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.