Lizard Island Research Station Newsletter 2007
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Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station Newsletter 2007 Australian Museum 6 College Street Sydney NSW 2010 t 02 9320 6000 nature culture discover www.australianmuseum.net.au Supported by the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation Published March 2008 AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM LIZARD ISLAND RESEARCH STATION DIRECTOR’S REPORT Photo: Stuart Humphreys © Australian Museum It is gratifying to see that two major collaborative excellent facilities that the Museum provides at the international projects intend to use the Museum’s Lizard Island Research Station. Lizard Island Research Station for key parts of their This in itself is proving an interesting conundrum for us work this year. The first of those is known as CReefs in assessing the range of research activities that could and is part of the Census of Marine Life project. It take place at Lizard in future years. The very hard work will look at the invertebrate populations of Lizard Island, of our Museum staff at Lizard Island Research Station, Heron Island, and Ningaloo reef in Western Australia. led by Anne and Lyle, and the generous support of the The second project is part of the International Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation, has enabled Barcode of Life project, and will look at broader reef us to establish a world class research station that has populations, particularly fish at Lizard Island later sufficient flexibility to cope with and adapt to a range this year. The International Barcode Life project is of changing research needs. setting out to establish DNA “barcodes” of all living organisms with a target of five million organisms in During this calendar year we will also be looking at five years. The Australian Museum is one of the driving what those potential needs might be and how that organisations for this in Australia. leads us in the strategic development of the Museum’s Lizard Island Research Station facility. These two projects highlight both the important location of Lizard Island within the Great Barrier Reef complex, and perhaps more importantly, the FRanK HOWARTH Director, Australian Museum Photo: Alex Vail reseArch statiON Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station Newsletter 2007 DIRECTORS’ REPORT Published March 2008 Photo: Alex Vail The station’s redevelopment has reached its halfway thrive in a very limited temperature range, reef-building point and operations are already running more corals are like canaries in a mine-shaft - and they are smoothly thanks to new, purpose-built facilities. singing loudly. Projects related to climate change were However, it is challenging to keep the station proposed by no fewer than 80% of the applicants functioning more-or-less as usual while managing a for the inaugural postdoctoral fellowships and 67% DIRECTORS Phone: + 61 (0)7 4060 3977 $4.75 million project that involves substantial building of applicants for the doctoral fellowships. Each of Fax: + 61 (0)7 4060 3055 Dr Anne Hoggett and Dr Lyle Vail works of an unusual nature in a remote location. the five new fellowships awarded for 2008 addresses E-mail: [email protected] Through these “interesting times”, the goodwill of climate change issues either directly or indirectly Lizard Island Research Station http://www.lizardisland.net.au PMB 37 everyone at the station - researchers, student groups, (pp. 4-6). Buzz-words aside, we do need to know Cairns QLD 4871 our fabulous staff, the contractor, on-site builders, how reef organisms interact with variables such Australia Lynda Curtis wrote most of the “Research volunteers - and at the Museum has been enormous, as temperature, pH, light, turbidity, habitat and food Highlights” section. helpful and rewarding. In addition to raising the availability. There is a very long way to go in this funds for the upgrade project, extraordinary practical research. The facilities provided at LIRS, and those still All photographs by Lyle Vail or Anne Hoggett support is provided by people within the Lizard Island to come, will enable researchers to discover these unless otherwise indicated. Reef Research Foundation and it is a great privilege and other things, providing the basis for the best Cover photo: © istockphoto. to work with them. When the project is complete possible management of coral reef resources whatever Printed on recycled paper. in 2010, the station will be well set up for many more the future holds. years of research and education on coral reefs. There is an urgency about research into the effects AnnE HOGGETT and LYLE VAIL of climate change on coral reefs. Because they can Directors, Lizard Island Research Station RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Researchers set light traps at sunset to Typical vertical swimming position Cleaner wrasse removing parasites from An outer reef crest: wave energy affects Brown patches in the sea slug contain Large isopod parasitises small fish. capture pre-settlement fishes. of razorfishes. inside the mouth of a potato cod. coral growth. plant cells obtained by eating corals. Photo: Goran Nilsson Photo: Alexandra Grutter Photo: Ingo Burghardt Researchers undertake a diverse range of investigations at Lizard BEhavIOUR CORal REEF PHYSIOLOGY PARASITES Island each year and these studies are published in the scientific Many complex interactions take DEGRadaTION literature. Recent publications based on work at Lizard Island include Scientists working at Lizard The range of parasites inhabiting place between organisms on the studies on the genetic connectivity of coral reef fish populations, Coral reefs are under threat due to Island have discovered a myriad fish on the reef is quite diverse reef. These behaviours may be diseases of corals, reef fish vision, benthic community structure, and the impact of increased sea surface of interesting adaptations in the and new species are discovered associated with avoiding predation, the identification and description of new species. References cited temperatures, invasive species fish and other animals inhabiting frequently. A study by Muñoz et gaining access to mates, obtaining below are listed at the end of this newsletter. and pollution. These disturbances the reef. For example, Nilsson et al. (2007) investigated the role food, or removal of parasites. have resulted in a global decline al. (2007) found that small coral- of ecological and phylogenetic An example is the mutualistic in live coral cover on reefs. This dwelling fish called gobies can processes in structuring parasite LARval FISH Behaviour of larval fishes in tropical relationship between host fish breathe when exposed to air due communities in fourteen species 02 in turn has a negative impact on 03 RECRUITMENT seas may have more influence on seeking removal of their parasites the abundance of fish as habitat to adaptations such as a reduction of the wrasse family of fishes. This their dispersal than in temperate by cleaner shrimp which eat them. health may play an important role in scales and a network of study demonstrated the exceptional During summer, larval fish settle areas (Leis, 2007). Becker and Grutter (2007) found in structuring coral-associated fish subcutaneous capillaries. Another complexity of parasite communities onto the reef after several weeks in that variations in client fish parasite interesting adaptation is that of that inhabit wrasses on the Reef fish prefer to settle onto living assemblages (Feary et al., 2007). open water as part of the plankton. load and cleaner shrimp hunger the “solar powered” sea slugs Great Barrier Reef. It found that corals or partially-degraded corals Settlement is a key event in the level are two factors that affect the Severe tropical storms are another which consume the chloroplasts differences in parasite composition and they shun dead, algal-covered life cycle of reef fishes and factors balance in this mutualism. major disturbance to coral reef found in plant material and and their distribution on the corals (Feary et al., 2007). that influence it have enormous communities and to the coastlines A similar study found that in incorporate them into their tissues host are apparently responses to implications for the management In a damselfish species, survivorship that they protect. A model some cases cleaner fish “cheat” and use them as an energy ecological characteristics (body size, of reef fisheries. Accordingly, this of an individual fish is strongly developed by Madin and Connelly and eat the hosts mucus source. Evertsen et al. (2007) have abundance, swimming ability and event attracts a large number related to its growth rate as a (2006) can predict the effects of instead of parasites, resulting developed a method to determine diet) rather than to the phylogeny of researchers to Lizard Island larva and young recruit (Gagliano major hydrodynamic disturbances in the host fish “punishing” the how long these chloroplasts stay of the hosts. who study the dynamics of the et al., 2007). and how coral reefs may respond cleanerfish by chasing it (Bshary active in the host. recruitment of new fish to the reef. to an increase in the frequency In the same damselfish species, and Grutter, 2007). This year, they found: of severe storms which may be territorial behaviour by adults associated with a changing climate. “Even small, young larvae have can alter the survivorship of new swimming, orientation and vertical recruits because some predators positioning capabilities that are excluded from the guarded can strongly influence dispersal territories (McCormick and outcomes” (Leis et al., 2007). Meekan, 2007). See Publications