Aggregations of Leafy Seadragons

I recorded seeing at least 10 Leafy Seadragons (leafies) on my night dive at Second Valley on 15th June. I was one of 5 British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) divers, but only 2 of us had cameras.

I took this photo of a couple of leafies close together: –

I recently asked two of the BSAC divers how many leafies they saw. The consensus was that they saw “at least 15”, and one bloke thought he saw 20 (but he was not particularly experienced as a diver and we all acknowledged the difficulties in avoiding counting the same individual twice, especially at night).

But my final estimate is now “about 15 individuals, all in an area of roughly 30m by 20m, at depths from about 4 to 8m (mostly 5-7m).

The sighting of so many leafies within a small area begs the question: do leafies sometimes aggregate?

I put this question to MLSSA member Steve Reynolds who told me that I, myself had reported seeing 12 or more Weedy Seadragons (weedies) at Wright Island, Victor Harbor in November 1984. He also told me that MLSSA member Geoff Mower had reported 12 or more leafies at the Bluff at Victor Harbor in July 1980, and also that an ex-neighbour of his (Steve’s) had reported “wall-to-wall” leafies at the Bluff in October 1991, some (males) carrying eggs.

Steve now reports having had three leafies in a row at Rapid Bay in 2013, as can (possibly) be seen below: –

It is difficult to see the third leafy in the photos, but you may be able to pick it under closer inspection.

Steve also reports having once photographed both a leafy & a weedy together in the one frame at Second Valley: –

Steve’s details do indicate that leafies do sometimes aggregate.