Ocean Health

Climate Change

Recovery of the Great Barrier Reef

Location

Magnetic Island, Queensland, Australia Map it

Lead Scientist

David Bourne, Ph.D.

Activity Level

Expedition Briefing

Download Field Report

COVID-19 safety protocols

Earthwatch volunteers will be scuba diving or snorkeling with researchers, helping them make baseline measurements of environmental conditions and assessing fish and invertebrate diversity and abundance

Earthwatch volunteers be scuba diving or snorkeling with researchers to actively removing algae and deploying coral recruitment (settlement) tiles.

Coral reefs face a multitude of threats, from climate change and storm damage, to sediment and nutrient run-off.

Earthwatch volunteers will establish underwater experimental plots

Earthwatch volunteers will snorkel/dive to document baseline coral data, measure corals, remove algae, observe fish and invertebrates

Join us in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef to help scientists develop best-practice methods for coral recovery.

Coral reefs face a growing number of threats, from climate change and storm damage to sediment and nutrient run-off. Join us in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef to help scientists develop best-practice methods for coral recovery.

Coral reefs face a multitude of threats, from climate change and storm damage, to sediment and nutrient run-off. Join us in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef to help scientists develop best-practice methods for coral recovery.

On this expedition, you’ll be scuba diving or snorkeling with researchers, helping them make baseline measurements of environmental conditions and assessing fish and invertebrate diversity and abundance, as well as actively removing algae and deploying coral recruitment (settlement) tiles.

As part of this expedition, you’ll be at the forefront of active reef restoration science. You’ll be helping researchers on experiments that aim to develop best-practice methods for removing macro-algae and allowing coral to regrow. You’ll also be directly involved in filling in knowledge gaps that will help reef managers to make evidence-based decisions about active interventions that will support the Great Barrier Reef’s recovery, and the recovery of reefs around the world.

Please Note: This expedition is open only to occupational divers and experienced snorkelers. All divers must meet the requirements of the James Cook University Dive register. Please contact Earthwatch for more information regarding this process. Read our comprehensive Online Expedition Briefing to learn more about The Research, Daily Life in the Field, Accommodations, Meals, and Travel Planning.

A Typical Itinerary

Day 1: Meet and travel to field site, snorkel/scuba induction, research introduction
Days 2-4: Snorkel/dive to document baseline coral data, measure corals, remove algae, observe fish and invertebrates
Day 5: Fieldwork and departure

HOW YOU WILL HELP

When you arrive, you will have an opportunity to get familiar with the diving and snorkeling procedures and other research activities. After this, you’ll be ready to:

Establish underwater experimental plots

Mark the area with buoys and GPS readings, and take baseline data notes on coral and fish abundance and algal growth.

Document and remove algae

Help to photographically document the underwater plot before removing algae and placing coral recruitment tiles on cleared areas to measure settlement of new corals. Measure algae height, weigh removed algae, and photograph sites after they're cleared.

Measure corals and conduct crawl

Take measurements of the photobiology of the corals with specialized underwater devices to measure their adaptation to sunlight. Conduct “cryptic crawls," looking for unusual and shy species of fish or invertebrates in the bottom substrate (coral or algae).

Field conditions and research needs can lead to changes in the itinerary and activities. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.

FEEDBACK & QUESTIONS

1 Reviews on this Expedition

If you have been on this expedition, others considering attending would love to hear about your experience.

Betsy Snow | May 7, 2015

Reef health and the little stuff

This is a project for an avid scuba diver. You will spend most of your days underwater. The fun thing about the project is you are looking for very small things. While under water, in a transect you are counting and identifying all the corals. First the large hard coral then all the baby corals. After, being underwater for an hour and a half, you realize you haven't even looked at the fish. But don't worry, there was time to do a couple of recreational dives where you can take in all the scenery. David, Yui and Greg were amazing. Their knowledge and willingness to share that knowledge made this project very special. I will never look at the ocean the same again. There are so many microbes, bacteria and viruses that live in the ocean and affect the health of the ocean. These researchers are not only studying the corals but are also trying to understand the relationships between the good and not so good viruses, bacteria, and microbes that effect the health of the reef. After counting and collecting coral (both healthy and sick with black band disease) during the day - it is back to the lab - to process and run experiments. At the same time we were divided into teams to cook dinner each night. At the end of the week, we all voted on the best dinner and the winner got a prize! After dinner, there was usually a talk and then we all headed to bed. There is hardly any downtime on this project but every minute was fun and informative!! If you are a scuba diver I highly recommend the project!!!

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