Yap and Palau in Micronesia

It seems time to show off a bit  of the Creator's glory with a few frames from Yap and Palau Islands in Micronesia.   They have such a plethora of both large and small photogenic forms of life there!  As always, click to view larger.  Enjoy!

1. 

Milk Conch, Jawfish and Coral bleaching

I'm doing a bit of diving this week. Here are a few selects from today's dive at Royal Palms ledge off Seven Mile Beach. I think there is good hope for the bleached corals as the water has noticeably cooled and I still see live tissue on most of the corals I saw today. I suspect the extensive bleaching that occurred this summer may well have been the worst to date in Cayman since I arrived in 1983. This white anemone is normally solid yellowish green, but has bleached too. Several other cnidarians have bleached as well as the hard corals.

The Milk Conch and Yellow Headed Jawfish were more common sightings, yet always wonderful creatures.

Enjoy!

My lovely sister Stacy is visiting and diving with me to celebrate our birthdays (May babies, 2 years apart). We dove on Orange Canyon and the wreck of The Doc Polson, just off Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman today. This image is Stacy at the stern of the Doc Polson, showing why she is my most published underwater model.