Manta rays are beautiful creatures that are found in most tropical and subtropical waters.

During my stay at Palmyra, I am helping with a manta ray project led by Dr. Barbara Block from Stanford University, who is a recipient of the Rolex Award for Enterprise! For the past weeks Robbie Schallert, large pelagic fish tagger extraordinaire, and I have been tagging and photo identifying mantas to better understand these beautiful and rapidly disappearing creatures.

For those who don’t know, each Manta’s underside markings are different – just like a fingerprint!
For example, the two girls pictured below are Britney and Frida, respectively. 

Using the data we collect, we can better understand the manta’s local patterns, daily cycles, and site fidelity to Palmyra!

 

Cheers!