Email brain@svpelican.com.au
Williamstown High School
Hi I'm Emily
I'm in year 7. I have a question. How hot does the
water need to get to kill the coral and how hot is it normally?
Bye bye.
Hi Emily,
As you know, if you live somewhere cooler (like Victoria) you'd
find it really hot if the temperature rose to the daily temperatures found
in, say, North Queensland. But North Queenslanders would consider it just
another day in the tropics and not be affected in the same way. It's the
same with corals; those in the south of the Great Barrier Reef experience
normal summer temperatures of around 27-28C, while those in the far north
experience temperatures of around 29-30C. Sustained temperatures of 1 or
2 degrees above normal will stress the corals and lead to bleaching. For
those corals in the south GBR bleaching could start at sustained temperatures
of 29 to 30C, while those in the north GBR would need 30 to 31C to start
bleaching (providing temperature is the only stress acting on the corals).
That's why we consider the important temperature to be the number of degrees
above the average temperature for that location and time of year.
Johnston Davidson
Williamstown High School
Harriet yr 8
question - At what water temperature does the coral
start bleaching..??
Hi Harriet,
Thanks for this question. You might like to read the answer to
Emily's question as this temperature will vary from the north to the south
of the Great Barrier Reef. Generally, sustained temperatures over 30C will
cause bleaching.
Johnston Davidson
Williamstown High School
Lizzie yr 8
question - I was wondering if you could let my friends and
I aboard your lovely ship and teach us how to scuba dive like the trainees?
Hi Lizzie,
Wouldn't it be great if everybody could learn to dive and experience
the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef. I think you and your friends could
make this one of your goals in life because it's very important to see and
learn as much as possible about the many different environments on this planet.
Johnston Davidson
Williamstown High School
Melina yr8
question -how long did it take for the ship to get from
one end of the barrier reef to the top and what percentage of the reef
are you surveying?
Hi Melina,
We took about 5 weeks to get from Bundaberg to Lizard Island (stopping
all the way to do surveys, remember), and that's not even at the top of the
Great Barrier Reef. We surveyed over 40 reefs in that time. There are approximately
3000 reefs in the Great Barrier Reef region, so we saw only 1.3% of the GBR.
Johnston Davidson
Williamstown High School
I really like nudibranchs I was wondering if you have seen any on your trip??
Hi,
We've seen nudibranchs at several reefs where we've been - often 2 or
3 during our dive. The main ones we remember seeing were neon blue with black
sides and orange bumps (probably from the Family Phyllidiidae), and blue
with black strips and yellow frill around the edges and orange gills (probably
from the Family Chromodorididae). I hope this helps. Sorry about the strange
Family names.
Johnston Davidson
From Natalie Davey 24 March 2006
How do we say "Welcome aboard" in your traditional language (is there a different language represented by each of the young trainees?). If we have a translation or translations of the "welcome aboard" we can put it on the front page of the Pelican brain! Thanks, Natalie.
To say "Welcome Aboard" in a translation in my traditional language is "I Awal Seu-nagapa". That's a Torres Strait language that's been around for thousands of years. The way that I have printed it here is a very old dialect that not many elders still talk. This language is at risk of being lost.
Pedar Lawrence
13 March 2006
From: Shirley McKechnie
Subject: Raw Fish
Hi to all the crew and scientists on board Pelican.
What a great project! The website is very interesting and informative. No I am not at school but I love learning about new things. So does Ken who lives with me. We look forward to further revelations, especially from the trainees. I hope the sea sickness is passing and that the scuba diving is getting a little less scary.
Question to trainees (all or any): What do you most enjoy about life aboard Pelican? How does it make you feel?
I would like to know about Pedar's recipe for the "Numas' raw fish dish. Did the other people on the boat like it?
Happy sailing
Shirley
Dear Shirley
The Raw fish dish (Numas) is a traditional food that's been in my family for a pretty long time my parents prefer me not to tell any one the secret recipe but yes every one did love it they were craving for some more but if I saw you in person I would tell you I cant tell you over the net because there's about a other 30 people that want the recipe. Sorry.
The life on board the Pelican is a very great experience and a opportunity for me for the future because the work on the Pelican is my interests for a very long time. What I really most enjoy on the Pelican is going diving and seeing all the different types of coral and to keep an eye out for the coral bleaching. I am interested because I am worried about it making it's way up to the place where I come from. My sea country is Saibai Island 5km off the border of PNG.
Regards,
Pedar Lawrence
From: Kate Daddo, Port Phillip Community Group
What happens when your human brain goes like coral and becomes bleached beyond cross fertilization of ideas?
Dear Kate,
This is called Mad Coral Disease (MCD) and is a very serious condition that can lead to major confusion. In fact there is a very good chance that we have acquired this disease as we can make rather little sense of the question.
Garry/Nick
From:Tisha Gordon
To: Ewan Kepple
Hello there bro? whatÕs been happening in your part of the world? I looked at the Pelican Website on the computer and seen your photos, (TOO DEADLY). You must be having a good time, nothing much been happening up there in Hope Vale but getting a lot of rain. Sister Sonia and her family said hello and hope you keep good. If you get a chance, you can always email me, but IÕll also keep in touch. Well bro hope every thing is all good. Hear from you soon. With lots of hugs and lollies from your sista girl Tisha.
Thank you for your email, it was good to hear from you sis.
It was raining here last night (Friday) and I had a shower in it. It was great. It is nice today. Having the sail up and going fast. We are going to a reef with no name and then to Percy Island before going to McKay. What is happening in your part of the world? I did a bit more skills on my diving yesterday and I'm getting good at it. Hopefully I'll pass. I'm worrying for home just a bit, but it's all good. And could you tell Charleen to email me, I would like to hear from her.
Talk to you soon and send me lots of emails.
Love from Ewan.
From: Wayne Hay,
Head of Department (Senior Schooling)
Cairns State High School
To: Pedar
Hey there Pedar
It looks like from the pictures that you are really enjoying yourself!
I hope that you learn a great deal and still have lots of fun along the
way. The Marine Studies Class will be monitoring you while you are on board
and Mrs Cunnington (Acting Science HOD) has the details of your website.
From: Leah Saltner, Land and Sea Management Coordinator
Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM, 10 March 2006
To: The Trainees
To Wadda Mooli, Matthew, Ewan, Frank, and Pedar
How are you all ? My name is Leah Saltner , IÕm a Birrigubba woman, my mob is Juru and Bindal and I work for the Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM group.
I work in Townsville and I just wanted to drop a line to say hello and let you all know that itÕs amazing stuff your doing. And that you are all going to have experiences on the Pelican that most people can only dream about.
Frank, howÕs the sea sickness goingÉI bet the Keppel Islands were great, next time youÕll have to give a sign to Gill to shhhÉwhen you go spear fishing again, have you caught anything in the meantime? How are you finding the diving ?
Ewan, itÕs good to see you picked up the diving, what awesome experience going down to the reef for the first time? Did you like the technical side of things?
Pedar, sounds like youÕve also picked up the diving skills, good to see that sharing of culture with the Numas, did they enjoy it? The Spanish mackerel is a good catch, nothing like fresh fish, rice and lemon hey, has your past experiences on other boats helped you with the pelican project, or is it different?
Matthew, how are you going? Did you enjoy the diving, sailing and fishing, have you had a chance to learn how to operation the boats as yet? I look forward to your log when itÕs available
NowÉ..being a true Burdekinite (IÕm from the Burdekin)É..the Nth Qld Cowboys play against the Broncos on SundayÉ.so I was thinkingÉI would email you all every Monday to give you the score for the cowboy games.
If for some strange crazy reason the Cowboys are not your team !!! I will be happy to email scores for the team you support, you just need to let me know your team!!!
I think you are all doing such a fantastic job, your families must be so proud of youÉÉI donÕt even know any of you and I feel proud that four young Aboriginal brothers have committed to doing the project and having experiences that most people donÕt get a chance to.
I can see that you four are going to be future leaders in your family and community and brothers like you have the potential to be strong role models for murri youths.
IÕll keep in contact, please feel free to email me, even if itÕs just to have a yarn
Keep up the excellent work, Leah Saltner
EWAN: Thank you for writing to us. Cowboys are my team so I would be very happy to find out the scores cause we have no news or tv here. Yes I do also like the theory for the diving, but I also love going into the water very much. I like it because we are learning about coral bleaching and being down there with all the fishes and staying down for a long time and that way we get to see a lot of things. We get to see all the different colours of the reef and even when it is all white and bleached it is still amazing. I have also been watching and talking to the scientists to learn about what they are doing and am hoping to help them later underwater. Especially to take the video camera underwater and to take some photos of the coral and the animals that live down there. I have seen heaps of strange animals that I've never seen in my life.
When we can not dive, we are learning how to do many things on the boat. We all have to take our turns on 'watch' at night so everyone else can sleep while we keep them safe. We need to look out for many things such as watching our position on the instruments, looking out for other boats and reefs, and making sure everyone hatches are closed so they don't get wet from the rain and waves when we are moving along. We are also learning about anchoring the boat and are starting to learn about sailing. A couple more days we will be learning a lot more things.
The atmosphere onboard is really friendly and sailing makes the scenery changes everyday. Also after a "hard day" of diving, we are exhausted and we can enjoy a very nice dinner cooked by Jayne, sometimes made of fish freshly fished out of the sea.
For all those people who know me, you are all welcome to send an email and I'll be waiting.
I will talk to you some more soon, Ewan
FRANK: Hi Leah, I know you, but you don't know me. I'm Ronata Prior's grandchild and my mum is Charmain Blackman. My seasickness is going away and I am starting to get homesick now. I am Bindal, Juru and Birrigubba too. I am a very good hunter but right now I haven't caught nothing! I am hoping to go diving and spearfishing on Sunday and can't wait to go to McKay to put my foot on land. I would just like to say Wadda Mooli to all the family back in Burdekin, Townsville and Palm. My team is Cowboys as well. GO THE COWBOYS !!!!!!
MATTHEW: Yes I am enjoying the sailing and getting used to it. Most of today I have been the captain on the ship, or at least watching for Garry in the Wheelhouse whilst we have been sailing. I am also learning to put the sails up and changing them when the wind changes. Tomorrow we are going to the Percy Islands to fish and some more diving and I am looking forward to it. I am having a good time. Thank you for writing to me. I am a Bronkos fan but Cowboys are my second team.
PEDAR: I am always willing to give a bit of a contribution when I think it is right. I think when I made a Numas I felt that people may not like it but it was a surprise when everyone finished as soon as it touched the table. Everyone loved it!