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New program monitors climate change on Ningaloo coral and fish

Ningaloo Marine Park’s coral and fish will be monitored by a new program being set up by researchers from AIMS and the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC).

The researchers, led by Dr Martial Depczynski from AIMS, have set up a trial of the program as part of work being carried out for the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI).

Each year researchers will be able to monitor fish and coral influxes into Ningaloo Marine Park’s reefs by looking at baby fish and coral recruits at a number of sites.

Dr Depczynski said the team would establish long-term monitoring sites inside and outside the marine park’s sanctuary zones and have the ability to annually measure changes in the size, timing and reproduction rates of coral and fish.

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Return to Lizard a success

Scientists with the Australian node of CReefs made their first return trip to Lizard Island in the northern Great Barrier Reef during February. Last year the CReefs team turned up hundreds of new kinds of animals, surprising international researchers who had been systematically exploring waters off two islands on the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef off northwestern Australia, waters long familiar to divers.

The return trip has proven just as successful and productive for the large CReefs contingent. In April 2008 the team had left behind monitoring devices to help them better understand how organisms colonise reefs. Those devices, Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS), were collected on the latest trip and are now being analysed to find out as much as possible about the variety of life around the Island.

Also joining the CReefs group this time around were several scientists who sought specimens not collected on previous trips, including crabs and octopuses.

To see journalist Angus Livingston’s 2009 Lizard Island blog, please go to: http://www.aims.gov.au/creefs/latest-field-trip.html

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Science meets Parliament, with a marine flavour

AIMS CEO Dr Ian Poiner was one of four speakers at this year’s Science Meets Parliament event who addressed the theme "Coasts and oceans into the future: Australia’s marine domain". The event took place at Parliament House in Canberra on 18 March.

Dr Poiner spoke about why "Australian marine science and technology matters", while other speakers were Dr John Gunn, Chief Scientist of the Australian Antarctic Division, whose talk was titled "Oceans Matter", Dr Neville Smith, Acting Director of the Bureau of Meteorology ("A Marine Nation: National Framework for Marine Research and Innovation") and Dr Anthony Bergin, Director of Research Programs at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute ("Sea change: Advancing Australia’s ocean interests").

Science Meets Parliament is an initiative of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS). This annual event brings scientists and parliamentarians together to discuss a wide range of science, public health and innovation issues.

 

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Number 12 - March 2009    Hit Counter

For more information about the Australian Institute of Marine Science visit www.aims.gov.au