Rather than learn more about corals this week, we went over all the fish that we might run across while snorkeling at Lizard Island. Angelfish, damselfish, wrasses, oh my! We went over so many fish that I’m doubting I’ll ever be able to remember them all well enough to tell them apart in the water. What's even worse is that the coloration for some fishes such as parrotfishes depends on its gender and life cycle stage. Male parrotfish look different from female parrotfish, and both of these look different than the juvenile form of a parrotfish. 

Bicolor Initial Phase (Female) Parrotfish

Bicolor Terminal Phase (Male) Parrotfish

Bicolor Juvenile Phase Parrotfish

It’s really amazing how diverse the marine life is at the Great Barrier Reef. In addition to many different corals and fish, there are also molluscs, crustaceans, sea turtles, sponges, sea squirts, starfish, and sea urchins. We've been promised to see our fair share of all of these at Lizard Island. We might even have a chance to see bigger animals like the occasional whale or shark when the class takes a calm day to snorkel over at the drop-off, which is a steep underwater wall where the reef ends and open ocean begins. I'm planning on taking as many pictures as possible with my underwater camera and making a scrapbook of all the different forms of wildlife I get the chance to see. This may fall through since I tend to forget to take pictures when I'm caught up in a moment, but we'll see how it goes. At any rate, I'll be so happy just to see it all!