THE BELIEF!
My firm belief was that most marine life (with enough information, photographic evidence and original specimens) could be identified visually in its natural habitat.
If this program could be developed and marine life recognised
(and therefore referenced) then perhaps we (the diving industry) could
incorporate it into our teaching programs.
Hopefully we could provide an adventure experience that would give our customers a reason to become underwater explorers.
By teaching all divers to be environmentally aware they could take part in real exploration by actually recording marine life at each of their local dive sites.
Marine scientists as a whole worked very hard to bring our knowledge up to date. However, there were no photographic reference books, ( only those with drawings), no training programs for volunteers, and no marine identification courses for divers.
I realized that somebody would need to do the work to establish a system and bridge the gap between scientific specimens and living marine life.
Forty-five years later with 65 Marine Life book titles and eight new Neville Coleman Underwater Naturalist Specialty Courses sanctioned by PADI & SSI, it is time to get on with it.
Now that digital photography is readily available to most, each diver could share their images with other interested divers by contributing images to the
Marine Life Inventory of Asia/Indo – Pacific Dive Sites,
the entire diving community could benifit!
Inventory images could be set up with an introduction as to its purpose and the sections ordered by Phyla, Family, Genus and Species, the same way all tertiary education is taught throughout the Asia/Indo-Pacific region.
As each phyla expand and divers become more interested, pages could be added and more pages published until the major phyla of fish, mollusca, echinoderms, crustaceans and cnidarians would eventually have their own sections.
UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHERS PARTICIPATION INVITATION
Putting the initial Australian Content of the Marine Life Inventory of Asia/Indo – Pacific Dive Sites together ( over 1000 dive sites) has taken a lot of time, money, dedication and unending amounts of work, time and skill.
The next section of the Marine Life Inventory to be added will be
introducing the Asia/Indo – Pacific Region
However, I believe that in the long term we will be able to share all the things we love doing and at the same time offer those who wish the opportunity to have their images published on site and in any appropriate Wildlife Guides, or Encyclopedia covering the Asia/ Indo Pacific area.
In this way we will be helping to develop a new image and a new purpose for divers to do what they love doing most.. diving!
Everybody who has a concern for the ocean can become part of the educational solution and be credited for their part.
"We only grow, by what we know!"
NC. 1980
All UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHERS , are invited to be part of the program, as well as anybody concerned with the oceans well - being.
All you need to be is keen, I will provide the opportunity for all to obtain
a range of educational material and services.
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Each guest photographer will be acknowledged with his,
or her own personal profile on my website. -
All photographers are protected by their own copyright and no image will be used without a specific copyright release for any book.
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Images submitted to be posted on the Marine Life Inventory of
Asia/Indo - Pacific Dive Sites can only be submitted by the copyright owner. -
All images published will have the photographers credited
name below the image caption.
Each submitted image could be accompanied by an information screed to enable records to be kept accurately. This would give each photographer some practice at researching their own image identifications.
I will do my best to supply names whenever identification is difficult.
*All photographers receive FREE copies of the book they have images published in.
All participating underwater photographers who contributed to NUDIBRANCHS ENCYCLOPEDIA received their credits beneath each of their images and their FREE, autographed copy.
I believe in diving and divers and I believe that divers are the only ones, who can make a difference,
because divers are the only ones down there!
Yes, we will have fun, but we can also achieve in the process and discover stacks of new species and amazing critter behaviour.
This project could eventually be linked with like-minded supportive educational groups, conservation groups, Dive Magazines, On line Diving services, Underwater Photography Sites, Dive Centres, Dive Resorts, Dive Boats, Live Aboard Boats, Dive Equipment Manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, together with all individuals interested in becoming part of our efforts to build an
Asia/Indo – Pacific Aquatic Educational Facility.
WE ARE ALL EXPLORERS…
WELCOME TO THE JOURNEY!
DIVE TOUR ADVENTURES
Not only could the value of specialty skills be developed, but this same concept could be extended to away weekends or dive travel to specific localities.
Imagine the networking possibilities. Divers with special skills at imaging or recognising aquatic creatures could become experts in specific phyla (groups of animals) and wherever they visit, thereby sharing the comradeship and adventure experience for all.
As we now have over 8000 image references in marine life books it will not take long to build up visual identification guides re the
Marine Life Inventory of Asia/Indo - Pacific Dive Sites.
Once enough images are compiled it might be feasible to combine all the images and produce either aquatic or marine life guides to every major faunal area.
In fact, it would prove a major boon to DIVE DESTINATION ECO TOURISM
and dive centres in general if they had their own individual
marine life guide to their own area.
World of Water Wildlife Guides
In keeping with this philosophy and as a major boost to the dive tourist development of the Asia/Indo – Pacific Dive Centres the first set of guides are available for six different South Pacific countries.
Wildlife Guides to Vanuatu, Fiji Islands, Solomon Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Lady Elliott Island, Papua New Guinea and the Tongan Islands are already completed, as well as the Maldives, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.
So with this already achieved it would not take a great deal of imagination
to envisage the same concept extended throughout the entire
Asia/Indo-Pacific area.
World of Water/Project AWARE schoolbook packs
for developing countries.
Hand over donation of educational book packs to school teacher at Santo, Vanuatu. I was able to work through Donna Llewell at Wantok Environment Centre whose organisation and enthusiasm was outstanding.
Over the past ten years I have been developing the concept of donating marine life educational book packs to schools throughout Papua New Guinea. To this extent, over 15 village schools have been sent up to AU $300 worth of books each for the school library and use by teachers and students.
This has also been complimented by books donated to Vanuatu schools and $1000.00 worth of books donated to schools in the Seychelles.
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY has changed the
"Name of the Game"
It has enabled us to speed up the process and thousands of divers engaged in underwater digital photography can now contribute to the discovery and publishing of new creatures from our amazing World of Water
Marine Life Inventory Introduction
Marine Life Inventory – History
Marine Life Inventory – Realization of a Dream
Neville Coleman's expeditions, fauna surveys, photographic fauna surveys marine life ID courses include every major group of marine life.
Neville Coleman's expertise in living taxonomy and marine life ID extends to the identification of Algae, Sea Grass, Mangroves, Forams, Sponges, Stony Corals, Soft Corals, Sea Anemones, Sea Jellies, Zoanthids, Corallimorphs, Black Corals, Flatworms, Segmented Worms, Crustaceans, Barnacles, Shrimps, Rock Lobsters, Hermit Crabs, Squat Lobsters, Molluscs, Chitons, Univalves, Bivalves, Cephalopods, Octopus, Cuttlefish, Squid, Opisthobranchs, Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs, Bryozoans, Sea Mosses, Echinoderms, Sea Stars, Feather Stars, Brittle Stars, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, Ascidians/Sea Squirts, Marine Fish, Sharks, Marine Reptiles, and Marine Mammals, all found in the waters around Australia.
