Artificial reefs are those which provides structure for marine life to develop protective habitat. Many reef creatures and fish have certain foods which live at different level of the water column. These sources of food are restricted to certain depth range by the sun light spectrum of colors. Once certain algae and micro marine life get established, other aquatic life follows and forms the food web which has a certain rhythm of balance. Aquatic ecology is a composed piece of nature developing to a point of harmony within its own set of guidelines.

Gulf Rigs have certain levels of marine inhabitants. These can be divided into five different depth levels and each level into stationary, protective, pelagic, and predators. The depth of these zones start at the surface as the surf or surge zone. This area of marine life consist of algae and barnacles as stationary growth and dependent on the red color spectrum to process the nutrients. This area supports some reef fish and crabs. The next area of growth is that of a coral reef community and is limited in coral and sponges due to salinity, turgidity and temperature of the water. Also the abundance of small and large reef fish add an active dance of colors and business. The next zone is that of fish schooling in numbers for security. These range from small schools of Snappers which can be 15 to 100 in a school, to the torpedo shapes of blue runners, jack fish and bonito. In the last zone is the turbid water of high sedimentation and will vary in visibility from two feet to ninety feet. This is dependent on phases of the moon and the amount of water moved in a given tidal period. This area has a lot of bottom dwelling type marine life. Examples of bottom dwellers are the octopus, moray eels, lobsters, flounders, drum, rays and sharks. Due to low visibility most of these animals have poor eye sight and react as a instinct of survival.

All areas of marine life can be seen on a given dive by planning multi-level dives and planning objectives of what to look for. Remember to look carefully, watch where one places their hands and fins, maintain neutral buoyancy to avoid damaging the aquatic balance of the ecosystem.

Understanding of Reef Ecology Elements of Understanding Coral Reef Ecology Understanding the Marine Environment Diver Awarenesss  The Foundation of Understanding Aquatic Ecology of Artifical Reefs

Photo of Monte at Pirates Week Festivale 2008

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Web site first created 14 March, 1996