Tidal Pool Study

Post Card From Oz

14 October 1998

From our Queensland, Australia Trip
17 July to 27 November 1998

STUDENT PROJECTS. In this project, students studied the environmental stresses associated with life in the intertidal zone. A variety of different size tidal pools were measured for temperature and salinity at multiple times of day. The organisms in the pools were recorded an the relationship between environmental factors and species diveristy was investigated

Sea Cucumber Study. SEA CUCUMBERS are one of the most prominent inhabitants of the inner reef flat at Lady Elliot Island. A group of students study there density at various points in the reef flat. Among their results: there are more than 15,000 sea cucumbers per hectare (100 meter by 100 meter square) in the inner reef flat and nearly 2,500 per hactare at the outer reef crest. This compared with about 500 per hectare at Polka Point on North Stradbroke Island.
Holothuria atra. 
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Holothuroidea
Species: Holothuria atra
HOLOTHURIANS are called "sea cucumbers in part because of their widespread use in Asia as a base for soups. One of the most common species on the reef flat at Lady Elliot is the sea cucumber Holothuria atra. In some areas, the reef can seem to be covered by these or other holothurians. Most species feed on the rich organic film that covers sandy surfaces.

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