Floreana Island
Today we had a wonderful day on Floreana: we were swimming among different kinds of tropical fish, small sharks, turtles and playful sea lions. The ability to interact with playful sea lions in their habitat is truly an unforgettable experience. During the snorkeling activities we also saw several species of marine invertebrates, amongst which feature corals, both soft and hard, such as the occasional white coral formations.
Thirteen hermatypic (or reef-building) coral species belonging to six genera inhabit the waters around the Galapagos Islands: these are divided in two groups, massive (or stony corals) and the branching corals. The small, thin reefs of the Galapagos Islands are usually composed of a single predominant species, Posillopora damicornis which is one of the three species of branching coral found in the archipelago and seen in the picture above.
Coral reefs in the Galapagos Islands are short-lived structures growing between major environmental perturbations (warm and cold ocean water currents) without a continuity of space and time necessary for the formation of the large reefs. These are replaced by a fascinating volcanic underwater topography serving as alternative rocky reefs the colorful tropical fish can use for some protection.
Today we had a wonderful day on Floreana: we were swimming among different kinds of tropical fish, small sharks, turtles and playful sea lions. The ability to interact with playful sea lions in their habitat is truly an unforgettable experience. During the snorkeling activities we also saw several species of marine invertebrates, amongst which feature corals, both soft and hard, such as the occasional white coral formations.
Thirteen hermatypic (or reef-building) coral species belonging to six genera inhabit the waters around the Galapagos Islands: these are divided in two groups, massive (or stony corals) and the branching corals. The small, thin reefs of the Galapagos Islands are usually composed of a single predominant species, Posillopora damicornis which is one of the three species of branching coral found in the archipelago and seen in the picture above.
Coral reefs in the Galapagos Islands are short-lived structures growing between major environmental perturbations (warm and cold ocean water currents) without a continuity of space and time necessary for the formation of the large reefs. These are replaced by a fascinating volcanic underwater topography serving as alternative rocky reefs the colorful tropical fish can use for some protection.
