Friday 13 September 2013

Kakaban island : part of the Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Kakaban

Kakaban

Kakaban island is part of the Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
The most distinctive feature is the huge brackish water lake in the middle of the island, in the local dialect Kakaban means "hug" as the island hugs the lake from the surrounding seawater.
KakabanIn the middle of this island is a mangrove-fringed lake, slightly above sea level, where thousands of non-stinging jellyfish live making it interesting for diving. The jellyfish consist of four different species which have lost their natural defense system because of the lack of major predators in the lake. They are: Aurelia aurita with transparent body, Tripedalia cystophora which only has a tip finger size, Mastigias papua is likes a green-brown bulb, Cassiopea ornata which is upside-down jellyfish with their tentacles upright. Similar lakes exist in the Philippines Palau, with Jellyfish Lake being the best known.
The lake has warm brackish water and the bottom is covered with marine green algae. There are other animals living here, some sea cucumbers, gobies, sea anemones, tunicates, crustaceans, nudibranchs, orange purple clams and yellow clams on the branches, and snakes.

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