Reef Ball Foundation Photos and Project Description Database

A nudibrach caled alabastr on a Reef Ball. These are a "shell-less marine snail"

An anemone on a Reef Ball

Side scan sonar work showing the Phase I reef balls as deployed

This picture show what's under all that algae. If you look closely at these two pictures, you may be able to see the barnacles that have encrusted virtually the entire surface of the Reef Balls Photo by Dave Zaharychuk and Rob Russell

This is a picture grabbed off of a video that was taken on a dive conducted by Fisheries and Oceans divers in November, 1992 in the same area that the Reef Ball reef is now located. This picture shows what the ocean floor looked like before the reef was constructed. The ecosystem supported only those plants and animals that could survive on the relatively flat sand/mud bottom

This picture shows that nudibranchs have also found the Reef Ball reefs to be good breeding habitat. The spiralling white string-like mass is a nudibranch egg mass. You may also be able to see the shrimp that is standing over the eggs.

A sea star on Reef Balls Photo by Kevin Conley

This picture shows two red rock crabs (male holding a female under him in a "breeding grasp") on an algae (seaweed) covered reefball. The male crab holds the female until she molts (sheds her shell) at which time they mate. The female holds the fertilized eggs with her abdomen until they hatch. Photo by Dave Zaharychuk and Rob Russell

Photos by Dave Zaharychuk and Rob Russell

As seen in the previous picture of the crabs mating, the Reef Ball reef has already become a bit of a nursery. This picture shows squid egg masses that were laid inside one of the Reef Balls. Each of the finger-like egg masses was laid by one squid, so you can get an idea of how many squids were around to produce all of these egg masses. The 15 cm squid come into shallow water to lay their eggs. Photo by Dave Zaharychuk and Rob Russell