Diving and Laje de Santos
They say good things come to those who are patient. I never really gave this saying too much thought until just recently…In the name of manta research I have spent six solid weeks (during the winter of 2009 and winter of 2010) diving a remote offshore rock called Laje de Santos in the south of Brazil looking for the elusive giant manta (Manta birostris). Until today, I have searched in vain. I was the one that actually chose this location for part of the worldwide study on this newly discovered species of ray, as this little spec of a rock is the largest documented aggregation site for this species in the southern Atlantic Ocean. But, to tell you the truth, despite my normal determined outlook when working in the field, I was really beginning to loose hope (and that’s pretty bad, since my current international research campaign is ironically named “Ray of Hope’).
Andrea in the field at Laje
But that’s the funny thing about marine field research and, I suppose, diving in general. It doesn’t matter what the ocean throws at you…countless hours of searching, dozens of dives in cold, green water, boat trip after boat trip on rough, windy seas…all of the excruciating effort and disappointment literally seems melt away the second the animal that you have been searching for appears. Your breath catches in your throat, time stands still and everything seems to make sense in the world. And this is why we divers torture ourselves by squeezing into unbearably uncomfortable wetsuits, why we swim around the sea covered in all kinds of tanks and hoses, and why we spend all of our money and time bobbing around in the middle of the ocean. It is precisely for this sensation and these encounters with special marine creatures. For the majority of us, the most precious encounters are with large, elusive megafauna like sharks, whales and dolphins. The object of my affection, of course, is the manta ray.
Andrea patrolling with sat tag
So, as I was saying… all hope seemed lost when about five days into my latest expedition to Brazil a huge storm hit. It poured rain for a week, the wind howled across the sea and the swell was unrelenting, turning the clear, blue, offshore water into the kind of green that divers have nightmares about. When we finally were able to return to the sea, the visibility was only a few meters and the water was bitterly cold. Our only recourse was to patrol up and down the tiny offshore rock… searching for a miracle.
And then one appeared, literally out of the gloom, and it was coming straight for us. It felt like a dream. He was massive, a large mature male manta, and he was ready to be the ambassador for manta ray conservation in Brazil.
Out of the gloom...
Almost as if he understood what was needed of him, he swam right up to us (hovering momentarily to get his belly tickled by our bubbles) and patiently allowed me to take an ID photo him and place a single satellite tag on his dorsal surface. Watch Andrea sat tagging the first giant manta ray in Brazil! Without even the slightest flinch, he continued to swim with us after the tag was inserted, allowing me to check that the tag was secure and more importantly allowing me to get to know him a little better. For several minutes I took detailed images of every important feature from every conceivable angle. I was amazed by the gentle tolerance of this individual; the experience reminded me how incredibly privileged I am to work on them and how much they deserve our respect and protection.
Then without warning he slowly began to move back off into the gloom, ready to lead us on one of the most exciting journeys of my career. The tag that I placed on was archival, meaning that it functions like a mini laboratory, constantly sampling the outside environment and storing the data for me as the manta ray swims around the ocean.
And he is off...
Amazingly, it records the temperate of the surrounding water, the depth the manta is in as it moves along or makes deep dives, light levels (which are used to determine the actual track of the manta) and GPS positioning should he come to the surface periodically. I manually programmed the tag to automatically detach after 180 days (6 months) at which point it will float to the surface and begin to download all of the stored data to the ARGOS satellites. At this stage, ARGOS will magically beam this information to my computer. Just thinking about this process makes me love being a scientist in the 21st century. To have the technology to be able to ask and then answer difficult questions is such a joy.
At this stage, all we have to do is sit back and wait. For the next six months this individual will roam the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean storing the secrets of his lifestyle and behaviour; secrets that have eluded us until now.
Over the next few months, we will begin to see things from his perspective...
But already this particular manta ray is a part of history. He is the first manta ray to be satellite tagged in South America or in the southern Atlantic Ocean for that matter and the information that he will contribute with be both unique and invaluable.
This particular individual happened to be a re-sighted male, which had been previously encountered at Laje back in 2007. He had not been seen since his first encounter, but this is not entirely unusual for the area. It is thought that manta rays only make brief stopovers to this offshore oasis before moving off into the unknown. The ‘Mantas do Brasil’ project (Laje Viva Institute), managed by Guilherme Kodja, is specifically trying to address this mystery and have teamed up with my Foundation (Marine Megafauna Foundation) to answer some key questions.
Success! 1st satellite tagged manta ray in South America!
Where do these giants come from? Where do they go when they leave this little rock? Why do they mysteriously appear each winter and what are they coming to do? How are humans impacting their movements and their natural behaviour? Are they affected by the massive amount of shipping traffic that occurs in the region? How many are caught each year in gillnet fisheries along the coastline? With next to nothing known about their lives in this part of the world, these answers could prove invaluable to our ability to manage the manta ray population in the region and protect them from anthropogenic threats.
Collaborative research at its best!
As we continue to learn more about these ocean giants, I also continue to learn and grow as a scientist. Patience is an important skill in field research as is the determination to see difficult projects through to completion. In the end, persistence will pay off, and although we sometimes feel that we are racing against time, we are ultimately at the mercy of the animals that we study and the elements of nature. Sometimes sitting back and waiting for them to come to us is the only solution.
Comments (12)
Dear Andrea
Congratulations on this marvelous success. Your commentary, so descriptive, the photographs and the visible contact astonishing.
The film given me by Simon’s parents has been around the world and back, loaned out to friends and family who now watch your story with great interest.
You are making a difference, educating, supporting; carry on the good work.
Best wishes, Anthea.
Comment by A. Pierce — 26 July 2010 @ 22:18
You write so beautifully. I guess this stuff only reallymakes sense to divers like us, in the water every day. Hope you feel better soon, I’m looking forward to the next installment!
Comment by Catherine - Eco Tribe — 26 July 2010 @ 23:12
Andrea… This is such fantastic news. I’ll look forward to reading more about the results. Congratulations on your successes.
Comment by Lex Rigby — 27 July 2010 @ 12:35
Interesting and amazing info! Looking forward for data after six month… patiently excited! What is the 1st’s name by the way?
Comment by Anna — 27 July 2010 @ 13:12
Laje Viva Institute and The Mantas do Brasil Project sposored by Petrobras is very proud of our joint force for this amazing results! Congratliations Andrea and all brazilian team of researchers.
Comment by Guilherme Kodja — 27 July 2010 @ 19:08
Laje Viva Institute and The Mantas do Brasil Project sposored by Petrobras is very proud of our joint force for this amazing results! Congratulations Andrea and all brazilian team of researchers.
Comment by Guilherme Kodja — 27 July 2010 @ 19:08
Awesome! Just awesome! I can’t wait to hear about where this one travels to? I wonder if they cross the Atlantic?
Comment by Colin Cherot — 27 July 2010 @ 23:09
We have decided to name each of the tagged mantas across the world after a great ocean explorer. The first two tagged in Mozambique (featured in the BBC documentary) were ‘Cook’ (Captain James Cook) and ‘Magellan’ (Ferdinand Magllan) and this newly tagged giant manta from Brazil has been named Eco Birostris Cabral (after Pedro Alvares Cabral the Portuguese explorer who discovered Brazil). ‘Cabral’ was certainly one of the most friendly mantas that I have ever met and it is my hope that he provides us with fabulous insights into the secret lives of giant manta rays in the Atlantic!
Comment by Dr. Andrea Marshall — 28 July 2010 @ 00:43
Dear Andrea, that´s amazing results! Thanks for been so persistent, passionate and competent, world needs more people just like you. Congratulations to you and to Save Our Seas Foundation, you are making the difference!
Comment by Ana Paula Balboni Pinto — 28 July 2010 @ 03:09
Andrea, I already knew that you are a great scientist, but now I’m realizing how damn good writer you are too. Your narrative is fascinating and, for a local of the Laje de Santos that are living so far from there like me, easily makes tears come out of my eyes.
You don’t imagine how I’m relieved to know that you finally tag an individual. After all that advertisement that I made in 2008 trying to persuade you to came to Brazil, I’m starting to feel like a charlatan that will be blamed forever. But exactly like you, I have faith. What you achieve is a dream-came-true for me, who, for the last 10 years studying that extraordinary place, always wondered, sometimes for months in a row, where in the hell those rays goes every summer. Now we will got the answer thanks to you and Save our Seas Foundation. Life happens to be tricky. I’m now exactly at the other side of the world where one of things that I’ve most desired to take part happened in my backyard. You are my hero.
Comment by Osmar Luiz — 28 July 2010 @ 15:04
Osmar, It is truly you and your vision that made this all possible. So it is I who must thank you.
I tell people all of the time that if it were not for the generosity of people from across the world, I would never be able to do what I do, nor would we have ever been able to come as far, with respect to manta research, as we have. While it does not take much to extend one’s hand out in welcome, I find that often times, scientists are reluctant to do so, as they feel ownership over an area, a subject, or a species. While I understand this feeling, I really do, I also think we somehow must overcome it, if we are to truly advance our knowledge, or in this case, help to protect manta rays on a global scale. So again, I think you showed tremendous vision and strength, by allowing a stranger into your backyard to help study these animals. I thanked you then and I thank you again now for opening your doors to me.
One of the things that this worldwide study has already started to show me is that this is a small and very fragile planet. In terms of manta rays, I see so many similarities in not just their behaviour across the world, but most importantly, in the problems that they face. It seems everywhere that I travel I see the same threats, the same ignorance and the same failure to act. I am sure this is the case for most of the problems of this world. But in the same breath, I can say that this fact gives me hope. The problems that I see are not insurmountable, nor are they even that complicated. The more that I travel, the more I believe that we really DO have a choice. A choice to change things from going down the path that they currently are… As I see it, the human race is literally standing at a precipice, after only our brief history on this planet; we can choose to fall off (perhaps the easier of the two options) or we can choose to build a bridge.
I like to think that in our field right now, you and I are building that bridge. It is only a small step, but it is a step in the right direction. I am proud to be a part of that. I hope you are too. I would like to think that by this time next year, with data coming back from tags across the world, we will finally have an idea about what we are up against in our fight to protect these ocean giants. But these clues about their lives, while important, are only the first step. And it is this fact that I am most eager to drive home. Research can be exciting, discoveries can be breathtaking, pushing the envelope of science is almost always newsworthy…but it is what we do with this information that really makes the difference. Ultimately, I believe that this is our real challenge. We cannot afford to let go of this momentum. If we really want to foster change, it is our responsibility to see this idea of conservation (a word, which in my opinion is thrown around far to often these days) through to fruition. I look forward to this challenge and so does the rest of my team. We are so grateful now to have you and Laje Viva onboard too!
Comment by Dr. Andrea Marshall — 28 July 2010 @ 20:06
Dear Andrea, I am very glad about the success of your trip. Congratulations for your wonderful work, but also try to rest a little bit. There´s more next year! It was great to meet you, because you´re very famous here. Big kiss from Brazil. Marli Balboni.
Comment by Marli Balboni — 14 August 2010 @ 18:25