Marine students involved in cutting-edge research to protect threatened species
Marine students involved in cutting-edge research to protect threatened species
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Students at Padbury Senior High School will contribute to scientific research to help ensure the survival of the rare whale shark. The opportunity will be available to senior school students studying two new Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) courses, Marine and Maritime Technology and Biological Sciences, next year.
Teacher Matthew Radburnd said the school was part of a ‘community science’ approach, which involved non-profit research organisations teaming up with industry and the wider community to help identify and track the species by photographing the whale shark at Ningaloo Marine Park.
“Photographs can be used to identify whale sharks by their unique spots and the research team uses special computer software to scan spot patterns and identify each fish. Whale Shark encounters and photographs are added to the ECOCEAN database at www.whaleshark.org for the scientists to review,” Mr Radburnd said.
“The aim of the research is to find out more about the species’ population health, behaviour and reproductive cycles. Information gathered by the researchers will be used to inform protection of vital habitats and help ensure the survival of the species,” he said.
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Lead scientist, Brad Norman from ECOCEAN, said the library of digital photos was maintained and used by marine biologists to collect and analyse whale shark encounter data to learn more about these amazing creatures.
Mr Norman said information on feeding behaviour, when combined with sighting data, may help researchers understand how the shark’s regular appearance at ‘food pulses’ is related to natural events in the marine environment.
Padbury Senior High School will be taking 16 students to Ningaloo Marine Park next May, to be directly involved with the researchers and the program. They will swim with the whale sharks, photograph them and help identify their migration patterns.
Mr Radburnd said the whale shark research will be directly linked to the content of the Marine and Maritime Technology and Biological Sciences courses.
“For several years, Padbury students have had the opportunity to participate in an annual camp to Exmouth, where they do recreational diving and swim with manta rays,” he said. “Students will also identify, photograph and plot coral degradation on behalf of Coral Watch. A section of Ningaloo will be earmarked for ongoing monitoring by Padbury students.
“Another highlight for students is three days recreational scuba diving on the reef.”
The Curriculum Council’s Marine and Maritime Technology course project officer, Wayne Bariolo, said the Whale Shark project can form the basis of an entirely integrated program of work, which can be incorporated into nearly every section of the syllabus. “The course syllabus offers significant opportunities to engage with the whale shark in many of the following three areas: marine and maritime knowledge; marine and maritime operations; and, marine and maritime development,” Mr Bariolo said.
The whale shark is the world’s largest fish and it can grow to more than 15m in length.
For more information about the Marine and Maritime Technology course, go to the Curriculum Council course page at http://www.curriculum.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/Courses/
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Last Updated:
25/ 06/
2008 12:32
