2020 coral bleaching at Lizard Island

2020 coral bleaching at Lizard Island

In early 2020, the Great Barrier Reef suffered its third major coral bleaching event in five years due to heat stress.  At Lizard Island, bleaching first became noticeable in mid-February. February is normally “wet season”, with clouds and rain that keep the sea...
My visit to Lizard Island Research Station 

My visit to Lizard Island Research Station 

On the 11th of September my family and I arrived on Lizard Island. To get to the Island we flew on a tiny plane which could only fit 12 people on board. You could also see the captain flying it! The first lizard We arrived at Lizard Island on one side of the island....
Reef recovery in 2018

Reef recovery in 2018

In 2018 the corals spawned; juvenile corals that settled back after mass bleaching of 2016 and 2017 continued to grow; and many more appeared.  Fish populations increased. The resident Lizard Island Research Station Directors Dr Anne Hoggett & Dr Lyle Vail were...
“Other minds” and the origin of us all

“Other minds” and the origin of us all

In his book  Other Minds – the octopus and the evolution of intelligent life  Peter Godfrey-Smith  goes back 600 million years to find the common ancestor of octopuses and humans. It was probably a simple worm-like creature, living at a time when no organisms had made...