ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride)
A dive briefing · Aruba

Mangel Halto

Dive site off Aruba. Here's what has been recorded at this site month by month, how the region’s reefs have weathered ocean heat, and how to prepare.

Arubareef
At this sitegeotagged 166 m from the site coordinates Stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) · Adam Cohen · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)
Chapter I · Arrival

Mangel Halto: dive site off Aruba.

~12.465° N~69.970° W · Wikidata
1,239open records · GBIF
37species recorded
At this sitegeotagged 166 m from the site coordinates Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) · Adam Cohen · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
II

Entry

Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)

Entry points, depths, currents and any local rules will be added once we can verify them from official sources.

Approximate positionThese coordinates come from a crowd-sourced map or Wikidata item, not an official mooring list. Use them for orientation only.
To verifyDepth range, entry points and current notes. We publish them only with a citation. The coordinates mark the site in general, not a mooring or entry point.

At this sitegeotagged 166 m from the site coordinates Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) · Adam Cohen · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride)
Open media · At this sitegeotagged 166 m from the site coordinates Stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) · Adam Cohen · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Mangel Halto rises to meet you.

Stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride)
IV

What lives here, by month

Pick a month. These are the species most often recorded within about a kilometre in that month, from open survey records.

Oct
October · 60 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Blue Tang
Symmetrical brain coral
Cerion uva
Ocean Surgeonfish
Yellowtail Damselfish
Stoplight Parrotfish
Striped Parrotfish
Yellowtail Snapper
Mustard Hill Coral
Vandepoll's Molly
Caribbean vase
Great barracuda

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Blue Tang (7)
  2. Symmetrical brain coral (5)
  3. Cerion uva (4)
  4. Striped Parrotfish (3)
  5. Stoplight Parrotfish (3)
  6. Yellowtail Damselfish (3)
  7. Ocean Surgeonfish (3)
  8. Caribbean vase (2)
  9. Bluehead Wrasse (2)
  10. Yellowtail Snapper (2)
  11. Mustard Hill Coral (2)
  12. Vandepoll's Molly (2)
  13. Eratoidea ponsia (2)
  14. Great barracuda (2)
  15. Sally Lightfoot crab (1)
  16. Orange-band marginella (1)
  17. Trumpetfish (1)
  18. French Grunt (1)
  19. Smallmouth Grunt (1)
  20. Bluestriped Grunt (1)

GBIF.org (2026-10-15), occurrence records within ~1 km, licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0 only. Birds and land animals are excluded. Counts reflect survey effort, not abundance. 1,239 qualifying records. See them on GBIF. Common names: Wikidata (CC0) / GBIF. Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species.

V

Forty-one summers of heat

Each stripe is one year since 1985, colored by its peak heat stress across NOAA's “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-131.3°C-weeks · NOAA status: Bleaching Warning

NOAA CRW virtual station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”. NOAA's alert thresholds are 4 °C-weeks (Alert Level 1) and 8 °C-weeks (Alert Level 2). Station page · Method. Credit: NOAA Coral Reef Watch.

Peak per year · dashed lines at 4, 8 and 16 °C-weeks
The past twelve months
VI

Conditions

Average sea temperature through the year. Check the live readings before you go.

Average sea surface temperature by month: NOAA CRW “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” station climatology (monthly means).

Departamento Meteorologico Aruba · forecasts →

Buoy readings are measurements; forecasts are models. Use them for planning only, and assess conditions on site. Depth and visibility data aren't listed until we can cite a source.

VII

Plan & prepare

  1. Read the official marine forecast the night before.Offshore, wind and sea state decide the day.
  2. Confirm access, hours and any fees with the site.[Placeholder: verified operator list to come]
  3. Study this month's species above.You'll recognise more when you know the names.
  4. Hands off, fins up, buoyancy dialled. Log what you see.Your sightings can become tomorrow's open data.

Credits

Coordinates
Wikidata Q113487312 (CC0). Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) features. Approximate positions; two use the named bay or island nearby.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 1,205, CC0_1_0: 34
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (1,162 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (52 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Natural History Museum Rotterdam - Specimens · doi:10.15468/kwqaay (10 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Birda - Global Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/6kud7x (8 records) · GBIF
Dataset
INSDC Sequences · doi:10.15468/sbmztx (3 records) · GBIF
Dataset
The molluscs collection (IM) of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN - Paris) · doi:10.15468/xgoxap (2 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NMNH Extant Specimen Records (USNM, US) · doi:10.15468/hnhrg3 (1 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Royal Ontario Museum - Mammalogy · doi:10.5886/gdcfc8 (1 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=12.454917,12.474917&decimalLongitude=-69.979528,-69.95952799999999&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&taxonKey=44&taxonKey=206&taxonKey=229&taxonKey=136&taxonKey=225&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&limit=0
Heat stress & SST
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 5 km Regional Virtual Station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”
Hero photo
At this sitegeotagged 166 m from the site coordinates Stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) · Adam Cohen · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Arrival photo
At this sitegeotagged 166 m from the site coordinates Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) · Adam Cohen · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources