Marine Biology Workshop

A weeks’ dedicated marine life tuition and guidance, designed to bring divers a deeper understanding of the marine world and how it works.

Jamie Watts is a marine ecologist, expedition leader and naturalist guide working in earth’s most spectacular marine ecosystems.  He writes and presents on marine and polar wildlife, global-scale ecology, human ecological footprints and climate change.  

Workshop Schedule;

Evening 1;  Arrival evening – brief meeting and introductions at the dive centre.

Day 2;  Coral reefs day;

Once everyone is checked in with the dive centre we will have a brief orientation to coral reefs and diving etiquette then the day’s diving commences.  The first dive will be a ‘get comfortable’ or ‘shakedown’ dive, maybe working on weighting, buoyancy and streamlining.  We will talk a bit during dive briefings and debriefings about the reef structure, the range of animals making up the reef and use of and competition for space.

Evening talk; ‘Reefs and systems – the animals and plants that make up and build reefs’.

Day 3;  Critters and fish day;

More focused guidance today, with pre-dive briefings to look at the life cycles of reef fish and mobile invertebrates (the easiest to focus on initially would be small reef crustaceans and echinoderms).

Jamie will move between buddy teams throughout the days, then be available for Q and A as people return from their dives.

Evening talk; ‘Fishes and critters – from reef-dwellers to fisheries’.

Day 4;  Ecology and plankton day;

Principles of marine ecology, competition on the reef and in the water column.  Seasons of the reef.  As always as well as directed briefings and Q&A debriefs Jamie will again be swapping between buddy teams and offering marine life hints and tips as they arise, as well as photo tips as required.

Evening talk; ‘Marine Ecology’. Followed by Night Dive looking at plankton and the night-time shift-change. *** Timing / scheduling of night dive may change.

Day 5;  Bigger animals off the reef;

Today we will be looking at the lives of bigger reef fish, sharks, rays, turtles and dolphins.

Evening talks; ‘The truth about sharks and rays’. Then after dinner ‘Form and function – marine reptiles and mammals’.

Day 6;  The global picture;

The big picture; Seasonal and global patterns, migrations, movements and hotspots.

Evening talk; ‘The Big Picture’.

Please note this schedule is provisional and may change due to weather, wildlife and logistics