Two Society members recently did a “relatively short snorkel at the dunny block reef rocks” at Carrickalinga, in the Carrickalinga Cliffs Green Sanctuary Zone. This was followed by a second snorkel at Second Valley. They both took lots of photos to share with us. Some of these are shown below.
Here are some general snorkelling photos from those two sites: –
This still lifted from some video footage seems to show a spearfishing wound on a Dusky Morwong: –
There seem to be a number of similar wounds or scars on this Dusky Morwong. There is a clear tear right through the mid-dorsal fin area that extends downwards through the fish. In the video footage of the Dusky Morwong, the gash opens up as the fish swims, and you can see the much lighter-coloured background behind it, highlighting the extent of the rip. It was thought to be a good visual example of typical spearing mutilation, but it has now been suggested that the dusky Morwong has too many mutilations for it to have been speared.
“It was possibly attacked by a non-human predator such as a shark or dolphin, but it survived. This one doesn’t quite have the typical sort of spearfishing injury scar, which is usually one scar, often dorsal. This one has several scars that are too far apart to be from one spear or hand spear (although I suppose if it was hit once, the spearo might have been able to hit it again, very soon after the first strike injured it enough that it couldn’t flee properly).”
The short video footage of the Dusky morwong can be found at 260207StrongDamage211Car.MOV – OneDrive
Here are some dead juvenile Ostrea angasi on a rock: –
This photo shows a male cowfish with dark blotches: –
It is thought that it is both “diseased and deformed. The scurfy black patches look more fungal than anything else. The deformed caudal peduncle tissue and abnormally shaped, scarred or contracted parts of various fins could all result from the black fungus growing on parts of the body and head.”
It is thought that the HAB “probably predisposed this Cowfish to infection (fungal, bacterial or whatever sort of microbe the black stuff is), and the infection seems to have led to serious deformities of external parts like fins, and even the mouth. The HAB would lower immune function in all fish exposed to it, as a core theme. But how they manifest their lower immunity must vary a lot.”
This is a photo of a female Ornate cowfish: –
This photo of what is thought to be a healthy sponge was taken at Second Valley: –
These are some photos of a Castelnau’s wrasse at Second Valley: –
Bluebell tunicates and a Cart-rut shell: –
