Daddy Day Care

'This yellow-headed jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons) is a paternal mouthbrooder practicing buccal incubation. While teaching a marine biology course in Little Cayman, I spent about 15 minutes of the dive underwater at a depth of 45' trying to get close enough to get this shot (while not scaring him back into his burrow). My goal was to capture an image of the eggs that are developing within his mouth, so I was thrilled when I was able to capture the eggs' eyespots. I watched him move the eggs around to aerate them with oxygenated water. These jawfish only grow up to 10cm, and it is relatively rare to find one with eggs, so I was quite happy to be able to witness this amazing feat. What a good dad!'

Camera: Canon 5D Mark IV
Lens: Canon 100mm Macro
Settings: ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/200 sec
Housing: Ikelite Underwater Housing and Strobes
Post-Processing: Clarity, Decrease Shadows, Increase Blacks

Lindsey Dougherty

Institution: University of Colorado