Arrawarra Coastal Field Station
The marine field station is located at Arrawarra Headland, on the northern New South Wales coast, adjacent to the Solitary Island Marine Park which supports substantial coral communities. The station was established in the late 1960's to provide a base for both teaching and research. The location of the station is ideal, providing easy access to a full range of marine and estuarine habitats. The rock-platform on the northern side of Arrawarra Headland supports a very high diversity of plants and animals and has consequently been fully protected by the regulations of the Solitary Island Marine Park.
To the west of the station, Arrawarra Creek supports a healthy estuarine community and is the site of long-term data collection on populations of marine yabbies. The beaches within the region have recently been studied to determine what lies within the sediments and most of the species identified from the region can be found on Arrawarra Beach.
The sheltered aspect of Arrawarra Beach allows for easy access to the stunning underwater communities in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Accommodation, kitchen, laboratory facilities (including aquaria with flow-through sea-water) vessels (two ocean going and one for estuarine use) are available at the station. Limited computing facilities are available including access to the Internet. Extensive computing facilities and an electron microscope are available in Armidale.
Examples of important research that has been conducted at Arrawarra include:
• The first research into the important coral communities at the Solitary Islands in the early 1970's.
• Documentation of the diverse local seaweeds by researchers from Melbourne during the late 1980's (who named a species of red seaweed after the station).
• Research into the impacts of sewage effluent on local marine communities.
The current areas of marine research address the need for information which is essential if our marine and estuarine resources are to be safeguarded for future generations. Thus, research is focusing on: filling the gaps in knowledge of spatial and temporal variation of natural communities in the Solitary Islands Marine Park; evaluating the impact of human uses on marine and estuarine environments and developing monitoring strategies which will ensure that adverse impacts can be rapidly detected and remediated.
Cost of hiring the field station:
Lab use and accommodation:
Under-graduates $25/day, Post-graduates $30/day, Researchers $50/day.
Lab use only:
Under-graduates $20/day, Post-graduates $25/day, Researchers $35/day.
If you want to know more about studying marine biology please contact:
Associate Prof. Steve Smith
email: ssmith@nmsc.edu.au
ph:02 6648 3908
For enquiries regarding booking the Field Station please contact:
Richard Willis
email: rwillis@une.edu.au
ph: 02 6773 2615