Intern Account: Melanie:
"Our adventures in Maui were spectacular. We had two sites, Hulu and Kaemi, on North facing shores that typically do not have weather conditions that allow for divers. We were very lucky to be there during 2 of 10 calm days per year and were able to survey both relatively untouched islets. The third site was the outer rim of Molokini islet and that was awesome. I really had to watch my depth gauge because it would be really easy to drop off into the oblivion while chasing white tips or being distracted by the multitudes of fish and invertebrates that we found there. I also saw the flexible mosslike bryozoan, Vittaticella uberrima that has only been recorded at this location, along with several other species that I had never before encountered. It was very exciting for an invert enthusiast."

Intern Account: Louise:
"On Maui, our team of experts surveyed the islets of Hulu, Kaemi and Molokini. The first two remain somewhat remote, as the famous Molokini crater between the islands of Maui and Kaho’olawe is visited daily by hundreds of divers and snorkelers. This survey took place at the end of May. Some algae were blooming at this time while others had been completely cut back to “turf” by heavy herbivory. I refer to this as turf, because along with the conglomerate of microscopic species falling into this category, the plants that have been cut back are impossible to identify at a macroscopic level in many cases. At Kaemi, gigantic boulders bloomed with a thick coat of bright green Dictyopteris australis. Collector urchins, Tripneustes gratilla, flaunted their latest fashions and crown-of-thorns, Acanthaster planci, played king of the hill on the unusual substrate. Unfortunately, on the second dive at this site I was stung by a jellyfish floating with a drift of slime and debris at the surface and I had to abort the mission. Luckily, Melanie finished my remaining transect and the wound was not a fatal one… Our dive on the outer edge of Molokini Rim had a strong current, which made observing and collecting samples a superb challenge. After departing the boat, the first thing I saw when I peered down into the dark abyss of water was a shark. It was enough to make my heart skip a beat, but it was only a young black-tip reef shark. Because this dive was deeper than most, we used enriched air to shorten our surface interval time before the second dive. Our time at Molokini was shorter than usual because of the depth and so sampling was limited as well. We were working on a vertical wall exploding with color that photos cannot express. The glamorous coral filled every niche and pastel patches of coralline algae crusted over the remaining space. Unusual curly bryazoans grew in a plethora over turf and sponges. The rim was a place of extraordinary beauty, abundance and biological diversity."