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School of Environmental Science and Management Southern Cross University
Welcome to my home page!! This web site provides information on my role within the School of Environmental Science and Management (including teaching, research and web based projects) as well as highlighting some of my personal interests and projects. As a keen diver and underwater photographer, with an interest in marine biology and conservation, I also hope to use this site to highlight the beauty and diversity of the marine environment and some of the threats facing it. Click here for a list of proposed topics for Integrated Projects in 2002. I have included contact information at the bottom of this page for anyone wishing to contact me during work hours. By far the best way of contacting me is by email.
Go back to the School of Environmental Science and Management staff page
Teaching My role within the School includes undergraduate teaching (preparation of course material, running practicals or lectures, marking and student assessment, etc), first year course coordination, supervising third year Integrated Projects and preparing workshops for high school teachers and students and other external agencies. Units taught during the 2002 academic year include the following (the table also indicates if online resources are available for the unit).
UE - Unit examiner, AL- Associate Lecturer In addition to teaching in these units I have provided workshops and tuition for staff and students on the Internet (including the use of email and the world wide web and web based publishing with HTML), in GIS and remote sensing and with general computing and statistics problems. Geography in the Third Millennium: The School periodically runs a workshop aimed at introducing high school geography teachers and students to GIS and remote sensing. I developed and run a workshop session on spatial data sources and other relevant resources available on the Internet. (Hartley 2000). Management of the Coastal zone — A GIS approach: These workshops are aimed at professional resource managers from local governments, industry and other interest groups. The workshops focus on the application of GIS and remote sensing in coastal zone management. I assist with the running of all practical sessions for these workshops in the GIS teaching laboratory. Snorkelling, marine awareness and marine biology training: During 2000 I began running Snorkelling and Marine Awareness trips for High School students in the region (Hartley 2000a). These trips have been popular and well received. I have also developed question and answer exercises for SCUBA divers taking their advanced course (Hartley 2000b, Hartley 2000c) through Byron Bay Dive Centre. I participate in SCUBA training including marine identification and occasionally provide lectures for Dive Master candidates on marine biology and general taxonomy. Lab manuals and guides (most current edition available):
During Spring semester 1999 the computing manual (Hartley & Whelan 1999) was redeveloped for the Macintosh environment as a resource for a computing unit in the School of Humanities, Media and Cultural Studies. Our original manual has been widely recognised as a valuable and effective teaching tool. Copies of this manual are regularly requested by graduates and staff members. During the later part of 1999 and first semester 2000 I developed laboratory notes and other material as required for the Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GG223) and Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing (GG224) units (in conjunction with the unit examiner). Laboratory notes were required for three new Windows based software packages and notes on existing software needed redevelopment for the new unit structures. My teaching role also involves supervising or co-supervising third year Bachelor of Applied Science students working on their Integrated Projects (GG 211). Integrated projects supervised (or co-supervised) in 1996:
Integrated projects, spring semester 1999:
Integrated projects, spring semester 2000:
Integrated projects, Autumn semester 2001:
Integrated projects, spring semester 2001:
Integrated projects, spring semester 2002:
Marine science projects, spring semester 2002:
Part of the role of a supervisor involves marking a number of projects
by students of other supervisors and given the range of disciplines
explored and the usually high standard of work this process is never
boring. The reports compiled for the above projects are available on
open reserve in the library. Copies of the final reports (or other
student projects), may be purchased through the Centre for Coastal Management
at a cost of $25 for a bound copy ($10 for RSM students or free to organisations
which contribute data to a project) Contact Kim
Toussaint.
Research interests My research interests are fairly broad and include:
I also have a keen interest in marine biology, conservation and marine archaeology and have contributed to a number of marine research projects undertaken by staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students. If you have a research or consultancy project which you feel I might be able to contribute to please contact me with the details. Postgraduate study: As a former student (both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level) of Southern Cross University, I have had quite a long association with the university and it's staff. At the undergraduate level I completed the Bachelor of Applied Science (Coastal Management) degree at SCU. My honours research topic involved the development of a regional geographic information system (GIS) for the Coffs Harbour Shire, the integration of processed satellite imagery with GIS and the development of a three day workshop in the microBRIAN satellite image processing system. During my degree and honours I developed several packages in the Hypercard development environment on the Macintosh these packages are listed under software development below. Following my honours year as a subconsultant to a Coffs Harbour based firm I used the data and methodologies from my honours project to develop a GIS to be used to map pesticide use and contamination sites in the Coffs Harbour shire for the Chemical Assessment branch of the Department of Arts, Sport, Environment and Territories. Following this, for something completely different, I undertook a project entitled "The Population Management of the Eastern Bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus)" in the Centre for Conservation Ecology, Department of Zoology, University of Queensland. The aims of this project were to increase the pool of information on the birds lifecycle, identify the weak links in the species' life cycle that make it vulnerable to extinction and formulating management approaches to promote the long term survival of the species (other projects involving this species are currently underway in the School of Resource Science and Management and Centre for Animal Conservation Genetics). Research assistant: During 1996 I had the opportunity to assist Danny Bucher from the Centre for Coastal Management on a field trip to One Tree Island in the southern Barrier Reef to assist with field work for the ENCORE project (looking at the impact of increased nutrients on coral growth and morphology). Later in the year I joined Maxine Dawes on a Moreton Bay trip to examine the distribution and abundance of shallow water Rhodolith communities and was involved with a number of aspects of this project (including assisting with the development of GIS based maps of the study site, using GIS to generate random sampling sites within the bay, fieldwork (transect and quadrant sampling and collection of specimens using SCUBA) and statistical analysis of results). I have also had the opportunity to join Vicki Harriott on a trip to the Solitary Islands to assist with fieldwork for coral recruitment studies. I have assisted a number of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the field components of their research projects or by providing maps or records or marine life. Including participating in:
Population dynamics of Orectolobidae sharks on the North coast of New South Wales: This is a currently unfunded project looking at changes in the population structure of wobbegong sharks over time. Initial surveys undertaken while leading recreational dives identified (among other things); a significantly higher proportion of female sharks in both species of wobbegong represented on the North coast, an apparent size segregation between species (with one size category dominating records for each species) and an apparent depth segregation between species and sharks of different size. An Integrated project I supervised (and assisted with fieldwork for) during Spring semester 1998, supported the dominance of females in records and the size segregation between species. However, apparent changes in depth preference between species were not supported (initial trends were attributed to sample bias). One of the current objectives of my project is to collect sufficient records over a two to three year period (currently I have over 2 years of sampling data) to examine changes in the gender ratio of sharks over time. Temporal changes in gender composition may be associated with gender segregation (in some shark species this can be a result of seasonal ocean temperature changes). The SCUBA based surveys I am carrying out also provide an opportunity to look for apparent changes in the gender composition with size, differences in micro-habitat preference between species and sizes of individuals and provide a limited indication of population numbers (per unit effort). This work has already identified a number of directions for future research (student projects, focus for research grant applications, etc) including; work on age growth, size at maturity and tagging studies to examine short and long term movements of individuals. Limited research has been carried out on wobbegong sharks world wide and their sedentary nature makes them an ideal subject for diver based surveys. Further details of this project are available at the following URL: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/rsm/staff/pages/shartley/projects/wobbies/ Opisthobranch molluscs of North East New South Wales: An unfunded project to compile a photographic index of Opisthobranch molluscs (nudibranchs and their allies) for the North coast. I am compiling a collection of photographs (currently over 40 species represented), primarily from my own work but supplemented from collections from other photographers in the School, in digital form. The initial aim of this work was to prepare a guide to nudibranchs in the region (similar guides have been produced by SURG (Solitary Islands Underwater Research Group) for the Coffs Harbour area). The form this guide would take is yet to be determined (a web based guide is also being developed, see below, and a poster has been prepared from the project). A secondary aim was to utilise this guide as a resource to begin examining spatial and temporal patterns in the occurrence of these molluscs. How this part of the project would proceed (given the sporadic nature of the appearance of the molluscs and extensive amount of fieldwork required, outside of the scope of an Integrated project (though such a project could source existing records)) is yet to be determined. I am developing a web based guide to common and note worthy Opisthobranchs of the North coast which will appear at the following URL: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/rsm/staff/pages/shartley/projects/molluscs/ (in prep). The web site will provide a valuable resource for students, malacologists and other interested parties. Grey Nurse Surveys: I am currently contributing data, as part of a consortium lead by NSW Fisheries, to a long term study of grey nurse shark (Charcharius taurus) population dynamics. During 1999 I took part in five major surveys (spanning 4-5 weeks each) contributing data for several sites in the northern rivers area. Further surveys are being carried out during 2000. This work is important to the long term management of this species, identifying key habitat areas and assessing the status of the population. The work has already identified a downward trend in population numbers and led to the listing of the grey nurse as an endangered species in NSW. Proposals exist for expanding the survey work to include tagging studies. Protected Species Sighting Sheet Program: During 1999 I contributed records (which I made on recreational dives) of threatened marine fishes to a long-term study by the New South Wales Fisheries department. Contributions to this program during 1998 was formally recognised with the presentation of a prize worth over $400 donated by a participating dive shop. I will continue to provide records for this study and promote the study in the recreational diving community. Web based projects As the schools website coordinator I developed and maintain the School of Environmental Science and Management public web site. I also developed and maintained a school site on the student intranet for staff to present course material (lecture notes, laboratory guides, etc) to currently enrolled students. I assist staff in setting up their own public home pages (I maintain web sites for the Head of School, Professor Peter Saenger, Professor Leon Zann and several other staff), in developing other resources for the public internet site and also in putting course material on the Intranet and blackboard. During 1998 I developed a web site for the Centre for Coastal Managements Environmental Analysis Laboratory and now maintain this site. I have also setup sites for upcoming events such as workshops and conferences as required. I am working on a number of personal web based projects at the moment to be accessed through a single links page, Simon's marine research and underwater photography page. These include:
I am keen to hear about other web based projects I may be able to help with. Email me with any suggestions. Contact information My postal address is:
Simon L Hartley
Associate Lecturer
School of Resource Science and Management
Southern Cross University
P.O. Box 157
Lismore NSW, Australia 2480
You can also reach me by phone or fax:
Ph: (02) 66203251 Fax:(02) 66212669
If you wish to talk to me in person my office is on the top level of S block in room S3.29 (next to Brad Eyre's office, near the printing and photocopying room). The following is my lecture and practical timetable indicating the room I will be teaching in at particular times.
NOTE: I am available for student consultation whenever I'm in my office however making a prior appointment is advisable (contact me by email: shartley@scu.edu.au or phone: (02) 66203251). Workshop sessions for GLY00223 run all day Thursday. Outside of prescribed laboratory and lecture times I may be in either G2.02 or S3.29, depending on laboratory use. Friday is my research day when I will generally only be available by prior appointment. |
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Simon
L Hartley
Visit
my marine research and underwater photography page
As the public
relations officer for the Southern Cross University Dive Club I am keen
to promote interest in the club within and outside the university. To
this end I am developing a small web site for the club. I have started
by putting a couple of back issues of SCUD Bulletin on the web. Visit
the 
