Transcript Cumbrae2016

Marine Field Course – June 2016
Marine biology and functional ecology:
Cumbrae, South-west Scotland
Led by Dr Twiss
Cumbrae 2015
Some of Spongebob Squarepants’ Mates
Butterfish
(Pholis gunnellus)
Drs Hyde,
Lucas - 2006
Lion’s Mane Jellyfish
(Cyanea capillata)
Dr Twiss with
students - 2013
Students looking for
Spongebob? - 2010
Overall aim:
Investigate the diversity, distribution, adaptations and behaviour of
organisms in relation to environmental factors within marine and
coastal environments.
Emphasis on the morphological, behavioural and physiological
solutions that marine and intertidal organisms employ to survive,
grow and reproduce – Functional Ecology.
Emphasis on marine and intertidal environs, not terrestrial or
freshwater habitats.
Why do I
bother? ….
…It’s always
plankton for
breakfast!!
Where is Cumbrae?
Great Cumbrae - a small island,
20 km circumference - inner
Firth of Clyde, SW Scotland.
One town - Millport (with shops,
bank, bars)
Based at Field Studies Council
Millport – originated 1885 as a
research station
Train (or car) to Largs + short
ferry and walk / bus
Weather: doesn’t rain all the
time!
Accommodation and facilities
Full board and lodgings provided in
double-occupancy rooms in a
modern-purpose built hostel.
Full access to well-equipped
teaching labs, internet, library, a wide
range of habitats for fieldwork.
Cost: £650 = cost of lodgings, food,
teaching facilities, transport during
fieldcourse (less Dept. contribution)
= £150?
+ Students make own arrangements
for transport to/from Cumbrae.
When? last 2 weeks of June (provisionally Fri 17th - Tues 28th June 2016)
DO NOT ARRANGE INTERNSHIPS TO START BEFORE 1 JULY.
Additional facilities / opportunities
Marine sampling techniques
including beam trawls,
zooplankton tows on the marine
station’s crewed vessels
(‘Aplysia’ is pictured)
Observe small whales,, seals,
seabirds, [basking sharks]
Students are kindly asked
not to give their breakfast
to the seabirds!!
Course programme
During the first 8 days of the course the group will
work together to undertake a series of investigations,
much of the data from which will be pooled for analysis
and discussion.
The last 2 days will be spent on small projects
undertaken by groups of 2-3 students.
Indicative schedule
•Day 0:
Arrival and introductory lecture.
•Days 1 & 2:
Reintroduction to diversity, morphology and distribution of
organisms on the rocky littoral. Effects of exposure on rocky
shore communities and their zonation.
•Days 3 and 4: Population estimation of mobile animals and homing
behaviour. Intertidal life – functional ecology (activity rhythms,
metabolism, thermal tolerance).
Indicative schedule
•Days 5 and 6: Sampling methods at sea (boats), observation of
marine birds, mammals. Effect of marine environment and
human impacts (e.g. fishing) on macrobenthos communities.
•Day 7:
Plankton biology. Behaviour - competition and foraging
experiments, e.g. eider duck creching, hermit crab
behaviour.
•Day 8:
Life’s a beach. Community composition on sandy shores,
demography of juvenile flatfish.
•Days 9 and 10 Group projects
+ “Test”
Example field studies:
Alternative foraging strategies and time-activity
budgeting of birds
Food-provisioning patterns to chicks
Example field studies:
Estimate the population and track the movements
of decapods e.g. crabs/hermit crabs in rockpools
Hand-held PIT reader for reading microchip tags
Signal crayfish with TI half-duplex 134 kHz,
23 mm tag attached externally to carapace
0
25
50 cm
Postcards from
Millport!