Katrina Giambertone

Words cannot describe how grateful I am for this experience. I came to Lizard Island with no in situ marine research experience and left with a plan for the sampling methods I want to use when I start my PhD. I became confident with snorkeling rather quickly since we were in the water every day and, in fact, realized I have a bit of a passion for free diving.

I’ve learned about different types of transects in a classroom before, but conducting point versus belt sampling methods on the reef made that knowledge much more tractable. I now understand when the different techniques are appropriate and how data is biased when you choose the wrong method. I also learned that surveying and sampling are different things, and I will never mistake them for each other again, thanks to Benjamin’s sassy corrections. Ben was a huge help with analyzing my data for the size structure assays of Pocillopora cf. meandrina, Acropora cf. hyacinthus, and Acropora cf. nasuta. He taught me half a semester’s worth of stats, R coding, and data visualization in twenty minutes. I have avoided coding in RStudio in the past due to intimidation, even though I know I will need it to analyze my Master’s data and in the future for my PhD. With the tips and tricks everyone gave me on how to get started with coding using AI software, however, I feel unbelievably more confident that I’ll be able to complete my analyses.

The data we obtained from our very short-term experiment was so interesting compared to previous data about the size structure of these species at Mermaid mooring. It seems colonies at Mermaid are getting larger on average, yet we are seeing a shift towards a greater number of smaller recruits with just a few large colonies. Identifying the different types of coral was also a skill I never thought I’d be able to pick up so quickly. Morgan’s introduction to the Indo-Pacific Coral ID guide was a bit overwhelming at first since it was fast-paced, but once we got in the water and started using the knowledge, it sank in quickly. It also made snorkeling so much more interesting because you start looking for key features in everything and use that knowledge for ID once you get ashore.

I also have to give Tyler a shout-out for not letting the imposter syndrome hold me back from achieving these proficiencies. Having a supervisor who admits that fieldwork can tax the body and brain and gives you the space and opportunity to explore and work on your skills without pushing you past your limits. I often feel like I can’t take the time to learn new skill sets in research because advisors or other mentors expect me to already know them, and I don’t feel comfortable admitting I don’t. Tyler guided us through this trip with the perfect attitude for new learners and a trusted judgment in experienced individuals, providing a guiding hand when necessary but not overbearing to those who needed less help. That was fundamental because I didn’t feel that learning these skills would take time away from those with more background in these topics. Needless to say, I left Lizard with exponentially more confidence in my ability to conduct coral research, and I could not be more grateful.

Townsville was a great ending to the trip. Visiting the Billabong Sanctuary reignited ecological interests in me that I had forgotten. I studied Wildlife Ecology and Conservation as an undergrad, so learning about different native Australian species and how they interact with the ecosystems throughout the continent was invigorating. Seeing Sea Sim was also awesome and made me recognize the different limitations of conducting research in the field versus in a controlled environment. All of my research has been done in a lab, and overall, what I got from this trip was the realization that I want to conduct more ecology-based and field studies for my PhD. It also got me very excited about teaching in the future because, as excited as I was to learn all these skills, I was even more excited thinking about how I can provide these experiences and help students develop these skill sets in the future.