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.