Science Education News (SEN) Journal 2017 Volume 66 Number 4 December 2017 | Page 25

ARTICLES
Waterlogged and Weary, but Wowed!
By Stephen Keable and the team members
AMRI's Marine Invertebrates and Malacology staff have recently
returned from the six-week long Southwest Pacific Expedition
with an amazing number of samples that will be used to evaluate
the marine biodiversity of some seldom visited locales. and lagoons to deep, steeply sloping reef fronts. Diving was
supplemented with intertidal collecting, baited traps, and use
of a light at night to attract fishes and invertebrates which were
captured with a net.
Stephen Keable writes the next chapter of this expedition, the
experiences had by the team and the importance of the data for
museum research into the future. At times the diversity of both the fishes and invertebrates was
overwhelming leading to some very late nights to sort, catalogue
and preserve the specimens.
Expedition Team: Dr Stephen Keable, Dr Elena Kupriyanova,
Anna Murray, Mark McGrouther, Sally Reader and Dr Mandy Reid.
After an intrepid six weeks at sea the South West Pacific
Expedition concluded in early September. For this voyage
AMRI scientists, Mark McGrouther and Sally Reader (Fish
Collection); Steve Keable, Elena Kupriyanova and Anna Murray
(Marine Invertebrates Collection); and Mandy Reid (Malacology
Collection), joined international colleagues in undertaking
biological surveys and genetic sampling aiming to compare the
biodiversity, population connectivity and community structure
of marine environments in the outer reefs and islands of New
Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.
Diver with a Black Trevally, Caranx lugubris, on the Southwest
Pacific Expedition 2017. Photographer Irene Middleton.
Copyright Irene Middleton
During the expedition the team was based on board of the
Research Vessel Braveheart which made a more than 5,000
kilometre round trip from its base in Tauranga, New Zealand, to
Noumea then Suva and back via the Lau Islands, Minerva Reefs
and the Kermadec Islands.
The Australian Museum invertebrate team members focused
particularly on crustaceans (such as crabs and shrimp), marine
worms and molluscs (including snails, bivalves, octopuses,
nudibranchs) for research projects currently underway and as a
reference for future study.
Steve noted a highpoint for him wasn’t necessarily the diving
(spectacular though it was) but some of the intertidal collecting.
He commented, “We were privileged to be able to visit the
intertidal flats at Ogea Levu, in the southern Lau Island Group,
Fiji. Apart from being visually spectacular, with lots of little islands
that were eroded in the intertidal area so they appeared to be
growing on stalks like mushrooms, the biodiversity was amazing.
I’m used to temperate areas, here I was seeing more species
than I could count. I’m optimistic that the data we collected will
help feed into conservation efforts underway in the region”.
Research Vessel Braveheart. Photographer Stephen Keable;
copyrights A.M.
Among the crustaceans, highlights included several mantis
shrimp (Stomatopoda) that were collected using a suction pump
from burrows on sediment flats at low-tide. The remote location
and unusual sampling method suggest these will provide
valuable new information for studies examining the distribution
and relationships of these animals. Beach hoppers (Amphipoda:
Along the way there was plenty of opportunity for hand-collecting
while scuba diving, the main sampling technique of the voyage,
with two dives a day being the usual routine. In total the group
logged 90 dives in habitats ranging from shallow reef flats
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 66 NO 4