, I met a friend of a we’ll be able to see.

August/September 07 | 53

Observations on the JAWFISH By Tony Wu Photography ©Tony Wu

ntil recently, I rarely gave jawfish their homes tail-first. Occasionally, there with the end result being the depositing Umuch thought. Granted, they are is a thin commensal shrimp that lives in of fertilised eggs by the female in the quite cute, but all you tend to see of the burrow, though the precise relation- mouth of the male. Though we couldn’t these fish is their round faces protrud- ship between the fish and the shrimp has count the eggs, there were clearly hun- ing from burrows in the sand or rubble. not been well studied. That’s about all I dreds in each brood. Subjectively, some My perception of these fish completely could find. females appeared to lay more eggs than changed when my friend Tetsu sent me others, judging by how “full” the mouths some pictures of jawfish in some very Tetsu had been doing some of his own of their mates appeared. We couldn’t engaging situations – jumping out of research, and I joined him for a couple figure out if the females always pick the their tunnel-like homes, “spitting” sand, of weeks. We spent many hours search- same male, but it seemed as if there were brooding eggs in their mouths. So began ing for and observing jawfish, and we certain “pairs”. my personal quest to learn more about learned many things. jawfish. Once the eggs are laid, the male protects For example, we were able to find them while they mature, a process that Being a modern diver, my first point of jawfish at depths ranging from one metre takes around eight or nine days. While research was the internet. Try as I might, down to twenty-two metres. At one dive watching one male, we noted that a however, I couldn’t find much meaning- site, we found at least eight unique spe- thin membrane surrounds the eggs and ful information on the web. I plugged cies, with each species living at different holds them loosely together, somewhat the genus classification, Opistognathus, depths. Each species behaved slightly like plastic wrap around a bunch of into a search engine, but came up mostly differently, with one, for example, being grapes. The male is thus able to leave his empty handed. Resorting to more primi- very possessive of the coral around its precious cargo of eggs inside his burrow, tive means, I flipped through my library hole. If we moved the coral, it would dart out to get food and then pick the of marine life guidebooks. Not much look indignantly at us, dart out to grab eggs back up. better really. the coral and replace it. One species was too shy to approach closely, while As the eggs develop, the eyes and I was able to gather from various another was as pugnacious as a pit bull internal organs gradually become visible, sources that there are an estimated sev- guarding a steak dinner. We also found until the eggs begin to look “ripe”. When enty species of jawfish, and that they live that jawfish tend to live in small groups the eggs are ready to hatch, the male in almost all tropical waters. They all or colonies, so if you find one, it’s likely, opens its mouth as wide as possible and have large eyes placed high and forward though not certain, that more are nearby. breaks the membrane holding the eggs on the head, a disproportionately large with a series of quick, jerking motions. mouth and long bodies. Jawfish live Testu also managed to figure out the Almost all at once, the juvenile fish hatch in vertical burrows, usually reinforced breeding cycle of one species of jawfish, and swim rapidly away in the current to by pieces of coral or rock. From these the gold specs. A few days before the begin a new generation of jawfish. homes, they watch for zooplankton full or new moon, some of the females floating past in the current, and dart out swim out of their own burrows and into So little is understood about these fish to grab it. Interestingly, when jawfish the homes of a nearby male. This may that there’s clearly much more work to be retreat to their holes, they can re-enter happen several times in one “courtship”, done documenting their behaviour.

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