The University of Queensland`s Moreton Bay Research Station (MBRS) on North Stradbroke Island hosted more than 35 of the world’s top marine scientists for three weeks in February, as part of the 13th International Marine Biological Workshop.
Scientists came from the UK, Germany, USA, China, Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand to gather more specific knowledge of the taxonomic, ecological and physiological aspects of the rich environment of Moreton Bay.
The bay lies at the point where two biogeographical zones overlap, forming an unusual mix of tropical and temperate species, which makes it a prime area for research.
The marine scientists covered a range of specialties from marine mites, corals and sponges, fish, barnacles, mangroves and wetlands, to anemones and algae.
Dr Ian Tibbetts, Director of the MBRS, said having such a concentration of talented researchers in the one place at the one time would leave a lasting impression on the scientific knowledge of Moreton Bay.
Click here to have a look some of the research being conducted at the workshop. (792kb - Requires QuickTime to view. Click here to download.)
"It is big and it will really put us on the map," Dr Tibbetts said.
"We will get a really strong focus in terms of primary research here in Moreton Bay."
Dr Tibbetts, a marine biologist specialising in the biology of fishes, was using the workshop to gather information as part of a larger project to properly resolve the relationships between flying fishes and their allies.
"There is a fair bit of confusion about the evolutionary relationships within the Order Beloniformes group of flying fishes and their relatives so we are collecting genetic and morphological data to resolve the uncertainties," he said.
"In research terms, this is a major undertaking with our colleagues in the US from the Smithsonian Institution."
Dr Julie Phillips, a phycologist (algal specialist) with UQ’s Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, said Moreton Bay had been a long-neglected area for research at the species-level and the workshop was a great way to gather leaders in their fields together for an intensive bout of base-line science.
"Species-level research in the bay has been badly neglected for the past 30 years, so to be able to have this workshop gather so much new data in one hit is a real boost," Dr Phillips said.
"Before this workshop there were only nine species of seaweeds recorded for Dunwich, and now I’m up over 50 so it has been an invaluable process."
The workshop, organised by the South East Queensland Branch of the Australian Marine Sciences Association, also hosted a visit by Queensland Natural Resources and Mines Minister Stephen Robertson who was able to get a first-hand look at some of the research being conducted.
The results of the workshop will be published in 2006, in two volumes, by the Queensland Museum and will be an invaluable addition to the knowledge of Moreton Bay for future generations.
Anemone out there?
Marine biologist Professor Daphne Fautin is finishing a research project initiated by her former professor more than 50 years ago.
Professor Fautin, from the University of Kansas in the US, travelled to the workshop as part of a project to identify the various species of sea anemone found in Australia.
Sea anemones are considered to be the flowers of the sea, coming in many different sizes and colours.
They attach themselves to rocks or coral, or burrow into sand or mud, and spend most of their lives in one place.
Professor Fautin`s former professor, Cadet Hand, made the same journey to Queensland in the 1950s but did not publish the results of his study, leaving behind just his notes.
Since then, little has been done to identify and categorise the different species of sea anemone.
"Australia has never had an anemone specialist so we didn`t really know what was here," she said.
Professor Fautin said just over 1000 species had been recorded worldwide, 120 of them in Australia.
"It is just about knowing what is out there," she said.
Together with her research assistant Andrea Crowther, from the Queensland Museum, Professor Fautin is noting the characteristics of each different species. The anemones are also photographed and dissected.
Professor Fautin said the workshop and the facilities at the research station had greatly assisted her project.
"Anemones are not in abundance so bringing all these people together is good – all these other pairs of eyes," she said.
Professor Fautin said she hoped her work would promote further research into sea anemones and the marine life that live in and around them.
Marine life heats up
Sea snails that can withstand extreme heat and new findings about the fiddler crab have baffled an international expert who found Moreton Bay’s marine life to be more spectacular than first expected.
Associate Professor Shirley Lim, an ecologist at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, took part in the workshop to expand her research on the fiddler crab and periwinkle snail.
The size of a five cent coin, the periwinkle snail can survive temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius.
"This is truly amazing. Humans would have trouble surviving such large temperature fluctuations but these extremely small snails are able to survive extreme temperatures by adapting to their environment," Dr Lim said.
The snails survive the heat by raising their shells and standing up with only a thin layer of mucus attaching the snail to the rock.
This position allows a convection current or breeze to blow through the snail’s shell and cool it down.
Dr Lim also made a significant discovery about the fiddler crabs of Myora Creek.
Until now, research has shown different species of fiddler crab are usually confined to a specific habitat.
Dr Lim`s research in Singapore has been consistent with this hypothesis and the country`s two common species each live separated in two habitats.
In contrast, Moreton Bay has four to five different species of fiddler crab and none of these are confined to a specific habitat.
This finding has raised questions about fiddler crab habitat and physiology in other areas of the world.
