Minister Garrett opens workshop
The hub’s second annual science workshop held in October was opened by the Hon. Peter Garrett, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA).
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Mr Garrett was in Hobart to release the findings of two recent DEWHA/CSIRO research voyages to monitor the Tasman Fracture and Huon Commonwealth Marine Reserves, about 100 nautical miles off the coast of southern Tasmania. “Mr Garrett said the discoveries were a surprising insight into the biodiversity of the largely unexplored Southern Ocean.”
World Register of Marine Species
The Register is freely accessible online and includes descriptions of the species and photos. It will allow both the public and scientists to identify species they come across and easily recognise entirely new species. So far, the catalogue contains 122,000 species, about half the estimated 230,000 known species. It should be complete by 2010.
The New York Times, August 22, 2008
“Many New York sushi restaurants and seafood markets are playing a game of bait and switch, say two high school students turned high-tech sleuths.
In a tale of teenagers, sushi and science, Kate Stoeckle and Louisa Strauss checked 60 samples of seafood using a simplified genetic fingerprinting technique – the Barcode of Life - to see whether New Yorkers are getting the fish they ask for.
Short attention span science video
Can’t be bothered to pick up a text book?
A new website has been launched by Stanford University that presents a unique combination of web technology and environmental science. The Short Attention Span Science Video Theatre offers 2-4 minute micro-documentaries (known as “Microdocs”), streaming on the web, that deliver science one idea at a time. Microdocs are written by leading scientists and are filmed on location across the world. The videos are eye-catching and full of the newest science. The style is direct and accessible - not loaded with technical language.
Oceans: the odyssey of a film shoot
The prestigious French film production company, Galatee Films, has spent 115 weeks and over A$100 million filming ”Oceans”, a new concept of film-making blending documentary and fiction.
The film, directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud, and sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, has shooting locations all around the world. Scientific and technical partners for the production are IFREMER (France), the French Navy, the French National Museum of Natural History and the Census of Marine Life.
What are the 10 key issues that must be addressed urgently to improve our deserts? Our estuaries? Our alpine areas? Our temperate marine systems? What is the impact that urban settlement, fisheries, agriculture, tourism all have on sustainability?
I write this at Valencia airport on my way back from the (first) World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, pleased to see the Hub’s increasing international impact.
Two papers were presented by researchers from the Biodiversity program. Anna McCallum from Museum Victoria presented a paper that asked the question whether Provincial Bioregions based on fish taxa corresponded to the provincial structure of other taxa, in this case decapods from Australia’s west coast. Phillip England from CSIRO presented a paper investigating the connectivity between different reserves in the Southeast Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network. Their report on the Conference will be in the next newsletter.
The Australian Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS)
by Prof Gary Myers, Director, IMOS
The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) was established as part of the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) with a $50M allocation and more than $50M in co-investments from universities and government agencies. It is managed as a national project by the IMOS Office established at the University of Tasmania. The system comprises a distributed set of oceanographic instruments, which provide streams of in situ data resulting in information services which contribute to meeting the needs of marine research in Australia’s open and coastal waters. We intend to plan IMOS-2 in collaboration with the CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub. This article, and one on the hub to be published in the next IMOS newsletter, are intended to start conversation between the two communities.
Polychaete discoveries on the continental margin of Australia
by CERF Hub scientist Robin Wilson, Museum Victoria
Determining patterns of diversity on Australia’s continental margin is the prime aim of the Biodiversity project within the Marine Biodiversity Hub, but that aim first requires us to describe that diversity. Polychaetes (marine segmented worms) typically comprise 40% or more of species and of individuals in marine macrobenthic samples so they are a major component of benthic diversity.
RAD biodiversity: partitioning, estimating and predicting biodiversity
by CERF Hub scientists Scott Foster and Piers Dunstan
A common form of data collected to investigate patterns of biodiversity in animal ecology is the number of individuals of each species at a series of locations.
Acoustic seabed classification: current practice and future directions
by CERF Hub scientist Dr R J Kloser
A recent review of acoustic remote sensing methods to map the seabed for marine-habitat mapping initiatives provides the context of current practice and future directions (Anderson et al., 2007).
Profile - Camille Mellin, Australian Institute of Marine Science
“Each time she is underwater, Camille is amazed by the exceptional diversity and high complexity of coral reefs. Understanding the relationship existing between coral reef communities and their habitat, and building statistical models to reflect this complexity are thus challenging and exciting tasks for her.”
Surveys - Testing surrogacy relationships, Carnarvon Shelf, Western Australia
Surveys have now been successfully completed at the Lord Howe Shelf, South-East Tasmanian Shelf, Carnarvon Shelf and Jervis Bay. These areas were selected as they provide good examples of major types of benthic habitats found in the different bioregions. The data and samples collected will be used to test, at fine spatial scales, the utility of several physical variables as surrogates for patterns of benthic biodiversity.
The hub held its annual workshop at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research in Hobart on 8 and 9 October 2008, with over 45 scientists attending.
World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, Spain
Two hub researchers from the Biodiversity program presented at the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity which was held in Valencia from 11 to 15 November 2008.
CERF hub scientist Roland Pitcher attended the 1st Workshop of the Census of Marine Life (CoML) Synthesis activity on “A meta-analysis of bio-physical relationships between seabed species/assemblages and their environment”.
Continental Margins Ecosystem meeting
CERF hub scientist Piers Dunstan attended the Continental Margin Ecosystems (COMARGE) synthesis meeting held at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in September 2008.
Upcoming conference - GeoHab 2009
5-7 May 2009, Trondheim, Norway
GeoHab conferences have been held all over the world, with Alaska (2008), New Caledonia (2007) and Edinburgh (2006) as the more recent venues. The conference brings together scientists from the fields of geology, biology, acoustics, statistics and management, providing a truly multidisciplinary and exciting forum for exchange of knowledge and ideas. GeoHab provides an informal, though global, meeting place for scientists working on underpinning sustainable ocean management.
AMSA2009 Marine Connectivity
5-9 July 2009, Adelaide, South Australia
AMSA2009 International Conference will be held in Adelaide, South Australia from 5 - 9 July 2009 at the Adelaide Convention Centre, with the theme of Marine Connectivity.
