Coconut Island News Hawai i Institute of Marine Biology Community Education Program
January 2012
photos Claudia at work in her studio.
VOLUNTEER VOICES
HIMB Logo in Stained Glass
Adding the beveled glass border.
by: Ruth Canham
Finished work of art displayed in HIMB office window.
work of art? How would she create the “rope,” especially when it flowed in and out of the scene? How could the fishing net be made to look like a net?
After touring Coconut Island with her family and reading about the HIMB logo in the Coconut Island News, Kaneohe artist Claudia Butler was inspired to create her own unique interpretation of the HIMB logo in stained glass. Although Claudia has designed glass pieces depicting all kinds of subjects, she particularly enjoys working with marine landscapes and underwater scenes. She is fascinated with the play of colors and light in the water as she captures the stillness and calm of some sea life and the continuous activity and movement of other creatures.
Her choices in making these decisions and others resulted in an amazingly beautiful work of art. The final piece she had known all along would be donated to the Educational Division of the Institute so it could be enjoyed by students, visitors and scientists alike. We thank you, Claudia, for your generous and beautiful gift.
The HIMB logo posed challenges, even to an experienced stained glass artist. Should she or should she not include the lettering around the logo, making the work more of a sign than a Community Education Program
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Photo credit: Beth Deacy
January 2012
http://fishpondfever.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/now-you-sea-em/
Q: Where have you been sighted? A: People saw me on the Big Island, Maui and Oahu.
CREATURE FEATURE Hawaii s Common Seahorse Hippocampus kuda hilonis by: Zoltan Szabo: Q: If you are common, as your name suggests, why didnʼt I ever see you when I was looking for you? It was so frustrating! A: You probably did, just never noticed me…. Do you see me in the picture above?
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Q: Your favorite places to hang out? A: I love estuaries, harbors and shallow mucky waters. I also like sandy bottoms with seaweeds to hang on to. Q: Whatʼs your favorite color? A: I usually wear dark brown in the muck, but I can change my color to pale yellow very quickly over a sandy bottom. I like to camouflage myself by matching the color and often the texture of my background; otherwise I would be an easy prey.
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Q: Misconceptions? A: For the longest time, people thought I was an escapee from the aquarium trade until researchers matched a stretch of the mitochondrial DNA sequence from thirty-two of us to a Smithsonian specimen of 1901. This was a very arduous process… they had to use a forensic lab to succeed. Who would keep a pet seahorse in 1901? And I am not the easiest to take care of, need a special diet of mysid shrimp or shrimp larvae. I also look slightly different from our closest relatives in the Philippines, which explains my unique name. Common Seahorse Hippocampus kudo
Q: Why do people love you so much? A: I probably remind them of their good side. Unlike others (eg. my pipefish cousins) I am monogamous. I am a good father -- I take good care of my kids in a nurturing environment (my pouch), so people see me as a symbol of devotion and love. I am social: like to hang out with my fellow brothers, court my Lady … havenʼt you heard of Fishbook ? You should sign up! I can succeed against all odds: I am considered one of the worst swimmers, yet one of my pregnant forefathers managed to survive the long journey from the coral triangle to Hawaii.
Q: Any relatives in Hawaii? A: My closest one is Fisherʼs seahorse, Hippocampus fisheri. A strange fella, we almost never meet. It loves the deep water and can swim with its tail like youʼve never seen from a seahorse. Another one is Hippocampus histrix, quite a recluse; we havenʼt seen each other for decades. Q: Other visitors? A: Once in a while I hear reports of this hippy leafy kid from Australia, Phycodorus eques, hiding in derelict fishing gear, but he never hangs around long enough to get a chance to learn his story.
Pop Quiz Can YOU identify the location of these whimsical seahorses found on Coconut Island?
Hippocampus fisheri, photo: David Itano
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January 2012
Mark Royer at HIMB 2012
MEETING THE RESEARCHERS Shark EncounterTraining for Volunteers by: Ruth Canham Itʼs clear when you hear a presentation by Mark Royer that he is a dedicated student with a passion for studying sharks. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and interning at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, Mark joined Dr. Kim Hollandʼs research team at HIMB as a Masterʼs degree student. Mark sees Hawaii as the perfect place to study sharks because of their abundance around and near these islands.
Mark Royer and James Anderson handle a 15 and a half foot tiger shark for tagging.
Markʼs presentation began with photos of three types of sharks: Hawaiian reef sharks, offshore sharks which migrate across the ocean, and deep sea sharks (including some with emerald green eyes) which live 300-1900 meters below the oceanʼs surface.
Just last month Dr. Holland and his team were interviewed on Dan Ratherʼs HDNet report on shark finning, “All for a Bowl of Soup.” Rather believes that sharks need to be protected from unnecessary slaughter and Rather concurred with Dr. Hollandʼs explanation of why the survival of these apex predators is critical to the health of the ocean ecosystems throughout the world. Community Education Program
Dr. Carl Meyer and Melanie Hutchinson handle an adult tiger shark for tagging. 808-235-9302
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January 2012
the bait according to the type of shark they want to investigate and, after hooking the shark, slowly and carefully bring it to the surface giving the animal time to adjust to changes in temperature and pressure. After pulling the shark alongside the boat, researchers grab both dorsal fins, flip the shark over on its back as a natural way to tranquilize the animal and then tag it. Large sharks are sometimes tied to the bow and stern of a boat by using the hooked line to keep the head in place (somewhat) and putting a rope around the tail. Tagged sharks may be monitored using underwater receivers to track their movement and behavior around and between the Hawaiian islands. Satellite tracking is used for certain sharks such as hammerheads which frequently come up to the surface of the water. For more details about shark tagging, take a look at HIMBʼs excellent web page: HYPERLINK "http://www.hawaii.edu/HIMB/ReefPredator/ Tools.htm" http://www.hawaii.edu/HIMB/ ReefPredator/Tools.htm . Melanie and James tagging a coastal black tip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus
A critical task for studying sharks is tagging them. Scientists set long lines in the water, vary
Thank you, Mark, for your fascinating presentation on sharks. I have a feeling weʼll be seeing “Dr.” in front of your name before too long.
A large tiger shark swims off with an advance accelerometer and camera tag attached at the dorsal fin.
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January 2012
HIMBers ENJOYING THE 2011 CHRISTMAS PARTY
Thank you to Sherril Leon Soon for her photos from this event.
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