(funded by the British government’s “Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species” and facilitated by Hunting Technical Services, Ltd., Hemel, Hempstead, U. K.)
Raaha (= Alto) Bay, east of Mirbat
gentle waves within the cove
the collecting team: Thamar Ibrahim (of Raysut Marine Institute), Gianna Minton (Muscat, Oman), and Glenn Richards (Hunting Technical Services, Ltd., U. K.)
Michael Wynne holding a 3-m long specimen of a foliose red, abundant in the drift
Thamar Ibrahim, checking out the intertidal algae
each wave was bringing in abundant fresh and rich “drift” algae: a phycological fantasy
Al Mughsayl, an hour west of Salalah
looking toward the famous Al Mughsayl “blowholes”
looking in the other direction (eastward)
the exposed intertidal with abundant Ulva lactuca
steep intertidal, too dangerous for collecting
Sadh, a 2-hour “track” drive east of Salalah
the stalwart scuba-diving team of Gianna Minton, Glenn Richards, and Tim Collins (Muscat, Oman)
the 3 diving buddies heading out (for a 12-m. depth dive), leaving M. Wynne to work the intertidal and the drift algae (and worry about them until they re-surfaced)
Cove near Abalone Mariculture Lab, Mirbat
the intertidal rocks
the Darwin Initiative team: Glenn Richards (Hunting Technical Services, U. K.), Gianna Minton (Muscat, Oman), Michael Wynne (University of Michigan)
next to our trusty Toyota Landcruiser (the third one…): Glenn Richards, Gianna Minton, and Tim Collins
Examples of some of the algae we encountered:
very long specimens of Ulva lactuca occurring in a cove near Taqah
Stirnia prolifera (Lomentariaceae)
Melanothamnus somalensis, a dominant red alga in the mid- to lower littoral zone, sometimes reaching 2-m. lengths
Iyengaria stellata, a crisp-textured brown alga standing exposed at low tide in “Reef Stingray Cove”
Gelidium omanense, a newly described red alga from southern Oman
Nizamuddinia zanardinii, a dominant brown alga in the shallow sublittoral, very common during the monsoon season
Scenes from on the road, or “track”
a settlement between Taqah and Mirbat
Guess who has the “right of way”?
“Can you give me some directions?”
Various scenes:
home sweet home” (Villa #18, Holiday Inn Salalah)
Gianna contemplating life on a comfortable boulder, Mirbat