Rock Outcropping along the

Coastline of the Sea of Cortez

The Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California, is estimated to have formed approximately 12 million years ago, as geologic forces rifted the Baja California Peninsula off of the North American Tectonic Plate. By doing so, a vast basin was created with contrasting bathymetry. In the northern region, the Sea of Cortez is relatively shallow (<200 m deep), due to the sedimentation of the redirected Colorado River, and is inhabited by many endemic species, including the endangered vaquita harbor porpoise, Phocoena sinus. On the other hand, the southern region is upwards of 3000 m deep, and contains the Guaymas trench, which is lined with numerous volcanic seeps and hydrothermal vents.

The rock formation pictured above is believed to be one of the many Neogene volcano-sedimentary rock outcroppings found along the coast of the Sea of Cortez. Ledesma-Vazquez et al. (2006) showed that such Pliocene volcanic and sedimentary units supply evidence that areas along the Sea's coast were originally part of a dry basin on land that later became a wave-dominated shoreline.

Coastal Education & Research Foundation Vice President, Chris Makowski ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), took this coastal photograph during a research trip to the Baja California Peninsula. 

Netted Barrel Sponge in Grand

Cayman, B.W.I.

A Caribbean barrel sponge is essentially a host to a colony of animals. Made of several cell layers, barrel sponges construct a wall of spicules in the shape of a large tube or bowl. The sponge's cells then pump water through its permeable wall, allowing the sponge to capture microscopic plankton for food. Because of this process, other invertebrate filter feeders and reef fish are attracted to the siphon-induced current of water initiated by the sponge. This Netted Barrel Sponge (Verongula gigantea), photographed at a depth of 8 m in the Cayman Islands, is surrounded by a community of polychaete feather duster worms (Anamobaea orstedii), bryozoans (Schizoporella sp.), tunicates (Eudistoma sp.), hydroids (Gymnangium sp.), zoanthids (Palythoa caribaeorum), and various other sponges.

The reefs in the Cayman Islands are managed under strict marine conservation laws establishing a zoned system of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). While the health of several reefs have declined throughout the Caribbean, the diversity and abundance of reef species appears to have remained quite high along the Caymans. One area of concern is the threat of powerful hurricanes during the late-Summer/Autumn seasons. This photograph, taken after Hurricane Ivan had passed over the island, showed that certain species were able to withstand the force of such an event. In fact, it has been postulated that a tropical cyclonic event can even trigger a new generation of colonization among benthic coral reef species, similar to the fire-induced pollination of certain terrestrial forests.

This underwater photograph was captured by Chris Makowski ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) , Vice-President of the Coastal Education & Research Foundation, during a research trip to the Cayman Islands.