The great variety of marine life that is found on southern Australian shores offers plenty of things for marine biologists to study. The study of local marine life is not necessarily restricted to marine biologists. With a little support from scientists, school or community groups can carry out useful biological surveys.

As part of the Southern Shores Project, one such survey began in March 2002.

shore crab survey

It focuses on two common crab species - the notched shore crab Paragrapsus quadridentatus and the purple mottled shore crab.

Initially, students from Woodleigh School, will record the number of these two crabs at Flinders and investigate when each crab species sheds its shell and when the female crabs are carrying eggs.

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