﻿Coming up! Jonathan explores the reefs of Belize after dark. Who knows what nocturnal
creatures will show up? Welcome to Jonathan Bird’s Blue World!
The central American nation of Belize is known for some of the most spectacular
diving in the Caribbean, with crystal clear water and healthy coral reefs.
Located between Mexico and Honduras, this small country is a scuba diver’s dream destination.
Zach and I are diving with the Belize Aggressor III, a live-aboard dive boat. Alright!
We eat, sleep and dive from this luxury yacht. We have experienced excellent visibility,
healthy reefs and lots of interesting animal encounters on our trip,
including our new friend Rupert the Grouper, who has been following us around like a puppy.
But the diving doesn’t end when the sun goes down. We’re suiting up for a night dive.
Once the sun has set, we hit the water in search of adventure.
Woo hoo! Time for a night dive! Just as lights attract insects above water,
they attract plankton underwater. Zach and I are quickly swarmed by bug-like plankton
because of our powerful video lights. The local tarpon population has learned
to use divers’ lights to their benefit, zooming around us eating the plankton.
The coral polyps open up at night to capture plankton with stinging tentacles.
I like to bring my light close to the coral to feed them.
You might ask, why dive at night? Because the animals on the reef are
completely different at night. For example, nocturnal animals like the Caribbean King Crab
hide in the reef during the day, and only come out to feed after dark.
The octopus is another example. They’re much too vulnerable to predators during the day,
so they hide. But at night, they become the predators.
An octopus uses long, sucker-equipped arms
to reach into cracks and crevices looking for unwary sleeping fish.
Like the octopus, a moray eel takes advantage of the fact that fish
sleep in the reef. By slithering into holes, it can catch them off guard and corner them.
A Spiny lobster doesn’t have big claws for defense,
but large antennae covered in sharp spikes. This confident crustacean is not afraid of me.
Basket sea stars spread their finely-branched arms to capture plankton like a net. However,
they are so sensitive to light that when I try to film them, they immediately close up and hide.
The basket star’s distant cousin, the Donkey Dung
sea cucumber is not afraid of light as it sifts through the sand for food.
Yes, it’s actually called a Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber. I did not make that up.
Another animal that sifts through the sand for food: a hermit crab. The crab moves around
without fear because it has a strong portable house for protection—an old conch shell.
Even though most of the daytime fish are sleeping,
Rupert the friendly Grouper doesn’t want to miss out on any of the excitement.
I venture into a hole in the reef looking for something interesting, but apparently a hole
big enough for a diver is too big for anything to find protection. So there’s nothing in here.
But when I pop out the other side, I find a stingray hunting. Like a living metal detector,
the stingray uses his electro-sensory system to find clams and worms buried in the sand.
Stingrays have a sharp barb at the base of their tail for defense,
but they don’t use it unless they feel threatened.
Soon my tank is getting low and it’s time to head back to the boat.
The tarpon are still hunting under the swim step, getting a good meal of plankton.
The Tarpon are awesome, but man there is so much plankton in the water and it’s so nasty!
People who don’t dive often imagine that night diving is scary and dangerous.
But actually it’s peaceful and fascinating because of all the different animals to be seen.
It’s a great way to spend an evening in the Blue World.
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