From humble beginnings, tiny Lizard Island is a major player on the global research stage

Lizard Island, north of Cairns, is about 10 square kilometres in size and has three smaller islands nearby.  (Supplied: Maria Capa)

It has been 50 years since a couple of tents were the humble beginnings of what has become an internationally renowned research station on one of Australia's most remote tropical, tiny islands in the Coral Sea.

Anne Hoggett and husband Lyle Vail have run the Lizard Island Research Station for 33 of its 50 years.