"Rookie Tech"

Today is Day 7, Sunday the 17th of August. I realize it must seem strange to see this at the start of my journals, but I have to remember what day, or for that matter, what month it is. Days and months have no real meaning down here. Night and day matter, but only in the types of fish you see. The predators stack the reef at night. So I start the journal with day, date and month to jog my memory and to remember that there is an outside world - a world that I will return to soon.

Yesterday, I mentioned the two huge tarpon (Megalops alanticus) that swam out of the predawn light headed directly toward the main lock viewport. While I was working outside on habitat maintenance the tarpon came within just a few feet of me. They are huge and just as curious about us as we are of them. They remind me of a 1957 Chevy Belair with the two antennas coming out of the back fins. The tarpon have a long slender part of their dorsal fin that looks like that antenna. What a unique experience to see these fish up close. Each tarpon had two or three remora (Echenesis naucrates), which surprised me. I have seen them on sharks, sting rays, and turtles, but never larger scaled fish.

I met another new resident of the reef yesterday who was building his home while I watched. A sand tilefish (Malancanthus plumieri) had picked the reef over for small pieces of coral rabble, broken shells, and any other thing it could use for building material. He piled everything about 15 meters off the starboard stern (right rear) of Aquarius and started to excavate a small ravine. With the eye of a true brick layer, the fish picked each piece out of a pile of hundreds of pieces that would fit exactly to his needs. He did this countless times and throughout the day I monitored his construction techniques. By the end of the day, the sand tilefish had his home built and we have a new neighbor on Conch reef.

More to come tomorrow.