On the Expedition
Help to collect valuable data on this little studied species to provide a basis for long-term monitoring of the environment.
Individual manta rays can be identified by the pattern found on their underside. This pattern is as unique as a fingerprint providing a non-intrusive method of identifying individuals. An online database, called the Manta Identification Database is being developed by the project, will allow divers and snorkellers to upload their photographs into the database. During the project volunteers will take identification photos of manta rays, process images for the database and compare these with existing photos in order to identify individuals.
Volunteers will also be involved in a variety of other tasks depending on time of day, snorkelling or diving ability and presence of manta rays. Other activities may include setting up underwater listening stations that record the movements of individual mantas fitted with acoustic tags and using hydrophones to investigate reports of manta 'vocalisations'.
Manta feeding habits will be investigated by plankton sampling and analysis in a series of plankton tows at dive sites and offshore.
A catalogue of manta behaviours (ethogram) is being created as part of a behavioural study and volunteers may be involved in filming manta ray interactions to add to the catalogue. Behavioural observations of manta rays with different species of cleaner fish will also be undertaken and manta cleaning stations around the reef will be mapped.
Information collected on the expedition will contribute to a database that will become the best available source on which to base decisions about species and habitat management plans. Findings could be utilised to inform government, conservation agencies and commercial operators about how best to protect manta populations while increasing the opportunities for sustainable ecotourism, which provides an economic alternative to hunting.
Meals and Accommodations
Volunteers will stay in 4 person permanent tents, with wooden floors and meshed windows. Each tent contains two sets of bunk beds, a bedside table, a wooden wardrobe, a wall mounted fan, mirror and ceiling light. If possible couples will try to be accommodated, but availability will depend on total team size and gender split. Linen is provided, consisting of sheets and pillow with pillow slip and bath towel. Blankets are available if required. There are many toilet blocks on the island with hot water available all day.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all buffet style, the choice is vast and food delicious. Breakfast provides continental or hot breakfast options. Lunch consists of salads, pasta, chicken or fish, and fresh fruit. Dinner consists of items such as steak, fish, chicken, pasta and vegetarian quiche; there is often soup and at least three different dessert options. Filtered water, tea and coffee are available all day. Additional drinks or snacks are available from the bar at the volunteer’s own expense.
It is worth noting that Lady Elliot Island is home to hundreds of seabirds, which are beautiful and lovely to watch. However, volunteers need to be warned that these birds can be very noisy at all hours of the day and night and can sometimes fly very close to you. This can cause frustration, especially when trying to sleep. Free earplugs are available at reception. Anyone who has a phobia of birds should reconsider if this project is suitable for them.
About the Research Area
Lady Elliot Island is located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and has the highest possible conservation classification, that of Marine National Park Zone.
The island is a coral atoll which first appeared above sea level 3500 years ago. Sea birds bringing guano and seeds helped establish vegetation on the island. The island was mined for guano for a decade in the 1860s. Apart from eight Pisonia trees that still remain standing, all other vegetation and a metre of surface soil was stripped off the island as a result of mining. In an attempt to help stranded sailors, the Queensland Government decided to place goats on each of the Great Barrier Reef Islands, which resulted in no re-growth of vegetation on the island until the late 1960s. In 1969 Mr. Don Adams, a keen aviator, arrived on Lady Elliot Island and started a re-vegetation program using seeds of native plants collected from nearby Great Barrier Reef Islands and the mainland, which transformed the island into the beautiful wildlife sanctuary that it is today.
Lady Elliot Island is only one of six island resorts on the Great Barrier Reef, and is teeming with life from sea turtles which hatch on the island, dolphins, a large number of coral and fish to a variety of birds nesting on the island. Humpback whales pass nearby during the migration season and there is an unknown number of manta rays around the island.
The climate on Lady Elliot Island in June is cool and comfortable, with an average mean temperature of 18ºC and 90mm of rainfall. In December the climate is hotter and drier with an average temperature of 26ºC and 70mm of rain.
As Lady Elliot Island is a designated Marine Park, visitors are not permitted to collect or take away anything from the island. This includes shells and corals, dead or alive.