North Straddie!

For the past week I have been studying terrestrial ecology and marine ecology on North Stradbroke Island. It is a large sand island that encloses Moreton Bay just off the coast of Brisbane. The group stayed at the Moreton Bay Research Station, which is run by the University of Queensland. Our fabulous tutors were mostly PhD students from UQ as well.
For the first few days we went on numerous bush walks all over the island with our fearless leader, John Hall. He is pretty goofy, yet extremely intelligent. Quite the character. Our studies with John took us into the heathland and across dune systems. We learned just about everything there is to know about eucalypt, banksia, acacia, casuarina trees and so much more. Basically, all those bush fires you thought were so detrimental to the existence of Australian flora are just the opposite. Fire is essential to the growth and reproduction of numerous trees in the bush. They are well-adapted to withstand extreme heat conditions of fire, and this actually triggers the trees to release their seeds to germinate in the ash beds left behind. With John we were able to see some amazing wildlife. One morning at 6am, a few of us woke up with the sun and went on a bird walk. We saw everything from lorikeets (parrot family) to koalas. One day at Flinder's Beach we also spotted a goanna, which is related to the komodo dragon!
We took two trips to Point Lookout where we saw an insane amount of marine life and picturesque views of the Pacific. We saw humpback whales breaching, dolphins, sea turtles, sting rays, and even a small shark in the tide pools.
Half way through the week we transitioned into marine science mode. Kathy Townsend met up with us and took us out onto the tidal flats to observe some interesting marine life. Everyone got down and dirty in the mud and started flipping mollusk covered rocks. Underneath, we saw an assortment of icky creatures. These included cowries, octopus eggs (but no deadly blue ring octopus unfortunately), sea squirts, sea sponges, sea stars, hairy mussels, oysters, crabs and sea cucumbers (the focus of one of our projects). The tidal zones and rocky shores are bustling with life, you just have to dig for it. Our marine section concluded with an afternoon spent body surfing and relaxing at Cylinder's Beach near Point Lookout. It was a much needed day of fun after a week of field work. The last day of the trip was spent learning about Aborginal culture and art of North Stradbroke. Nevertheless, we got to chuck a boomerang around for a bit before we caught the ferry back to Brissie.
The next week consists of classes at UQ. After that we are back on the road to Binna Burra at Lamington National Park for some more terrestial fun with Mr. Hall. Enjoy the pictures!

Moreton Bay at dusk, right outside of MBRS

Goanna sighting at Flinder's Beach

Hermit Crab

Koalas in the wild

Group shot with John Hall, overlooking 18 Mile Swamp

Large sea cucumber found at low tide

Sea star

One of the views from Point Lookout