Product Description

For millennia, climatological and geological processes created the necessary conditions for the tropical Indo-Pacific to evolve into the most diverse area among marine ecosystems. The Indonesian-Philippines area is the epicentre of this amazing biodiversity. Award-winning photographer Constantinos Petrinos chose the Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, Indonesia to document this fabulous underwater wonderland. He spent 5 months in the region, did 320 dives and took 25,000 slides. Realm of the Pygmy Seahorse features 280 of these amazing photographs. Underwater photographers will find a wealth of information on technique. For the naturalist, the rich text explains the behaviour seen in the photos.

The author attempts to give the reader an insider’s view on the daily lives of the animals in this complex ecosystem that features a variety of habitats. Seemingly barren volcanic sand slopes and rubble areas reveal elusive, rare creatures, such as the wonderpus and the mimic octopus. Tiny pygmy seahorses adorn Muricella sea fans. Spectacular nudibranchs are everywhere. The rare and unusual seem commonplace. An octopus hides inside a sea shell, two mandarin fish fight and a painted lizardfish captures a flying gurnard with a split-second move.

The author wanted to avoid juxtaposing nice photographs with little information because he believes that the reader nowadays wants to learn more about the subjects. Therefore, he devoted a lot of time doing research about the behaviour of the subjects in the photographs. He also wanted to give answers to questions such as, “how do crinoid shrimps manage to acquire the exact same colour as their host crinoid” or “is an octopus colour blind?” David W. Behrens, who was the scientific editor, spent countless hours assisting with the text in terms of scientific accuracy. His contribution and encouragement have been tremendous. In the book you will find no poetry, a few jokes and a lot of scientific information about the behaviour of the subjects in the photographs. Natural history enthusiasts will find lots of interesting information written in a way easy to understand. Divers will find lots of new and exciting information about reef creatures they will probably encounter on their dive trips.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1162232 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From the Author
Realm of the Pygmy Seahorse is a book project that took approximately four years to complete. For the photography, I did several trips to the Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The core expedition lasted 5 months. I wanted to avoid juxtaposing nice photographs with little information because I believe that the reader nowadays wants to learn more about the subjects. Therefore, I devoted a lot of time doing research about the behaviour on the subjects in my photographs. I also wanted to give answers to questions that I have had for years. For example, “how do crinoid shrimps manage to acquire the exact same colour as their host crinoid” or “is an octopus colour blind?” David W. Behrens, who was the scientific editor, spent countless hours assisting me with the text in terms of scientific accuracy. His contribution and encouragement have been tremendous. In the book you will find no poetry, a few jokes and a lot of scientific information about the behaviour! of the subjects in the photographs. I hope you will enjoy it. Constantinos

About the Author
Constantinos Petrinos is a full time professional underwater photographer. He was born in Athens in 1961 and spent his early childhood in Cameroon, Africa. While growing up he aspired to become a marine biologist but more practical considerations led him to business studies. He obtained a Master’s in Business Administration from Dartmouth College in the USA. A while ago he decided to free himself from business suits and suffocating ties and dive the world’s oceans. His photographs have won awards at many competitions, including the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year. His articles have appeared in various magazines, such as BBC Wildlife, Dive, Oceans Illustrated and the Greek editions of National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler. He is the photographer on location for the Hellenic Institute of Marine Archaeology, which conducts underwater excavations in conjunction with the Greek Ministry of Culture. Constantinos is the underwater photography expert! for the Nikon Owners Club International. Throughout the year, Constantinos conducts slide shows in Greek schools, to promote marine awareness.

Constantinos prefers to stay on location for a minimum of two months when working on major projects. He believes that you need to spend many hours underwater to familiarise yourself with the particular habitat and the species present in order to be able to capture behavioural scenes on film. For his book, Realm of the Pygmy Seahorse, he spent five months in Sulawesi and took 25,000 slides.

Excerpted from Realm of the Pygmy Seahorse by Constantinos Petrinos. Copyright © 2001. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction

Indonesia has a population of 210 million people, making it the world’s fourth most populous nation after China, India and the USA. This population is very unevenly distributed, with 60% of Indonesians (about 125 million people) living on the island of Java, which has a population density more than twice that of Japan. The Indonesian Archipelago is said to comprise approximately 13,677 islands. In fact, some surveys estimate as many as 18,500 and no one really knows the exact number. About 6,000 islands are named and 1000 are inhabited. If you were to move Indonesia over the map, it would stretch from Boston to London.

Development in the area began in the 16th century, when European spice traders realised the importance of these islands. During much of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch East India Company had a trade monopoly here, in the area then known as the East Indies. The islands supplied most of the world’s quinine and pepper, over a third of its rubber, a quarter of its coconut products, and almost a fifth of its tea, sugar, coffee and oil. The exploitation of Indonesia’s natural resources turned the Netherlands into a major colonial power and contributed to its industrialisation. In the 19th century, the Dutch focused their colonial efforts on the fertile fields of Java, leading to the island’s population explosion.

Dutch rule continued until the Second World War, when Indonesia was occupied by the Japanese. Then, on August 17, 1945, Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, declared independence. The Dutch were unwilling to surrender their colony, and the ensuing wars cost the lives of thousands of Indonesians. In Southern Sulawesi alone, Captain Raymond Westerling’s special troops are said to have killed 40,000 Indonesians in a desperate attempt to control the region. In July 1947, the Dutch launched a major offensive, which led to a United Nations intervention. After a further two years of conflict, the colonists finally left on December 27 1949.

Today, there are approximately 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia speaking some 365 languages and dialects. The official language is Bahasa Indonesian, a variant of Malay, which was used in the spice trade. Indonesia is the largest Islamic nation in the world, with significant Christian and Hindu minorities and a fascinating variety of cultures. Its land and waters exhibit a similar diversity in landscape and in flora and fauna. This is all part of the spectacular Indonesian experience!

For millennia, climatological and geological processes created the necessary conditions for the tropical Indo-Pacific to evolve into the most diverse area among marine ecosystems. The Indonesian-Philippines area is the epicentre of this amazing biodiversity, which decreases in gradient as we move further away.

For decades, diving in Indonesia was synonymous with the islands of Sulawesi and Bali. In North Sulawesi, Manado and the Bunaken Marine Park, with its clear waters and spectacular walls, attracted hundreds of divers. The Lembeh Strait remained a well-kept secret, despite the fact that it is only a short one-hour drive towards the northeastern tip of Sulawesi. There, the busy port city of Bitung is the centre of economic activity. Facing it is Lembeh Island. The strait that forms between Lembeh and the Sulawesi mainland is 16km long and 1-2km wide.

Fortunately for divers, in 1989, two friends, Kathryne Ecenbarger and the late Helen Staples, sailed though the Lembeh Strait and it was love at first sight. An old coconut plantation was purchased on the Sulawesi coast of the strait and Mark Ecenbarger, Kathryne’s son, undertook to realise the dreams of the two ladies. Kungkungan Bay Resort (KBR) was born and Sulawesi was rediscovered. The resort immediately attracted big names in underwater photography. Scientists arrived in search of new species and film crews chased after elusive animals. Today, it is simply impossible to keep track of the numerous articles in magazines all over the world that tell of the weird and wonderful marine creatures of the Lembeh Strait.

KBR is an exceptional case study in resort development. The management wished to avoid the mistakes that had led to overexploitation elsewhere, forever altering formerly pristine dive destinations. They were determined not to place an excessive burden on the ecosystem. Massive dive tourism, although a lucrative business option, was to be excluded. Preservation, rather than exploitation for a quick profit, became KBR’s philosophy. Instead of erecting a large hotel complex, they opted for a small-scale development, with the added benefit of the charm of the traditional Minahasan architecture. Only 12 luxury guesthouses were built, together with a central restaurant and administration building. There are four boats, and a maximum of eight diving guests is allowed per dive site. As a result, there is minimum diver pressure. Long-term preservation is a constant concern. For this purpose, KBR co-operates with government agencies, as well as local and international conservation societies. A major goal is to achieve marine park status for the area.

Lembeh Strait is ideal for year-round diving. The mountains of mainland Sulawesi to the west and those of Lembeh Island to the east protect the strait from the seasonal monsoons. The dive sites have a variety of habitats. Seemingly barren volcanic sand slopes and rubble areas reveal elusive, rare creatures, such as the wonderpus and the mimic octopus. Tiny pygmy seahorses adorn Muricella sea fans. Spectacular nudibranchs are everywhere. The rare and unusual seem commonplace. Here is an entry from my logbook:

“The incredible concentration of frogfishes at Makawide justifies why the Lembeh Strait is often called the ‘Frogfish Capital of the World’. The place is littered with them to such a point, that after a while one tends to ignore them, just like the many puffers at Hairball. There is a big (25cm) yellow frogfish near the mooring; a marble-coloured one on a mushroom leather coral further away and a cluster of four frogfishes at the 10-12m range. A total of six frogfishes in a relatively small area is quite incredible. Note: Dive again tomorrow. Check for additional frogfishes that I could not spot.”