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2018

THE RESEARCH PROJECTS

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How do human populations impact on the distribution and abundance of marine plastics?

Esther Whitford​

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One of the most prevalent threats to our oceans comes in the form of litter - most notably marine plastics. Entering bodies of water through run-off from urban areas and inadequate waste disposal these plastics can wreak havoc on marine ecosystems. Marine plastics can be split into two categories: macroplastics which include most large objects of litter such as bottles (greater than 5mm in size) and the small plastic particles or microplastics (less than 5mm), each with their own impacts on the environment.

 

Larger marine organisms can become entangled in macroplastics which often proves lethal and furthermore can aid the transport of otherwise immobile organisms/larvae. As for microplastics, they can be frequently mistaken for plankton and hence ingested, infiltrating the food chain. Bio-accumulation of these plastics (often containing many toxins) leads to apex predators containing dangerously high levels and resulting in a loss of health or even death. With destructive environmental impacts, Sri Lanka's economy could suffer, hit by a drop in tourism for example. With little previous research into marine plastics impacts on Sri Lanka's coasts, this research could prove valuable to future actions in preserving its rich biodiversity. 

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Esther is working on an in depth analysis of the correlation between human population distributions and that of marine plastics on Sri Lanka's eastern coast. Esther will collect data by surveying three beaches of varying population densities, taking random samples from transect lines along the sand collecting and classifying all macroplastics found under UNEP guidlines. In addition, beach samples will be taken and processed to separate out the microplastics for further observations. Such data will be taken multiple times for the purpose of reliability.

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Mapping the soundscape of the Trincomalee area, Sri Lanka

Andrew Middleton

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The environment of coral reefs are well documented through visual observations, but now a newer field scientific surveying; acoustic measurements, are now being encouraged. Coral reefs can be noisy environments; its high density of marine organisms such as fish, crabs, and shrimp all produce varying levels of sound. The non-intrusive nature of recording sound and the ability to record organisms of varying size proves to be highly valuable for scientific research and provides a new world of insight into animal behaviour.

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Many organisms take advantage of the constant noise along with chemical and visual stimuli to direct it to suitable habitats for settling/nesting etc. Soundscapes are comprised of biophonic (biologically induced sound), geophonic, and anthrophonic acoustics.

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Andrew aims to map the soundscape of the Trincomalee area and furthermore investigate the potential correlations between anthropogenic sounds and biotic sounds. Contributions to this new field of data could prove useful to future soundscape research. A variety of sites will be chosen and hydrophones will be used to make the recordings. Ranges of the hydrophones will be calculated to ensure no overlap between sites. Several readings will be taken at each site and repeated throughout the expedition, with a focus on two main frequency band widths in which most biophonic activity occurs. Digital Audio Work Station (DAWS) software such as audacity will help visualise recordings. Audio will be then compared with online marine sound banks such as Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS). Notes on the surrounding environment at each site will be noted, recording weather variability and any proximate human activity.    

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How has benthic coverage of coral reefs in Trincomalee Bay changed from their 2005 status

Celine Goslinga

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On 26 December 2004 an earthquake occured at the bottom of the Indian Ocean with the epicentre off of the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. With a magnitude of 9.1 it caused a devastating tsunami along coasts bordering the Indian Ocean (Inoue et al, 2007). Sri Lanka was considered the second worst affected after Indonesia, and suffered environmental damage of varying intensity. The south and east coasts were worst affected, and its coral reefs saw the brunt of it. Interestingly, coral damage varied between neighbouring reefs with some being left almost untouched and others sustaining major damage.

 

Corals can be defined as foundation species of reefs for they have been shown to create completely by allowing increased habitat scale and dimensions while also providing reef heterogeneity (Bruno and Valdivia, 2016). Therefore damage to corals will subsequently lead to habitat degradation of the entire reef.

 

Celine aims to assess the current coral coverage of reef sites as of the summer of 2018 and compare such results with the data sets recorded by A. Rajasuriya in 2003 and 2005. She will investigate to see if sites vary in correlation to their damage status noted after the 2004 tsunami. She will also investigate whether any distinguishments can be made between geographically different reef sites and look for other potential factors which may have influenced the change of benthic coverage since 2003. Three locations will be surveyed, with initial dives providing an environmental profile of each site. Further repeated dives with random sampling methods will give more detailed analyses of coral cover. To reduce human error, computer software will be used to calculate coral cover from taken photos.

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Assessing Herbivore, Piscivore and Invertivore Trophic Guild Structures in Relation

     to Sandstone and Coral Reef Habitat Types

Jamie Crowther & Maria Day-Wilson Player

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This project will be focusing on the benthic coverage and the piscivore, invertivore and herbivorous fish assemblages of reef habitats with different substrate types (such as sandstone, rock and coral reefs). Both of these projects will tie in with the hydroacoustic project in that they will be simultaneously collecting data at the same sites every day, thereby producing a holistic multidimensional dataset. Coral reef ecosystems are some of the most productive in the world however they are under severe pressure from anthropogenic impacts like climate change, habitat degradation and pollution. It is important to monitor reef habitats, especially those in relatively understudied areas like those on the east coast of Sri Lanka. Additionally, these two projects will be building on the 2017 Sri Lanka Expedition’s dataset, thereby producing insights into changes occurring over time.
 

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