04.09.08 Final day!

Day schedule:
7:00 – 8:00 Breakfast
8:00 – 9:30 Presentations
9:30 – 11:00 preparing for departure
11:00 departure, end of the field trip

Weather: very windy (20 knots), pooring down rain!

Details: After two weeks of beautiful weather in the Australian winter, this day started with a lot of rain, which held on until 17:00.

After the last breakfast at the Lady Elliott Island Eco Resort the group met for a last time in the lecture room to hold their talks at 8:00. One and a half hours later and surely a lot of mistakes later, the work has been done and the fieldtrip was nearly finished.
The group members took their bags and at 11:00 the last members left the island. At 12:15, the group gathered for the last time at Hervey Bay airport to say good-bye, and then dispersed in all directions and the field trip was over.
(However, some people later got together in a bar in Hervey Bay for food and drinks to celebrate the fantastic two weeks...)

Thanks to everyone, it has been a fantastic time for all of us!!

And a big thanks to Dr. William Loh for the perfect organisation!

03.09.08 Project day 2

Day schedule:
7.00 – 8.00 Breakfast
8.00 – 12.00 Individual projects
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch
13.00 – 18.00 Individual projects
18.00 – 19.00 Wine reception
19.00 – 20.00 Dinner

Weather: fine, increasingly windy (15 knots) Tides: High tide - 10:34, Low tide - 16:24

Details: Group 1 had a last snorkelling survey for their project, and was happy that the water wasn’t as cold as the day before.
Group 2 debriefed in the restaurant area and wasn’t seen until 4 PM. Everyone worked hard on their presentations, but the scheduled time slot of 16:00-18:00 for the presentation of each groups results had to be postponed to the next morning at 08:00, because group 1 did too much fieldwork and wasn’t able to finish their presentation on time, as were the other groups. Everyone was a bit surprised, but to be honest group 3 was really happy of the circumstances because Xenia, Kristin and Julien had the opportunity to go snorkelling for a last time.


At 18:00, Prof. Gert Woerheide, Dr. Mike Reich and Dr. William Loh sponsored and organized a reception for the students with wine, cheese and snacks. This reception was planed to conclude the two wonderful weeks we had, but because the talks had to be hold the next day not everyone had the chance to enjoy it at 100%, but it was a nice evening.

02.09.08 Project day 1

Daily schedule:
7.00 – 8.00 Breakfast
8.00 – 12.00 Individual projects
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch
13.00 – 18.00 Individual projects
18.00 – 20.00 Dinner
20.00 – 22.00 Individual projects

Weather: fine, windy Tides: High tide - 10:00, Low tide - 16:05

Details: Today the second round of individual projects started. During the day, group 2 (orientation of Tridacna clams) and group 3 (echinoderm diversity on Lady Elliott Island reef flat) did some literature research and group 1 (coral and invertebrate zonation and biodiversity on the reef flat), started with a snorkelling at 9.00 AM. At 10.00 AM the first were back and complained about the frosty water temperature. After this cool adventure the group decided to work at low tide like the other two groups.

Group 2 investigated the clams in a part of the lagoon and measured about 89 of them.
Group 3 started the investigation in two groups at 2.00 PM, one at Coral Gardens, Marc and Julien, and the other one, Kristin and Xenia, at the Lagoon in front of the dining area. After four hours of echinoderm identification lessons the group, supported by Dr. Mike Reich, were caught by the receeding sun and did not finish the inspection of the lagoon.

After dinner the groups started to work on their presentations, but most students were so tired from the hard day's work that after 9.00 PM nearly nobody worked anymore.

01.09.2008 Shore snorkel & night snorkel

Day Schedule: 7:00 Breakfast
8:30 – 10:30 Shore snorkel at the lighthouse
11:00 – 11:30 Debriefing of morning snorkel
11:30 – 12:00 Presentation of the individual projects
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 18:00 Time for individual activities
18:00 – 19:00 Dinner
19:00 – 20:00 Discussion of individual projects
20:00 – 21:00 Night snorkel

Weather: fine, 22°C
Tides: High tide – 9:24; Low tide – 15:29

Details:
The task during the mornig snorkel was to utilise the knowledge aquired during the last two days to identify corals, fishes and invertebrates along the low energy reef flat and the reef slope. A second focus was on the reef topology, zonation and its geology and compare with the high energy side of the reef. We started snorkeling at the lighthouse in the southwest of Lady Elliot Island and worked in groups of two or three students. After the snorkel we discussed the impressions and identified the species encountered in the lecture room. Prof. Wörheide drew a cross section of Lady Elliot Island and its reef on the white board and explained the geology of the reef and its different zones in detail.
This sketch of the topography of Lady Elliot Island showed the difference between the high and the low energy reef. Todays shore snorkel was at the low energy reef. The different energy levels control the topography of the reef. In the low energy reef we find a high living coral cover and only little vacant space. The coral community here is dominated by table corals (Acropora sp.). At the reef crest we found a lot of coraline red algae. The reef flat is compressed in comparison to the exposed side of the reef. There we found more massive coral growth forms and many incrusting corals. During cyclones or heavy storms, the fragile corals will break off and are being washed on the reef crest, or transported to the lower end of the reef slope in deeper water. Frequently, we observed broken-off and upside-down lying table corals on the windward side of the reef. At this side of the reef there was a lot of uncovered space in between the corals. At the windward exposed side of the reef we could observe typical spur-and-groove systems, radially running channels that break up the fore-reef and transport debris and backflushing water. In these channels, large coral-rock fragments, covered by algae, were found. Such spur-and-goove systems were not observed at the sheltered side of the reef. The coral reef actively grows and expends at the reef crest.
At the high energy reef slope we found more nocturnal fishes. In contrast to that we find more schools and shools at the low energy reef. Identified species included:
Bennett's butterflyfish - Chaetodon bennetti, Bennett's Puffer - Canthiguster bennetti, Bigeye Trevally –Caranx sexfasciatus, Bird wrasse - Compnosus varius, Black-banded snapper – Lutjanus semichinches, Black-beach - Anampses neoguinaicus, Black-tailed Dascyllus – Dascyllus melanosus, Blackspot Tuskfish – Chaerodon schoenleinii, Blue blanquillo - Malacanthus lathorittanes, Blue devil fish – Assessor macneilli, Blue spotted rockcod – Cephalopholis cyanostigma, Blue tilefish – Hoplolatilus starcki, Blue-green chromis – Chromis viridis, Bluestripe seaperch – Lutjanus kasmira, Checkboard wrasse – Habichoeres hortulatus, Cleaner wrasse - Labroides dimiditus, Clown coris - Coris aggula, Clown triggerfish – Balistoides conspicillum, Common cleaner wresse – Labroides chimidotus, Cook’s cardinal fish – Apogon cookii, Double seddle butterflyfish – Chartodon ubietretus, Dusky butterflyfish – Chaetodon flavirostris, Fiveband flagtail – Kuhlid mugil, Giant grouper – Epinephelus lanceolatus, Giant sweetlips – Plectorhinchus alboviltatus, Goldstriped sweetlips – Plectorhinchus chrysotaenia, Green moon wresse – Thalassoma lutescens, Hawaiian Triggerfish - Rhinecanthus aculeates, Lined surgeon - Acanthunes lineanes, Longfin Batfish - Platax teira, Manta ray - Manta birostris, Manybar goatfish - Parnpeneus multifasciatus, Mashed bannerfish - Heniochus meneceras, Midnight dottyback – Pseudochromis paranox, Neon demsel – Pomocentrus coelestris, Orange-banded coralfish – Coradion chrysozomus, Oval spot butterflyfish – Chaetodon speculum, Peacock grouper – Cephalopholus argus, Reef lizardfish - Synodus varieganes, Reef needlefish – Strongylura holidayensis, Riversnapper – Lutjanus argentimaculatus, Roundface – Platax tiere, Royal dottyback – Pseudochromis paccuguellae, Scissortail sergant – Abudefduf sexfascitus, Six-spine leatherjacket – Meuschenia freycineti, Slender suckerfish – Echeneis naucrates, Spot-tail butterflyfish – Chaetodon anellicandus, Spotted unicornfish – Naso brevirostres, Sunset wrasse - Thalassoma lutescens, Teardrop butterflyfish - Chaetodon unimachlanus, Threatfin butterflyfish – Chaetodon auriga, Trumpet fish – Aulostomus chinensis, Waite’s splitfin – Luzonichthys waitei, Yellow-lined coris - Coris aurilineata
In the evening we went night snorkeling. We met at 20:00 at the resort and snorkeled on the reef flat. We saw nocturnal animals like the blue spotted stingray and the Epaulette Shark – Hemiscyllium ocellatum.

31.08.2008 Boat snorkel & reef walk

Day Schedule:
7:30 breakfast
8:30 – 9:30 lecture: corals and coral reef ecology
10:00 – 11:15 boat snorkel
11:30 – 12:30 lecture: coral reef fishes
13:00 lunch
14:00 – 17:00 reef walk
17:00 individual debriefing
18:00 dinner
19:00 lecture and debriefing: coral reef invertebrates

Weather:Sunny, air: 26°C, water: 21°C, wind: 0-5 knots SE
Tides: High – 8:46, Low – 14:50

Details: After breakfast we had a lecture by Dr. Loh on corals and their ecology where we learned all about their morphology, feeding, reproduction, dispersal and habitats.

At 9:45 we met at the lighthouse for the boat snorkel trip on the windward reef side. On our way we saw lots of big Manta Rays (Manta birostris). While snorkeling we used fish cards to identify the families of fishes present at this site. The reef on the windward side of the island differs to the other side where we were snorkeling the day before. There was a spur and groove system with reef debris in between. The corals were more massive and incrusting. We found only a few table corals and less fish. We saw: Yellow-margined Snapper (Lutjanus fulvus), Butterflyfishes (Chaetodon sp.), Goldtail Demoiselle (Chrysiptera parasema), Springer’s Demoiselle (Chrisiptera springeri), Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidatus), Palette surgeonfish (Paracanthurus hepatus), Clown Triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillium), Titan Triggerfish (B. vividescens), Wrasse (Thalassoma sp., Halichoeres sp.), Dottyback (Pseudochromis sp.)
On the way back there were lots of dolphins and a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
Then we had a lecture by Dr. Loh on coral reef fishes and got an idea about what the different families look like and what they feed on.
After lunch we went out for a reef walk on the windward side in the lagoon. Right after the beach on the reef flat the first living corals were identified: Montipora digitata, Goniopora sp., Porites sp. (forms microatolls), Pavona sp., Fungia sp., Platygyra sp., Goniastrea sp., and Tubipora musica (Octocoralia). There were also echinoderms like sea cucumbers (Holothuria leucospilota, H. edulis, Bohadschia argus and Stichopus chloronotus) and a sea urchin (Tripneustes gratilla). Molluscs found all over the walk were Conus sp., Tridacna squamosa, Tridacna maxima and Cypraea tigris. Also the green alga Halimeda sp..
On the second half of the lagoon, there was a huge number of Acropora sp. and the different coral families and species mentioned before, except Montipora digitata. We saw echinoderms like sea stars (Linckia laeviata), sea urchins (Echinothrix diadema and Diadema sp.) and sea cucumbers (the ones mentioned before, and Actinopyga mauritiana, Holothuria atra, Bohadschia marmorata, Bohadschia paradoxa, Stichopus variegatus and Pearsonothuria graeffei). There were two Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) stuck in small pools, cought be the receeding tide.
In the reef debris we found many sea urchins (Echinometra mathaei), sea stars (Nardea novacaledoniae, Fromia sp.), a brittle star (Ophiomastix sp.). When turning around blocks of debris we saw lots of ascidians, flatworms, polychaetes (Eurythae complanata), sponges (for example Clathrina sp.), sea hares (Aplysia dactylomela), abalones (Haliotis asinina), polyplacophorans (Acanthopleura spinosa), a red-eyed crab (Eriphia sebana), and small crabs. The most spectacular was an Epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum).
At the high energy zone at the end of the reef flat there were only sea urchins and cone shells, few sea cucumbers and the ground was covered with coralline red algae.
In the evening we had a lecture by Prof. Wörheide and Dr. Reich about nearly all groups of invertebrates and debriefed the animals we found from each group during the day.

30.08.2008 Geology, flora and cultural heritage of LEI

Day Schedule:
7:00 Breakfast
8:30 – 10:30 Checkout snorkeling in shallows
11:00 – 12:30 Cultural and environmental history of LEI (Walk)
13:00 Lunch
14:00 – 17:00 Shore snorkel at Coral Garden
18:00 Dinner
19:00 – 20:00 Student talks from Anne U. and Henrike W.

Weather: first sunny and hot, cloudy in the afternoon
Tides: 8:07 high, 14:10 low

Details:
After a delicious breakfast we got our wetsuits at the Dive-Shop. Squeezing ourselves in, we were ready to go to the Lagoon where we had our introductionary snorkeling. The water was so shallow that we almost touched the corals with our bodies. We saw a huge diversity of animals like sandy sea cucumber (Holothuria atra), long skinny sea cucumber (Holothuria leucospilota), leopard spot sea sucumber (Bohatschia argus), branching coral, brain coral, blade coral, boulder coral, blue sea star (Linckia laevigata), cone shells and a lot of different fish like the triggerfish (Balistidae) and trumpetfish (Aulostomus chinensis).

After a short break we went to the education center. Lady Elliot Island (LEI) appeared as a coral cay about 3500 years ago, when sea birds started to rest on it. Their droppings contained seeds with which it was possible to establish vegetation. We saw the white capped noddy, the silver gull, the common noddy and many other birds.
Because of the guano, which is a good fertilizer, LEI was destructively mined in the late 1800's. 100 years later (1969), a program to recultivate the island was started. The first type of vegetation was grass, followed by bushes and trees. A bush that is using saltwater is the Octopus Bush, which occurs around the outside of the island, at the border to the beach. Costal She-Oaks are common on the island, as they are fast growing and need little water because the have optimized their leaves to prevent water loss. Other Trees are the Goats foot convolvulus, the Pandanus Palm, the Beach Spinifex as well as the Cotton Tree, with the yellow blossoms and the Sandpaper Fig. There are a lot of introduced species like the weed Iantana, that change the color of their blossom, the Mother of Millions, the Umbrella Tree and other plants. As we moved on we came to a dried out pond site. Dr. Loh told us that three weeks ago there still was water in there. The group ate some fruits from the nearby fig tree and everyone survived.

Later on, we were introduced to the history of LEI. In 1816 a vessel named Lady Elliot was wrecked on a reef off Cardwell in North Queensland that is now called Lady Elliot Reef. As mentioned before, Guano mining from 1863 till 1874 was the only commercial usage of the island. Up to 30 Chinese and Malayan workers cleared the top 60 cm off LEI. At the end of the mining-venture, the first Lighthouse was build in the northern part of the island. However, the native vegetation was completely destroyed by the guano mining and the island was barren and devoid of any plants. We also visited a well in the centre of the island, that was dug out by chinese workers through the coral rock (we could see coral debris of Acropora and Favia around the well) to supply the guano-workers with fresh water.
Imported from England, a 15m high lighthouse tower was assembled in 1873. Its kerosene-powered light could be seen by ships from approximately 30 km offshore. In 1995, a solar-powered 35m high lighthouse-tower was constructed next to to the old one and replaced it. Now in a 24/7 automatic operation its light signal reaches about 40km.
As we turned to the nearby graveyard, behind the old lighthous-keepers cottages, Dr. Loh told us two tragic stories. One about a girl who died of pneumonia because of lacking medicine and the other one of a Lighthouse keeper’s wife, named Suzannha , who committed suicide by drowning herself.
A short break for lunch paused our learning experience.
At 14:00 we walked to the Coral Gardens, where we expected to see some sharks. Buddy teams formed and we were informed about the currents and condition in the water. We snorkelled in three groups of four and one group of three, led by Dr. Loh and escorted by Dr. Reich and Prof. Wörheide. Outside the reef crest the waves were moderate with a decent swell, the water had a temperature of about 22 °C.
A white-tip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) swam beneath us and a short time later a black-tip reef shark (Cacharhinus melanopterus) and a Smooth stingray (Dasyatis brevicaudata) followed. We saw also a lot of smaller fish like batfish, sweetlip (Haemulidae), cleaner wrasse, parrotfish (Scaridae) and rabbitfish (Siganidae). Turtles were also seen. The main corals on this low energy habitat are from the genus Acropora. These corals frequently build table-like colonies here. Other corals were the organ pipe coral (Tubipora musica, Octocorallia) and massive Porites.
At the end of the day, the last two student talks were given and helped us to understand the subject of the coral reef system located around the island. Henrike (it was her birthday today) informed us about reef geomorphology and zonation as well as the community structure of its inhabiting animals.
After that Anne U. informed us about the development of the tourism in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region. Tourism, growing industry, mining and agriculture increasingly threaten and pollute the environment and we were informed about the zonation of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to conserve the natural environment. LEI, for example, is a "green zone" ("no-take zone"), where no collection of animals, fishing and mining is permitted. The positive evidence of this full-protection can be observed around the island, with lot's of "charismatic megafauna" (sharks, rays, turtles, whales) abundant in nearby waters.

29.08.2008 up north to Lady Elliot Island

Day Schedule:
5:30 Breakfast
6:00 Pack and clean Rooms
6:27 Ferry to mainland
7:05 Board Coach, drive north to Beerwah (Sunshine Coast hinterland)
9:00 – 12:10 Australia Zoo
12:10 – 15:20 drive further north to Hervey Bay
15:20 – 16:15 Board planes (2) and fly up to Lady Elliot Island (about 30 min flight)
16:20 – 18:00 Introduction and settle in rooms, exploring of the Island
18:15 Dinner and free time afterwards

Weather: Sunny
Tides: not relevant today

Details: After we woke up and packed our things we had breakfast. To get to the ferry we had to walk 5 minutes to the terminal and left „Straddie“ at 6:27.
It took half an hour for the ferry to reach the mainland where a small bus was already waiting for us. After a short restroom break we were heading north to the Australia Zoo near Beerwah. It took us about 2 hours to get there and we had to wait for ten minutes because the Zoo opens at 9:00 am.
Steve Irwin and his wife Terri took over management of the zoo in 1992. It was formerly known as the Beerwah Reptile Park. Steve’s parents opened it in 1970 to save animals and rehabilitate them.
People get the chance to see wildlife from a close perspective or even touch some of the harmless animals. At 11:00 there was a show called „ Wildlife Warriors“ in the big „Crocoseum“. In 40 minutes several animals, like birds, crocodiles, snakes and elephants, were introduced to the audience. But because of wintertime the crocodile wasn’t very active. Before leaving the Zoo we took a group picture in front of the Australian Zoo sign.

We arrived at Hervey Bay Airport a little late but because we were the only passengers they waited for us. We are 18 people and the planes, leaving to LEI, are small so we had to take two. The next problem was that we were allowed to take 10 kg per person, so everybody had to leave stuff behind to match that weight.
The first plane took off at about 15:30 but because it was the smaller one the bigger one was able to overtake it in the air, where we were waving at each other.
We finally arrived at LEI around 16:00 and were introduced by a staff member to the rules and shown around the resorts facillities. Our bags were already in our rooms and so we had some time to explore the island and watch our first sunset sitting on the shore being amazed by the scenery and the beautiful island.
Dinner was served at 18:00 and we all enjoyed it! There even was a free Mocktail for everyone of us.
After dinner we had free time as well but most of the people were exhausted and after a walk along the beach most of us went to bed.

28.08.2008 Individual Projects, second day

Day Schedule:
07:00 – 08:00 Breakfast
08:00 – 09:00 Playing soccer
09:00 – 11:30 Individual projects
11:30 – 14:00 Lunch
13:00 – 18:00 Individual projects
18:00 – 19:00 Dinner
19:00 – 21:25 Presenting individual projects
21:25 – 21:30 Instructions about housekeeping stuff and very short feedback
21:30 … Cleaning up laboratories

Weather: cloudy in the morning, a little sun in the afternoon, little wind, 20°C
Tides: 07:40 – High tide; 12:37 – Low tide

Under creamy clouds the day starts with a rich breakfast. After that some people set up the first Soccer Island Games of Northstradbroke Island. Although they fought very hard, neither the ‘Moretone Bay Mud Crabs’ nor the ‘Wet Wobbegongs’ could win the tournament.

Until 19:00 the groups worked on their personal projects and arranged their presentations. Results of individual projects were presented from 19:00.

Group one came to the conclusion that Soldier Crabs (Mictryss spp.) show no tendency in the direction of digging into the sand. Furthermore they suggest an unknown factor for the crab behaviour during low tide but absence of water.
Group two tested the hypothesis that seagrass habitats have a higher diversity than mudflat habitats. Even at the coast near the Moretone Bay Research Station.
The results of Group three suggested that the orientation of Strawberry Cockles (Fragum unedo) during their lab experiments is influenced by the direction of the exposed source of light (with a preference for blue light) and that this is more random outside of the lab in the wild. More sampling effort would be needed to make this a very nice project.
Group four discovered that the Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus pelagicus) has a preference for seagrass habitats compared to algae (Cauleropa taxifolia) and sand habitats.

27.08.2008 Individual projects, Day 1

Day Schedule:
07:00 – 08:00 Breakfast
08:00 – 11:30 Individual projects
11:30 – 14:00 Lunch
13:00 – 18:00 Individual projects
18:00 – 19:00 Dinner
19:00 – 03:00 Individual projects

Weather: Sunny in the morning, cloudy in the afternoon, no wind, 22°C
Tides: 12:37 – Low tide, 06:35 – High tide

Most of the students arrive very late for breakfast, because of the hard days they had ;-). The last ones arrived at 7:50 am. After the breakfast the individual projects started.
Group 1 catches about 210 soldier crabs and distributes them in 3 aquaria. One aquarium has all the time low tide; one aquarium has all the time high tide and the last aquarium changes the tides with the real tides. We are eagerly awaiting the results if the soldier crabs can sense the tides when outside of their natural environment as a signal for burrowing and re-appearance.
Group 2 aims at comparing the meiofauna from two different habitats (seagrass & mudflat) to investigate if the biodiversity is influenced by sediment type. They started their project by collecting samples in the field, in front of the research station. Five samples of the mudflat and five samples of the seagrass sediments were taken to allow for replication. The analysis of the meiofauna then proceeded with sieving out different size fractions and hard microscope analysis that lasts over many hours until late in the evening. Preliminary results indicate that the meiofauna biodiversity of the seagrass sediments is much higher than the one of the mudflats.
Group 3 asked the question whether strawberry cocle clams orientate themselves to optimize light uptake for the photosymbionts in their mantle, or whether they are randomly oriented. The group analyses the direction of the clams in the field and also has some samples in different light conditions in aquaria at the station. Preliminary results indicate an orientation of the clams to the west, but the statistical significance of this still needs to be tested. The low tide at 2 am (in the morning!) wasn’t far enough, so that no analyses could be done at night.
Group 4 analyses the behaviour of blue swimmer crabs over 24 hours to investigate habitat preferences. For this they have 10 crabs in 10 basins with a mudflat and a seagrass area and look every hour which habitat they prefer. This is a coninuation of a research project conducted by a resident PhD student.
The "event" of the day was at about 11 am when venomous fish attacked Christian. By chance it didn’t hit him really bad and he continued to work after he was at the medical centre. At night no consequences of the attack could be seen.
All groups continue their individual projects until Thursday, when they will present their project in the evening.

26.08.2008 Seine netting, Goompi trail

Day Schedule:
07:00 Breakfast
08:00 Walk to the wetland looking for different seagrass species and seine net fishing with Dr. William Loh
10:00 Morning tea
10:15 Visual identification of the collected samples
11:00 Aboriginal “Goompi Trail” with Matt Burns
12:45 Lunch
14:00 Crossover presentation about Biodiversity and Biodiscovery with Prof. John N.A. Hooper
15:15 Break
15:45 Discussion about individual projects with Prof. Wörheide & Dr. Reich
16:30 Preparation of the individual projects with Prof. Wörheide & Dr. Reich
18:00 Dinner
19:00 Lecture about Whales, Sea Snakes and Sea Turtles by Dr. William Loh
20:00 Spotting Koalas and Dolphins at Point Lookout
21:30 Official end of day

Weather: cloudy in the morning to blue sky at noon, temperatures up to 24°C, slight winds of changing directions
Tides: 11:11 low tide, 18:17 high tide

Details:
That day started with a walk to the nearby tidal zone in order to do sea net fishing and collecting different seagrass species. Two people did the fishing with a big net and several others used small handheld nets to catch everything seen. The success of the big net (seine net) was sobering. In ten walks, only two Garfish (Hyporhamphus regularis ardelio) of about 25cm, one Leatherjacket (Monacanthus chinensis) of about 10cm and several Toadfish (Tetractenos hamiltoni) of different size were caught. The handheld nets gave the same species as the days before; but to mention two beauties a Blue-lined Octopus (Haplachochlaena fasciata) and a Pygmy Squid (Idiosepius pygmaeus) have been identified.
During that time several different kinds of marine plants were collected and brought back to the station. A visual identification with books and identification cards revealed that three species of Seagrass (Zostera capricorni, Cymodocea serrulata and Halophila spinulosa) as well as two species of algae (Sargassum sargassum and Caulerpa taxifolia) were found.
After dinner, Matt Burns from the local aboriginal community gave an introduction into the cultural live of the aboriginal people of Australia. Followed by a walk around, to show different useful native plants and at the end a presentation of several weapons and artefacts. In the Area of Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island are three different tribes (“Nuggi”, “Nunukl” and “Goormpul”) which are living there for about 20.000 years. This dating has been made on shales at traditional eating areas called “midden” where they meet and eat their food, collected from around the island.
After Lunch, Prof. John N.A. Hooper (Head of Biodiversity & Geosciences Program at the Queensland Museum, Brisbane) gave a presentation about Biodiversity and Biodiscovery. He presented a project to regionalise all the different marine species around the Australian continent. It can be differentiated into 3 main Bioregions with turnover-points at Brisbane (E-Coast), Cape York (NE-Coast) and Shark Bay (W-Coast). The presentation covered lots of different topics so it was more a huge crossover than specific information.
Later that evening, the participants divided into 4 groups to work on their different indivdual projects. These cover "Behaviour of Soldier Crabs”, “Meiofauna of two different habitats (Sand & Seagrass), "Phototrophic orientation of Strawberry Cockles (large well-tasting mussels with photosymbionts in the mantle)” and “Blue Swimmer-Crab habitat preferences".
In the evening Dr. William Loh gave a lecture about Whales, Sea Snakes and Sea Turtles in the eastern Australian Region.
As a nice finish of that day, the group went out to “Amity Point” for spotting “Koalas” and “Indopacific Humpback Dolphins” – which was quite successful. Two adult and one baby Koalas were spotted in trees near the local high school, and 2 dolphins were seen at Amity Point after illuminating the water surface with strong torches.

25.08.2008 Low energy rocky shore, mudflats, seagrass beds

Day Schedule:
07:00 – 08:00 Breakfast
08:00 – 11:30 Activity: Low energy rocky/sandy shores and mudflats; collection of
invertebrates starting at Polka Point
11:30 – 13:00 Activity: Identification of the invertebrates collected
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 14:45 Lecture: Ecology of Moreton Bay
15:00 – 16:00 Activity: Fish identification (seine netting)
16:00 – 18:00 Free time for developing ideas for individual projects
18:00 – 19:00 Dinner
19:00 – 20:45 Individual group projects
21:00 – 21:35 Lecture: Students talk about whales

Weather: Fine to partially cloudy, light to moderate SW to SE winds, 22°C
Tides: 09:57 – Low tide, 16:53 – High tide

Details:
Low energy rocky/sandy shores and mudflats; collecting invertebrates starting at Polka Point
Starting at Polka Point we searched for invertebrates. The area was first very rocky with a cliff. Then turned into sandy shores and subsequently into seagrass meadows. The area around Polka Point was built by sedimentary rocks and the soil became anoxic close to the surface. The prominent rocks eroded from the cliff are red in colour due to iron oxides. Animals adapted to tolerate partially dry conditions during low tide could be found between the rocks, animals requiring more moist conditions were found in the wet sand and small water holes. While walking around, the students collected different invertebrates (Crustacean, different Mollusca, Worms, Echinoderms and different corals). Other animals like fishes or birds could be seen.

Species list of animals collected an photographed:
Sponges: Haliclona sp.
Anemones: Macrodactyla doreensis (Purple-tipped Bay Anemone), Cnidopus verater (Green Anemone), Stichodactyla haddoni (Haddon’s Anemone), Cerianthus sp. (Tube Anemone)
Sea Pens: Virgularia sp.
Bivalvia: Pinna muricata, Pinctada maculata (Spotted Pearl Oyster), Cardiidae sp., Fragum unedo (Strawberry Cocle), Globivenus embrithes
Snails: Cymatium parthenopeum (Broad-ribbed Triton), Fusinus sp., Cellana tramoseriea (Common Limpert), Nerita sp., Cypraea sp. (Cowrie), Hydatina physis (Rose Petal Bubble)
Nudibranchia: Armina sp., Pleurobranchus peronii, Hypselodoris obscura
Cephalopods: Hapalochlaena fasciata (Blue-lined Octopus)
Sea Squirts: Endistoma elongatum
Crustacea: Mictyris longicarpus (Soldier Crab), Clibanarius talniatus (Yellow-striped Hermit), Macrophthalmus carssipes (Orange-spined Sentinel Crab), Thalamita crenata (Green Swimming Crab), Clibanarius virescens (Yellow-footed Hermit)
Polychaetes: Phyllodoce novaehollandiae (Green Paddle Worm), Chaetopterus variopedatus (Parchment Tube Worm)
Brachiopoda: Lingula sp.
Sea Stars: Astropecten polyacanthus, Nepanthia sp., Pentaster sp.
Sea Cucumbers: Holothuria scabra (Sandfish), Holothuria pardalis, Holothuria notabilis, Cladolables perspicullum, Synaptula recta

Lecture Ecology of Moreton Bay
The main information given to us was that the reason for the high diversity in this area is caused by two water regions mixing up. So coldwater fish and tropical fish are meeting here. Also three main habitats of sea are located in Moreton Bay. The open ocean, high energy shore at the outer coast and low energy shore also with mangroves in the bay. A couple of rivers are entering the bay, so the nutrient and sedimentary entry is quite high. This fact causes seagrass meadows in the bay.
Fish Identification (seine netting)
After the lecture we went out to the beach to try to catch some fish. We tried to trap the fishes with the help of a net. We surrounded the fish with the netting and pulled it onto the beach, where we could have a look on the trapped fish. We did this twice, but the catch was rare both times.
Fishes: Sillago maculate (Diver Whiting), Tetractenos hamiltoni (Common Toadfish),  Atherinomorus ogilbyi (Ogilby’s Hardyhead), Hyporhamphus regularis ardelio (Garfish)

Individual Group Projects
We discussed our first ideas for the individual group projects and formed groups.
Group 1: Felix, Iris, Reinhard
Group 2: Xenia, Kristin, Julien, Sebastian
Group 3: Sabine, Jamil, Christian, Anne D.
Group 4: Henrike, Anne, Stephan, Mark

Students talk about whales:
The talk was about the evolution of whales in general and Humpback Whales in detail. Marc informed us about adaptations whales developed due to their environment – water. We also learned about travelling routes and their communication.

24.08.2008 Myora Springs, Brown Lake, Blue Lake

Day Schedule:
8:20 Abfahrt Bus nachMyora Springs
8:25 Ankunft Myora Springs
10:30 Ankunft Brown Lake
12:05 Ankunft Parkplatz und Wanderung Richtung Blue Lake
13:00 Blue Lake
14:45 Ankunft 18 Mile Swamp
15:30 Begehung Main Beach
16:15 Ankunft Research Station
19:00 L: Dangerous marine animals

Weather: sonnig, ca. 23°C, Wind aus sued-oestlicher Richtung
Tides: 8:42 Low, 15:40 High

Details:
Nach Ankunft bei Myora Springs ueberquerten wir die Strasse in oestliche Richtung. Dort fanden wir eine Suesswasserquelle, welche die Austrittstelle des Grundwassers darstellt. Der Ursprung des Wassers ist Regenwasser, dass vor 10-20 Jahren in die Dünen einsickerte, und sich nun in einer "Wasserlinse" auf dem salzigeren Meerwasser im Untergrund sammelt und einen Aquifer bildet. Durch die Oberflächenspannung im Sediment bildet sich eine nach oben gewölbte Wasserlinse, wobei das Wasser durch den hohen Wasserdruck der darueber liegenden Wassersaeule nach aussen gepresst wird. Das Wasser hat einen ph-Wert von ca. 6,5 und ist auf Grund der filternden Wirkung des Quarzsandes sehr sauber. Durch den sauren ph-Wert ist das Habitat arm an Arten.
Wir ueberquerten die Strasse in Richtung Westen. Hier trafen wir zunaechst auf ein kleines Regenwaldgebiet, dessen Existenz auf den Suesswassereintrag aus der Quelle zurueckzufuehren ist. Das Wasser bildet eine natuerliche Barriere gegen Buschbraende und ermoeglicht so das Ueberleben der fuer den Regenwald typischen Pflanzen. Hier dominieren nicht wie sonst der Eukalyptus, sondern Ficus Arten. Richtung Meer geht dann der Regenwald in Mangrovenwald ueber. In diesem Lebensraum muessen die Pflanzen an staendig wechselnde Bedingungen angepasst sein. Zum einen herrschen waehrend Ebbe ueberwiegend Suesswasserbedingungen und waehrend der Flut Salzwasserbedingungen vor. Um das ueberschuessige Salz loszuwerden, kann es zum einen in die Blaetter transportiert werden die dann abfallen oder das Salz wird durch Poren ausgeschieden. Dazu brauchen die Pflanzen viel Energie, weshalb Mangroven nur in den Subtropen/Tropen vorhanden sind, wo ausreichend Licht zur Verfuegung steht. Zum anderen ist das Substrat anoxisch. Die Sauerstoffaufnahme erfolgt deshalb ueber Luftwurzeln, die aus dem Sediment ragen. Typische Mangrovenarten sind z.B. Acrostichum speciosum (Golden Mangrove Fern), Avicennia marina (Grey Mangrove), Rhizophora stylosa (Spotted Mangrove) und Brunguiera gymnorrhiza (Orange Mangrove). Desweiteren halten sich hier viele Fisch- und Crustaceenlarven auf, die hier ein Rueckzuggebiet vor Feinden finden. Die Mangroven haben eine wichtige Bedeutung, da sie zum Beispiel als Sturmbarriere dem Erhalt der Kueste dienen. Ausserdem fungieren sie als Senke fuer Schadstoffe, die dadurch nicht in weiter Seewärts gelagerte Habitate gelangen (z.B. im Grossen Barriereriff).
Auf den interdidalen Seegraswiesen fanden wir waehrend der Ebbe folgende Organismen beziehungsweise ihre Spuren: Steckmuschel (Pinna bicolor), Seehase (Aplysia sp.), eine "halbtote" Seegurke (Holothuria sp.), gruener Paddelwurm (Phyllodoce novaehollandiae), gemeiner Kugelfisch (Tetractenos hamiltoni) und Frassspuren von Stachelrochen und Dugongs.
Die naechste Station war der "Brown Lake", bei welchem es sich um ein "Perched Lake" handelt. Dieser See liegt oberhalb des Grundwasserspiegels und wird durch Regenwasser gespeisst. Im Untergrund wird das Wasser durch eine wasserundurchlaessige Schicht, dem sogenannten „Coffee rock“ gehalten, die aus abgestorbenem Pflanzenmaterial besteht. Das Wasser hat einen pH-Wert von 6-7 und weist eine braune Faerbung durch die darin enthaltenen Tannine auf, welche aus den Blaettern der naheliegenden Baeume (zB. Melaluca) stammen. Des Weiteren fanden wir hier einige Aga-Kroeten ("Cane Toad", Bufo marinus; Moskitofische und Sonnentau.
Gegen Nachmittag erreichten wir den "Blue Lake", wobei es sich um einen "Window Lake", der vom Grundwasser gespeisst wird, handelt. Der See hatte ein pH-Wert von 6-7. Auf dem Weg zu diesem See fanden wir typische Pflanzen wie den Grassbaum (Xanthorea sp.), Banksia (Banksia sp.), Eukalyptus (Eucalyptus sp.). Der letzte Halt befand sich am "18 Mile Swamp". Dieses Sumpfgebiet erstreckt sich fast ueber die ganze Laenge von North Stradbroke Island. Auch bei diesem Gebiet handelt es sich um einen Window Lake. Im Wasser des Sumpfes, dass einen pH-Wert von ca. 6 hatte, fanden wir Moskitofische, Blutegel und Garnelen. Die Vegetation wurde durch Lycopodium, Lepironia und dem Neophyt Salvinia gepraegt.
Vor dem Sumpf befand sich der Main Beach, welcher der Wind exponierten Seite zugewandt ist und deshalb eine durch energiereiche Bedingungen gekennzeichnte Vegetation beherbergt, wie z.B die Mornig Glory (Ipomonea pescaprae), die eine dem Strand zugewannte kriechenden und innerlandig eine strauchartige Morphologie aufweist. Des Weiteren fanden wir hier den Sheoak (Casuarina sp.), Pigface (Carpobrotus glaucescens) sowie Spinifexgras (Spinifex sp.).
Am Abend hoerten wir eine Vorlesung ueber gefaehrliche Tiere des Moreton Bay Marine Park wie etwa dem Stachelrochen, Blauring-Oktopus, Steinfisch, Kegelschnecke und Bullenhai.

23.08.2008 Point Lookout to Cylinder Beach

Day Schedule:
09:30-10:30 Arrival Moreton Bay Research Station on North Stradbroke Island
10:30-10:45 Settle-in to accommodation
10:45-11:10 First general information by Prof. G. Woerheide
11:10-11:30 Get Ready for the day’s activities
11:30-12:00 Information about security and general rules by Dr. William Loh
12:00-12:30 Bus ride to Point Lookout
12:30-13:30 Walk from South-eastern point to Cook’s Seat at Point Lookout – whale and dolphin watching, plants on North Stradbroke Island
13:30-14:05 Lunch break at Cook’s Seat
14:05-14:55 Walk from high-energy shore (Frenchman’s beach) to low-energy shore (Deadman’s beach) with explanations of exogenic processes and fauna
14:55-15:20 Walk to Cylinder Beach
15:20-16:30 Swimming and beach walking at Cylinder Beach
16:30-17:00 Bus ride back to MBRS
17:00-18:15 free-time
18:15-19:15 dinner
19:15-20:15 lecture about sand-islands – North Stradbroke Island (NSI) and Fraser Island , plan for next day

Weather: sunny, around 23°C, wind from south-east
Tides: 07:30 low tide minimum, 14:47 high tide maximum

Details:
After arrival and settle-in the first information about the general procedure of the course and the rules to get a certificate is given by Prof. Gert Woerheide between 10:45 and 11:10. Dr. William Loh then explains the general rules of the Moreton Bay Research Station, emergency procedures, dangerous marine animals, energy conservation, the local Aboriginal community, University of Queensland guidelines and Lab guidelines es well as the communication possibilities until 12 o’clock. 

Pick-up by Ozzie the bus driver,  30min bus ride to Point Lookout. The group takes the Gorge Walk from 12:30 to 13:30 around the south-eastern corner on eroded Triassic lava which formed part of the huge Caldera in southern Queensland and now belongs to the North Stradbroke sand island, which was formed by longshore currents in the Pacific. Good views of a group of bottlenose dolphins and two humpback whales travelling South to North are possible.

On the way Dr. Loh talks about the typical vegetation that can be found on NSI like the Coastal Screw-pine Pandanus tectoris, the Coast Banksia - Banksia integrifolia and the Coastal She oak - Casuarina equisetifolia.
After a lunch break at Cook’s Seat in company of a Willy Wigtail we observe the difference between the erosion and fauna of a high-energy and a low-energy shore taking a stroll from 14:15-15:20 from Frenchman’s Beach to Cylinder Beach. Considering the squeaking, clean quartz rich sand on the high-energy shore Frenchman’s Beach the group gets an impression why due to the absence of organic nutrients only little diversity exists here. Some Polychaeta and mussels can be found living in this ‘starvation’ zone. 

Crossing the volcanic outcrops to Deadman’s Beach a completely different situation can be found on this calm, low-energy shore. Between the rocks in the intertidal there can be found a range of different species like Oysters, Green Zoanthids, Anemones -Actinia tenebrosa, the Constricted Top Snail - Austrocochlea constricta, Granulated Barnacles - Tetraclitella purpurasens, the Mulberry Whelk - Morula marginalba and Polyplacophora like Oakchiton - Onitochiton quercinus. Dr. Mike Reich explains infaunal feeding showing several examples.
After trying some sand boarding at 14:55 and crossing the next volcanic outcrop with good examples of the paleo lava flow the group arrives at Cylinder Beach spending the time from 15:20 to 16:30 with swimming and beach walking. A Sepia backbone with marks of a bite is found.
After another 30 min bus-ride back to the MBRS, free-time and dinner the group joins the class of Dr. Loh from 19:15 to 20:05. General information about Australia is given, followed by the explanation of the formation of sand islands along the coast of New South Wales and Queensland. Fraser Island and NSI are described in a more detailed way concerning the formation and age of sand dunes and the typical vegetation succession. The habitats of NSI are explained along a profile through the island with help of the type of soil, nutrient availability and the groundwater level. Typical types of lakes that can be found as well as the most important fauna is mentioned and environmental problems due to mining, water loss, development and tourism are addressed giving a look into the future. Finally a short outlook to the next day’s activities is given and the first day ends at 20:15.