Climate Change in the Rainforest

From classroom to rainforestDeakin University student, Peter O'Toole, relays his Earthwatch experience on Climate Change in the Rainforest.

The two phrases I would use to describe my Earthwatch expedition would be "amazing" and "life changing". And that's not just because I got to enjoy the best camp food I've ever eaten, although it did add to it!

When I received an email through Deakin University offering me the opportunity to apply for a fellowship on an Earthwatch expedition, I have to say I jumped at the chance. Before I knew it, I was off on my way to explore the Wet Tropics of North Queensland and discover its inhabitants. Little did I know I was embarking on an experience of a lifetime.

The time I spent in tropical North Queensland was an invaluable experience and opened my eyes to the possibilities of environmental science. My expectations of this expedition was that I was going to have fun and increase my understanding of rainforest biology and the impacts of climate change. My expectations were exceeded.

Dr Steve Williams, the lead researcher of the project, was accompanied by a team of PhD students. Our job was to sample the abundance of birds, reptiles, mammals, frogs, plants, and insects up little used mountain tracks.

Many of the data collection methods were new to me and to begin with I had no idea, but after two weeks I was working confidently and unsupervised collecting different forms of data.

Some of these included collecting leaf litter and leaf litter stomping to measure productivity of various patches of the rainforest, collecting invertebrate samples, emptying pit fall traps, clearing malaise* and flight intercept traps and setting up Winkler bags* for ant collection.

Other tasks were more complex and required me to be accompanied by more experienced group members. One of these was the bird watching which involved being up at the crack of dawn to walk along six 150 metre transects and record the birds we saw and heard.

Spotlighting was another task which involved walking along a one-kilometre transect and spotting and identifying different wildlife and to capture any frogs and geckos, the frogging part being one of my favourite experiences.

I believe that this research is highly valuable as it is providing more and more data which proves climate change is actually occurring. It also highlights the changes in a range of species and has the ability to determine which regions will be least affected and potentially be used in future conservatory models.

I have learnt a lot from my trip, the work I was involved in was like nothing else I’ve come across in my current undergraduate degree or my life for that matter. It has opened my eyes as a budding environmental scientist to the range of diversity Australia has to offer and the possibilities for my career.

Overall, my Earthwatch fellowship was an amazing experience and it has added a lot to my life and to my undergraduate degree. I would strongly suggest that anyone who is interested in the environment apply for an Earthwatch expedition, as it really is a truly amazing experience.

Learn more on Climate Change in the Rainforest and how you can volunteer with Dr Steve Williams in the field this October.