Mua Island (Torres Strait, Qld): 20 - 23 June 2011

From June 20th- 23rd, the Mua rangers along with the newly appointed rangers from Mer and Badu under-went their Level 1 training. They were joined in their training sessions with Ranger Mentor Simon Conaty and Sea Team member Ron Fujii and Ranger Training co-ordinator Jeniene Butcher. After going through their theory paces on Monday afternoon and then learning about seagrass id and monitoring techniques on the Tuesday morning . The rangers tackled the practical side of monitoring the newly established sites at Kubin village on Mua Island. Thalassia was by far the most predominate seagrass species present. The terrain at MU2 proved challenging at times as there were lots of mounds and holes scattered through out the site. After two days of training and entering the data they had collected the rangers were more confident with the Seagrass-Watch protocols and process. Text Jane Mellors. We acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians past and present on whose sea area we monitor. .

 

Bowen (Qld): 11 June 2011

Horrid Weather, it was cold, wet and windy.  All the grass was very short and straps fragile.  None had the summer flush of green to it so I guess it is a winter dieback.  Much of the Halodule uninervis was covered in epiphytic algae.  This area is not really subject to silting due to flooding/heavy rains - only one stormwater drain empties into this area.  I have also been told that 1 dead adult dugong and one calf have been found on the sand flats in recent times (seperate occassions).  The calf returned to the sea when moved out into deeper water, and been seen feeding in the shallows for many days beforehand.  The area we surveryed had no apparent feeding trails. Text Lesley Bullemor. .

 

Cyrene Reef (Singapore): 06 June 2011

Under a threatening drippy sky, a brave small team heads out to Cyrene Reef to monitor the seagrass. It's been a long time since we had the original team of coordinators back on Cyrene Reef! We're also joined by Dr Daphne Fautin, world authority on sea anemones, who is in Singapore to give a workshop.
While Wei Ling, Shufen, Vanitha, Siti and Lee Qi do Site 1, the rest of us hurry over to the far far away Site 2. The seagrasses today were still abundant, but the Tape seagrasses (Enhalus acoroides) are still rather short and many species had burnt tips. I also came across small areas where the seagrasses had yellowish bases and some seagrasses with translucent portions. In the rest of the meadows, the seagrasses seem mostly alright with clumps of seagrasses here and there with brownish or burnt portions. By Ria Tan (edited). Click here to read more.

 

Ecofiesta, Townsville (Qld, Australia): 05 June 2011

The annual Townsville Ecofiesta held on Sunday, provided the opportunity to promote Seagrass-Watch and the efforts of the teams conducting local seagrass monitoring.  There were plenty of activities for young and not-so-young, including badge making, colouring-in and the "seagrass meadow" (below middle): always popular with the community. 

 

Sponsors

Correct citation: McKenzie, LJ., Yoshida, RL. & Coles, RG. (2006 - 2012). Seagrass-Watch. www.seagrasswatch.org. 228pp. Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Queensland Government. Website designed by McKenzie, LJ., Yoshida, RL.