Mike Van Keulen

For some species certain biological and ecological data, such as diet, age and growth estimates can only be obtained through lethal sampling of study animals. Traditionally, commercial fishermen have provided samples of rays caught in nets for use by biologists: however, by-catch exclusion devices now prevent medium and larger-bodied rays (>100 cm disc width) from being collected in trawl nets. This means that other methods must be used for lethal sampling. We obtained a large suite of biological and ecological data from 170 wild-caught stingrays collected from Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia over two years. Our sampling program was designed to minimize or eradicate any pain and suffering to the animals, while ensuring the safety of researchers undertaking the sampling process. Small rays (<100 cm disc width: WD) were caught in beach seines and euthanized immediately by destruction of the bran and severance of the spinal cord with a reinforced, serrated steel knife. Larger rays were euthanized by firing high-powered spears directly into their brains from close range while free diving. Of the 170 rays sampled in this manner, 94 % (159) were killed instantly or within an estimated 10 - 30 seconds of capture. The design and application of this lethal sampling program was deemed successful in terms of ensuring the safety of researchers as well as minimising suffering to rays. Pain perception in elasmobranchs has been quantified by few studies: however, research suggests that certain neural apparatus associated with pain sensation is lacking in rays. Our study has provided critical data on the biology and life history of stingrays that could not be obtained by any other means.

This paper reports on a study of the effectiveness of a basic botany unit, which has been enhanced by online support materials. A WebCT site was developed to provide digital access to materials studied in practical sessions. Whereas previously, students only saw practical material once, now they have access to high quality, colour images, to study at their leisure. The online materials were evaluated in the context of the unit of study. The nature of the unit encouraged students to adopt a surface learning approach, but the evaluation process encouraged teaching staff to explore alternative teaching strategies. Students found the online materials very useful, and some students used them for deep approaches to learning. However, the majority of use of the online materials was for ‘cramming’ prior to examinations. The use of the online materials, in this case, reinforced the surface-learning nature of the unit.

This paper will briefly examine the current status of seagrass restoration in Australia and, after some definitions have been dispensed with, describe where most of the efforts have been located and their relative ‘success’. Attention is placed more upon the lessons regarding transplant failure we have learned from past studies, as opposed to an in-depth study of each project. In addition, factors contributing to variable success rates with different techniques (seedlings, sprigs and cores) will be highlighted using examples from Western Australia – where many transplant efforts have been located. Examples will then be given of the most recent rehabilitation studies in Western Australia, focusing on mechanical transplanter development, refinement and operation. Concluding comments are then made regarding suggestions to maximise success in future transplantation programmes along with a basic list of requirements.

This paper will briefly review some of the seagrass transplantation studies conducted by the Marine and Freshwater Research Laboratory at Murdoch University in the Success Bank region off the Perth metropolitan coast over the past eight years. Initial studies examined the role of transplant size and sediment stabilization on survival, arriving at the conclusion that larger transplants survive better, and that sediment stabilization is an important factor in transplant survival. These studies gave rise to the concept of mechanical transplantation of large blocks ("sods") of seagrass. "ECOSUB1" was the prototype developed as part of the Environmental Management Plan for Cockburn Cement Ltd., which mines shellsand on Success Bank. Improvements in the technology led to ECOSUB2, which consists of two machines operating simultaneously, one harvesting seagrass and the other planting it. A sod shuttle is used to transfer sods from one machine to the other which greatly increasing the efficiency of the operations. The theoretical maximum output of ECOSUB2 is 75 sods, or 40m2, per day. Experimental work to supplement the mechanical transplantation programme included studies on transplanting seagrass to different depths, and an examination of wave energy effects on survival. The depth studies suggested that it was possible to transplant seagrasses to greater depths than donor sites although wave energy was still instrumental in lowering survival. To examine wave energy effects, mechanically transplanted sods were deployed in an area of high wave energy, with spacing being used to modify the hydrodynamic regime. The results indicated no significant differences in survival or shoot density as a result of the spacing treatment, with poor survival once winter storms impacted the area. Monitoring of fluctuations in sediment height showed the presence of large sand waves passing through the region, and this is clearly a factor that needs to be considered when transplanting seagrass to areas of high wave energy. The studies conducted to date suggest that larger transplants (sods) are required when transplanting to areas of high wave energy, although smaller transplants (plugs and sprigs) may be appropriate in more moderate conditions. Major factors to consider in enhancing rehabilitation success would appear to be the appropriateness of the technique in regard to species, seasonality of weather and the range of sediment level fluctuation.

Learning-centred evaluation framework evaluation computer-facilitated learning proposal This roundtable session will discuss four distinct evaluations of student learning arising from four, very different applications of information and communications technology (ICT) in four different subject areas. The common factor in each evaluation study was the use of the Learning-Centred Evaluation Framework described in Phillips, Bain, McNaught, Rice, & Tripp (2000) and Bain (1999). This framework, derived from earlier work by Alexander & Hedberg (1994), has four main characteristics: it presumes that evaluation will occur in each of the major phases of an educational development project (design, development, implementation, and institutionalisation); it focusses attention on three aspects of learning: the learning environment (where people learn, or the ICT innovation); the learning process (how people learn) the learning outcome (what people learn) it encourages evaluators to frame appropriate and answerable evaluation questions; it outlines the types of evidence and methods that may be appropriate for each question. The four projects to be discussed arose, directly or indirectly, from a 1999 CUTSD staff development grant about Evaluation of Technology-based Teaching Development Projects. Interactive Stories Animal Behaviour Plant Diversity Veterbrate Anatomy and Physiology The roundtable will briefly describe the evaluation framework and the individual projects, and the discussion will focus around the issues involved in planning and carrying out such evaluations, and what can be learnt from them. As one participant lecturer stated "we never really know how effective we are in our teaching... we really have no idea about our students understandings".

The decline of seagrass meadows around population centres worldwide has caused much research to be directed into their rehabilitation, restoration and mitigation. Most transplant efforts to date have been carried out at a relatively small scale « 1 ha) using manual methods. In the northern hemisphere, the relative success of these methods for small scale projects has been largely due to the properties of the seagrass species used (primarily Zostera marina). Until recently, very little success has been achieved in Australian efforts at transplantation. This has been due to their loss or removal by hydrological forces, epiphyte growth, fungal attack and/or grazing by sea urchins. In Western Australia, of the 7,500 transplant units that have been placed within the Perth Metropolitan region, most have been lost due to water motion. It was determined therefore that to make restoration a viable option, larger transplant units were necessary (to ensure high survival rates) along with the capability to restore a sufficiently large area. The only feasible option therefore was to construct a mechanical device to extract and plant seagrass. Manual methods of transplantation have been carried out to provide data to aid in site selection for mechanical transplantation.