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a Christmas Tree Worm -the visible part of the worm is actually the mouth and it uses the bristles to collect plankton
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date: 26/3/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Sunny | Air Temp: 27.6°C | Wind: SE 20/25 knots | Water Temp: 25°C | Water Visibility: ~10 m | Sea State: Chop
The glass bottom boat passed close to a Brown Booby Bird on the way out to second reef. It struck up a lot of interest on account of its tiny eyes that are set right on the front of its beak. The guide told guests that this strange adaptation is because when the brown booby feeds it dives from a great height into the water, by having its eyes set into its beak it absorbs the impact of the dive and prevents damage.
Out on the reef it was spectacular as always with the usual very friendly turtle population as well as thousands of brilliantly coloured fish. The Moses Perch were schooling in large numbers today and some of the guests licked their lips, recognizing it as a fish they had caught while sailing around the Whitsundays. Of course Lady Elliot Island is a Green Zone which means our little fish are as safe as they can be and the guests commented that they looked like very happy fish.
Out on the reef walk guests had the unique opportunity of being able to view an Ass’s Ear Abalone in broad daylight. These herbivorous mollusks are very fast moving and are usually nocturnal but for some reason this one was quite happy to come out of its hiding place. Many of the guests had said that they had seen the shell washed up on beaches before with its beautiful mother of pearl interior but they had never actually seen the full animal before so it was quite exciting. Also along the way guests were shown a Christmas Tree Worm and nobody could quite believe it could be a worm until the guide explained that the visible part of the worm is actually the mouth and it uses the bristles to collect plankton out of the water. Guests thought this was fascinating and kept their eye out for more brightly coloured worms along the way.
In the evening guests enjoyed a delicious dinner before going to sleep with the sound of the surf roaring out on the edge of the reef.
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Sunrise at LEI - Jenni Fox
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