Australian Institute of Marine Science

This International Sawfish Day, we celebrate the AIMS scientists and Northern Territory fishers who collaborated to share knowledge and expertise to aid research on the endangered species. They successfully tagged and released six adult sawfish, and collected DNA from juvenile sawfish in Buckingham, Arnhem and Anson Bays while aboard a chartered commercial barramundi fishing vessel. The tags are helping to pinpoint the movement patterns of sawfish and the genetic samples are highlighting the links between sawfish populations in different areas. The data will inform management decisions on conserving the species. The project won the award for Research Development and Extension at this year’s National Seafood Industry Awards, and was profiled on the ABC’s Landline program. The project is a partnership involving the Northern Territory Seafood Council, AIMS and Charles Darwin University. It was supported by the Australian Government through Our Marine Parks program Marine Parks Grant Funding. Read more: https://bit.ly/3NqccrQ 📸: Northern Territory Seafood Council

Taking a deep dive into WA’s oceanic reefs. AIMS scientists are studying remote reefs in Ashmore and Mermaid Reef Australian Marine Parks off the northwest coast of Australia. This study will inform better ways to manage these ecosystems into the future under a warming climate. Using photogrammetry, surveys of sea floor communities, the collection of coral samples and data on currents and tides, the scientists will gain invaluable insights into natural processes of impact, recovery and adaptation on the reefs, and guide future management options. Teams are returning to both reefs this month to continue collecting this important data as part of a collaborative project with Parks Australia under the Australian Government’s Ocean Discovery and Restoration Program. Read more: https://bit.ly/3UbNHml 📸: Mike Cuttler (UWA), James Gilmour The Building Resilience in Australia’s Iconic Offshore Reefs project is co-funded by AIMS and the Australian Government through the Ocean Discovery and Restoration Program.

Can seaweed store enough carbon to help reduce the impacts of climate change? We're studying Western Australia’s tropical seaweed meadows to find out. Our science team just returned from their first in a series of planned field trips over the next few months to understand the nutrient levels required to maximise growth of Sargassum (a common tropical seaweed). They collected Sargassum from different areas in Ningaloo, and they are planning to get samples from the Exmouth gulf and Port Headland. Water samples will also be evaluated alongside the seaweed samples to understand spatial and seasonal differences in nutrients present in the environment. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3BFlXQB The trip was part of our five-year $20M Blue Carbon Seascapes project with BHP .

A big congratulations to our female-led, gender-balanced #ReefWorks team for winning the recent Women in Technology 2024 Raising the Regions category! 🥳   ReefWorks tropical marine test range was established two years ago with the support of the Queensland Government.   It's been a leader in shaping Townsville's technology landscape, a catalyst for, and champion of, Australia's marine technology industry and a showcase of the strength of diversity in the technology sector.   Follow our ReefWorks showcase page on LinkedIn, or learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g7aTH_HC

Climate change could drive an increased threat to whale sharks from ship strikes. A new study co-authored by AIMS scientists Dr Luciana Ferreira and Dr Michele Thums along with The UWA Oceans Institute researchers and global collaborators found that under a high emissions scenario, whale shark collisions with shipping vessels may be 15,000 times more likely by the end of the century. The research, published in Nature Climate Change, highlights that warming oceans caused by climate change could force the globally endangered marine giants into cooler environments, where global shipping is higher and thus exposing them to greater risk of ship strike. The scientists used satellite tracking data from 348 tagged whale sharks tracked between 2005 and 2019, coupled with global climate models to assess habitat suitability for whale sharks – a species which is currently a regular visitor to north-west Australian waters. These models were combined with shipping traffic to assess the risk of collision. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3NgV4Fa The Marine Biological Association University of Southampton

It's that time of year..! Excellent work from The National Sea Simulator (SeaSim) team to prepare the recently expanded facility for the annual coral spawning event, beginning later this month.

Could risky radioactive materials be accumulating in marine organisms following the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure? Led by eco toxicologist Dr Darren Koppel, scientists from AIMS and ANSTO are investigating in a first-of-its-kind experiment at The National Sea Simulator (SeaSim). Researchers have dosed marine sediments with specific amounts of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM), then placed four different marine organisms in the sediments. They are monitoring the species – an anemone, a snail, a starfish and a sea floor amoeba – for negative health impacts. “This information will tell us at what point the radioactive materials becomes toxic to the organisms,” said Dr Koppel. “The experiment will help operators and regulators understand the environmental risk of infrastructure like pipelines with residual levels of NORM, helping to guide decision-making around whether this infrastructure should be removed or safely left in the ocean.” Read more: https://bit.ly/4dqcGsF

Learning what makes some coral reefs more resilient. AIMS scientists are monitoring the growth and survival of young corals at two well-known reefs in Exmouth and Ningaloo, along with changes in their surrounding environment, as part of a project to find out why some may be more heat tolerant, resilient and faster to recover. The scientists were recently at Tantabiddi reef in Ningaloo Reef Marine Park and Bundegi reef in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, collecting growth, water temperature, light and current data. “We’re combining this with learnings from experimental and genetic studies to evaluate the tolerance of adult colonies to heat stress. This will help us build a picture of what makes these reefs and their corals more or less resilient to disturbance events like marine heatwaves,” said AIMS research fellow Dr Carolina Castro-Sanguino . “We’ve been collecting data at these two reefs for the last 2.5 years, and we hope it will inform future restoration efforts.” The AIMS-Minderoo Coral Resilience Project is a collaboration between Australian Institute of Marine Science, The University of Western Australia and Minderoo Foundation. 📸 Camille Grimaldi, Carolina Castro-Sanguino, Luke Thomas

A new study out today has found variation in coral heat tolerance of a table coral species on the Great Barrier Reef. It is thought a substantial amount of this variation is linked to genetic diversity within the species, which is an important resource for natural adaptation and restoration. Using a rapid heat test designed by AIMS for use at sea, heat tolerant corals were found at almost every one of the 17 study reefs in locations spanning the Great Barrier Reef. AIMS co-author Dr Line Bay said differences between individual corals is the fuel for natural selection to produce future generations of more heat tolerant corals. “Developing a solid understanding of this variation is crucial to understanding how corals will adapt to climate warming.” Study authors Melissa Naugle, Emily Howells and Line Bay explain more in this piece for The Conversation Australia + NZ. This research from AIMS, Southern Cross University, The University of Queensland and the Research Institute for Development in New Caledonia is part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). RRAP is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

🌊 Unlocking Coral's Secrets: A Dive into Bleaching Research 🌊 SeaSim staff have been supporting an intern from France to embark on a fascinating experiment in our facility with a soft coral species called Sarcophyton sp. to better understand the complex symbiotic relationship between coral and microalgae.   The study will conclude over the next few months and will include:   🔎 Using menthol to chemically-induce coral “bleaching”, where symbiotic microalgae (called Symbiodiniaceae) that live inside the coral are expelled. 🔎 Keeping the coral alive without Symbiodiniaceae for an extended period of time in what we call an “aposymbiotic” state. 🔎 Reintroducing different types of Symbiodiniaceae to the corals to test which new symbiotic partners are compatible.   By studying these interactions, researchers hope to uncover new insights into the coral-microalgal symbiosis which is the critical foundation of coral reefs worldwide. Stay tuned as we explore the future of coral resilience and innovation!   #CoralBleaching #MarineScience #Research #CoralReefs #Sustainability