Ultramarine Magazine Issue 64 JuneJuly 2017

 Anatomy of an Atoll

will reveal various ‘washed up’
treasures.
On some islands, you can also
see plenty of juvenile Blacktip
Reef Sharks that swim within
metres of the shore and will
swim close by as you paddle.
Never more than forty or fi fty
centimetres they are harmless

and very timid.

Beyond the low water mark is

the typical coral sand of the

tropics. Lots of fl attish parti-

cles indicate the presence of

Halimedia further out on the

reef. It’s easy to overlook this

area, but there’s a lot going on,

especially if you include the

seagrass meadows. The mead-

ows host numerous fi sh species,

from Ghost Pipefi sh to juvenile

wrasse. They also seem to hold

an awful lot of sea cucumbers,

busy controlling nutrient levels

as they go.

The sandy areas are especially

interesting to explore at night,

J u n e 2 017 37

when fi sh and invertebrate life

is more active, though a snorkel

under a pier during the day can

reveal similar species some-

times.

I’m going to take a moment out

here as it might be a good idea

to look at very shallow off shore

reefs before we look at the

Each atoll is riven with channels that allow the currents and

tides of the Indian ocean to wash into central areas

Seagrass meadows help process nutrients and provide habitat for a myriad of species. They are also a favourite food source for some turtles. Sadly, some resorts
remove them to provide more sand area.

This cuttlefi sh spent ages trying to convince me it was a small rock Conus litteratus