Red Sea Marine life - when, where and why
Column by Anders Jalmsjo>
Every year is different in the Red Sea. Of course there is an annual cycle by which you can predict fairly well what's going to happen in the near future. Normally there are two "breaking points" in the Red Sea year, one in March and one in September. This time of the year is significant because of the Equinox which is a trigger for a wide range of activities amongst the Red Sea marine life. This is when the centre of the Sun is right above the Earth's equator and the day and night is of approximately equal length which this year will occur on the 23 of September.
Marine life has only a few rhythmical events to keep track of time and the length of the day and night is one of them, the lunar cycle and tidal movements are two others. Many species use these events, and the time gap in between them for their migration patterns or reproductive arrangements. Especially action-packed is when all three of those events happens in success. The high tide during the first full moon after the equinox is an important night. In the Red Sea this becomes obvious by many means. First of all you have the coral spawning and even if this is not an explosion eggs like on the Great Barrier Reef and other locations famous for this, it is still visible. Now there is a lot of action of the reef. Small fish comes out to feel in the nutrient water and larger fish come in closer to hunt them.
A funny thing is how other marine life is preparing for this in advance. A lot of fish has their reproduction cycle adjusted so that the juveniles will be hatched as this notorious soup is the thickest. August is a classic time for egg lying in the fish world and you can see damsel fish protecting a piece of the reef where she has attached her eggs. Also triggerfish are "trigger happy" during this period while bluespotted rays are chasing each other over the seabed to catch a mate and large schools of barracuda are swivelling in the blue. Often this is the time to keep an eye out for large plankton feeders like whale sharks and mantas and this year we can happily report several sightings of both.
The Red Sea is a gorgeous environment all year around and if you learn how to read the signals and feel the rhythm you will get even more out of each season. Next coming months is an exciting period with big events like the Equinox coming up. As a dive guide you know better than to miss a night dive this night.