Nudibranch Marine Biologist at Lembeh Resort

At Lembeh Resort we are proud of our professional team which not only includes our experienced Dive Guides and Photography Guides but also an onsite full time Photo Pro (Sascha Janson) and Senior Marine Biologist (Dimpy Jacobs). We believe in training local staff wherever possible and providing opportunities for progression so almost one year ago we took on board Agustian Peloa who is from Luwuk in Central Sulawesi and who is just crazy about nudibranchs.

Agus & Dimpy

“Agus” graduated from Sam Ratulangi University, Manado (the same University as Dimpy) in Marine Science and has since been working at Lembeh Resort as an Assistant Marine Biologist and Dive Guide. Agus is onsite to assist guests with critter identification – his passion of course being to identify nudibranchs and he also assists Dimpy in monitoring, maintaining and cleaning the House Reef. Agus has already developed his own nudibranch classification presentation which he is continuously updating and developing.Agus says he loves muck diving in Lembeh because of the diversity of nudibranchs (no surprise!) and he is developing new skills which compliment the knowledge he gained from university.

Hypselodoris bullocki – by Agustian Peloa

“Here in Lembeh I am learning a lot more about the specialized world of critters. At university we studied marine biology, marine chemistry, marine physics and many other topics so we only learnt basic critter knowledge. Here in Lembeh it is so much more specialized and in depth so I am able to build on my existing skills and share my knowledge with guests and Dive Guides. Dimpy is my mentor and she has given me a lot of training which has really helped me”. Agus started diving in North Sulawesi in 2014 and despite studying full time at University he has already logged more than 600 dives and recognised hundreds of different species of nudibranch.

Chromodoris dianae – by Agustian Peloa

“I have a passion for nudibranchs because they are so diverse with all different colorations, body shapes and sizes and even behaviour. It’s my dream to see the oceanic blue dragon nudibranch one day (Galucus atlanticus) and I’d love to see other cold water species too”.

Agus says that the diving in Lembeh is so varied because of the abundance of food (plankton) and calm conditions which provide a perfect habitat for the critters and a variety of substrates for them to live on including black sand, rubble and reef. My favorite dive site is the Lembeh Resort House Reef as it has a combination of many different substrates from muck diving to coral reef and it’s also where I find Gymnodoris nudibranchs which are a very special species because they feed on other nudibranchs”.

Gymnodoris rubropapulosa – by Vadly “Opo S.” Makasighe

And what does Agus love most about working at Lembeh Resort? “The people! Everyone here is very friendly and helpful and they really make other staff and guests alike feel like part of the family. Lembeh Resort to me is the best resort in Indonesia”.

If you’d like to come and join us in Lembeh or ask about Agus, our team and their specialised fields contact us on reservations@lembehresort.com.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the Lembeh Strait soon.