Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jul 31

The reef is full of dangers 🌊 The Orange-spotted Filefish has a wild trick—it smells like the coral it eats, fooling predators! Often seen in pairs, it’s double trouble. 🧡🐟 #CoralConnections #ReefMagic #OceanAdaptations

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jul 16

New paper out in Proceedings B @royalsociety.org‬ by our team and Brazilian collaborators! Mid-Atlantic islands act as natural evolutionary incubators and highlight how rare dispersal across soft barriers can spark speciation. DM me if you want the PDF! royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jul 10

#JMIH2025 kick off, here we go!

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jul 8

This Candy Basslet (Liopropoma carmabi)—which I photographed her in the Steinhart Aquarium’s Twilight Zone exhibit—is a vivid reminder of the hidden beauty thriving in mesophotic reefs. Rarely seen, but impossible to forget. 🌊🔦 #TwilightZoneExhibit #HiddenDepths

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jul 5

The Black-lined Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea helsdingenii) is common on sheltered reefs and estuaries throughout the Indo-Pacific. They are usually seen in pairs of small groups, and I was lucky to photographed these two here perfectly lined up! #ichthyology #NastyGoby #Indonesia

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jun 16

I think I might be able to do it!

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jun 16

Our new paper reporting several new records of deep reef fishes in Australia's Coral Sea is out in Coral Reefs! Great team effort led by @kaithefishguy.bsky.social and including records made both by technical diving and ROVs. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jun 11

The Gilded Triggerfish (Xanthichthys auromarginatus) is a common and widely distributed fish. But because it prefers deeper waters (usually below 40m) in places with a lot of current, it's rarely seen. I photographed this beautiful male in the Maldives at about 70m depth.

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Reposted by Luiz Rocha

Minorities in Shark Sciences @misselasmo.bsky.social · Jun 8

On #WorldOceansDay, let's celebrate the heartbeat of our oceans: 🦈

Sharks play a vital role in maintaining healthy marine #ecosystems. As some of the top predators, they help balance species below them in the food chain, keeping coral reefs vibrant and fish populations in check. 🐠

#saveoursharks

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jun 8

Today, we celebrate the vast blue heart of our planet—the oceans. Be mindful, be curious, and be bold in your efforts to protect them.
Here’s to the beauty, power, and mystery of the oceans. 🌍💙
#WorldOceansDay #ProtectOurBluePlanet #OceanLove

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Reposted by Luiz Rocha

Dr. Dawn Wright @deepseadawn.bsky.social · Jun 4

SECOND HUGE bucket list 🪣 item attained: FINALLY getting to meet the incredible @coralreeffish.bsky.social and @divaamon.bsky.social at an @oceancensus.bsky.social Workshop this morning in Nice 🇫🇷!! My cup is full!
🌊 🦑 #OOSC

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Reposted by Luiz Rocha

Dr. Davey F. Wright ⛏️🦕🧬 @daveyfwright.bsky.social · Jan 11

"Extinction of experience" in disciplines like ecology & paleobiology isn't just about fieldwork. It's also the loss of taxonomic expertise. Any focus on Big Data, divorced from knowledge of natural history, is a largely vacuous enterprise with limited capacity to generate meaningful insights. 🧪

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jun 4

These spawning hamlets that I photographed in Belize are a perfect reminder of the ocean's rhythms and resilience. This #WorldOceanWeek, let’s celebrate and protect the underwater wonders that sustain our planet. Every fish, every reef, every ripple matters. 🌍🌱

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Reposted by Luiz Rocha

Der Führer hat immer recht! 🇺🇦 @grrlscientist.bsky.social · Jun 4

What Is Coral Bleaching, And Why Is It On The Rise?

by @grrlscientist.bsky.social via #Substack

#CoralBleaching🪸 #ClimateChange #SciComm🧪 substack.com/home/post/p-...

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Reposted by Luiz Rocha

Susanne Bähr @coralsandcrabs.bsky.social · Jun 4

Super excited that my PhD research made it on the national news of my chosen home for the past four years! @royalsocietypublishing.org 🦀🧪🪸🌍
arab.news/bvtne

Saudi Arabia’s KAUST study finds gall crabs use fluorescence to blend into coral homes

JEDDAH: Marine researchers from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have discovered that gall crabs use highly evolved fluorescence to help conceal themselves within coral hideouts....

arab.news

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Jun 2

Kicking off World Ocean Week with one of the ocean’s most colorful powerhouses — the mantis shrimp! 🌊🦐💥 Let’s protect their home and all the magic beneath the waves. 💙 #WorldOceanWeek #MantisShrimp #ProtectOurOceans #OceanMagic

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · May 26

The Bicolor Basslet (Lipogramma klayi) is a Caribbean deep-reef basslet. I photographed this one at 90m depth off Roatán at its natural #mesophotic habitat. This species is very rarely seen, but common at depths between 80 and 110m. #Honduras #DeepReefBiodiversity

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · May 22

🌊🌿 Happy International #BiodiversityDay2025! 🌿🌊 Symbiotic relationships are everywhere; these partnerships keep ecosystems balanced, species thriving, and life interconnected in ways we’re still discovering. And that teaches us a powerful lesson: we are better together!

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · May 15

🌍 Coris atlantica is a beautiful wrasse common in oceanic islands of the tropical eastern Atlantic. Males often spread their fins and show off their colors to intimidate rivals and attract females. #ichthyology #biodiversity #SaoTome

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · May 5

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Wishing everyone a day full of vibrant colors and Mexican Caribbean vibes — just like this magnificent Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris) that I photographed a couple of years ago in Cancún! 🌊🎉🇲🇽 #CincoDeMayo #Cancun #Explore

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Apr 29

Meet the Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loriculus), one of the most stunning pygmy angelfishes in the world. I love the contrast between its bold red-orange body, black stripes, and electric blue markings on the fins. Found in shallow reefs of the central and south Pacific.

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Apr 24

Hoping your day is as bright and beautiful as this Klunzinger's wrasse (Thalassoma rueppellii)! This species is only found in the Red Sea, and I photographed this one in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, home to some spectacular coral reefs. #PositiveVibes

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Apr 12

From lots of color to no color at all! Meet the Midnight Angelfish (Centropyge nox). Yes, it's a real fish, and it's common in shallow coral-rich areas of the western Pacific. I photographed this one in Batangas, Philippines. #ichthyology

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Apr 7

Crosshatch Triggerfish (Xanthichthys mento) sends everyone wishes of a very colorful and exciting week! #ichthyology #explore #scuba

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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · Mar 31

Groppos (genus Grammatonotus) are only found in #mesophotic or deeper depths in the tropics. During our trip to the Marshall Islands I had the chance to photograph the beautiful G. xanthostigma at about 140m depth, and what a beauty it is! This was its first record to the region.

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