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A Typical Work Day on the Coral Reef Project in Brunei, Borneo

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"The first thing to say is that each day can be different from the next. Basically we have two types of days – boat days and lab days.

On boat days we put in or maintain equipment or do research work on one or more of the research sites and most of the day is spent outdoors. On lab days, we identify and catalogue the specimens we collected on boat days and enter the data in the projects records among other things. Each boat day generates a few lab days worth of work. We then get ready for the next boat day."

A day in the life of a Marine Research Assistant on the coral reef project :

• Wake up at about 7.30, have breakfast and collect or make a packed lunch.

• Get picked up to go to the research store to collect diving gear and research tools like baskets, tags, ID cards, ropes, floats, GPS etc. Load it up in the University 4WD. Normally we’d help the technician hitch up the boat trailer to the car but as the boat was in for repairs we went to the Royal Brunei yacht Club to meet the TWW manager who would take us in another boat.

• When we got there we unloaded the gear onto the jetty and put it on board the boat

• We left at about 9.40 to go Abana Rock. As we went out through the channel we came upon the Shenzen a Chinese destroyer leaving after a goodwill visit to Bandar. A pretty impressive sight it was too with its helicopter, deck guns and 16 missile tubes. We took photos of them and they returned the compliment clicking away at us!!

• We then raced off to Abana but a heavy rain shower and wind persuaded us to divert to Pelong Rocks a more sheltered site. We thought we were in for a wet day’s work but the old hands told us that the rest of the day was probably going to be lovely and sunny.

• Twenty minutes after anchoring off Pelong we were sitting in warm sunshine and Matt decided to sun bake on the foredeck to work on his tan. The rest of us tucked into a very early lunch of sandwiches and Pringles crisps – the staple snack of research assistants.

• We were not collecting, photographing or tagging any specimens today. Instead we were putting in permanent quadrants– 2x2 squares within which we would later identify all the species by taking small specimens and photograph. This data would be compared with other quadrants at the same location and with other locations on different reefs to show the biodiversity, rates of growth and coral cover. This will enable the project to assess the health and condition of the reefs and sound an alert if they are endangered.

• While we got our diving gear ready, David the marine biologist went for a quick snorkel to select the sites for the quadrants. When he returned we kitted up and rolled off the boat. The boatman then passed us the tools of our trade – a mallet, steel uprights with clothes pegs and plastic tags to mark the sides of the quadrants.

• The water was clear all the way to the bottom and visibility was about 20 meters. We swam over to the sites and after deciding where to place the uprights began hammering them into the seabed. This was quite funny as we had no experience in being underwater tradesmen. David said afterward that we looked like we were in outer space – every time we struck the upright with the hammer we shot off upwards as Newton’s Third Law of motion took effect. Getting the upright in was a slow process this way. More weight on our belts was the answer and David showed us how to use a hammer underwater.

• After the first quadrant was in place, we surfaced for lunch and more Pringle’s crisps. Matt continued to work on his tan as the rest of us talked at the back of the boat watching the birds, terns and sea eagles wheel over the islet and the waves breaking over the reef.

• After lunch we motored slowly to the northern end of the reef and dropped the anchor taking care to drop it in a sandy patch and not on one of the large table corals that are in this area and are hundred of years old. Some of these corals were present when Magellan’s vessels sailed out of Brunei in 1521 during the first voyage around the world. The keel of his ship would have passed close above them.

• An inspection of the anchor site revealed schools of blue and yellow fusiliers, striped sergeant majors and many brightly coloured reef fishes. A large cuttlefish (relative of the squid) bigger than a rugby ball hovered inspecting the intruders before jetting off at great speed. There were plate corals, table corals almost as large as the boat and stag horn corals as well.

• Russ was first in the water and munched Pringles’ crisps while waiting for the others. We offered him the container and suggested that he feed his little fishy friends. His eyes lit up at the idea of feeding a rainbow cloud of fish. What a dilemma! In the end the fishes were deprived of the opportunity to sample Pringles’ Original flavour crisps

• Once the other quadrant was in we called it a day and surfaced. They next time we come we will photograph the corals and then collect and tag small specimens. The work over Matt continued the tanning process while others swam around. After a while we headed back to the Yacht Club where we unloaded the boat and brought back the gear to the store before heading home to relax.

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