Adnan Awad is in Mauritius overseeing a port biological baseline survey, with the team from Mauritius Oceanography Institute. They are sampling all habitats in and around the Port Mathurin and adjacent marina, including video transects on the outside coral reefs. This will give them a baseline of marine biodiversity and indication of any introduced alien species. So far they are very impressed with the species richness for corals and reef fishes and haven’t yet noticed any serious invaders. Following 5 days in the field, samples will be sent back to Mauritius and South Africa for taxonomic ID, which may take several months.
