New projects benefit from free access to environmental data

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The Index of Marine Surveys for Assessments (IMSA) portal was launched by the Western Australian Minister for Water, Forestry, Innovation and Science, the Hon. Dave Kelly MLA in March to provide the first free access to the vast amounts of environmental impact assessment data that would otherwise be locked away.

IMSA facilitates the exchange and sharing of data sets and knowledge amongst industry, government and the community providing access to marine survey reports, metadata and map layers as well as the processed data products and raw data packages, which are stored at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre.

Developed by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), IMSA also provides a repository for environmental monitoring data collected for strategic government projects such as the recently announced WA Port and Environs Strategy (WestPort).

“IMSA is already showing great promise with valuable oceanographic data captured from completed assessments being re-used in the design and development phase of new coastal infrastructure projects as well as informing other regulatory assessment processes,” DWER Senior Environmental Officer Gordon Motherwell said.

(L-R) Minister for Science Hon. Dave Kelly MLA, WAMSI CEO Luke Twomey, Executive Director DWER Nygarie Goyal, EPA Chair Tom Hatton, Executive Director Pawsey Supercomputing Centre  Mark Stickells and WAMSI Chair Paul Vogel at the launch of IMSA (March 2020)

 

In the longer term, the partnership will look to value-add by curating, analysing and re-interpreting the database to produce outputs and tools that will enable cumulative impact assessment, validate and improve environmental modelling and improve the accuracy of impact predictions.

“Our expectation is that, as IMSA evolves, more companies, agencies and research groups will see the benefits and become regular contributors,” Mr Motherwell said.

 

Related Links:

Launch of Western Australia’s largest marine environmental information database

Index of Marine Surveys for Assessments (IMSA) portal

 

Our Knowledge Our Way Indigenous-led guidelines

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The ‘Our Knowledge Our Way in caring for Country – Best Practice Guidelines from Australian experiences’ is based on 23 case studies from across Australia, including the Western Australian Marine Science Institution’s Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science Project.

The North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA), CSIRO, and the Australian Committee for IUCN facilitated the guidelines as part of NESP Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub research that is supporting Traditional Owners by enabling the sharing of their knowledge the ‘right way’ in land and sea management and environmental research.

“These guidelines better value and strengthen Indigenous knowledge holders and the systems that need to be in place to protect Traditional knowledge, in a platform that can be readily accessed by the researchers and the broader community,” said Ricky Archer, CEO of NAILSMA and Djungan man from the Western Tablelands of north Queensland. “One of the best examples that mixes cultural knowledge systems and Western knowledge frameworks is Savanna Burning Projects, a cultural burning practice that’s been put through an academic framework to measure things like carbon.”

Through the Indigenous-led guidelines, the authors share what is seen as best practice when working with Indigenous knowledge in land and sea management, research and enterprise development.

Weaving Indigenous knowledge and science:
the KISSP approach. Case Study 3 -9

Figure 3.6. The concept of weaving knowledge systems (above)
and the Multiple Evidence Base approach (below).

The guidelines highlight how Indigenous knowledge is kept strong through access to Country and Indigenous cultural governance of knowledge. The key guiding principle is that Indigenous people must decide what is best practice in working with Indigenous knowledge. The guidelines cut across four themes: strengthening Indigenous knowledge; strong partnerships; sharing and weaving knowledge; and Indigenous land and sea networks.

“We need to take the time to listen and show respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ knowledge, culture and Country, and be led by their knowledge,” said Dr Emma Woodward, research scientist at Australia’s national science agency CSIRO. “We have much to learn from Indigenous Peoples and so much more to achieve by working together.”

Executive member of the Australian Committee for IUCN and IUCN Regional Councillor Peter Cochran said: “The Committee’s support for this publication reflects our acknowledgement and respect for Australia’s long and rich history of land and sea management by Indigenous Peoples, and their deep knowledge and expertise about a vast and changing continent.”

The guidelines identify ways that partners can support good knowledge practice, for example, through strong partnership agreements, support for cultural governance arrangements, and protocols.

The case study “Yanama budyari gumada: walking with good spirit at Yarramundi, western Sydney” shows how partnerships work where there is trust founded on mutual respect. The Darug custodians explain how they are facilitating important connections with other people who connect with Yarramundi, helping them to “sign-in” to Country. They show visitors how to crush up white ochre and blow it out of their mouths to put a handprint on the casuarina trees.

The Indigenous-majority project Steering Group hope the guidelines prove useful to assist sharing and learning between Indigenous land and sea managers, to educate current and future partners, and to realise good outcomes for people and Country.

The guidelines and a film showcasing the work can be found at Our Knowledge Our Way.

This article was originally published by CSIRO. Read the original article.csiro

Category:

Kimberley Marine Research Program

Temperature ‘switch point’ that determines the sex of marine turtles

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Scientists from The University of Western Australia and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions have examined how temperature determines the sex of baby turtles. The research will be published in the Journal of Functional Ecology.

Sea turtles nest on sandy beaches over a large geographic range, with some beaches being warmer than others. When temperatures are warmer more female sea turtles are produced, and when the temperatures are cooler more male sea turtles are produced. 

Although it is widely known that temperature affects reproduction in sea turtles, the pivotal temperature at which there is an equal probability of a male or female turtle produced, varies between species and is not well understood.

The researchers examined the range of temperatures and impact on the sex of turtles, and embryonic development rates between two species of sea turtles found in Western Australia – three populations of Flatback turtles (Natator depressus) and two populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas).

Lead researcher Dr Blair Bentley from the UWA School of Biological Sciences said the Western Australian Marine Science Institution project incubated eggs at different temperatures and compared how long they took to hatch, and what sex ratios were produced at each temperature.

“We also found differences in development rates, with populations that have cooler nest sites having a maximum development rate that occurs at lower temperatures.

“In contrast, the two populations of green turtles were relatively similar in their attributes, although the more tropical population displayed a wider range of temperatures that produced both sexes.”

Dr Bentley said the results provided insights into how turtles might respond to climate change.

“Most importantly, we found that increasing temperatures do not necessarily affect species and populations the same way, as future population sex ratios depend on both physiological traits and the pace of environmental change,” he said. “This means that management responses to climate change will need to be individually tailored to achieve the best outcomes.”

 

 

This article was originally published by The University of Western Australia. Read the original article.

The $30 million Kimberley Marine Research Program is funded through major investment supported by $12 million from the Western Australian government co-invested by the WAMSI partners and supported by the Traditional Owners of the Kimberley.

Category: 

Kimberley Marine Research Program

Temperature ‘switch point’ that determines the sex of marine turtles

/in /by

Scientists from The University of Western Australia and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions have examined how temperature determines the sex of baby turtles. The research will be published in the Journal of Functional Ecology.
Sea turtles nest on sandy beaches over a large geographic range, with some beaches being warmer than others. When temperatures are warmer more female sea turtles are produced, and when the temperatures are cooler more male sea turtles are produced. 
Although it is widely known that temperature affects reproduction in sea turtles, the pivotal temperature at which there is an equal probability of a male or female turtle produced, varies between species and is not well understood.
The researchers examined the range of temperatures and impact on the sex of turtles, and embryonic development rates between two species of sea turtles found in Western Australia – three populations of Flatback turtles (Natator depressus) and two populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas).
Lead researcher Dr Blair Bentley from the UWA School of Biological Sciences said the Western Australian Marine Science Institution project incubated eggs at different temperatures and compared how long they took to hatch, and what sex ratios were produced at each temperature.

“We also found differences in development rates, with populations that have cooler nest sites having a maximum development rate that occurs at lower temperatures.
“In contrast, the two populations of green turtles were relatively similar in their attributes, although the more tropical population displayed a wider range of temperatures that produced both sexes.”
Dr Bentley said the results provided insights into how turtles might respond to climate change.
“Most importantly, we found that increasing temperatures do not necessarily affect species and populations the same way, as future population sex ratios depend on both physiological traits and the pace of environmental change,” he said. “This means that management responses to climate change will need to be individually tailored to achieve the best outcomes.”
 

 
This article was originally published by The University of Western Australia. Read the original article.
The $30 million Kimberley Marine Research Program is funded through major investment supported by $12 million from the Western Australian government co-invested by the WAMSI partners and supported by the Traditional Owners of the Kimberley.
Category: 
Kimberley Marine Research Program

National Science Week: Ocean expert high school presentations

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In term two 2020 some of the world’s leading marine scientists Zoomed in to WA high school classrooms to help Year 12 students achieve their best in their final year of study amid the COVID-19 confusion.

The presentations cover subjects in the year 12 marine studies curriculum followed by a question and answer session.

The recorded presentations are now available to all teachers, students and audiences.

Click on the image below to watch a presentation.

We’d like to get your feedback, or for more information contact: info@wamsi.org.au