By Krystyna Saunders:
As part of the CIBE expedition, I spent seven weeks on Campbell Island sampling 45 lakes, tarns and ponds all over the island. At each site we collected water and sediment samples. Back in the lab at the University of Bern, Switzerland, I analysed...
-©SMcMurtrie.jpg "Alex James and Shelley McMurtrie of EOS Ecology overlooking Capstan Cove Stream and Northwest Bay. Photo © Shelley McMurtrie.")
-©SMcMurtrie.jpg "The middle reaches of Camp Stream runs through Dracophyllum scrub and is cobble-lined. Photo © Shelley McMurtrie.")
-©SMcMurtrie.jpg "The small upper reaches of Camp Stream cuts deeply through the thick peat layers, and is barely visible under the overhanging vegetation. Photo © Shelley McMurtrie.")
-©SMcMurtrie.jpg "Young male sealions were forever interested in our gear and would often follow us upstream to check out what we were doing. Photo © Shelley McMurtrie.")
-©SMcMurtrie.jpg "Heading ashore at Northeast Bay to sample Northeast Stream. Photo © Shelley McMurtrie.")
The first ever interactive identification keys to the freshwater invertebrates of Campbell Island have been published online (McMurtrie, Sinton & Winterbourn, 2014).
The 2010 Bicentennial Expedition is now a distant memory but one that will ever remain in the hearts and minds of those of us who had the...
-SMcM.jpg "Alex James (left) and Shelley McMurtrie (right) en route to sampling streams, with Beeman Hill and Perseverance Harbour in the background. Photo © S. McMurtrie.")
-IMGP4082.jpg "Macquaridrilus mcmurtrieae was found in the fast flowing and cobbly Capstan Cove Stream. Photo © EOS Ecology.")
-IMGP4461.jpg "Macquaridrilus mcmurtrieae was also found in the slow flowing Kirk Stream, which flows into Six Foot Lake. Photo © EOS Ecology.")
.jpg "The worm Macquaridrilus mcmurtrieae was found in a range of very different habitats, including one of the exposed Borchgrevink tarns.")
-SMcM.jpg "Shelley collecting an invertebrate sample from Southeast Stream, where Macquaridrilus mcmurtrieae was also recorded.")
It’s a proud day when a scientist has a discovery named after her. In the field of invertebrates the chance of finding a new species is certainly greater than say working in the field of mammals, but even so, it is a rare privilege and one thing on my bucket list that I didn't think I would ever tick off. In my case, my surname (McMurtrie) is being shared with a tiny worm (...
-SMcM.jpg "Shelley stands in on of the deep cracks that split our roads wide during the February eartquake.")
-SMcM.jpg "The view around the corner from our house in St Albans. Photo Shelley McMurtrie")
-SMcM.jpg "Our beautiful and iconic Christchurch Cathedral in ruins. Photo Shelley McMurtrie")
-SMcM.jpg "Freshwater invertebrate specimens in glass vials, that thankfully didn't break when they fell to the floor in the EOS Ecology lab.")
-SMcM.jpg "The last of the gifted Mountford wines did not make it through the Feb quake.")
-SMcM.jpg "We were very lucky that the EOS Ecology lab wasn't badly damaged in the earthquake, with lack of power the greatest concern was for samples stored in fridges and freezers.")
A lot has happened since we returned on the 11 February to Christchurch from our expedition to Campbell Island. A devastating earthquake 11 days after our return and then another in June were among the more memorable (memorable for all for the wrong reasons) happenings. The February quake sent our freezer in the EOS Ecology lab flying and our irreplaceable 200-odd invertebrate samples thrown to the floor. It was a small miracle that they all survived the shake-up, and our gas-powered...
-SMcM.jpg "Colin and Shelley having a well earned lunch before the final approach to the Honey summit.")
-SMcM.jpg "Colin and Shelley at the summit of Mt Honey, with Six Foot Lake in the background.")
-SMcM.jpg "Colin matching up a past photo point.")
-SMcM.jpg "Colin working on one of his plant transects along the Mt Honey ridge/saddle.")
Today dawned in spectacular fashion with calm waters and not a cloud in the sky. Given the fine, windless day and the arrival of the Orion tourist ship, a planned trip up the Col Ridge with botanist Colin Meurk was soon changed to an ascent of Mt Honey from the north face, rather than the usual track up the west flank. Mount Honey is often covered in clag (low cloud) so we had to make...
With the Maia and our first term CIBE team members now safely in Bluff it is time to take a moment to reminisce about some of the trips that we have had in the first half of this expedition.
For me, I will always hold a soft spot in my heart for the Northwest Bay Hut. This may just be because it was the first hut we stayed in, but I also found it to have a lot of soul and a great view (and we all know with property it is all about the location and the view) that I have found...
With midterm resupply we’ve had the Maia at our disposal, transportation we utilised to access Six Foot Lake. Campbell’s tea-coloured lake is located on the south side of the island where it accentuates a landscape of flaxen tones; scattered animal bones, scavenging Skuas and Giant Petrels cloak the lakeshore...
My ride home, the motor sailer “Maia”, arrived on Jan 10th and has been hanging around for the last few days to ferry various expedition teams to some difficult to access locations around the island. On Jan 12th the history, terrestrial ecology, and freshwater ecology teams were taken around to Northeast Harbour for a days work.
Northeast Harbour was the location of one of the largest whaling stations on the island and at its head is the mouth of Northeast Stream, a...
After a four-day trip away to the northern extremes of the island we were on our way home again. We had traversed and sampled a part of the island seldom visited by people – Hooker Stream that runs through the Hooker Valley. With the local name of ‘starvation valley’ I guess it is no surprise that not many people decide to frequent this part of the island (or return if they do), but I was thoroughly chuffed we made the effort.
On the final trek home with a pack...
The freshwater team has just returned from a sampling trip to the Hooker Valley (a.k.a. Starvation Valley) in the far north of Campbell Island. It was known as Starvation Valley in the past because its steep sides meant that once you were in the valley bottom, it would be difficult to get back out. Here we spent three nights in Sorensen Hut (a.k.a. Bull Rock Hut) while sampling four sites along the length of Hooker Stream.
The Hooker Valley is relatively flat bottomed with a steep...
