Citizen science at Goolboodi (Orpheus) Island and Marine Park's Journal

Good day
Field Guide to fish (guya) of Orpheus Island (Goolboddi), Queensland First Edition, April 2024

Dr Adam Smith (CEO of Reef Ecologic) and Jacinta Jefferies a JCU Masters student and intern have drafted a guide to fish at Orpheus and would appreciate your comments
https://reefecologic.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fish-field-guide-Orpheus-Island.pdf

The purpose of the field guide is to increase the knowledge of fish species at Orpheus Island (Goolboddi) and to document changes over time. This field guide brings together multiple citizen science programs and several hundred divers, fishers, indigenous and citizen scientists to collaboratively deliver long-term reef health citizen science monitoring to the popular site.

All observations are research grade standard

It is a working document which we can update easily and also share
If this is useful we would be happy for you to use as an education resource
Regards
Adam

Congratulations to the 162 observers and 431 identifiers who have collaborated to record over 700 species from the waters and island of Goolboodi (Orpheus Island) which is the sea country of Manbarra traditional owners. It is also a marine research station managed by James Cook University.

The milestone observation occurred during the 2024 Reef Masterclass facilitated by Reef Ecologic in partnership with James Cook University with support from Reef Check Australia, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Reef Authority, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Girrigan Aboriginal Corporation and Mina Minggga Land and Sea Rangers.

The top three observed species in the project are: Boring Giant Clam (Tridacna crocea), Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and Goldstripe Butterflyfish (Chaetodon aureofasciatus).

A recent interesting observation was the Double-tooth Soldierfish (Myripristis hexagona) as there have only been two observations of the species in Australia. Myripristis hexagona, the doubletooth soldierfish, is a nocturnal species of soldierfish from the genus Myripristis. It is light red to yellowish in colour, and grows to a maximum length of 30 cm (11.8 in). It can be found in the Indo-Pacific region, from East Africa to Samoa, north to the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. However, it has not been found on low islands or atolls in the Indo-Pacific region. It is found at depths of 3–40 metres (9.8–131.2 ft) and inhabits sheltered coastal and offshore reefs, typically in turbid areas of bays or lagoons. During the day, it hides in caves or beneath ledges, while at night, it feeds on plankton. It can be found in loose aggregations, sometimes with other species of soldierfis

The top observer is @adam_smith3 and the top identifier is @adam_smith3

https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/citizen-science-at-goolboodi-orpheus-island-and-marine-park?tab=species

Thank you to all the observers who have contributed to the Orpheus (Goolboodi) Island and Marine Park iNaturalist project.

Together we have reached the milestone of 1000 observations. The milestone observation was a Spotted coral grouper (Plectropomus maculates) by Adam Smith.

There has been some great observation of sharks, turtles, fish, corals and algae during the 2022 Reef Restoration and Leadership Workshop at Orpheus Island Research Station. Many participants have just joined iNaturalist. All observations have been from snorkelers or from intertidal walks.

A new species for the project is the Bear Paw Clam (Hippopus hippopus).

The Green tree frog is still the most observed species but the Boring giant clam is second and is racing up the list as a favourite for marine scientists and students as they are very common and colourful

The Citizen science at Orpheus Island iNaturalsit project was created 9 November 2021 during the annual Reef Restoration and Leadership workshop. Fantastic support over the past year has resulted in contributions from 87 observers, 237 identifiers (totalling 314 people) who have made 913 observations comprising 417 species.
The highest number of observations are by Adam Smith, apteryxrowi and OIRS staff.
The most observed species are Green tree frog, Myrtle mangrove and Boring giant clam.
We anticipate that there will be a surge in observations over the next 4 days with the 2022 Reef Restoration and Leadership Course and a focus on marine species.

Hello Orpheus Island scientists
We are close to 1000 observations- will we reach it this year?
One way to encourage participation is to join Bioblitz projects and The Great Souther BioBlitz is from 28-31 October, and then have from 1-14 November to upload them to iNaturalist.
https://www.greatsouthernbioblitz.org/about-1

We are helping GSBB facilitate observations of marine life in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Reef Ecologic is encouraging everyone who lives in or visits the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area to capture pictures of wildlife you see on walks, snorkels, fishing trips or dives and upload them to iNaturalist.org. If you live further afield or can't make it out, you can still participate from home by helping to identify the wildlife in the observations!

Details of the project can be found here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/great-southern-bioblitz-2022-great-barrier-reef

And here is a link to a training video we made for a previous event that can help acquaint you with iNaturalist if you haven't used it before: https://youtu.be/2aAeBGkDY8Y

This app has helped us greatly in learning more about the creatures we see and this event is a great excuse to get outdoors. We hope to see your observations and posts during the Bioblitz!