Maui Snorkeling Trips

Photo Courtesy Wikipedia.com

Isn’t this critter cute?  There are many Hawaiian names for star, but to the best of our knowledge this one was researched and we found Hoku Kai to be the most accurate.  The above picture of a cute brittle star was taken off the Kona coast.  The other picture is of a fossil, which researchers determined to be from the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth.  Earliest fossils date this species back about 500 million years when they first appeared.  A brittle star’s skeleton is made up of embedded ossicles. 

Probably of little or no food value could be the main reason that not much information can be found as far as Hawaiiana is concerned.

These animals are in the echinoderm family, which makes them related to sea urchins.  Their legs are flexible and they can reach a diameter of up to 2 feet!  In some parts of the world they are known as serpent stars.  Most people still call this group starfish, but marine biologists know they are not a fish, so the correct term is sea star.

Brittle stars, like others, are voracious feeders.  Some prey, like copepods or mollusks (snails) can be eaten whole.  Others will find themselves being devoured by a everted stomach and digested outside the sea star’s body.  According to research they have two stomachs.  Some stars will find unsuspecting sleeping fish and take them out.  Brittle stars do not have an anus.  Instead, they get rid of their waste through the mouth.  WOW!  At the end of each leg there is a microscopic eye, which allows the sea star to determine light from dark.  Their terminal tube feet, according to researchers, are especially sensitive to odors. or chemicals, emitted by other animals helping the sea star find their meals, but/ they can also detect random movement and shadows.  Depending on the species, some stars have many legs and the tube feet may, or may not, have suction.  Another species we will discuss in a future posting has a pentagram shape.  The rough top surface of a star is called a aboral, or dorsal surface.  If you look closely you may notice a small white spot, almost keyhole shaped on some.  This is called a madreporite, which acts like a water filter system supplying the star with the water necessary for movement.

These animals are generally mature after one year and can then reproduce.  They normally continue to grow for up to four years and with most species there are distinct sexes, with a few exceptions of hermaphrodites and sex changes with age.  Regeneration of lost legs is commonly known with these animals, although how long the regrow process takes could not be found.  If a large enough section of the central animal is intact with a lost leg, a whole new brittle star will regrow.

I recall a story many years ago of oyster farmers who notice a sea star invasion in their ponds.  Panicked, they collected all they could find, chopped them up, and returned them back to the water.  In a few weeks time they had nothing in their growing farms but sea stars, having to collect all the stars again and take them out to deep water for disposal before starting all over!  

There are about 1500 species of brittle stars known, and all of them are predators.  Many of them are found as deep as 1600 feet, but in Hawaii there are several types seen in just inches of water when small and moving down to deeper water as they mature.  The beginner snorkeler can easily spot these beautiful and amazing creatures of the Pacific.  If you are coming to Hawaii, please put snorkeling on the top of your list.  You will have many wonderful memories of your water adventure.  

Photo Courtesy hawaiifishes.com/Dr. J. Randall

Joining in the holiday spirit we’ve chosen this beautiful Christmas wrasse.  This wrasse was known as `âwela in Hawaiian and was most likely an important food source.  As you can see from the above photos, there is a very distinct coloration difference between the female (top) and the male (bottom).  The term ‘initial phase’ is used for the females and the term ‘terminal phase’ is for the males.

This specie of fish live in many tropical and sub tropical waters.  The Indo-Pacific, East Africa to the Pitcairn, Ryuku Islands (Japan), Tonga and Rapa all have this fish.  They live in shallows and will also hang out in heavy algae areas.  It is interesting they will also venture into deeper waters of 10 meters (32.8 feet).  Their favorite meals consist of quite a variety.  They love crabs and other crustaceans, mollusks, and brittle stars.  

These beautifully colored fish are vulnerable to aquarium trade.  There is just not enough movement to ban this type of collecting, and there should be.  Many fish are in danger of disappearing.  The animals and plants of the ocean are like a tall Jenga tower.  Make the wrong move by taking out an incorrect piece and the whole thing collapses.

If you were to come to Hawaii and snorkel, would you see this lovely fish?  I certainly hope so and they are very plentiful, so far.  Come visit us soon.  The weather is beautiful with no dramatic changes in sight!

Photo Courtesy K. Velasquez

With whale season now upon us we will be addressing the many questions we get in regards to these beautiful and amazing animals.  One of the most common questions is “why are they called humpback?”.  The answer can be found in whaling records.  One of our favorite books to reference is called  Whales, by E.J. Slijper.  The original was in Dutch and was translated for U.S. printing in 1962.  The original publishing was in 1958.  This book is really wonderful!  It is full of amazing facts on the circulatory system, nervous system, eyesight and much more, all studied by some of the best biologists of that time.  On many whaling vessels biologists did travel with them because they realized the amazing opportunity to study these mammals of the deep.  Precise measurements and weights were taken, when allowable, and body parts studied.

So, why the hump?  As you can see in the above photo, there is a very pronounced area of blubber just before the dorsal fin.  A ‘hump’, the whalers called it.  Other whale species do not have this so the hump became part of the name for the 6th largest whale on the planet.  We still hear many people say the name is because they ’round out’, or arch their backs before they dive, but so do many other types of marine mammals, including dolphins and seals, so this reasoning is incorrect.  Although whaling records are hard to come by, the ones we were able to get our hands on all said the same thing.  This type of whale has a dorsal ‘hump’.

The humpback is famous for many behaviors, all of which we will try to cover in future postings, with the help of local researchers and scientists.  Please return to read and learn more.  As for me, I will be out on the water tomorrow in my never ending quest to watch, study, learn, love, and photograph all I can.  Join me!  When in Hawaii, there’s no place like on, or in, the water to observe wildlife!!

Photos Courtesy Dr. J. Randall

This being December we are going to present animals with themed names and the starry moray is perfect!  This eel has yellow inside the mouth with finely serrate larger teeth.  Definitely this predator would be one to not try to befriend.  The mucus of this animal, according to Dr. Randall, is toxic.  They seem to favor inner and outer reef slopes.  They get their name from the yellow-brown numerous spots that are about the size of the fish’s pupil that are small and numerous anteriorly but then posteriorly become larger and widely spaced giving this animal a star-filled skin decoration.  As with others in this species, the Hawaiian name would be puhi.  A specific name could not be found.

As a diver/snorkeler, I have yet to see this animal, but would certainly love to.  They are beautiful, aren’t they?  They are seen in waters 2 to 271 meters deep (6.5 – 889 feet).  Another fun fact is these animals are native known from Johnston Atoll and the Big Island out to Salmon Bank.  Let’s get out there!  The fun is waiting.

Photo Courtesy marinebio.org

They come in many colors such as orange, yellow, blue, and white and although they are very small (3.8 centimeters average), they are breathtaking beautiful.  The Christmas tree worm is a Christmas tree shaped tube dwelling worm who use their colorful tentacles (plumes) for feeding on plankton and food particles.  Their magnificent plumes are also used for respiration.  Most of the worm is in its burrow, which has been bored deep into the calcareous coral.  These creatures are very sensitive to light and any change will find the worm retracting with lightening speed only to emerge minutes later with extreme caution.

The Christmas tree worm is a polychaete ciliary feeder.  They use their radioles (the hair-like beautiful appendages that spiral out from their spine) to gather phytoplankton from the water column.  Food particles are sorted and larger ones discarded.  Sand grains, which are stored later for tube building, are directed to storage sacs.

There are both male and female worms who broadcast their eggs and sperm into the water.  The eggs are fertilized and develop into larvae, eventually settling down on the coral heads and burrow down to begin their lives.

The average snorkeler and diver in Hawaii can see these beautiful creatures anywhere around the islands.  As always, we remember to look and never touch, take lots of pictures and leave behind only bubbles!