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  • This is a female Discoplax hirtipes terrestrial crab disseminating her brood of fertilized eggs into shallow water during full moon. The crab waited on land at Ngeremdiu Beach for the evening high tide. She entered the water as the tide turned to go out and released her eggs. Once she committed to releasing eggs, it was only a matter of seconds before she completed her task and headed back to the safety of her underground burrow. See separate photograph of the crab eggs in the water.
    female-land-crab-releasing-eggs-pala...tif
  • This is a cloud of crab larvae, just after release in shallow water by a female land crab (Discoplax hirtipes). At 100% magnification, the individual larva are easily distinguishable. See separate image of female crab in the act of releasing these eggs/ larvae into the water. Photographed at Ngeremdiu Beach, Ngeruktabel Island in Palau.
    crab-larvae-zoea-Discoplax-hirtipes-...tif
  • This is a cloud of crab larvae, just after release in shallow water by a female land crab (Discoplax hirtipes). At 100% magnification, the individual larva are easily distinguishable. See separate image of female crab in the act of releasing these eggs/ larvae into the water. Photographed at Ngeremdiu Beach, Ngeruktabel Island in Palau.
    crab-larvae-zoea-Discoplax-hirtipes-...tif
  • This is a polychaete worm in the Syllidae family, perhaps a Epigamia magna. Normally benthic residents, these segmented worms transition to sexually mature pelagic epitokes for the purpose of reproduction (as pictured here, carrying thousands of eggs). This individual was part of a swarm comprising many thousands of worms split up across multiple groups swimming in shallow water (surface to around 7m depth). I came across this aggregation in the 10 days leading up to full moon. Though I was unable to witness spawning, it seems that spawning took place after dark. Spawning did not appear to be synchronized. The swarm began to decrease in numbers after the full moon, suggesting the possibility of sequential spawning over a period of days.
    syllidae-polychaete-worm-with-eggs-j...tif
  • This is a head-on view of a polychaete worm in the Syllidae family, perhaps a Epigamia magna. Normally benthic residents, these segmented worms transition to sexually mature pelagic epitokes for the purpose of reproduction (as pictured here, carrying thousands of eggs). This individual was part of a swarm comprising many thousands of worms split up across multiple groups swimming in shallow water (surface to around 7m depth). I came across this aggregation in the 10 days leading up to full moon. Though I was unable to witness spawning, it seems that spawning took place after dark. Spawning did not appear to be synchronized. The swarm began to decrease in numbers after the full moon, suggesting the possibility of sequential spawning over a period of days.
    syllidae-polychaete-worm-with-eggs-j...tif
  • This is a side view of a polychaete worm in the Syllidae family, perhaps a Epigamia magna. Normally benthic residents, these segmented worms transition to sexually mature pelagic epitokes for the purpose of reproduction (as pictured here, carrying thousands of eggs). This individual was part of a swarm comprising many thousands of worms split up across multiple groups swimming in shallow water (surface to around 7m depth). I came across this aggregation in the 10 days leading up to full moon. Though I was unable to witness spawning, it seems that spawning took place after dark. Spawning did not appear to be synchronized. The swarm began to decrease in numbers after the full moon, suggesting the possibility of sequential spawning over a period of days.
    syllidae-polychaete-worm-with-eggs-j...tif
  • This is an aerial panorama of Maninita Island in the Vava’u island group of the Kingdom of Tonga. The island sits atop an extensive coral reef structure, which is for the most part not visible from the surface of the ocean. The reefs extend into the background, reaching the smaller island of Fonuafo’ou. This photograph was taken a few days before the full moon. The pinkish-red threads visible on the ocean surface are billions of gametes, perhaps spawned from the coral around Maninita and other nearby reefs.
    maninita-island-aerial-panorama-tong...tif
  • This is an egg mass of a polychaete worm in the family Lumbrineridae. A large number of these appeared overnight one prior to full moon. The egg mass measures about 1.5cm.
    lumbrineridae-polychaete-worm-eggs-j...tif
  • This is an egg mass of a polychaete worm in the family Lumbrineridae. A large number of these appeared overnight one prior to full moon. The egg mass measures about 1.5cm.
    lumbrineridae-polychaete-worm-eggs-j...tif
  • Malcolm was our cook during the kayak expedition. Here he is holding a large male land crab (Discoplax hirtipes) at our second campsite, which was at Ngeremdiu Beach. Malcolm told me that female crabs migrate from land to the water to release their brood at the turning of the high tide during full moon. We saw a few females releasing eggs here at Ngeremdiu Beach, and also at the next campsite on Ngchuus Beach. See separate photos of female crab releasing eggs, and of the resulting zoea.
    terrestrial-crab-discoplax-hirtipes-...tif
  • Aerial panorama of Fonua’one’one Island in the Vava’u island group of the Kingdom of Tonga, with a boat in the foreground for scale. From this perspective, it is clear that the island comprises only a small part of the entire reef and sand structure, with most of Fonua’one’one being coral reef that submerges at higher tides. This image was created during an extreme low tide just after the full moon. Fangasito Island is visible in the background.
    fonuaoneone-island-aerial-panorama-t...tif
  • Large aggregation of moorish idols (Zanclus cornutus) gathered at the tip of Siaes Corner dive site in Palau a few days prior to the full moon for the purpose of group spawning.
    moorish-idol-spawning-aggregation-pa...tif
  • This is a Pteromys volans orii Japanese dwarf flying squirrel gliding across the top of the tree canopy after sunset. The moon is visible, six days prior to being full. This individual was part of a ruckus of reproductive season activity stretching over many hours that involved two females and three males.
    japanese-flying-squirrel-pteromys-vo...tif
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Tony Wu Underwater Photography

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