Marine Turtles Research Field Trip
Recently our Year 13 Biology students were given the opportunity to learn first hand about the work involved in the research of marine turtles in Sabah. Nishita reports on the field trip below:
As A Level Biology students we were given the incredible opportunity to visit Dr Nicholas Pilcher’s Marine Research Foundation last month. This trip helped consolidate our learning about Ecology and Conservation, a chapter we study in this year’s syllabus. The research on marine turtles was being conducted on Mantanani Island, where we met up with Dr Pilcher and his team. We were fortunate enough to interact with the turtles and record data on the weight and size of each of the turtles. We also observed the laparoscopy procedure being done to determine the gender of the turtle, as there is a rising problem in the sex ratio imbalance. Being able to observe how meticulously the team analysed and handled the turtles gave us an insight into research techniques and the importance of conservation and marine biology today. Dr Pilcher also explained the importance of research and how it has impacted global policies for conservation.
As well as visiting the research team, we took advantage of the being on Mantanani and conducted several investigations on coral reefs, litter and algae concentration on the beach. We collected some interesting data to find correlations and analysed it using key statistical tests which is a skill required for A Level Biology.
Overall it was an unforgettable trip and we are very grateful to Ms Service, Dr Pilcher and his team for allowing us to visit his research centre.