EN101 St Katherine Biodiversity Atlas Project
(Expedition 1)
The
expedition starts at the Fox camp in St Katherine with a 3-day
course on desert living skills together with a short course on arid
region ecology with associated practicals aimed at training the
participants in the identification skills needed and the survey
techniques that will be used. On the Wednesday, the group will be
starting on a 9 day trek route into the high mountains to access
some of the 10km x 10km squares that still need survey effort. The
group will be living in temporary Bedouin camps around oases and
will be surveying in small teams for plants from quadrat surveys,
reptiles from standard search times, transect surveys for birds,
assessing mammal usage from spoor and scat and mist netting for bats
and using bat detectors on mobile night time surveys.
At the
end of nine days in the desert, the teams will go to the Fox Camp for a
rest and to help with data entry and mapping the results. On
Sunday, the group will be split into those doing different training
course options. One option is to do a DNA extraction course using
samples collected during the survey. Volunteers on this course will
be trained in the techniques of extracting and purifying the DNA,
amplifying it with specific primers using PCR (polymerase chain
reaction) and then visualising the results using electrophoresis.A second option is to do a course on how to display biodiversity
data spatially using Arc and Erdisi software. This course also
gives an introduction into then using environmental data (rainfall,
altitude, temperature, soil types, habitat, etc.) to predict
distribution of species using GIS techniques. A third option is to
do a course on wildlife illustration under the tutelage of the
artist who is producing all the wildlife guides for NSF.
In the
final week, the group move to the NSF Centre in Nuweiba where they
will spend a week learning to dive, or, if already qualified or not
wishing to dive, will complete a reef ecology course. The dive
course will train students up to PADI Open Water level. This is the
internationally recognised entry level qualification for SCUBA
diving, and the course consists of theory work, confined water
training (conducted just off shore in the shallows) and at least 4
Open Water dives. The reef ecology course (for those already dive
trained or those who would prefer to snorkel) consists of daily
lectures and in-water practicals (diving or snorkelling). The
course is designed to give a comprehensive introduction to the
marine ecology of this part of the world training participants
in identification of corals, fish, and invertebrates.
