Moorhens fight during the breeding season. Water and feathers fly. (Gallinula chloropus). North Devon. April
These two moorhens Gallinula chloropus are fighting over a mate, but it is more likely to be two females fighting over a male than the other way round. The male is more likely to be seen passively sitting on the nest. This behaviour typically occurs around April at the start of the breeding season.
Moorhens are very commonly found on ponds and lakes around the UK. The adults have a distinctive red beak with yellow tip. When swimming, they often flick their tails, giving a flash of white.
These birds belong to the rails family, which also includes coots and water rails.
Racing stripe flatworm {Pseudoceros bifurcus} on Discosoma sp. which is a corallimorph. There is a contrast between the colours of the flatworm and the coral. Malapascua, Philippines. November
Location & date
Chocolate Island, Malapascua, Philippines. 16th November 2014
Subject
The racing stripe flatworm Pseudoceros bifurcus is a ‘say what you see’ species. The distinctive white stripe with dark border easily identifies this species. This example has a cut, possibly a bite mark, on one side. This particular flatworm was moving fairly quickly over coral. Species of the Discosoma genus are corallimorphs, with large wide oral discs. The discs are often brightly coloured, as in this specimen. The colour comes from symbiotic algae.
About this image
At first glance this looked like a fast moving nudibranch. In tropical waters, flatworms are often similar in look to sea slugs. Often brightly coloured and slug-like in appearance, they move sinuously across the substrate. In this case I saw this racing stripe flatworm was moving across a particularly photogenic coral. The length of the flatworm made it difficult to get the whole thing in frame.
Camera setup
Nikon D800, 105 mm Nikon lens in a Nauticam NA-D800 housing with two Inon Z240 strobes. ISO 100, f/22, 1/125 sec
Emperor divers house reef at Palace and Sahara Sands Hotels, Marsa Alam, Egypt: 21st June 2014
Subject – Biodiversity of coral reefs
This image for me encapsulates the biodiversity of coral reefs in one picture. It is probably the most species I have ever crammed into one shot, and I would defy anyone to photograph more in any other environment than coral reefs. Below I have tried to identify most of them, but these are just the visible species. Many species of invertebrates and fish live within the crevices. The same scene photographed at night would look very different with invertebrates such as urchins, starfish, sea cucumbers, feather stars and crustaceans coming out to feed. Also fish such as parrot fish go to the reef to sleep in a cocoon. Even turtles might be present too.
Species in this photograph include:
Coralline red algae: Sporolithon sp. (many similar species)
Sponges: Various species including honeycomb sponge Crella cyathophora
Fire coral: Millepora dichotoma
Soft corals: Xenia umbellata Anthelia glauca
Hard corals: Porites sp. Acropora sp. (multiple) Coscinaraea monile
Fishes: Longjawed squirrelfish Sargocentron spiniferum Common lionfish Pterois miles Juvenile barracuda Sphyraena sp. Lyretail anthias Pseudanthias squamipinnis Golden sweeper Parapriacanthus ransonneti Arabian chromis Chromis flavaxilla Various juvenile fish
About this image
This photograph was taken as part of my project on coral reefs. The location was a very busy house reef near Marsa Alam. Although it looks like a typical coral reef scene, views like this are sadly relatively rare. The section of reef in this photograph was the top of a small pinnacle, which serves as a nursery for small fish. There are also two lion fish against the table coral on the left. These are highly efficient ambush predators. Although it seems odd to see a top predator right in the midst of a nursery ground for some of its prey species, this can often happen on coral reefs.
Camera setup
Nikon D800, 16-35mm Nikon lens @16mm in a Nauticam NA-D800 housing with two Inon Z240 strobes ISO 100, f/22, 1/125 sec
