Rescue and release of Lobsters 2016

Lobsters and reef crabs are an important part of the coral reef ecosystem.  Unfortunately large crustaceans taste good to people and the reef population is much smaller than it should be.  To help balance the eco system it is important that we have as much biodiversity as possible.  The role of lobsters in the ecology of a damaged reef is not well known but as major predators they clearly affect a wide range of prey, from starfish and clams to other crustaceans.

Moving rescued lobsters back to the reef

There were a few lobsters on the island (surveys to 2016 counted 4 at 3 different places),  this lobster release should increase the breeding population with dispersal of larvae over long distances.
Unfortunately lobster biology is complex,  larval lobsters live in the plankton for many months and so the lobster parent reef can be many thousands of kilometres from the reef where the juveniles settle. 

TRACC negotiated with a commercial lobster farm and managed to buy 12 lobsters for wholesale price.

 

Long life on the reef rather than a quick boiling in a saucepan.

The lobsters were moved to Pom Pom and released close to the lobster reefs and the deep tyre reefs.

Rescue and release of Lobsters 2016

Lobsters and reef crabs are an important part of the coral reef ecosystem.  Unfortunately large crustaceans taste good to people and the reef population is much smaller than it should be.  To help balance the eco system it is important that we have as much biodiversity as possible.  The role of lobsters in the ecology of a damaged reef is not well known but as major predators they clearly affect a wide range of prey, from starfish and clams to other crustaceans.

Moving rescued lobsters back to the reef

There were a few lobsters on the island (surveys to 2016 counted 4 at 3 different places),  this lobster release should increase the breeding population with dispersal of larvae over long distances.
Unfortunately lobster biology is complex,  larval lobsters live in the plankton for many months and so the lobster parent reef can be many thousands of kilometres from the reef where the juveniles settle. 

TRACC negotiated with a commercial lobster farm and managed to buy 12 lobsters for wholesale price.

 

Long life on the reef rather than a quick boiling in a saucepan.

The lobsters were moved to Pom Pom and released close to the lobster reefs and the deep tyre reefs.
 
The lobster release story
Coral cat shark rescue 2013    --    Cat sharks 2015
Humphead wrasse  rescue (2013)  -   HHW survey 2016 
--------------------------------------------


If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please 
check our website http://tracc.org or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

For more updates on TRACC check out our Facebook, Twitter or Google +

More Marine conservation projects

Reef conservation would not be possible without generous financial support from

GEF /SGP for Malaysia who are helping our community activities and coralreefcare.com who generously provided materials to build the new reefs.

If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support for coral. shark or lobster rescue programmes.  Please follow the TRACC marine conservation projects on Facebook.

How to do a Beach transect

line the tops of two poles with the horizon

Beach transects were the marine science fieldwork practical today.  Of course, a quick study of the tide tables showed that the new moon low tide (spring tides) was in the middle of the day.  At the equator, (TRACC is at 4 Deg N), the big tides each month are always high at dawn and dusk and low at midnight and midday.

Equipped with sunscreen and carefully marked survey poles the intrepid Marine Science A level class braved the short walk to our beautiful white sand beach.

The techniques is simple, from the low tide line the beach slope and elevation is measured at 20 cm intervals. The height of the water at the time of low tide is known from the tide tables. The longer survey pole is held at the low tide line and the shorter pole moved up the beach until looking across the top of both poles lines up with the horizon.  When the two pole tops and the horizon are aligned then the short pole is 20 cm higher up the beach than the long pole.  We measured the distance between the bottoms of the poles to give a measure of beach slope.

We repeated the process, by moving the big bottom pole to the position of the top pole and then repeating the leveling by moving the top pole another 20 cm vertically up the beach.














The beach slope was fairly constant at 1in 7 or approximately 12 degrees.  With a giant yellow protractor we checked this.angle.

 With a practiced technique we are now ready to tackle beaches with varying slopes, sediment types and biological communities.

More blogs on Marine science class 2016
More info on the Cambridge Marine science A level class

Become a volunteer in 2016 here

Conservation projects 2016

For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

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marine biology fieldwork -jetty communities

Rocky shore Zonation practical for the Cambridge (CIE 9693) A level Marine science course.  TRACC teach this class once each year from January to April.  The first fieldwork practical of the course was a study of the zonation on the man made wooden jetty on Pom Pom Island, Sabah Malaysia.

The students marked the posts at 50 cm intervals relative to the tidal chart datum (lowest astronomical tide).  The location of the barnacle zone and the snail zone was measured in relation to this fixed chart datum.  The vertical position relative to the tide of all of the visible snails was measured for 7 jetty legs.   Observations were made that the snails were more abundant on the N side legs (shaded by the jetty above) and on the South side legs (not shaded from above) the snails were mostly on the side of the leg away from the sun.

The results showed clear concentration into discrete zones by both barnacles and snails.  The barnacles were concentrated into the zone from 50cm above cd to 90cm above cd with a few on the shady North legs at upto 110cm.
The snails were more abundant on the North legs (average 14 per leg) than on the South Legs (average 5 per leg).  The snails were also found higher up the Shady legs (average position of top snail was 1.7m (N legs) compared with 1.4m (S Legs).  The zonation of the snails is on the kite graph and the snails were most abundant at 1.4m above CD.

It is clear that the snails are actively choosing the shady jetty legs and if they are on the sunny side legs then they find the shadiest spot.  On the shady legs they can also rest between tides higher up the leg presumably because it is cooler.

These results lead to more questions about ecology and behaviour that the A level class will be answering in the near future.

More blogs on Marine science class 2016
More info on the Cambridge Marine science A level class












 Become a volunteer in 2016 here

Conservation projects 2016

For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org 

The main website is at tracc.org
Check out our social media posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
on twitter tracc_borneo
on google + tracc 
Instagram  traccborneo

Reflection: Building Artificial Reefs

Step Reefs

My experience at TRACC revolved around building step reefs which is a type of artificial reefs. Step reefs are placed on the slope of the ocean bed to serve as wave barrier.( If you're confused don't worry! I was too when I first started. But you'll pick up things easily at TRACC)

It's funny when I first heard the term "step reef".  I thought it was a square reefs just like steps of a stairs. I had a lot of questions playing through my mind. Was it big? Was it small? Was it square? Only later did I realize it was simply a square with glass bottles attached to it. If I had the time, I would have spent it trying to play around with the materials used in building the step reef such as steel or twigs. (Maybe I'll come back next year!)

Making a step reef is not as complicated as it seems. The main material used are cements and bottles. You mix the cements on a crate and add the bottles to it. It's simple! Of course, it's going to take some hardwork such as working in the sun and able to dive a couple of times a day to plant the reefs underwater. Sometimes, I get exhausted but then I realize how much impact I get to make to the environment and that motivates me a lot.

Hardworking :)

TRACC provides training and a place to make your artificial reefs. In fact, I wouldn't have even learned most of the things I have without training. My experience at TRACC will help my goal to pursue my education in marine biology which is something I'm deeply passionate about. More than that, I gained valuable experience as an intern here - how often does anyone get to say they've had hands on experience building coral reefs!




For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

The main website is at http://tracc-borneo.org
Check out our posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
on twitter tracc_borneo
on google + tracc

or simply #tracc or #traccblog on Google, Facebook, twitter or instagram

Ten facts to know about becoming a marine biologist

Dive surveys

Ten facts you need to overcome to plan a career as a marine biologist. 
Start with more info - if you are still at school or pre U or working on a career change then a marine science course will help test your desires before you spend 3-4 years at Uni or college.

Becoming a marine biologist is fantastic in many ways but it is a hard choice.  Jobs are few.  From 10 people with PhD degrees only 1 will be working in their chosen field by the time they are 40 years old. Many more will work in the dive tourism industry.

Most marine biologists are part-time, they have careers in other fields. Sometimes teaching, sometimes aquaculture, sometimes fisheries, sometimes in aquariums. Not many get to be "Marine Biologists". The smartest people can work in Universities doing experiments, a few lucky people (like me) make marine biology part of another career (tourism management) and get to spend some days each month in the field.  To succeed you need brains, hardwork, determination and luck (IMHO).

1 Not all your work will be glamourous,  autopsy on turtles killed by plastic (conservation), measuring and gutting fish (fisheries) or working with sick, dying fish (aquaculture) will test your gag reflex and resolve.

Measuring sharks

2 It is not well paid and the career prospects are low. Jobs are hard to find - start as an intern.  Biotechnology is a much better career choice or Fisheries or Aquaculture.

3 Lots of time is spent in the office writing reports, blogs or social media and lots more time is spent in meetings.

4 Studying, saving or simply managing any part of the planet is frustratingly slow, from species which need protection today to ecosystems that are changing slowly because of global climate change.

5 The weather is not always kind,  a beach survey in January at low tide (= dawn) anywhere in the world is hard but cold places have more jobs than warm places so chances are it will be snowing.

6 Do you get seasick?  Some of the best marine biologists avoid boats because of this. There are shore based jobs out there but there is more competition for jobs where you get to go home every day :-)

Pre dawn light on a rocky shore survey

7 Do you hate bugs?  From jellyfish and stonefish to mosquitos and ants there is always something trying to bite, sting or eat you.

8 Life on a tropical beach for months at a time when diving every day is hard on your body.  You need a strong immune system and a willingness to eat all the fruit and vegetables possible.  Finding enough protein as a vegetarian is extra hard so carnivores suffer less from infuriating illnesses.

9 Do you love study and reading.  The ocean is the underexplored 70% of the planet and we learn new things all the time.  Study and reading are part of the process.

10 Does a foreign culture excite you.  There are more jobs scattered around the world but to survive the culture shock you need to be able to accept hardship because chances are; that where-ever you get to work doesn't have familiar fast food or supermarkets.

Underwater work

If this has not put you off - the benefits to being a marine biologist are many.  Read what Natalie says about her Internship.

Read the 10 best reasons for studying marine science here.

or the 10 best ways to become a marine biologist here.
or How to get a job in Marine Conservation.

good luck

Lifting heavy objects - There are days when diving is just another job. 

For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

The main website is at http://tracc-borneo.org
Check out our posts on our activities
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TRACC gets 60% A & A* Grades in the 2015 Marine Science A Level

The A-level results are in and TRACC have had another bumper crop of excellent grades! 100% A*-C with 40% of our students scoring an A*!

Adding this our already impressive history in teaching this diverse and exciting course we now have a (haha) TRACC record of 75% Grades A or A* ! That's a cool 120-140 UCAS points if you need a boost to your British University application. The Cambridge Marine Science (9693) A-level is also well recognized by other institutions around the world.

You may also be interested to know that only 25% of our A-level candidates have had any previous scientific study and 40% have only high school education (age 16 in the UK). The intensive nature of the course, the small class size and the constant availability of the tutors means that this course, and a good grade in it, is well within the grasp of anybody.

TRACC are one of the few non-academic institutions offering this interesting and comprehensive scientific course worldwide. It runs annually for approximately 12 teaching weeks between January and April, culminating immediately in the Cambridge exams in early May. There is literally no way to forget anything since you eat, sleep, breathe (and dive) marine science every day for 12 weeks. Then we have a week of intensive revision followed immediately by the exams.

The course is fieldwork based with lots of practical immersion in the subject.  Check out our trips to study Rocky shores,  Fisheries, Mangroves, , Coasts, plus underwater biodiversity and ecology studies.

Hard not to be inspired by beaches as beautiful as this.

As though this wasn't enough, the  A-level course includes 12 weeks accommodation on our certifiably beautiful beach and PADI Open Water and Advanced Open Water as well. PLUS we have amazing macro marine life,  turtles nesting on the beach...++

The 2016 Marine Science A-level will be running from 18th January - 2nd May (following the Cambridge exam timetable). 

For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

The main website is at http://tracc.org
Check out our posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
on twitter tracc_borneo
on google + tracc

or simply #tracc or #traccblog or our social media Google+, Facebook, twitter or instagram

Rocky shore studies

What was that called?

The cambridge marine science a level course taught by TRACC is very heavily based on fieldwork.  We like our students to know what an ecosystem, habitat or niche is because they have studied them closely. 

Update Overall results 2015 are awesome plus Tom Gibson was the best marine science student in the world.

These are a few photos of the rocky shore fieldwork practicals, over a couple of weeks, we looked at dessication, zonation, exposure, home range, habitat plusbiodiversity and adaptations.

Studying the tidal poll inhabitants

Other field trips studied Fisheries, Mangroves, Coasts, plus underwater biodiversity and ecology studies.

The 2016 Marine Science A-level will be running from 18th January - 2nd May (following the Cambridge exam timetable). 

For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

Mark release recapture studies were used to learn
about Habitat preferences in intertidal organisms

Close study of microhabitats

Elevation is very important for species
living in the intertidal zone

Marine science fieldwork on Mangroves

Getting up close and personal with mangrove ecosystems

The marine science A level taught by TRACC each year has lots of practicals so students get fieldwork experience in a wide range of ecosystems.

Update Overall results 2015 are awesome plus Tom Gibson was the best marine science student in the world.

These are some of the photos taken during our trips to study mangrove forests.

Other field trips studied Fisheries, Rockyshores, Coasts, plus underwater biodiversity and ecology studies.

Floating quietly around the mangroves we caught glimses
of the biggest herbivore
- the endangered, endemic proboscis monkey

 The 2016 Marine Science A-level will be running from 18th January - 2nd May (following the Cambridge exam timetable). 

For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

Serious science looked at biological adaptations
to the environment - these are mangrove seeds
which are producing roots before they leave the tree.

The best way to understand mangroves
is to get up close and personal with the mud

Turtle Nesting on Pom Pom

My first evening on Pom Pom and I spot 10 sea turtles in a 30 minute snorkel session...




Turtle heads back to sea maybe to return for another nesting in a few weeks

My second evening on Pom Pom and we witness the first turtle nesting of the peak season!

Up on the beach at around 20:00, it was an ideal night for it. The moon wasn't up yet and the heavy clouds blocked out what little light there was, making a great dark night for nesting.






Eggs safely collected after laying ready for incubation in the hatchery

This female was particularly speedy and took only 40 minutes before she headed back to sea. She's likely to return at least another two times to lay more eggs before she heads back to her feeding grounds. The eggs were collected and brought to the hatchery, protecting them from poaching. They should be hatched and ready to release in about 2 months.




A great sign for the start of the peak nesting season - we expect many more nestings as the weeks go on. What a start to my time on Pom Pom with TRACC.

Tom

More info about learning to dive or volunteering to help save the ocean with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers 
TRACC seriously recommends that all divers get certified to rescue.  This is why.





TRANSECT PROJECT AT TIP OF BORNEO

   The Transect Project is carried out to survey the reefs around TOB. The purposes of this project include:

1. To look for potential sites of other TRACC projects (E.g. the on-going Bottle Reef Project for reef recovery)
2. To obtain data of reef condition (Required by the government for marine park establishment)

The project is indeed a tough one considering the number of factors we need to encompass. First we need to make sure that the research design is one that can produce accurate data of the reef condition. This is of course the first and foremost absolute rule of any scientific survey. Secondly, the device used must be durable enough to withstand the wear and tear over time, especially during monsoon season. Since we might be initiating new project on the surveyed reefs, we need resilient markers that can lead us back to the desired location in the future. Then, we need to consider the procedures of our in situ operation. We doubtlessly have a number of excellent divers and experienced researchers in the camp, but not everyone has good combined skills hence close cooperation is the key to work efficiency.

The project has been going on for about a month to date. We’ve completed data collection of more than half of all targeted sites despite the obstacles we met: rough sea condition, lost tools, malfunctioning compressor, terrible visibility, lack of experienced underwater researcher etc. etc…. I’m genuinely grateful that we’ve managed to pull things off so far. Pray that everything will go smooth from this point onwards and we can finish this project soon ;-)

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers

Brunei Road Trip for marine science A level

Fresh catch straight from the boats

This week the TRACC Cambridge Marine Science A-level study team headed South from Tip of Borneo Camp to Kota Kinabalu to Brunei to get some first-hand experience of marine science, fish markets, human impacts and coastal protetion before our upcoming may 2015 exams.

We looked at Fish markets, saw so many species that we could not identify but we now know so much about functional groups and marine ecology that we looked at mouths, teeth body shape and tail shape to determine where each species fits into a food web and how it catches its prey.  We studied human impact vs. marine conservation and saw lots of issues.  In Brunei the amazing coastal erosion protection engineering was all on the agenda. Heading back to camp now to get on with some serious revision. Bring on the books.

Marine science is tiring work...

More info about volunteering with TRACC in Malaysia - Turtle Snorkellers - Divers

The Cambridge Marine science A level class 9693 starts mid January each year for exams in May/June
.  Email info@tracc-borneo.org to make a booking.



Impromptu coastal erosion and coastal succession lesson



Liz having the time of her life at the wheel 

...and Matteo found a stick. Happy days.

.