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Marinelife

MarinelifeUnderwater Sightings

The (kinky) tale of love in the ocean

It’s Valentines Day! On land many couples will be celebrating with chocolates, roses, a romantic dinner, and a little bit of…  Beneath the waves, things are done a little differently; sex changing fish, penis fencing, and consuming your mate - making our human antics look pretty mundane! Innocent little Nemo? Of all the world’s animals, fish are the most ‘sexually fluid’, switching from male to female (protandrous), or female to male…
Kirsty Richards
12th February 2020
MarinelifeScuba DivingUnderwater Sightings

12 Critters of Christmas

In the countdown to Christmas, Atmosphere is celebrating the incredible diversity of amazing critter species we can find along Dauin’s coastline! Here are some of our favourite critters … 1. The ambon scorpionfish (Pteroidichthys amboinensis) This sedentary scorpionfish is top of the list for many muck divers. To enhance its camouflaging abilities it gathers drifting algae, making it incredibly difficult to spot. Then, once it has had enough, it sheds…
Kirsty Richards
24th December 2019
MarinelifeUnderwater Sightings

The hunt for the elusive blue-ringed octopus

I’ve been Atmosphere Resorts & Spa's marine conservation biologist for 14 months now and I dive regularly. In fact, it’s unusual to see me with dry hair. Coming from a coral reef and megafauna (the BIG stuff) background, many of our critters I’ve excitedly encountered for the first time. However, there is one particular little 8-armed guy that I have yet to set my eyes on – the elusive (I recon…
Kirsty Richards
18th November 2019
MarinelifePADI CoursesScuba DivingUncategorised

How I found my first popcorn shrimp!

Last month our marine biologist, Kirsty Richards, launched the new (and exclusive) PADI Critters Specialty course at Atmosphere. I’ve always loved collecting things, whether it is Polaroid photographs, Pokémon cards or PADI Specialties. When I discovered that at the end of this particular specialty, I’d be better able to find a spotted porcelain crab, or an ornate ghost pipefish – I was sold. Despite being in from the get-go, I…
Ulrika Kroon
4th November 2019