MCC Manta Project
MCC began their conservation work with Guam’s Manta Ray population. Guam has a resident reef manta population that was previously unstudied. The goal of this project is to survey and identify Guam’s mantas in the hopes of establishing population data, observing behavior and getting the community interested in manta rays.
Outreach
A large aspect of the manta project is community outreach. Educating Guam’s people is key to inspiring their interest in the ocean and conservation. Check out our Education Tab, which highlights manta ray biology, behavior and why we need to help them!
Research
MCC Founder Julie Hartup earned her masters degree studying the relationship between fish spawning aggregations and manta ray behavior on Guam and could provide data that is crucial to protecting our manta population. Read more about her findings below (coming soon)!
Photography
Photography is a useful tool in scientific research, as it allows scientists to review collected data both in and out of the field. Using photography, MCC is able to distinguish between different individual manta rays, providing a means of identification. Proper identification of individuals is crucial in accurately determing population sizes. Click below to see how photography has been used to identify Guam’s manta rays!