Incredible night snorkel July 13, 2012

The “String of Pearls” is one of the most amazing sights possible at night on the reef.  Friday night the reef was lit up by the male ostracods that mate by producing a mucus strand from their posterior.  A flashing bioluninescence moves up the strand giving the appearance of a blinking neon light.  The female is attracted to the strand, climbs down and mates with the male.  At first the diver sees one and then realizes they are across the entire reef about every foot or so.  This is a biological light show unsurpassed!

Our intimate interaction with large octopuses as they crawled over our bodies and played with us almost equalled the light show – but then that is a weekly event.