Operation Cavalo Marinho (Seahorse) commenced on the 5th of March 2010. The mission to find a seahorse at Cabo Branco, a beach in Joao Pessoa where after 8 months of searching, there had yet to be a single sighting.
Here is the team: Gabi, Aline 1, Josias, Aline 2 and Patricia (plus me taking the photo).
We snorkeled out into the water to see what could await us. After an hour of searching we were still unlucky. However just shy of the two hour mark, a shriek erupted from Gabi that was heard only by me, her closest Operation Cavalo Marinho team member.
Look what she had found!
A female, yellow Hippocampus reidi!
Since we had many members of the team not only did we do some measuring......
and gather some habitat data.......
but we also took some nutrition samples to see what our little gal had been eating. The results came back this week, our little chica has been feasting on some shrimp and gastropods!
After putting a little tag on her tail we set her free and watched her choose her next piece of vegetation to call home. We searched for a while more but could find no more seahorses at Cabo Branco. However, as we excitedly discussed the afternoon over a well deserved ice cream, we all decided the operation was a success! 
very exciting lindsay! and great pictures.
ReplyDelete