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MEDIA RELEASE, 23 November 2018
This CSIRO-led project, funded by the Marine Biodiversity Hub, built on data collections and analytical techniques developed in a suite of related...
The Marine Hub has created the following two-sided posters from its marine biodiversity research:
Sawfish Day is an annual event to raise awareness of these vulnerable animals and to highlight the threats they face in order to safeguard their future. Now in its second year, help raise awareness of this special day and of these magnificent marine animals,by sharing these links with your social networks:
MEDIA RELEASE
One of the most endangered fish on the planet could receive a lifeline through a research project about to begin in Northern Australia.
Coinciding with International Sawfish Day on 17 October, Charles Darwin University (CDU) and the Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) are launching a project to study the Narrow Sawfish across Northern Australia.
Sawfish numbers have...
A Marine Biodiversity Hub study led by Geoscience Australia (GA) has used satellite...
The database tracks the volume and composition of wastewater discharged to Australia’s ocean and estuaries, ranks ocean outfalls (and sewerage treatment systems) by relative pollutant discharges, and fosters citizen science projects to understand local impacts on the marine environment and recreational users.
...
In early 2017, a 2.7-metre Largetooth Sawfish was caught by local woman Lisa Smiler at Wattie Creek, a tributary of the Victoria River near the...
Striped Trumpeter, Reef Ocean Perch, Gummy Shark, Jackass Morwong, Tiger Flathead and Sand Flathead are commercially and ecologically important, and commonly spotted in sandy and rocky reef habitats on the Flinders shelf.
They were sampled there using baited remote underwater video systems and an efficient spatially-...
Submarine canyons are steep-sided valleys cut into the sea floor that trap nutrients and attract a...
If you answered yes to any of these questions, the Field Manuals...
Australia has two white shark populations, an eastern population ranging east of Wilson’s Promontory, Victoria, to central Queensland and across to New Zealand, and a southern-western population ranging west of Wilson’s Promontory to north-western Western Australia.
CSIRO-led research...
In September 2017, a Marine Biodiversity Hub team worked to rescue a large group of Largetooth Sawfish trapped in a drying floodplain waterhole and relocate the animals to the main channel of the river. The small waterhole where the rangers located the sawfish was completely dry soon after the rescue.
Australia’s northern rivers are a last remaining stronghold for the threatened Largetooth Sawfish (Pristis pristis), but even in this relatively pristine part of the world sawfish...
Two threatened marine species urgently need sustainability assessments before future wild harvests are conducted for public aquarium displays, a Charles Darwin University researcher warns.
PhD candidate Kate Buckley has devised a new three-step approach to inform relevant authorities of the need for sustainability assessments before permitting the removal of threatened, or data-deficient and potentially threatened, shark and ray species (elasmobranchs) from the wild.
She said...
Hundreds of the distinctive, dark-striped sharks were massed on the sandy seafloor among low rocky...
Scientists from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies found an average of more than...
Ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs) are special areas in the ocean that serve important purposes, in one way or another, to support the healthy functioning of oceans and the many services that it provides. This video is based on the outcomes of the EBSA workshop for the Southern Indian Ocean held in Mauritius in July 2012. Marine Hub researchers Nic Bax and Piers Dunstan provided technical advice to the workshop.
This video will be...
An international team of 40 scientists is set to embark on a pioneering voyage to study Australia’s eastern abyss, four kilometres beneath the ocean surface.
The month-long voyage on the Marine National Facility research vessel...
Fish Hook Bay at Rottnest Island near Perth, Western Australia. Fish communities found here during the 2011 marine heatwave were equivalent to those normally found 250 kilometres farther north. They had moved south with their climate niche. Image: Rick Stuart-Smith
Barry Bruce and Russ Bradford of CSIRO tag a juvenile White Shark off the central coast of New South Wales. Image NSW DPI.
Living largely on the fringes of a giant island continent, Australians rely on sea transport for the exports and imports that sustain our economy and lifestyle. Australians also have a strong affinity with the ocean, as reflected in the growth in recreational boating and cruise shipping. But these numbers risk putting people on a collision course – literally – with whales, turtles and other marine life.
In response to increasing concern about collision risk, the Department of the...
The rescue team: Amos Shields, Christy Davies, Aaron Green, Peter Kyne and Rob Lindsay. Image: Michael Lawrence-Taylor
The trip brought together researchers from Charles Darwin University Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA), and Malak...
Young scientists Lainey James and Margot Delaporte have completed their first trip aboard the Australian Maritime College Research Vessel Bluefin.
They spent a week surveying seabed life off eastern Tasmania with a team from the UTAS Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the University of Sydney Australian Centre for Field Robotics.
The team revisited deep reef systems in the Freycinet Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR), as well as inshore reefs near Wineglass Bay and ‘...
Deep ocean divers acting as citizen scientists have taken the first close-up look at stunning marine life on a deep granite reef in the Freycinet Commonwealth Marine Reserve off Bicheno, eastern Tasmania. Their footage shows an explosion of colourful sponges, gorgonian fans and other corals, clouds of butterfly perch, and large, tree-forming black corals that may be new to science. Researchers with the National Environmental Science Programme (NESP) Marine Biodiversity Hub mapped the...
A new species of giant stingray has been named after being encountered by scientists in northern Australian rivers, coastal Papua New Guinea and the Arafura Sea.
Urogymnus acanthobothrium, is described today in the journal Zootaxa by scientists from CSIRO’s Australian National Fish Collection (ANFC) and Charles Darwin University (CDU).
‘This is one of the world’s largest stingrays, growing to a width of at least 1.6 metres, and it occurs in both rivers and marine waters,’ Dr...
Part of National Science Week, the exhibition is funded by a University of Tasmania Cross Disciplinary Incentive Grant, with support from the Marine Biodiversity Hub. It features works by artists Jan Hogan and Annalise Rees from the Tasmanian College of the Arts, and Hub spatial analyst Vanessa Lucieer whose work...
Marine Biodiversity Hub researcher Barry Bruce of CSIRO has been awarded the 2016 Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Jubilee Award for outstanding contribution to marine research. He will receive his award and deliver a plenary address at the 2016 conference being held jointly by AMSA and the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society on 4─7 July at Wellington, New Zealand.
Barry leads a Hub project that is using cutting-edge technologies to develop a national assessment of white...
Indigenous panellists from Australia and New Zealand will meet in Wellington, New Zealand, on Monday 4 July to consider ways for the marine science and Indigenous communities to engage more effectively in research partnerships.
The panel discussion will take place during the 2016 conference of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) and the Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA), to be held from 4─7 July at Victoria University, Wellington.
Thursday 26 May 2016
Australia once had extensive shellfish reefs across its coastlines, but they are now largely destroyed and NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub researchers from James Cook University (JCU) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have identified what needs to be done to repair and conserve them.
Their report released today - "Shellfish reef habitats: a synopsis to underpin the repair and conservation of Australia’s environmentally, socially and economically important bays...
‘I was really excited to see how my data could be visualised,’ Emma says. ‘The concept of routinely making data available for the public to explore was very appealing, and I hope more and more researchers will start to recognise the benefits of open data. I always like being involved in...
Northern Territory News 26 February 2016
Sawfishes and river sharks are protected species; if they are caught by recreational anglers they must be released safely back into the water. Fishers who are lucky enough to experience a close encounter with one of our protected sawfish or river shark species are meeting with some of the most interesting inhabitants of our northern waterways. By reporting sightings anglers can help researchers better understand the distribution of these...
Nature 11 November 2015, London
A new study by University of Tasmania researchers and international collaborators has found that a key element of future changes in the distribution of marine biodiversity resulting from ocean warming is not as closely related to local warming rates as previously assumed.
Published today in the prestigious international journal Nature, the research shows that the proportion of fish and invertebrate species expected to disappear from ...
Australia’s Environment Minister, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, joined University of Tasmania scientists and volunteer divers on a Reef Life Survey at Tinderbox Marine Reserve south of Hobart today.
After the dive, the Minister joined UTAS Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Rathjen, at Hobart’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies to launch the Marine Biodiversity Hub, one of six hubs funded under the National Environmental Science Programme (NESP).
The NESP is a six-...
Hammerhead sharks have declined in number by more than 90% in parts of world, and their conservation is high on the global agenda. In Australia, three hammerhead species are being considered for listing under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
A new Marine Biodiversity Hub project is supporting the listing process by investigating the sharks’ population structure in Australian and neighbouring nations. Where appropriate, the project will work with...
Vist the sawfish and river shark research pages for up to date news, videos and more
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, 11 March 2015
NERP Marine Biodiversity Hub scientists have been evaluating the benefits of no-take protection (ie no fishing) on deep reef systems of Tasmania’s wild southwest coast. Working from the Australian Maritime College's flagship vessel Bluefin, they have just returned from Maatsuyker Island off southern Tasmania. The team of scientists and support staff relied on an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to...
Travel down Kakadu's West Alligator River with Hub scientist Peter Kyne as he surveys the endangered Northern River Shark and critically endangered Speartooth shark.
These river shark surveys have been undertaken during research for the Marine Biodiversity Hub project "Supporting management of listed and rare species", a collaboration between Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory Fisheries and CSIRO.
https://www.youtube.com/user/NERPMarineHub
Wednesday 10 December 2014
The Australian Government has announced the successful organisations to lead research hubs under the $142.5 million National Environmental Science Programme (NESP). The programme will assist decision-makers to understand, manage and conserve Australia's environment by funding world-class biodiversity and climate science. This research will ensure decisions about managing Australia's biodiversity and environmental resources are made on the best available...
A shoulder of continental shelf east of Tasmania’s Cape Barren Island marks the edge of Flinders Commonwealth Marine Reserve (CMR), a southern spoke of Australia’s three-million-square-kilometre CMR Network.
Iconic seabirds – albatrosses and petrels – snatch fish and squid along this marine reserve proclaimed in June 2007, that stretches some 600 kilometres towards New Zealand.
Below the surface, seafloor habitats of all description cover depths from 40–3000 metres: from...
The Conversation, 25 September 2014
A complete tree of life – showing how and when organisms are related to each other – has long been desired by biologists, but obscured by the vagaries of the fossil record. Now, next-generation gene sequencing, capable of sequencing hundreds of millions of pieces of DNA, is not only revolutionising human medicine and agriculture, but also transforming our understanding about the origins and distribution of life on Earth. Read Museum Victoria and...
Two NERP hubs are participating in this year’s National Threatened Species Day on Sunday 7 September at Darwin Waterfront – the Northern Australia Hub and Marine Biodiversity Hub. Videos, slide shows and brochures will focus on the management of listed and rare species including sawfish and river sharks, and the impact feral cats are having on native mammals. The event is being marketed as a Pop-up-Zoo with experts from a wide range of organisations providing an overview of their work....
The Age, 25 August 2014
The scientific secrets of some of Museum Victoria's unique marine animal collection have been unlocked for the first time, thanks to DNA testing.
Researchers sequenced more than 400 genes from 50 different types of brittle stars, with the results set to shed new light on the evolution of Australia's deep-sea life.
Relatives of starfish, brittle stars are marine animals that can live up to five kilometres below the surface on the abyssal plain....
Watch the video........Scientists have developed a unique statistical method to measure Australia’s two white shark populations (east and west), vital information to support management and conservation decisions relating to this iconic species. The method is part of a new toolkit of tagging, aerial survey and DNA fingerprinting being used to unlock the mysteries of shark life and death. We’re very close to unlocking the numbers in the east of Australia and now we have begun our work in south...
Sharks and rays are some of the world’s most threatened animals, with a quarter of all species at risk of extinction. Among the sharks and rays, sawfish are some of the most threatened, with all five species listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Read the full story in The Conversation, 18 April 2014.
The Guide to Sharks of Kakadu Rivers is available as a pdf, web version or request a copy: http://www.nerpmarine.edu.au/document/guide-sharks-kakadu-rivers
In September 2012, as Top End floodplains were drying, NERP Marine Biodiversity Hub and Northern Hub scientist Peter Kyne received an alert from Daly River Traditional Owner Rita Purak that two largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) were stranded in a waterhole near the Daly River. Rita knew the sawfish were uncommon because she had been helping Charles Darwin University scientist Peter Kyne and CSIRO's Richard Pillans with their field work, monitoring the movements of sawfish in the Northern...
5 February 2014
A global study by Tasmanian researchers shows what is needed to make marine parks effective, the findings of which were published in Nature.
In collaboration with overseas investigators and skilled recreational divers, University of Tasmania biologists, including researchers from the NERP Marine Biodiversity Hub, counted numbers and sizes of more than 2000 fish species along underwater transect lines set at 1986 sites in 40 countries. They then used this...
In September 2012, as Top End floodplains were drying, NERP Marine Biodiversity Hub and Northern Hub scientist Peter Kyne received an alert that two largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) were stranded in a waterhole near the Daly River.
The call was from the Malak Malak Indigenous Ranger Group who knew the sawfish were uncommon because they had been helping Peter and his colleague Richard Pillans with field research.
‘After a two-hour drive across a rugged dry floodplain, we...
26 September 2013
New global patterns of marine fish diversity have been revealed using information collected through a ‘citizen science’ initiative developed in Tasmania. As part of the Reef Life Survey program, committed recreational SCUBA divers are trained and supported to survey numbers of reef animals worldwide. Analysis of information provided by Reef Life Survey volunteers over the past six years has revealed new hotspots of marine biodiversity, including southwestern...
Follow Marine Hub PhD student Kate Buckley's blog while she tracks threatened sawfish down the Adelaide River in the Northern Territory.
Two NERP hubs are participating in this year’s National Threatened Species Day on Saturday 7 September at Darwin Waterfront – the Northern Australia Hub and Marine Biodiversity Hub. Videos, slide shows and brochures will focus on the management of listed and rare species including sawfish and river sharks, and the impact feral cats are having on native mammals.
Northern Australia Hub scientists will demonstrate how mammal trapping equipment is used to survey small mammals, and there...
Watch researchers from the NERP Marine Biodiversity Hub and the Northern Australia Hub investigating the population size and movements of sawfish and river sharks in the waterways of Kakadu National Park. Video
In a collaborative project between these two hubs, researchers are investigating the population size and movements of sawfish, speartooth sharks and northern...
