5000 word dissertation on....

[wozza]

Hello all,
first off i wasnt to sure where to post this but i think its best suited to here, sorry if its not.

For my "pre degree" course im on at the moment that will lead to a 4 year marine biology degree in sept this year.
i have been asked to do a 5000 word dissertation on a something relevant to my course next year.

My original idea was.
How does sediment runoff from the land affect coral growth rate?

then decided it was to specific so i went for.
how are human affecting the coral reefs?

my tutor told me this was far to open and i would never be able to go indepth enough in 5000 words and i agree with her so... does anyone have any ideas?



cheers james

[greenbean36191]

You could write about COTS cycles on the GBR, the effects of climate change on coral reefs, the threat of algal overgrowth, etc.

[wozza]

i like the idea about the COTS cycles on the GBR, i know there will be plently of info out there as well.

anyone else? keep um comein'

james

[almostdiva]

I think it's a good idea -- focused, etc. You could also talk about ocean temp change and bleaching on reefs, which is sort of related but not exactly the same.

[mad_dog01]

What about the Star of thorns problem on the Great Barrier Reef?

[wozza]

COTS cycles on the GBR

COTS = corwn of thorns starfish
GBR = Great Barrier Reef

[charlie]

Go for the COTS. Do we get a chance to view this too.

[wozza]

Go for the COTS. Do we get a chance to view this too.

Of course, will probly be finnished around MAY time as thats when the deadline is.

[charlie]

That definitly gives you enuf time to get it done right, doesn't it???

[wozza]

That definitly gives you enuf time to get it done right, doesn't it???

lets hope so!;)

[charlie]

Well, good luck, and don't forget to give us the old sneak preview. I am sure you will do a heck of a job!!

[rjs5134]

I'm jealous... I was a pre-vet/zoology major in college, but never finished. Partying at Florida State got the best of me. Anyhow, now I'm a demolition contractor. Wish you the best of luck, and congratulations on getting this far!!!!

Rob

[CSeaSee]

Rob,
Do you actually get to blow stuff up?! There are days when I think I'd kinda like to do that...

[wozza]

Rob,
Do you actually get to blow stuff up?! There are days when I think I'd kinda like to do that...

that was actually one of the choices i had to make, i was eather gonna do marine biology or do chemistry and major in explosives. tuff call but i figured i can use marine biology everday, but cant blow stuff up all the time.....legally anyways!

[rjs5134]

I've been close to blowing up buildings, but my competition wants to do it too cheap... for the publicity. We use mostly bobcats(aka skid steers) and other heavy equipment. It's not really as exciting as it sounds.

I think chemistry majors that specialize in "explosives" are more likely to manufacture fire works than blow up buildings, but that sounds pretty cool too.

[wozza]

Hi guys and girls I have made a rough plan of my dissertation, what do you think?
Can you think of anything to add, remove or other wise?
All input appreciated, I will be referencing reefland.com as a source so have your say and be part of something great today!


cheers james



Why does the Crown of Thorns Starfish.doc

[greenbean36191]

Why does the Crown of Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster planci) suddenly reproduce in such large numbers and what are the effects on the surrounding reefs when they do?

This would be the first thing I changed. We don't know that they're suddenly reproducing in large numbers. I would add a section discussing the historical context for COTS outbreaks. Modern monitoring only goes back to the 80's and we only have reliable outbreak reports going back to I think the 60's and a few spotty reports from earlier. That doesn't mean that outbreaks weren't happening before then or that they've gotten worse; just that people weren't reporting them. There also weren't nearly as many people looking back then though. We've only got good data for 2 outbreak cycles so it's hard to say whether the outbreaks have increased in severity or frequency. The extent of ecological damage and what we should do will depend a lot on whether we find out the cycles are natural or not.

Does human activity on the land have an effect on the survival rate of Acanthaster planci, larvae? (I.e. nutrient run off)

I would be careful with this one. While it is a pretty popular hypothesis, most popular media makes it seem like it's certain that runoff is increasing larval survival. This is based off of a study where the larvae were fed phytoplankton in the lab. So far no one has shown a strong correlation between runoff and outbreaks in the wild. There are a lot of other limits on larval recruitment besides food availability.

Other than that I think you're on the right track.

[wozza]

Hi everyone. its time for an update.
i have now completed the essay, i totaly changed the title to "water chemistry and the modern reef aqauium".

i think some of the info may be a little bit out, so if this was to be truly usefull for the hobby i would need to do some editing, but considering i did it in one night im happy with it. but the people marking it do human biology so they wont know, but shhhh dont tell them that;).

I would like to thank lee (leebca) for takeing the time to look through this and offer his comments.
Cheers lee

please feel free to tell me what you realy think of it, cheers james

P.S. it did have pics but it was to large to upload with them so i just delited them and i havnt check to see if it has messed up the formating but it should be ok.

[charlie]

Good job man!!

[Frag Hag]

Another thumbs up!