Emma Saso

We arrived on Lizard Island on an 8-seater plane and crammed into a car with all of our gear for a bumpy ride down the sandy one-lane road leading to the Lizard Island Research Station (LIRS). We were welcomed by LIRS directors Emily and David, gathered the food that had arrived a few days prior on a shipment from the mainland, and made quick work settling into our new accommodations. During the first half of our time on Lizard we had lectures from Drs Morgan Pratchett, Rob Whitehead, Jenny Malon, Brad Eyre, and Tyler Cyronak on topics ranging from biogeochemistry (a subject which I did not know much about coming into the program) to coral reef ecology and crown-of-thorns sea stars. Outside the classroom was where we spent most of our time. We explored the reefs framing the island and practiced skills we learned in lecture such as collecting data on coral size demography at Mermaid reef and studying sediment and seagrass dynamics at Casuarina beach. We boated to the mangroves and snorkeled among them – I spotted blue spotted stingrays and the goby-pistol shrimp duo, which pair up to share a burrow for mutual benefit. I practiced my captaining skills nearly every day in the dinghy, including in some rough weather!

While learning about reefs from various angles, we began narrowing in on our independent projects. Coming off of a biological oceanography class last semester, I was intrigued by the plankton community residing in the reef and offshore waters of the corals and some fish species. Zooplankton play an important role in trophic systems by linking primary productivity with higher trophic levels, thereby forging vital food web connections. Plankton dynamics are complex and understudied, despite their importance in facilitating the transfer of energy up the food web. This concept was at the front of my mind when I came across a 1977 paper that investigated the community composition of plankton on various seed substrate types in the lagoon at Lizard. The authors placed demersal plankton traps on the reef at night which captured plankton migrating upwards in the water column overnight. I decided to build my own trap and test this myself. During the independent project time on the island, each day I deployed my trap in the late afternoon and collected it in the morning with the help of my fellow classmates. I then counted all the zooplankton that had emerged from the substrate at some point overnight.

Meanwhile, our group was becoming more tight-knit and comfortable with one another. We enjoyed sunset beers together, ate delicious meals cooked creatively with our provisions, and played spoons and Texas hold ‘em in the evenings, always surrounded by a chorus of laughter. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean on the projector in the classroom and went “out on the town” to the famed Marlin Bar to exit the LIRS bubble and enjoy a couple drinks and some food. On our last day we made the steep climb up to Cook’s Look, a peak with a vantage point where the vastness of the great barrier reef unfolded before us. We could see the action of the reefs protecting Lizard Island from the turbulence of the Pacific Ocean.

I feel so lucky for my time on Lizard Island, and have noticeably grown as a scientist from this experience. I gained an appreciation for experimental design and asking a testable question within a specified scope. This was the first time I was handed the reigns completely on the scientific project, from question and hypothesis development right up to the final presentation. Upon reflecting on the process, I’ve realized that it is easy to show up somewhere new and want to do everything, to learn everything – but this is truly not possible with limited time! Every addition to your question adds complexity, variation and a need for replication, so in some cases less is more. In addition, I learned that I love working in a team, even though this may come as a sacrifice to total independence in research.

After departing Lizard we flew to Townsville where we visited AIMS and saw the Sea Simulator, where folks are working to perfect and scale-up out planting of thermally resilient corals. We visited the zoo and saw adorable koalas, massive saltwater crocodiles, and kangaroos to round out our Australian experience. We had a lovely social science lecture at JCU by Dr. Jaqueline Lau which explained how to collaborate with social scientist and integrate social science into reef science for society. We all presented our projects on the last night, and celebrated! Overall, when I think back to my time in Australia I will remember the beauty of Lizard Island—the gigantic giant clams, the plentiful white and black tipped reef sharks, and the many interesting conversations with researchers and fellow students.