Samuel Koeck

Lizard Island, was to put it simply, an amazing experience. Each day felt like an adventure with
new discoveries to be made. Before this trip, I had never snorkeled Pacific reefs or been in the
coral triangle. The first snorkel over a reef at Lizard was mind-blowing; the diversity of corals,
fish, and invertebrates that I saw was absolutely staggering. The first few lectures we had,
taught by Dr. Morgan Pratchett, centered around coral identification and some key ecological
concepts. As a biogeochemist, it was great to learn, see, and participate in a side of coral reef
science that was new to me. All of the lectures we had at LIRS were pretty fabulous; whether
they were taught by biologists or biogeochemists, the content was informative and interesting,
and I was able to directly apply what we learned during our time out in the field. Big shoutout to
Brad’s lecture on Lake Eyre–it was extremely cool to learn how marine biogeochemical sensing
methods could be used in other ways, especially in such a dynamic environment! After class
and time in the field, days on the island were finished by sitting out on the beach and watching
the sunset, enjoying conversation with new friends and colleagues.

By far, the best part of the trip for me was the independent research projects. I had the freedom
to think of my own scientific question, design a sampling plan, and handle all of the fieldwork
logistics. Not only was it a ton of fun, but it was often a good challenge as well. Fieldwork rarely
goes as planned, and often I had to think on the fly to get my work done in good order.
Brainstorming with my partner Amanda on how to tackle newfound problems or challenges in
both of our projects was really exciting. I can solidly say that I learned a lot about planning a
project and asking a scientific question that can be feasibly answered in a short timeframe!
Fieldwork is my favorite part about being in the marine sciences, and I got some great practice
driving the small boats at LIRS (a skill which I am sure will come in handy in the future)!

For my project, I brought some water column incubators that I was working on as a part of my
PhD. I deployed them at different locations across the island and measured net ecosystem
metabolic rates in the water column throughout the day, comparing diel trends across the
different locations. Being able to see and experience the environments that you are researching
is crucial for developing a solid scientific understanding and thinking of scientific questions.
During sampling days, I would often snorkel around and think about the reef, geochemical
cycles, and questions big and small. Completing my PhD in New England, I don’t get to spend
time in coral reef habitats that often, so getting the opportunity to explore some incredibly
beautiful reefs is one that I will always cherish. My favorite place to go to around the island, and
the final location for my instrument sampling was Clam Gardens, a sheltered reef dominated by
soft corals on the western side of the island. As the name suggests, this reef is rife with a variety
of giant clam species. I was blown away seeing these animals for the first time–their colors,
beautiful shells, and sheer size (some of them over a meter across!) made them a sight to
behold. I am proud to say that I have gone down quite a giant clam literature rabbit hole since
getting to see these big bivalves. Already, I have noticed my trip to Lizard Island affecting the
way I think about science, my research, and the future of my PhD. I am thankful for the time that
I got to spend there, and am excited to put the incubator data I collected toward my first
publication.

After two weeks of fun and science in the sun, on boats, and under the waves, we waved Lizard
Island goodbye and made our way to our final destination–Townsville. There, we spent a day at
the Australian Institute of Marine Science, learning about the National Sea Simulator and the
efforts to develop large coral spawning facilities. The next day, we had a great lecture at James
Cook University, where we talked about social science and science’s place in society. It was a
great discussion in which I got to hear my peers’ opinions on an issue that I don’t get to talk
about nearly enough. I spent the final day in Townsville working on a presentation of my
independent research project. It was great seeing the diversity of everyone else’s projects,
which ranged from porewater geochemistry of mangroves to measuring the gut microbial
metabolism of dying crown-of-thorns starfish. It was so inspiring to work alongside such an
intelligent and insightful group of scientists, and it gives me hope for the future of marine
science, education, and conservation! It was certainly melancholic when we finished giving our
presentations, and I was sad to say goodbye to the class group and to Australia. I couldn’t be
happier with how the trip went–it was such a formative experience and made me so excited
for my future in the research world. Arrivederci, Lizard Island!