By Neil McDaniel. I was beginning to feel distinctly waterlogged. Nearly five hours earlier, well before dawn, fellow cameraman Randy Haight and I had crawled, bleary-eyed, from our comfy beds and lugged our underwater cameras down to the dock. There, just at daybreak, we had stepped into the warm shallows of Bonaire, hoping to film the fascinating courtship and mating behaviour of Caribbean reef squid.At first our familiar group of about 15 squid had been serene, holding loose formation and finning easily in the slight current. But as the slanting rays of the intense Caribbean sun crept over the horizon, they became more animated, flashing bold patterns and darting back and forth. Their signals became ever more frenzied, with many male-female displays and even some dramatic posturing between rival males. After a couple of hours of intense courtship we had noticed one female retreat to the bottom and begin a meticulous search for a safe place to lay her eggs. She was extremely fussy, and it was more than 30 minutes before she finally selected a large flat slab of coral rock and began to deposit her finger-shaped egg cases, one by one, under it. An attentive male hovered close by, intently watching the process. Each time the mother paused in her egg laying labours, he darted in to deliver yet another package of his sperm. After more than 50 visits to the coral slab, she finally appeared to have exhausted her supply of eggs and swam off, leaving the fist-size cluster of eggs undefended. Finally, it seemed safe for us to leave the bottom. After almost six hours the squid sex show seemed to be winding down. Randy and I were beat but pretty happy. It had been our best day by far filming-wise. We were part of a documentary production led by Danny Mauro, producer of Sport Diver TV and Undersea Explorer. This footage was part of the first episode of Ocean Realms, a high-definition natural history series about the amazing creatures of the sea. This particular episode is entitled "Tentacles," and examines the fascinating world of cephalopods, including octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus. Our filming expedition to Bonaire had been planned to coincide with the field research program of a group of dedicated cephalopod experts. Over the past four years, a team of researchers headed by Dr. Jennifer Mather of the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, has been carrying out behavioural studies of reef squid in the shallow, clear waters along Bonaire's sheltered western shore. Jennifer and her associates, including Drs. Roland Anderson, Ulrike Griebel and James Wood, have been especially interested in the complex visual signals that these expressive squid use to communicate. Jennifer chose to do her research at Bonaire after visiting several Caribbean sites. Situated in the Dutch Antilles (with Aruba and Curacao) Bonaire has proven to be one of the best places in the world to study squid behaviour. Small schools of reef squid can be found along the entire protected coastline, where they hover in social groups of up to several dozen. The researchers generally observe the squid behaviours while snorkelling and are able to identify individuals by means of distinctive scars and other body markings. Short-hand notes are made on slates, for later transcription into their laptop computers. The colourful and intricate patterns displayed by Caribbean reef squid seem to convey a wide range of meanings, including sexual interest and readiness, aggression, dominance and submission. There is even speculation that these squid can "lie" in order to deceive an adversary. Jennifer and her team eventually hope to learn the complexities of squid "language," believed to be the most sophisticated communication system employed by any marine creature. Shooting Oceans Realms in high-definition, wide-screen video was pure pleasure. High-def images are colourful and wonderfully crisp as the format provides more than 1,000 lines of resolution. Our Sony High-definition camera was housed in the superbly designed Amphibicam Marine Housing, the result of several years of development by Val Ranetkins and Robert Ruffolo of Amphibico, a Canadian company that specializes in underwater video equipment. The Amphibicam features a high definition adapter that provides distortion-free wide-angle images with full zoom capability, fully electronic camera and lens controls, stereo audio and a high-definition underwater monitor. Fully loaded with camera and lens, the Amphibicam is nearly neutrally buoyant and handles extremely well, enabling very steady tracking and travelling shots underwater. Filming animal behaviour takes considerable patience and perseverance, but our two weeks with the amazing reef squid had been very productive. It's hard to beat working in bathtub warm, clear water only 10 feet deep. With some good footage of frisky reef squid "in the can," we reluctantly packed up and left the sunny skies and warm seas of Bonaire. Our next assignment looked to be a good deal tougher: pursuing the wily giant Pacific octopus in the chilly, green waters off rugged Vancouver Island. | |
 Part of the Oceans Realm film team (l-r) Danny Mauro, Dennis Coffman and Neil McDaniel. Photo by Randy Haight.
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Shooting with the Amphibicam |
