BABY MANTA RAY DANCING HOW TO

Students refine stroke technique on the major competitive strokes, learn about competitive swimming and discover how to incorporate swimming into a healthy lifestyle. ○ Swim any combination of strokes for 50 yards.

○ Swim any combination of strokes for 150 yards ○ Sidestroke or elementary backstroke for 50 yards ○ Back crawl for 25 yards and do a flip turn ○ Breaststroke for 50 yards and do an open turn ○ Swim the front crawl for 50 yards and do a flip turn ○ This class is for kids who are not able swim the front crawl, back crawl, and breaststroke across the pool and back. ○ Swim breaststroke for 25 yards achieving stroke rhythm ○ Swim back crawl with stroke rotation for 25 yards ○ Swim the front crawl with bent-arm recovery for 25 yards Qualification: Child must be able to demonstrate all Stage 5 skills as follows:.Thus, further research on manta rays’ habitats and survival is crucial to support efforts to protect this globally vulnerable species. How long do baby manta rays live in the nursery before they leave? What factors influence their movements within the relatively small area in the Wayag Lagoon?Įven today, there are still many mysteries about the lives of manta rays that must be revealed. That being said, I still have some questions lingering in mind. This new study strengthens my research published in 2020, which identified Wayag lagoon as a potential reef manta nursery.īoth studies demonstrate that Raja Ampat waters are important habitats for Indonesia’s largest populations of reef manta rays. Taken together, these findings strongly suggest that the young manta rays are highly dependent on this nursery for their health and survival. A cleaning station is like a ‘spa’, where the young rays were cleaned by cleaner fish feeding on parasites all over the surface of rays’ bodies. They remained in the lagoon to feed, interact with their mates or cruise around the lagoon.ĭuring the day, the young rays visit cleaning stations, located specifically on coral reefs within the lagoon. The young rays were also detected for 24 hours in Wayag Lagoon. They include two that, after 21 months, were still found in the lagoon.Įach manta ray has a distinctive spot pattern like our fingerprints on the underside of its body, thus allowing us to distinguish one from another.Ī young reef manta ray visit a cleaning station in the form of a large bommie, home to small cleaner fish that are ‘on duty’ here (Source: Edy Setyawan) Five of the 34 rays were photographed in the lagoon after 16 months. Using photo identification, we managed to identify 34 young manta rays from 47 encounters. How were the baby manta rays monitored and tracked?īefore confirming that Wayag Lagoon is a nursery for baby manta rays, we conducted regular monitoring every 3-6 months from 2013-2021 in the area. Proving these three criteria can be challenging, take years of effort and involve various methods.Īssessments using satellite and acoustic tracking can help complete the puzzle.

These include Fam Islands, Hol Gam, Ayau Besar Lagoon and Wayag Lagoon).įour areas identified as potential reef manta ray nursery areas in Raja Ampat waters (Source: Edy Setyawan)Īn area can serve as a manta ray nursery if it meets these three criteria:ġ) newborn and young manta rays are more commonly encountered in this area than in other areas Ģ) newborn and young manta rays tend to remain and/or return to this area repeatedly for extended period ģ) newborn and young manta rays inhabit the area across years. In Raja Ampat, we identified four potential nursery areas. These include the Gulf of Mexico (Flower Garden Banks and the southern coast of Florida, United States), Palmyra Atoll (the south end of Hawaiian waters), the Maldives and Indonesia (Nusa Penida and Raja Ampat).

In addition to providing a source of food, the nursery accommodates the baby rays with a place where they can interact and ‘exchange experiences’ with their young mates.Ĭurrently, there are only few places in the world that can potentially become nurseries for manta rays. They also offer protection from predators like big sharks. Lagoons provide calm water suitable for the baby rays that are just starting to swim. 50 of the proceeds from the exclusive sales of Manta Ray Dragon and Harlequin Toad Dragon will be directly invested in protecting these endangered species. The Wayag Lagoon in the northwest of Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia (Source: Edy Setyawan) Manta ray nursery habitatįor newborn manta rays, using shallow sheltered habitats like lagoons as a nursery is crucial to ensure their survival. The Manta Ray Dragon can be obtained only through an in-app purchase of 14.99 USD as part of Gameloft teaming up with milkywire.

Baby manta ray dancing