Marine Conservation Office Resources:

When coming here as a student of the marine conservation course you will have access to our developing marine conservation office. We add new materials and data all the time, so write us if you have specific needs or requests. We hope that in a few short years we will have a fully functioning laboratory and aquarium. In the mean time, use the lists below to find out what resources we have available.

Available Materials

At our shop we have available all of the materials that you will need during your course or internship, rental is included already in the course fee. We also have a lot of extra materials or tools to facilitate research studies by students or other professionals. If you plan to come to Koh Tao for a research project, please see the list below of the materials we already have available to help plan your research proposal.

• Scuba Diving: All necessary equipment is available and will be provided. Equipment purchases can also be made through the dive school for interested students.
• Research:  EMP Slates, Greenfins slates, CoralWatch color charts, Rulers, Transects lines, quadrants, secci disk, Garmin GPS unit, electronic scale with RGB port (accurate to 0.001g) etc.
• Restoration: Hand tools, cement, welding machine, aquarium air/water pumps, 60 kg lift bags, etc.
• Water Quality Monitoring:  Colorimeter (turbidity, and reagents for Nitrates, phosphates)  Ph pen, Test kits for DO and PO4, Vacuum filter apparatus with glass filters.
• Computers (w/photoshop, image j, ArcGIS, SPSS, EXCEL, etc.), free wi fi, electronic resources and publications, student papers

Library

In our library we have many of the books related directly to the work you can do here, including everything from the most basic marine ecology up to specialized research and restoration methods. For those wishing to learn coral identification we also have a water proof copy of the Coral Finder book published by the Australian Coral Reef Society.

Data

Ecological Monitoring Program: Permanent belt transect and point intercept data on fish, invertebrate, coral, and substrate indicator species. Performed in 10 sites around the island on a regular basis for the last 5 years.

• Compromised coral Health: (see GEFcoral.org) Detailed bleaching data by degree bleaching and coral genus, collected during the mass bleaching event of 2010.
• Temperature and light data collected using HOBOware in situ probes located in 4 locations at various depths along the reef (1.5 years of data, equipment donated by Mahidol University International College)
• Reef photoquadrants along permanent transect lines
• Coral disease survey data and photodocumentation
• Fresh and sea water testing data for 3 of the last 5 years
• Visibility/water clarity data

• Coral growth rates on various natural areas and artificial sites or structures
• Remote sensing data, NOAA archival data, etc.