Author: Andrew Baird Spawning is upon us again on the Great Barrier Reef and I have just returned from a few days on Orpheus Island Research Station. I was helping Dr Carrie Sims of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute find mature Acropora colonies from which to produce planulae for her research on the early life history of … Continue reading Orpheus Island Research Station November 2025

Author: Andrew Baird "A marine biologist is never on holiday" -- James Bond, the Spy Who Loved Me (1977) I have just returned from a trip to the Mentawai Islands in West Sumatra, Indonesia, in October 2025. The Mentawai Islands are one of the premier surf destinations in the world with numerous world class waves … Continue reading The Mentawai – October 2025

Author: Andrew Baird Andrew, Tom and Charlotte recently returned from a sampling trip to the Seychelles hunting topotypes and attempting to sample as many different species as possible over 10 days on D’Arros Island followed by a week on Praslin and Mahe. The Seychelles is an important destination for Project Phoenix’s revision of the taxonomy … Continue reading The Seychelles

Author: Andrew Baird Andrew from James Cook University, Tom, Stefano and Merrick from Queensland Museum and Amanda from Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service visited the Moreton Bay Research Station on North Stradbroke Island in December 2024 (Fig. 1). The aim was to collect and curate all the hard coral species in the Moreton Bay region … Continue reading Moreton Bay, December 2024

Author: Andrew Baird Prof Andrew Baird, of James Cook University, Australia, a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) alumni, joined Dr James Reimer and members of the Molecular Invertebrate Systematics and Ecology (MISE) Laboratory of the University of the Ryukyus, Japan and Drs Michael Stat and Megan Huggett of the University of Newcastle, … Continue reading Ogasawara wrap 2023

Author: Andrew Baird If you only have one chance to go snorkel on Norfolk Island, the place to go is the Crystal Pool. This series of rock pools are almost completely isolated from the Ocean at low tide. The rock pools measure approximately 50 m in length, 3-4 m in width and 1-2 m in … Continue reading The Crystal Pool on Norfolk Island, January 2024

Author: Andrew Baird A team from Project Phoenix visited the coastal town of Hervey Bay as guests of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service & Partnerships to assess the biodiversity of the corals of the Great Sandy Marine Park (GSMP) in October 2023. Given the proximity to the coast and its high latitude, it might … Continue reading The Corals of the Great Sandy Marine Park, Queensland (AU)

Author: Andrew Baird Australia's Indian Ocean Territories (IOT) are made up of Cocos (Keeling) Island and Christmas Island, 1000s of km to west of Western Australia. Cocos (Keeling) Island is one of the most isolated atolls in the world. Cocos (Keeling) Island is famous, among other things, for being the first atoll visited by Charles … Continue reading The Indian Ocean Territories (IOT), Australia

Author: Andrew Baird The coral fauna of French Polynesia is an important part of the taxonomic puzzle. Tahiti, in particular, has been visited by numerous expeditions including the US Exploring Expedition, the British led Challenger Expedition, and more recently the Tara Oceans Expedition. All these expeditions collected specimens that serve as type material for some … Continue reading Corals of Moorea