8/7/2019 Fijis Coral Reefs P Ryan NJ Quinn 1997
4/5
Fiji is different. With somany small islands thecurrent systems
arecomplex. Throw in theinfluence of several majorrivers and
upwellings fromthe Tonga trench and youhave a recipe forspectacular
underwaterecology.F1i is arguably the softcoral capital of the
world.In parts of the Beqa lagoonsoft corals and
seafanspredominate. Pick the rightday when the ployps are
outf'eeding and it can be anoverwhelming sight.
Thal's not (o say thalthe hard corals are notequally brilliant
in theirown right. Corals in theKoro Sea and around theoffshore
island of Vatuleleare as good as any in theworld. Dense schools
off'airy basslets hang off thedrop-off', making foraysinto the
plankton for aquick feed. A few metresfurther out, schools
ofjackscruise up and down, and atthe range of vision, likelyas not,
there will be a giantschool of barracuda.
Hard corals tend to berestricted to the top 20metres. They share
theirtissues with tiny algal cells.These minute plants use
thesunlight to make fbod thatis shared by the coral. Nosunlight, no
coral. Evcngiant clams have tappedinto this wonderJul fiee
energy source. Tinycrystalline lenses in theirmantle concentrate
thesunlight for their algalpartners.
Search the coral carefullylbr the smaller denizens.Christmas
tree worms areimmediately obvious withtheir showy feeding
spiralsbut other beasties will not beso blatant. Sharing the
samePorites coral colony are tinyhermit crabs. These live intubes
in the coral, filteringplankton from the water withtheir fine
antennae. Deep inthe branching coral are tinygobies, crabs and
shrimps.
You don't really need toswim anywhere to enjoy aFijian coral
reef. Everythingyou could wish for is within aten-metre radius of
you. Theproblem is to find it.
Down on the sand a tinygoby sits at the entrance to itsburrow.
Alongside, anantenna draped over the fish,is a shrimp. These two
live ina commensal relationship.The shrimp builds the burrowfbr the
goby, with its superioreyesight the goby acts assentinel for them
both.Threaten them by swimmingtoo near and they disappear athigh
speed into the burrow.
Many sea cucumbers, seaurchins or starfish have littleshrimps
living on them.Featherstars. also known ascrinoids, are positively
litteredwith freeloaders. They areunwilling hosts to fish,
We'll prepare you for the unexpected.Mon - Fri 8.30am to 5pm,
Sat - 8.30am to noon.2lThomson Street, Privale Mail Bag, Suva,
Fiji. Ph: (679) 301603Fax: (679) 300304.andMain Street NadiPh:
(679) 703110. Fax: (679) 703877
Fif i Magic, April/May 1997
