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Diving for Cowries in Thailand

By Frederick Claro CD#18819.


    It is common for most of us, involved in the diving world, to dream about being an active part of an ecological survey or some kind of scientific research. All of us are, with no doubt, working hard for a better environment, a better understanding and protection of our aquatic realm. Part of our job as NAUI Instructors , as stated in the general mission of NAUI, is to educate the public to a better understanding of the underwater world in order to protect it at its very best interest.              
    On that issue, we did have a very interesting and pleasant experience recently on Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand, with results which will, we hope, help to give a better handling of a species' evolution and therefore educate people on the importance of preserving our aquatic world, from where we came, we human beings, millions of years ago...
    A research program on cowries and cone shells took place on Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand, from the end of November until mid-December 1998. The results of this study are the core matter for Mr. Chris Meyer, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Berkeley, California, with the assistance of Professor Gustav Paulay (Ph.D. head of the marine laboratory at the University of Guam). This study on cowries and cone shells was designed to compare the different and identical species of shells through their DNA imprints.
    The research is based on the theory of convergent evolution, which states that two or more supposedly identical species of the same family found apart in the world, could be absolutely different as far as their DNA imprint will show. The difference in the evolution of the species is attributed to the time to adapt differently to their environment. Most cowries and cone shells live in tropical waters, although some of them could be find in temperate waters such as South Africa or California. The widespread patterns of those shells make it difficult to collect and centralize the information at Berkeley University.
    It is a fact that the Indo-Pacific region is the richest area on the planet concerning marine life. Therefore, most of the samples for the study have been collected in that place. Specimen of cowries and cone shells from Guam, Indonesia, and Phuket, Thailand were collected for DNA study at Berkeley after a thorough selection.
    The field man for the collect of the creatures is Mr. Harry Conley (retired. U.S Air Force.), whose expertise in years of studying on site these amazingly beautiful animals, is of great value to the marine lab of the University of Guam as well as for Mr. Meyer at Berkeley. Getting the opportunity of diving with Mr. Conley, I had the chance to appreciate his acute sense of observation as well as his "6th sense" to find the creatures (usually tiny...) in their natural habitat.         
    My job in the field was also to ensure the well-being of our fragile ecosystem around the Kata Beach and Koh Pu area. I have to say that the whole collecting process went without negative impact on our environment and that very few samples were collected and send to Mr. Meyer for study. On board, after every dive, Mr. Conley showed us the cowries and cones he had collected, explaining to us the major differences between them and therefore educating us and our divemasters about those animals we seldom come across. About 90% of the collected shells were immediately put back in their habitat after "failing" Mr. Conley's strict selection.

    Mr. Conley also explained to us that in his quest for finding those animals for scientific purposes on a volunteer basis, Thailand was a major focus in the Indo-Pacific region as its waters are a mix of Indian Ocean, West Pacific and Australasia waters. The specimens collected here in Thailand will always be of extreme value for scientific purposes and DNA study.
    It has been already shown that what appeared to be the same species of cowry in Thailand and Indonesia were actually completely different as far as the DNA was concerned, most probably due to the early stages of the cowries life, which are waterborne and then settle on the bottom for further development after drifting in the ocean. The difference in the evolution might come from a mutation of genes within the same species of the same family , the mutation being the result of the adaptation of the shells to different environmental conditions. It is possible that this study will bring more understanding of the general theory of evolution of species through time , geographical and environmental differences, therefore, understanding more about the evolution of species on Earth in general.

    Special thanks in this research to Kata Beach Dive Shop, a NAUI Pro scuba centre in Phuket, for its cooperation in the logistics of the day by day diving and search processes and all NAUI Divemasters and Instructors, who have been helping Mr. Harry Conley in his quest, sometimes in rough sea and visibility conditions down the thermocline... During the collecting, only three Murex shells were collected as they were unknown to Mr. Conley and they all have been send to Mr. Roland Houart, Belgian Murex expert. These specimens might turn up to be new species of this shelled mollusc.
    We are also happy to announce that between the time of the search in Phuket and the writing of this article, Mr. Meyer of Berkeley university, became Dr. Meyer after successfully sustaining his Ph.D. thesis based on the convergent evolution of cowry shells.
    We have been proud here to participate in this research as we all feel that for once, the ocean haven't been abused and we hope that all human intervention there would be non destructive for the sake of human kind.



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