Undergraduate students from The University of Queensland’s School of Biological Sciences have embarked on a project to document the unique biodiversity that exists in Australia’s coral reefs.
Those enrolled in the Undergraduate Program in Marine Science have developed a website that describes the Great Barrier Reef’s invertebrates in detail.
Course coordinator and ARC Australian Laureate Fellow, Professor Bernard Degnan said the site details lesser-known invertebrates, many of which are of major ecological importance.
“Although colourful fish and corals tend to grab the attention of the public, the huge bulk of animal diversity on the reef comes in the form of snails, worms, starfish and crabs,” Professor Degnan said.
Working from Heron Island Research Station the students study particular marine invertebrates in detail.
These research findings are then published on “Great Barrier Reef Invertebrates”, the class’ website dedicated to describing their biology.
“These undergraduate projects and web pages are accessible to students, researchers, and future employers from around the world, and form an important part of a marine students' undergraduate portfolio,” Professor Degnan said.
Alyssa Budd was one of the students who participated in this course.
“I had decided to focus my attention on ascidians or sea squirts. There are over 200 species of sea squirts on Heron Island Reef alone. Luckily, on our first snorkel out on the beautiful Heron Island Reef a friend managed to upturn a coral boulder with a group of three large, peach coloured ascidians,”
“Excited that my project may already be underway, I quickly popped them in a sample container in the hope that I would later be able to learn how to study them in the lab,” Ms Budd said.
Ms Budd said the guidance provided to students in the course provided an exceptional learning opportunity.
“With the assistance of the course coordinater himself, a few crazy hours in the lab and a lot of research effort I managed to produce a webpage that was up to scratch and run a developmental experiment that provoked my interest in invertebrates."
This project is supported by a UQ Strategic Teaching and Learning Grant.
Media: Tracey Franchi, Communications Manager, School of Biological Sciences (+61 3365 4831 or email: t.franchi@uq.edu.au)
