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The Great Barrier Reef

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Coral reefs are amazingly diverse underwater habitats, home to turtles, dolphins and anemones and also dozens of different species of fish.  The Great Barrier Reef on Australia's north-east coast is a place of exceptional diversity and elegance. This comprises the world's largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 coral forms, 1,500 fish species, and 4,000 mollusc species. It also has great scientific interest, such as the habitat of animals like the dugong and the large green turtle, which are threatened with extinction. As the levels of carbon dioxide climb, water acidity is also rising to a degree not previously experienced by corals. Scientists have been looking for hot resistance spots, places where coral has already evolved to extreme heat and acidity such as volcanic vents and deep springs where carbon dioxide flows spontaneously through the sea floor.  Coral are capable of recovering, but not at the same pace as human activities are killing it. Consequently,...
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Crabs

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Did you known that species like hermit crabs and horse crabs are not even crabs? If your answer is no to this question, be pleased to hear that neither did I, Hahahah.  Crabs are infraorder Brachyura decapod crustaceans that normally have a very small projection abdomen that is generally completely concealed under the thorax. They live in all the oceans of the world, in fresh water, and on land, are usually covered with a thick exoskeleton and have a pair of pinchers. Crabs are found in all oceans around the world whereas many crabs live in fresh water and on land, particularly in tropical regions. The size of crabs ranges from the pea crab, a few millimetres large, to the Japanese spider crab, up to 4 metres long. When I am at home I love seeing these beautiful creatures going about their lives on the mangroves and all over the beach.  Author: Brenda Moita 
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The Green sea turtle

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The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) of the Cheloniidae family is a genus of large sea turtle. It is the only species within the Chelonia genus. Its range stretches all over the world across tropical and subtropical seas, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but is also present in the Indian Ocean.  Adult green sea turtles prefer to live near seaside grass beds, mangroves and coral reefs while younger ones live further away from shore. Green sea turtles are one of the largest turtle species in the world, weighing about 65-130 kg and ranging between 1-1.2 m in length. Animals have a thick shell of tear-drop shape, called a' carapace,' covering most of their body except for their head and four flippers. Their carapace can contain shades of various colours, including dark brown, green, olive, yellow, and black.  Chelonia mydas  is classified by IUCN and CITES as endangered and is protected from exploitation in most countries. Collecti...
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Dolphins

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Dolphins are mammalian animals which live in an aquatic environment and can be found in almost all marine environments. These creatures are incredibly intelligent and are able to communicate using language (which takes the form of the beautiful sounds they emit). Being under water with dolphins in their natural habitat is a wonderful experience. I love dolphins and I always get excited whenever I spot them.  Author: Brenda Moita 
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Mufete

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Mufete  This article is from a series of post on the topic of "What can the sea give us?".  Mufete is a dish of Angolan origin, more specifically, yes you guessed it, Luanda island. It is composed of grilled fish, banana bread, manioca, sweet potato and is accompanied palm oil bean. All those ingredients are from the island's natural resources and are therefore ethical and nonetheless incredibly delicious. Mufete is by the way one of my favourites dishes of the Angolan cuisine.  Author: Brenda Moita 
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Shoaling and schooling

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In biological terms  every group of fish which remains together for practical reasons is shoaling, and if the group swims in a coordinated manner in the same direction, they're schooling.  Evolutionary biologists suggest that some fish have evolved to swim in schools in order to protect themselves from predators, to strengthen their foraging and to swim faster. Different to shoaling, where fish only swim together loosely manner, schooling includes coordinated postures and a movement which is synchronised.  Author: Brenda Moita 
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Mussulo's Fauna

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Mussulo's Fauna  Mussulo is an island (peninsula) on the southern coast of Luanda in Angola. Mussulo's fauna possess a immense biodiversity as a wide range of creatures have this island as their natural habitat. The mangroves forest in Mussulo provide the nests for several marine creatures such as leader back turtles, green turtles, the common dolphin, sharks, octopus, squid, jelly fish, green swordtail, tetra, etc. These animals migrate to other parts of the globe according to the season, their life and reproductive cycle. From my experience I have seem a variety of fish, birds, crabs which are yet to be reported and even pigs. I have no doubts that are many more animals living there.   Author: Brenda Moita 
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