DiveMindanaoInauguralFINAL.pdf
							
                                 fifilter plankton from the ocean’s movement,its symbiotic relationship with the algae istruly amazing.Created with a dependency on another,designed to complement one another. Thealgae was designed to be a purpose.Being at the start of the food chain,phytoplankton and algae produce morethan 87% of the oxygen that we breathe;to feed the massive whale sharks, mantarays, megamouths (a kind of shark) andwhatever else that require algae tofunction. The giant clam has beendesigned to be one of the protection andhost to zillions of zooxantellae so the nexttime you see one, try to get near and takea close-up shot of the mantle and seewhat pattern the algae has given it!Giant clams spawn byreleasing gamets andsperm into the watercolumn to be fertilised.Video of thisphenomenon here.https://youtu.be/XZ8Y4MTofIE19 of 24East Pardilloesda.phGiant Clam (Tridacna sp.) taken inSarangani Bay, Maasim, Mindanao. The editor spends her time with herpink bottles and gadgets underwatertracking her subjects when shedoesn’t have to write or conductworkshops as she had been teachingdiving for the last 20 years and hopesto bring the ocean realm to a wideraudience. She lives online under thename of @pummkin and you can fifindher on LinkedIn or FB should youwish to connect.