🪸Yesterday I had the honor of visiting marine biologist & deep-sea diver Sonia Rowley, PhD, in her lab at UH Mānoa. Her research on deep-sea corals, marine biodiversity & evolution, and the extreme diving she does to study them, greatly inspires me!! What an experience! @soniajrowley.bsky.social

"Love after Love" by Derek Walcott. A beautiful depiction, & yet also a reflection of how we treat the natural world 🪸 is in direct proportion to how we think about ourselves. And on the subject of authenticity, keep an eye out for updates on the upcoming research expedition to Timor-Leste 🇹🇱 🔬

Raw, uncut footage of many hours of deco at Ant Atoll, FSM 🇫🇲 Fascinating geomorphology carved from persistent surge funnelled from the lagoon colliding with the open ocean 🌊 These high-energy environments provide a stream of food for Gorgonian coral 🪸Welcome to one of my favourite places 🧜‍♀️ #fyp

@andicross.bsky.social with her literacy prowess, advocating for our planet, and all the brave who stand up for the natural world 🌏 @nature.org Thank you very much for this compelling article 🪸 www.nature.org/en-us/what-w...

Women & Allies in Climate: Sonia Rowley

Sonia J. Rowley wants deep-sea coral science to catch up with what she's finding.

nature.org

Side hustle, by popular demand 🪸✨📷 Sharing our oceans beauty is a privilege particularly in areas and depths where few will ever explore. 🔗 fineartamerica.com/profiles/son... All proceeds go directly to science 🧬 my scientific research 🧜‍♀️ please consider celebrating nature’s beauty 🪸

Enjoying life is critical 😎 Some of this is no longer here 🦈 some species are thriving 🪸 The close attention to detail is of great joy to me, resetting reality 🧜‍♀️ as opposed to the human sized chess ♟️ pieces of a game I don’t belong nor thrive in. It’s nice to come home to nature again & again 🌏 #fyp

Hurricanes 🌀 may destroy, but reproduction still finds its place! On the West Side of O’ahu 7 male Spotted Eagle Rays (Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhn, 1823)) are in hot pursuit of a single pregnant female! The warmth of the electric outflow attracts many species to reproduce, & the rays are relentless.

In a society that makes wrong things right! Expedition research teaches us about the natural world, it’s resilience & ability to thrive, despite ourselves 🧜‍♀️🪸 We can assist! Excerpt from the recent interview by @kazi_diving 🧜‍♀️ 🎥 www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDY... soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... #fyp

Critters in the trap 🦐🦀 The fish seem smarter at depth, able to swim back out. In the shallows they're not so smart getting stuck, decaying, & confounding the research. soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... #marinebiology #soniajrowley #gorgonian #fyp #trend

Choose your study organism 🪸the first thing we were told as a marine biology undergraduate. It’s more than just the diving 🧜‍♀️ it’s the questions, the intellectual curiosity, the analyses that bring the value of these animals & ecosystems alive! 🔗 Expedition Research: soniajrowley.com/expeditions/...

Calling All Ocean-Inspired Photographers! 🌊📸 Enter your photography to showcase marine life, ocean processes, and humanity’s connection to the coast. Enter by Friday 30th September 2026 ~ https://www.mba.ac.uk/ocean-image-collection/ #OceanImageCollection #PhotographyCompetition

The humble sediment trap! This environmental variable exerts a strong influence on the biological communities that we see across depth & different locations. These traps are also reusable ♻️ 🔗 Expedition Research: soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... #mesophotic #marinebiology #fyp

Research deco - can’t top it! Stunningly gorgeous & relaxing part of a very long @ exciting dive 🪸 being trapped in the shallows for a few hours when the photogrammetry has been exhausted 📷 🐟 🔗 Expedition Research 🔬 sign up: soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... #fyp #trend #soniajrowley #rebreather

Deco stop armed with scientific rebreather diving research kitchen sink ensemble 📷📈🎞️🧜‍♀️🪸 Transect tape, bailouts, camera & spare, computer, backups, collection bag… but is it a leak 🤯 no, sometimes you need to check, triple check… see for myself at the 60 m stop & gas switch. Compiled by @Alyssa Perez

A recent freedive this beautiful Spotted Eagle Ray Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823) rested beside me for over 2 minutes. Exhausted it had a large fishing hook in its wing. In Hawaiian culture these Rays are called Hīhīmanu, "magnificent" or "elegant bird" #fyp #trending #soniajrowley #marine biology

Arresting beauty, focus, & freedom of field research 🤓 🔗 Expedition Research: soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... DM for details 🪸 #fyp #soniajrowley #trend #mesophotic #gorgonian

The intricate hunting tactics of this remarkable Octopus during a night dive in the Batangas, Philippines. Fascinating activities with tremendous planktonic life darting around attracted to my lights 💡 Expedition research using rebreathers - can't beat it 🐙 😉 🔗 soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... #fyp

Biodiversity begets biodiversity 🪸🧬🐠🐡. Expedition research in the Coral Triangle investigates this immense biodiversity across depth, comparing these dynamic environments with other regions across the Indo-Pacific such as the remote Pacific Islands. 🔗 soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... #fyp

Expedition research @mesophotic depths 🪸 of the Coral Triangle, home to the most biodiverse marine communities on the planet 🌏 A little something for the weekend 🧜‍♀️🧬🔬 🔗 Expedition Research: soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... DM for details 🤓 #Mesophotic #gorgonian #soniajrowley #marinebiology #ccr

Mesophotic ecosystems are really quite distracting. Recently, whilst collection the CTD @Valeport the delightful beauty of these arborescent (tree-like) corals is arresting & certainly worthy of spending a few moments to appreciate species that we know so very little about. 📷 90m/295 ft Pohnpei🇫🇲

Christmas tree 🎄 worms 🪱 Spirobranchus corniculatus (Grube,1862) in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, SE Sulawesi, Indonesia 🇮🇩 Published in the journal Marine Biology @springernature 🔗https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-026-04834-5 #fyp #spirobranchus #christmastreeworm #soniajrowley

Some days are just worth remembering 😎A rare and surreal moment on the wreck of the Seatiger, Honolulu, Hawai’i 🧜‍♀️ Rebreather diver @jsmith_scuba & @mpdiver01 #fyp #soniajrowley #marinebiology #rebreather #mesophotic

Gorgonians 🪸 everywhere! Art prints 🖼️ bags, towels, shower curtains 🤷‍♀️ @fineartamerica will basically slap a gorgonian on anything & ship it anywhere in the world 🌎 🔗 fineartamerica.com/profiles/son... All proceeds contribute directly to my research 🔬 🪸 #mesophotic #marinelife #fyp #soniajrowley

Sweet shots 🪸 during data collection 🤓 The  beauty of researching nature, no AI needed 🚫Expedition research 🔬 being part of the solution 🧜‍♀️ DM for schedule details and to get involved: 🔗 soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... #gorgonian #soniajrowley #mesophotic #fyp #expedition

Expedition Research 🔬 🪸🧜‍♀️🤓 2026 Schedule is now live. Follow the link 🔗 & DM with Qs: 🔗 soniajrowley.com/expeditions/... #fyp #soniajrowley #mesophotic #marinebiology #rebreather

Descending down the outer wall of the @unesco.bsky.social protected Ant Atoll 🏝️ Sea level stands give an historic perspective 🪸 How small we are, how immense life is, how seriously cool scientific field research can be 🧜‍♀️🤓 100-130m (328-427 ft) depth 😎 focused, happy, in the zone @home #fyp

Good deeds on Good Friday 🧜‍♀️ Mahalo to @Shane Brown @shangerdanger for all your help saving this little lady, it would not have been possible otherwise 🐢 🙏 team turtle! Note: I am a trained Marine Mammal & Megafauna (incl. turtles 🐢) Medic. ⛔ If you see an injured marine animal please contact @HMAR

Strange sights at mesophotic depths 🖋️🪶 a remarkable field of sea pens from 57 m depth on a seamount in Okinawa, Japan 🇯🇵 Sea pens are the golden oldies of Octocorals, possess an peduncle that anchors them into the sand, can be bioluminescent, and host tiny fishes and crustaceans 🦞 🦐

Some Gorgonians 🪸 and biodiversity shots from mesophotic depths taken from 40-110 m/131-361 ft, for a change 😀 🧜‍♀️ 🤓 Indonesia 🇮🇩 one of the most beautiful mesophotic ecosystems on this planet 🌏 🔗 lnkd.in/ej8Fk6uv #gorgonian #mesophotic #fyp #soniajrowley #rebreather

Trippy twilight 🍄 interpretation of the incredible biodiversity at mesophotic depths🪸 The digital art by @joyceyujeanlee reveals the symmetry that exists within seeming chaos. MTA @mtaartsdesign Fulton Station, Manhattan, NYC and join Joyce on the 14th March 4 pm for an amazing walkthrough #fyp