Australian Institute of Marine Science

At Ningaloo Reef, it’s not just the corals that provide important habitats and food for fish and other marine critters, it’s a type of seaweed called Sargassum. AIMS researchers have helped to uncover the importance of this canopy-forming seaweed at the World Heritage west coast reef, showing that it’s a vital nursery, food source and hunting ground for a huge range of young and adult fishes, including key recreational fishing targets like the spangled emperor and the half moon cod. Globally, Sargassum supports small scale tropical fisheries, providing food security and helping to maintain the resilience of coastal communities. It’s also an important element in our Blue Carbon Seascapes project. AIMS scientists are currently measuring how much organic carbon Sargassum and other seaweeds help lock away from the atmosphere, and the process involved. The storage of carbon in the marine environment is called blue carbon and enhancing that storage process will reduce the effects of climate change. While Sargassum might not look like the most spectacular marine plant, it’s a biodiversity superstar and deserves the spotlight! The Blue Carbon Seascapes research is co-funded by AIMS and BHP. Learn more about our Blue Carbon Seascapes project: https://bit.ly/4enRZi5 📸 Violeta Brosig #biodiversitymonth #bluecarbon

A fantastic showcase of AIMS@JCU science excellence at the annual seminar day in Townsville last Friday.  Students shared their science on a range of topics from microbes to whale sharks, machine learning to coral seeding, showing that the future of marine science in Australia is indeed bright. We are thrilled to support the next generation of marine scientists through our university partnerships.  The AIMS@JCU partnership began 20 years ago and continues to deliver world-class capability in understanding global and local stressors on tropical marine environments, coastal processes and quantitative marine science. Thank you and congratulations to all students, supervisors, judges and organisers for a successful day! More about the AIMS@JCU partnership: https://lnkd.in/eW8zhGCC 

Assisted evolution pioneer Professor Madeleine van Oppen contribution to coral reef restoration science will this week be recognised by the The Australian Academy of Science. Madeleine will be official inducted as a Fellow at an event in Canberra. Reflecting on over two decades at AIMS, she said highlights had included meeting broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, and securing funding that led to the development of the assisted evolution work. Congratulations Madeleine on this richly deserved accolade. 🔎 Read and watch more about her work: https://lnkd.in/g9vAgihE 📺 Tune in to the Academy’s live stream on Wednesday 11th September in the afternoon to hear from Prof van Oppen about her research: https://lnkd.in/grjEN-9C  📸Marie Roman + AIMS

It's a hard knock life for baby turtles. 🐢 The swim to their future is full of natural dangers, exacerbated by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, coastal development, marine debris and artificial lighting. Our research can help improve the odds of survival for turtles and other threatened marine species by revealing their movements and important habitats. This science shines a light on these areas of higher risk to improve management actions. 💡In Western Australia, our turtle team pioneered tiny tracking technology for baby turtles, showing artificial lights at sea caused them to spend longer in predator-rich waters close to shore which can reduce their chance of survival. This science was used to shape national light pollution guidelines in relation to lights at sea to help promote the recovery of marine turtle populations. Our latest research is developing artificial light intensity thresholds for turtle hatchling dispersal to provide recommendations that balance turtle and human safety. Learn more about this collaborative research for Threatened Species Day: https://bit.ly/47eOzeW #AIMSImpact Phillipa Wilson Michele Thums Daniel Gomez Isaza

Lord Howe Island – its towering mountains, endemic species and coral reef make it a dream destination for researchers as well as holiday makers. AIMS scientists including Kay Davis joined collaborators there to delve deeper into nutrient sources and pathways in the Lord Howe Island Marine Park. Nutrients in coral reef systems are essential but also need to be balanced – too many or too few can cause a shift in the abundance and species of corals and algae on a reef. The researchers collected almost 1000 water samples from the land and sea to measure the levels of nutrients, investigate the sources and understand the influence of processes like tides and currents. This will help manage any negative impacts from nutrients. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQBuiukT This research was undertaken in collaboration with Lord Howe Island Marine Park, Southern Cross University and UNSW. 📸: Caitlin Woods, Justin Gilligan 

How do you calm the biggest fish in the ocean? You pluck its parasites, of course! Our whale shark science team and collaborators have perfected the art of safely examining whale sharks, by acting as cleaner fish. The scientists begin scraping irritating copepods off the shark's lips and fins, causing it to slow down and hang vertically in the water. This approach allows the team to carry out underwater ultrasounds - a new approach to a whale shark health check ✅ Learn more about this innovative technique this International Whale Shark Day!

Congratulations to NIWA on the arrival of their new Research Vessel Kaharoa II at it’s home port of Wellington, NZ. The state-of-the-art vessel was officially christened last week by New Zealand’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology the Hon Judith Collins KC. AIMS’ Chief Operating Officer Dr Richard Brinkman, Operations Manager Justin Rees and Operations Planner Patrick Bunday were in Wellington to celebrate the arrival of Kaharoa II as part of the Research Vessel Operators of New Zealand and Australia (RVONZA) forum. Like Australia, New Zealand has a vast marine estate that well exceeds its land mass. The challenge of undertaking science to support the effective management of such a vast area cannot be understated and requires modern, safe and efficient research vessels, capable of taking our scientists and our labs to sea. AIMS is forging ahead with designs for a new generation of vessel to replace the RV Cape Ferguson, which has been a workhorse of our fleet supporting research and monitoring vessel since 2000. Our team gained valuable insights from the NIWA team about their experiences in the complex process of research vessel design, construction and transition to operation. More about Research Vessel Kaharoa II➡️ https://bit.ly/4fXd7gz More about RVONZA ➡️https://bit.ly/3Auygyo

🪸Mapping coral reef habitats to enhance reef restoration Baby coral need a hard structure to settle on so they can grow and flourish. Rubble and sand don’t cut it. Whilst turf algae compete with baby coral, vying for the same spot on the reef bottom. Finding the ideal location is an important consideration when designing reef restoration projects to maximise the survival of corals. Current models used to map coral reef habitats don’t include many of the key habitat attributes that corals need to survive. In a new study, AIMS scientists have developed an advanced remote sensing model using data from the Sentinel-2 satellite to more accurately map habitat on the ocean floor and identify locations where corals have the highest chance to grow and thrive. “It does that by undertaking a careful assessment of the environment and by understanding the drivers of coral recruitment and survival across multiple scales,” said Dr Ben Radford, lead author of the study. 🔗 Learn more: https://bit.ly/3AuNQtY 📃 Read the paper: https://bit.ly/4dsmza4 Climate change is the greatest threat to coral reefs. Modelling shows that reef interventions are likely to be required in addition to emissions reduction and reef management to ensure coral reefs survive into the future. This research was funded by AIMS and Woodside Energy Ltd as Operator for and on behalf of the Browse Joint Venture (BJV). The research was a collaboration between AIMS and The University of Western Australia. 📸: Scott Reef from Sentinel-2 satellite #SentinelSatellite #ReefRestoration The UWA Oceans Institute

Whilst there's no coastline in Canberra, there are many interested and budding marine biologists. Last week, we attended an inspiring day at the Government Science Group STEM expo at Parliament House. Our scientists chatted with high school students, public attendees and other government agencies about the cutting-edge research and marine science we are undertaking across northern Australia. It was great to see so many people interested in marine science 😀 Our CEO, Professor Selina Stead presented, sharing insights into our research and the various science disciplines and roles required to do the work that we do. We featured some of these last week for National Science Week. If you missed it, catch up here: https://bit.ly/3SQCDud #MarineScience #NationalScienceWeek

Love science but not a scientist? You can still work in science 😁 Mechanical engineering may not sound like a career choice that would lead to working in science. The same could be said for communicators, lawyers or accountants. But there’s many skills and professions needed to support science. For Devereux Harvey, a marine mechanical engineer, she found a way to combine her maths and physics skill set with her passion for the ocean, which is how she ended up at AIMS 😜 📺 Hear why De’vereux loves science and be inspired to “start the engine” on your own science journey. 👏 Shout out during National Science Week to everyone who works in, and loves, science! If you missed some of the amazing staff we featured this week, you can catch them all here: https://bit.ly/3SQCDud #marinescientist #nationalscienceweek #engineer