AMSA conference to deepen marine science connections across Australia

The Australian Institute of Marine Science is proud to sponsor the 54th Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Conference, being held in Darwin, Northern Territory on the 2nd–6th July 2017.

The annual conference will attract over 300 delegates from a broad marine science community of  academics, industry and government scientists, as well as postgraduate students, from around the region to discuss issues currently facing Australia’s marine and coastal environment.

Dr Ed Butler, conference convenor and AIMS’ Northern Territory Science Leader explained the meaning behind the conference theme, ‘Connections through Shallow Seas’; “These are not only physical and biological connections within the seas surrounding Australia and to our immediate north, but also valuable connections that bring together marine science disciplines and extend to social sciences; those between traditional and western knowledge, and also between Australia and each of our regional neighbours; and of course among the scientists. This year’s conference is going to discuss, strengthen and celebrate these connections.”

Dr Butler also emphasised the importance of the conference for early career researchers (ECR) and marine science students. “Australia produces a very dedicated and talented network of ECRs and students across marine biology, ecology, geology, oceanography, molecular biology and chemistry. We are very pleased to provide such a vital platform for these scientists to engage with world leaders in their chosen discipline, and to present their own research to the broader marine science community.”

AIMS’ Dr Claire Streten is the Chair of the AMSA 2017 Scientific Committee, which has assembled a diverse program of 17 symposia and four general sessions.  With about 300 individual presentations over four days, a vast array of subjects will be covered; many of which will be lighting the way ahead for marine science around our nation.

A series of workshops follow the conference, including a full day exploring partnerships between marine scientists and Indigenous groups. “The Indigenous Engagement Workshop is looking at ways for more effective collaborations and ‘two-way learning’ between marine science and traditional ecological knowledge,” said Dr Streten. “This is a domain in which AIMS is also growing its capabilities.”

Dr Richard Brinkman, leader of the AIMS Sustainable Coastal Ecosystems and Industries in Tropical Australia program will be bringing his expertise to an expert panel during the public forum to discuss the topic Northern Development – How does marine fit? | Australia’s Shallow Tropical Seas – Resource and/or Refuge? The public are invited to this free forum on Monday 3^rd July at 7pm at the Darwin Entertainment Centre. Register a ticket through NTix.

Dr Brinkman will also deliver a plenary session at the conference on the role of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) delivering data to support the sustainable development of the North’s blue economy, now and into the future.

Delegates will learn about the latest in AIMS research from a number of scientists, including:

• Mark Meekan – Photo-id studies using spot patterns of whale sharks – are they pointless?
• James Gilmour – Scales of stock recruitment and the resilience of isolated coral reefs
• Rebecca Fisher - Accounting for opposing objectives and environmental uncertainty in deriving thresholds for managing dredging impacts near coral reefs.
• Terry Walshe - Should we monitor the bleeding obvious?
• David Williams - Use of Acoustic Techniques for the Determination of Circulation Patterns and Net Sediment Transport, Marine Supply Base, Darwin Harbour.
• Michele Thums - Modelling the spatial distribution of humpback whales in the Kimberley region of Western Australia
• David Deeley - Broadening and deepening the connections - Bi-cultural marine monitoring partnerships
• Jessica Benthuysen - Extreme marine warming across tropical Australia during austral summer 2015-2016
• Craig Steinberg - The Darwin National Reference Station: a sentinel for coastal waters in Northern Australia
• Michelle Heupel- Exploring national-scale fish movements through the IMOS Animal Tracking Facility
• Oleg Makarynskyy- Using acoustic current profilers and drifting buoys for current measurements in estuarine environments

We wish the conference organisers and delegates a productive and engaging conference.

AMSA (www.amsa.asn.au) is Australia’s peak professional marine science body, with over 800 active members across the nation. For more information about the conference, please visit http://events.amsaconference.net/