I Am Blogie

I take pictures of marine life as part of my involvement in the Save the Philippine Seas movement, and as I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I organize these photos via online resources in an effort to help the advocacy along. While it gives me satisfaction doing this, what provides real pleasure is when I spot and photograph nudibranchs.

According to Wikipedia:

A nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade … of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms. The clade Nudibranchia is the largest clade within the heterobranchs, with more than 3,000 described species.

Imagine that?? 3,000+ species, and more that haven’t been properly classified yet! With only 30+ in my collection right now, it’s always a thrill to spot new nudibranchs for my steadily growing archive! I sincerely doubt I will ever get to personally see even half of the nudibranch species… but, for me, it’s the small discoveries along the way that provide fulfillment.

Check out my collection to date (updated 28 Mar 2012):

I love spotting flabellinas — they look so extravagant with their dazzling finger-like appendages, called cerata. The first one I ever saw was the ‘much-desired flabellina’ (F. exoptata), but I didn’t have a camera then. It was during a night dive at Babusanta Beach, and there were three of those colorful critters on a hydroid. Months later, I was finally able to shoot a specimen, at Dayang Beach. (Update: I thought it was Flabellina exoptata that I spotted last January, but it turns out to be Phidiana indica. So the hunt for that much-desired flabellina continues…)

Aside from the pleasure they bring divers like me, nudibranchs are becoming a source of scientific interest, especially in the field of study involving toxins. In place of protective shells, nudibranchs make use of toxic chemicals for defense, and the process by which these critters achieve this has caught the attention of researchers.

The most common nudibranchs in the Davao Gulf, based on my experience, are those from the genera Chromodoris and Phyllidia. For example, I spot C. annae (Anna’s chromodoris) and P. varicosa (varicose phyllidia) almost every time I dive.

This hobby is quite rewarding. The challenges posed by species identification alone can take some time and effort. But when you do get to ID a first-time-spotted nudi, the satisfaction is palpable.

Also, down there while taking pictures, often it takes much maneuvering and tinkering with camera settings to get that perfect shot. Sometimes the nudibranch is not ideally positioned, and at times the underwater current gets too strong for comfort. But all these are learning experiences, not stumbling blocks. I remember my first few shots — my friend and u/w photography mentor, Shauming Lo, called them “documentation” pictures — they were awful. Now, thanks to my dive buddies and owing to those learning experiences, my pictures have improved a lot, if I do say so myself.

From now on, though, I will have to be fastidious about research data. At first I was only recording the date and dive site for each spotting, and then I started taking note of depths a few months ago. If my material is to be used meaningfully later, other pertinent information will have to be included: location description, environmental conditions (e.g. current, turbidity), specimen size…

I can’t wait to find more nudis!