Scientists Examine Ways to Return Knowledge to Country

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Returning science knowledge to Traditional Owners on Country has been identified as an important consideration for researchers working in all regions of Australia.

In a recent review of the Western Australian Marine Science Institution’s Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science Project processes and protocols for working on Country, WAMSI Science Coordinator Dr Kelly Waples from the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) found improving communication was a strong theme raised by the Indigenous saltwater groups, Healthy Country Managers and scientists, particularly during the initial introduction, project proposal and the return of information to the community stages.

“Much of the feedback from our survey interviews revolved around developing some communication tools and examples of good communication to assist researchers in not only delivering their results back to the community, but also to include Indigenous perspectives and cultural insights to make them more relevant to the Traditional Owners,” Dr Waples said.

In 2019 WAMSI Research Director Dr Jenny Shaw began the process of developing a science plan for Gathaagudu (Shark Bay), the traditional country of three Aboriginal language groups: Malgana, Nhanda and Yingkarta.

It quickly became apparent that the traditional custodians of Gathaagudu had little knowledge of the large amount of science that had been conducted in the region since 1954, and it was something they wanted to understand.

“Generations of Malgana people attended a three-day workshop where we presented them with large-scale maps, graphs and illustrations that represented the work from more than 700 publications,” Dr Shaw said. “It was quite an emotional realisation I think, that so much research had been done without their knowledge.”

Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), led by Dr Katherine Cure, have also sought to address a call from senior Indigenous leaders and rangers to communicate the findings from their sea country monitoring program in a way that is accessible to all generations and diverse levels of numeracy and literacy.

In 2020/2021 the AIMS scientists visited the Bardi Jawi community at One Arm Point in the state’s North West, where they have established a long-term monitoring program with the Bardi Jawi Rangers. Using results from the monitoring program, the researchers trialled six different communication products during a-week-long workshop in various settings and with several audiences including school students, Elders and the wider community.

The pros and cons for Story Maps (ArcGIS), report cards, PowerPoint presentations, videos, posters and an environmental science art workshop with AIMS Artist-in-Residence Angela Rossen were all discussed.

Dr Cure says, among the lessons learned, large printed maps with graphical representations of research results presented to small groups for focused interactions worked well. Also, while online ArcGIS Story Maps were more dynamic and visually attractive than PowerPoint presentations, they rely on internet connection; since download speeds in most remote communities is an issue, this needs to be considered.

“We managed to share results of three years of monitoring in several formats with school children, rangers and Elders, and gained some valuable insights,” Dr. Cure said. “We found that while the Rangers can deal with more complex science outputs than Elders or children, it is important to know your audience and discuss reporting outputs and formats with partners in advance. Also, we found that a diverse range of communication materials are needed, including printed maps, graphs, infographics and videos.”

Identifying and referring to species in local language and relating results back to Healthy Country Management plans where possible has also been identified as an important consideration for scientists.

The full summary of the AIMS investigation into sharing monitoring results across generations of Traditional Owners on Sea country can be found here:  

CLOSING THE CIRCLE Sharing monitoring results across generations of Traditional Owners in Sea Country_ Graphical Summary_ Cure et al. AIMS

 

COMMUNICATION EXAMPLES

POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

INFOGRAPHICS 

Above: WAMSI Recruitment and Herbivory infographic of findings for juvenille fish RUV: Different types of fish live in different habitats during different seasons. (Cure et. al.)

POSTERS

BOOKLET

Jigeedany (dolphin) survey DBCA_Dambimangari_Booklet

STORY MAPS

VIDEOS

EDUCATION RESOURCES

Data Science STEM resources in collaboration with Education Services Australia

GRAPHICS

RELATED LINKS

The Blueprint for Marine Science – how far have we come in five years?

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In 2015 an ambitious plan to drive the priorities for marine research in Western Australia led by industry and government heavyweights delivered the Blueprint for Marine Science to 2050 strategy. Five years into the journey a member of the then Premier’s roundtable for Marine Science and Austral Fisheries CEO David Carter says in some areas the pace is picking up with lightening speed.

The comprehensive industry, government and community consultation process culminating in the Blueprint for Marine Science 2050 Report identified the areas where knowledge gaps will undermine effective management, streamlined regulation and development of marine industries.

One of Australia’s largest integrated commercial fishing companies, Austral Fisheries, operates in an environment which is seeing the effects of climate change first hand and is committed to sustainability based on science.

“The 2016 marine heatwave event wiped out 7000 hectares of seagrass in the Gulf of Carpentaria, it also raised concerns about toothfish catch rates and stock assessment and saw us look at a  multidisciplinary approach to determine the Patagonian toothfish response to environmental variables by bringing together a range of expertise, data and historical evidence to find out what was going on,” David Carter said. “It’s been an interesting and useful project that speaks to the sort of changes we are facing and focuses our need to respond.”

It’s estimated the world will need to feed nine billion people by 2050. David Carter says there are going to be some choices and trade-offs to make and the solutions lie around getting the science right for that but also communicating with those communities that are going to be impacted.

“Just being able to focus on the way we are heading really puts into perspective the challenges ahead,” David said. “Not just locally but globally, as the demands on our marine environment become greater we come to realise the shear enormity of the challenge. It’s therefore critically important that we harness the best and brightest minds to come up with answers to questions that haven’t even been asked yet, and as part of that it’s critical that we bring communities and all stakeholders along.”

One of the strong recommendations to come out of the Blueprint report was the need to improve access to existing data and in 2020 the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and WAMSI, launched the Index of Marine Surveys for Assessments (IMSA) for the systematic capture and sharing of marine data created as part of an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Each year IMSA is estimated to capture and consolidate more than $50 million worth of industry data collected to support assessments under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (the EP Act).

According to David Carter it’s a shift in attitude that needed to happen.

“It’s terrific to learn now there is an onus on the need to share data,” he said. “Oil and gas are starting to provide these baseline environmental assessments. I think it’s got to count as one of the major leaps forward.”

The ocean industries are immensley valuable and if as a society and as an economy we want to continue to grow David Carter believes the Western Australian Marine Science Institution has helped to crystalise the focus on the foundation of a long-term collaboration between all sectors operating in the marine environment.

“I believe we are heading in the right direction,” David Carter said. “Greater connections have been made across science and industry as a result of the work of WAMSI and its partners. Talks have been generated around oil platform decommissioning and you can see the pace of discussion around ocean energy transformation is accelerating at light speed. We are talking to Austal Ships and engineers about future fuels to see if we can run a ship on renewable energy but we have still got a way to go.

“We have all the ingredients in this state to become a global powerhouse, to show what’s possible and we have endless renewable energy potential. We have these engineers in oil and gas ready to be rechallenged in renewable fuels – so they know about oil and gas and they are interested, committed and passionate about what’s possible.

“As we reflect with gratitude on the contribution that fossil fuels have made to our standard of living, we also understand that this chapter is closed and that we have a new chapter to write that is equally exciting and challenging and filled with opportunity.”

The Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) became custodians of the Blueprint in 2018 to continue to action the strategic science priorities, align the research sectors’ response and establish a foundation of willingness across multiple sectors to find ways to be more strategic and more collaborative in marine science.

The WAMSI Partnership:

WAMSI Partners

WAMSI Science Leads to Jobs Growth

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Perth-based environmental and oceanographic consultancy, O2 Marine attributes Western Australian Marine Science Institution dredging science as a key factor that contributed to its rapid organic growth and business success.

When O2 Marine began in 2014 with just two scientists and some big ideas to fill a gap in the niche areas of marine environmental monitoring and assessment advice, the timing couldn’t have been better.

By 2017 the results from the Western Australian Marine Science Institution’s (WAMSI’s) five-years of research into environmental pressures, response and ecological sensitivity from dredging operations off the Pilbara coast, including ground-breaking experiments in the lab, had begun to hit the desk of the State’s environmental regulators.

The new understanding of environmental effects and windows of opportunity provided a significant improvement in the certainty around environmental management of dredging operations in Western Australia.

At the time, O2 Marine was working with Onslow Marine Support Base Pty. Ltd. on a ~1M cubic metre dredging proposal to allow offshore vessels to access the newly constructed Beadon Creek Maritime Facility.

O2 Marine Managing Director, Chris Lane says the WAMSI research was directly applicable to some of the benthic communities and habitats the project could potentially impact.

“The Environmental Protection Authority encouraged us to incorporate the WAMSI dredging science into the assessment,” Chris Lane said. “In doing so, we were able to use real data from Chevron’s Wheatstone project to predict the impacts and experimental laboratory data to define an appropriate monitoring and management approach. As a result, the Onslow Marine Support Base received the fastest regulatory approval for a dredging project of that size ever achieved in W.A.. We effectively halved the assessment approval timeframe from 12-18 months down to six months.”

Chris Lane attributes the opportunity to leverage the WAMSI research as a significant catalyst which effectively put O2 Marine on the map.

“Being able to leverage that science made clients sit up and take notice of what could be achieved by a West Australian small business,” Chris said. “Off the back of this client recognition and with a lot of hard work, O2 Marine has created nearly 40 new jobs, expanded our service offering to include metocean and hydrographic services and achieved annual revenue growth of over 90% per annum. Having that science readily available made it a lot easier to assist our clients in fast-tracking environmental approvals. It was the trigger for us to grow and get that market share.”

In February of 2018 the EPA confirmed that the Onslow Marine Support Base had been recommended for approval. In a statement issued by the EPA, Deputy Chariman Robert Harvey said:

“The proponent incorporated contemporary and locally relevant dredging science from the Western Australian Marine Science Institution into its predictions and proposed management of the project’s impacts. This means we had a high level of confidence during the assessment.

“The use of the latest dredging science, as well as the conditions identified by the EPA, including the implementation of a Dredging and Spoil Disposal Management Plan, means the proposal can be managed in an environmentally acceptable way,” the statement read.

The WAMSI Dredging Science Node was made possible through $9.5 million invested by Woodside, Chevron and BHP as environmental offsets. A further $9.5 million was co-invested by the WAMSI Joint Venture partners. The Node was also supported through critical data provided by Chevron, Woodside and Rio Tinto Iron Ore.

Gaarragoon Guardians- A Bardi Jawi Rangers’ Story Wins a Best Film Award at the 2021 Mud and Saltwater Film Fest

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The Western Australian Marine Science Institution is proud to announce that its film collaboration with the Bardi Jawi Rangers and the Australian Institute of Marine Science has won a best film award at the 2021 Mud and Saltwater Short Film Fest.

The annual short film festival, held in Broome and Cygnet Bay, aims to inspire film makers to explore, respect, enjoy and protect remarkable Roebuck Bay and the Kimberley region. The festival showcases the best short films made by professional and amateur filmmakers about this truly remarkable part of the world.

Bardi Jawi Senior Cultural Ranger Kevin George holds the award for best film in the Kimberley Calling category at the Mud and Saltwater Short Film Fest with (Back Row L-R) Tamara Moore, Henarlia Rex, Phillip McCarthy, Mathilda Lipscombe (Front Row L-R) Natasha George, Kevin George, Johalia Davey.

Our short documentary film Gaarragoon Guardians: A Bardi Jawi Rangers’ Story, tells the story of two-way learning between scientists and the Bardi Jawi Rangers who have been monitoring the fish and coral reef to manage the health of sea country on the Dampier Peninsula.

This two-way learning started 10 years ago with the WAMSI Kimberley Marine Research Program (2012-2018) to develop an understanding of how fish, coral and seagrasses sustain the health of the Kimberley marine ecosystem.

When researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science returned to Country with some of the results, they found the rangers had a few questions of their own that they wanted answered.

A monitoring program was developed and what we have filmed is a field trip with the Bardi Jawi Rangers and the Australian Institute of Marine Science monitoring partnership in August 2020.

The rangers tell their story of working with scientists to monitor the health of their sea country.

 

Watch: Bardi Jawi Healthy Country Coordinator Daniel Oades and Bardi Jawi Ranger Azton Howard introduce the Gaarragoon Guardians video

 

Watch: Gaarragoon Guardians: A Bardi Jawi Rangers’ story

This is a Western Australian Marine Science Institution and Australian Institute of Marine Science production in collaboration with the Bardi Jawi Rangers and the Kimberley Land Council.

Filmed and edited by Sam Frederick

Student and Early Career Researcher support for Biodiversity Conference

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The Western Australian Marine Science Institution is offering a number of registrations and awards for marine science students and Early Career Researchers at The Biodiversity Conference 2021 in Perth.

This conference is bringing together researchers and practitioners across academia, government, industry and community to share scientific knowledge, biodiversity informatics and best practice in biodiversity conservation.

WAMSI Grants

The Western Australian Marine Science Institution is offering grants for a limited number of students and Early Career Researchers to cover the registration costs of this Conference. Your poster or presentation must be accepted to be eligible for this grant. Marine Science research submissions are welcome for poster, five-minute speed talk or 15-minute presentations and must be relevant to one of the six themes.

Theme 1: Indigenous Stewardship

Theme 2: Our Biodiversity Assets

Theme 3: Trends and Conditions

Theme 4: Threats and Their Impact

Theme 5: Restoration and Conservation

Theme 6: Technology and Innovation

WAMSI Awards

WAMSI is also offering cash awards for Students and Early Career Researchers for the best poster, five-minute speed talk or 15-minute presentation.

WAMSI CEO Dr Luke Twomey said WAMSI was interested in attracting emerging marine science leaders to join the collective Western Australian based expertise to benefit the forward thinking around biodiversity conservation across the state.

“With such an amazing pool of emerging talent in marine science in Western Australia, we would like to encourage students and Early Career Researchers to register to share your knowledge for the benefit of best practice in biodiversity conservation,” Dr Twomey said.

The conference is jointly supported and run by all five WA Universities, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, The Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute and eLife.

For more information head to the Conference website at: https://biodiversity2021.com.

 

Libby Howitt Appointed to WAMSI Board

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The Western Australian Marine Science Institution has welcomed Principal Environment Advisor – Offshore at Santos Energy Ltd. Ms Libby Howitt to its board.

Ms Howitt brings skills in science and evidence-based decision making in environmental impact assessment and management, as applied to a range of marine activities including exploration, development and decommissioning activities of the oil and gas industry.

Ms Howitt has a research background in marine ecology and a working history of applying marine science to the assessment of human activities in the marine environment. She has dealt extensively with the challenges of exploring, developing, operating and decommissioning offshore petroleum facilities in proximity to environmentally sensitive areas whilst engaging with a broad range of stakeholders and regulatory authorities.

Libby has previously held positions with the University of Sydney, the Australian Museum and The Ecology Lab. She sits on the National Decommissioning Research Initiative, APPEA Marine Environment Science Working Groups, APPEA Seismic Working Group and NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub.

“On behalf of the partnership, I’d like to welcome Libby to the WAMSI board and look forward to her contribution in support of its vision to be the trusted independent facilitator, broker and advocate for marine science research that builds environmental, social and economic value for Western Australians,” WAMSI Chair Dr Paul Vogel AM said.

WA Marine Scientists Zoom into Schools

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Some of the world’s leading marine scientists will share their expertise with WA high school students this term to help Year 12s achieve their best in their final year of study.

Following on from the success of the 2020 Zoom into School series, Western Australian-based researchers from Curtin University, The University of Western Australia (UWA), Murdoch University, Edith Cowan University, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions managing Parks and Wildlife research have offered their expertise to students studying marine and maritime subjects.

Led by WA secondary school marine science teachers in partnership with the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), students will have unprecedented access to pitch questions about final year subjects to the top scientists in their field of research.

Coordinator and Sacred Heart College marine science teacher John Ryan described it as: “a terrific opportunity for all Year 12 Marine and Maritime students to learn from the scientists who are at the forefront of research on these subjects.”

Each week, scientists will present on one of the subjects in the high school curriculum followed by a question-and-answer session. The sessions will be recorded and made available online.

Speakers for the 2021 series include:

  1. (7 May) Phytoplankton from Space: Professor David Antoine, Head of the remote sensing and satellite research group (RSSRG) at Curtin University.
  2. (14 May) Ecotourism, reasons for rules and the ethical management of human interactions with whale sharks, dolphins and whales: Gemma Francis, Conservation Operations Officer- Whale Sharks (Exmouth region), Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. (18 June) Types of Marine Pollutants: Associate Professor Kathryn McMahon, School of Science & Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, Course Coordinator Marine and Freshwater Biology, Edith Cowan University
  4. (25 June) Artificial Reefs: Dr James Tweedley, Senior lecturer in Animal Biology in the College of Science, Health, Engineering & Education at Murdoch University and Leader of the Fish and Fisheries theme in the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems in the Harry Butler Institute at Murdoch University.
  5. (30 July) Citizen science. Charlotte Birkmanis, PhD candidate, UWA Marine biologist, Shark scientist.
  6. (9 August) Characteristics of coral communities: Dr Marji Puotinen, Spatial – Ecological Data Scientist, Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Curtin University Head of Remote Sensing and Satellite Research Group, Professor David Antoine said scientists were happy to be able to help final year students to understand how marine science is helping to solve current world challenges.

“I hope we can help to inspire these students to think outside-the-box and consider the possibilities if they pursue a career in marine science,” Professor Antoine said.

All the presentations will be made available on the WAMSI YouTube Channel HERE.

2021 presentations now online:

WA Blueprint Priorities for Marine Research Under Review

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Western Australia’s Blueprint for Marine Science is undergoing a five-yearly review by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution to assess and update research priorities that may have changed under current economic and environmental forecasts.

The aim of the Blueprint is to support future decision making by providing evidence-based scientific support that recognises the needs of Western Australia’s marine industries, managers, regulators and the wider community.

First published in 2015, The Blueprint identified more than 100 sector-specific knowledge gaps through a comprehensive program of stakeholder engagement. The initial science priorities were also consistent with the science community led National Marine Science Plan.

CEO Dr Luke Twomey said, as custodians of the Blueprint, The Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) will revisit the Blueprint to maintain an understanding of the ongoing marine research priorities in Western Australia.

“Over the past five years WAMSI and other organisations have made great inroads into meeting priorities listed in the 2015 Blueprint,” Dr Twomey said. “Most notably, Western Australia has come a long way toward developing the future of shared data platforms, including the development of the Index of Marine Surveys for Assessments (IMSA) portal. Now, given major disruptions to regional, national and global socio-political drivers, we expect to observe a shift in the priorities and focus across the different sectors.”

Over the coming weeks WAMSI will revisit stakeholders across the different marine sectors in WA to discuss and document whether the previously identified priorities are still valid or if they have changed.

“What we want to learn from industry, environment managers and regulators is, what has changed for them over the past five years, what marine research areas are important to them now, and how marine research can help improve confidence in the decisions they need to make about the shared marine environment,” Dr Twomey said.

The outcomes are expected to be released in a report by mid-2021.

To Bait or Not to Bait: Remote Underwater Video Surveys of Juvenile Fish

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A new study comparing the efficiency of baited and unbaited remote underwater stereo-video to survey juvenile fish populations has found no significant difference between the two methods.

Juvenile fish are a particularly important group to monitor and understand given the high social, economic, and ecological value placed on adult fish populations.

Driven by their need for shelter from predators and environmental stressors, juvenile fish are often found in habitats which are difficult to sample other than by diver surveys. In the Kimberley however, diver surveys are impractical given the dangerous tidal conditions and the presence of crocodiles. Divers surveys have also been linked with a change in fish behaviour.

As part of the Western Australian Marine Science Institution’s (WAMSI) Kimberley Marine Research Program, a team of scientists from The University of Western Australia (UWA), The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the Kimberley Marine Research Station compared the use of baited and unbaited remote underwater stereo video systems (BRUVS and RUVS). The study took place in the Iwany (Sunday) Islands group with guidance from the Bardi Jawi Rangers and Traditional Owners.

Stereo-RUVS use two cameras on a frame that is lowered onto the seabed to record fish movement. The two cameras enable lengths and distance measurements to be made using specialised software.

Lead author UWA PhD candidate Camilla Piggott said the results, published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology suggest both methods can effectively produce the same result.

‘’What we found was that there was no difference in the ability of stereo-BRUV or stereo-RUV to quantify the relative total abundance, species richness, or assemblage composition of juvenile fish,” Camilla said.

Sixty Stereo-RUVs and 60 Stereo-BRUVs samples were taken across four shallow-water (1-6 metre) coral, mangrove, macroalgae, and seagrass habitats to contrast the effect of the presence or absence of bait, deployment period, in-water visibility and tidally driven water speed.

“We found that a deployment period of 10 minutes for Stereo-BRUVs and 15 minutes for Stereo-RUVs was optimum for sampling the juvenile fish assemblage across all four contrasting habitats,” Camilla explained. “Since no statistical significance was observed between 10 and 15 minutes, we recommend that Stereo-RUVs deployed for 15 minutes during tidal slack water conditions are an optimum way to provide consistent results for comparisons of juvenile fish assemblages across the habitats studied in this region.”

Dr James Gilmour and Camilla Piggott deploy a Remote Underwater Video System at the Iwany (Sunday) Island group in the western Kimberley

Dr James Gilmour and Camilla Piggott deploy a Remote Underwater Video System at the Iwany (Sunday) Island group in the western Kimberley (Photo: AIMS)

 

Citation: Piggott CVH, Depczynski M, Gagliano M, Langlois TJ (2020) Remote video methods for studying juvenile fish populations in challenging environments. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2020.151454

The $30 million Kimberley Marine Research Program was 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.

Phytoplankton Proves its Carbon Capture Capability in Extreme Environments

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A new study has found that phytoplankton, the microalgal powerhouse plants of the sea, are able to change their physiology and continue to uptake and store carbon despite the extreme tidal movement and dynamic light conditions in the Kimberley.

If there’s one thing that the Kimberley marine environment can teach us, it’s the best way to live in an extreme environment, according to CSIRO’s James McLaughlin, lead author of the latest paper on Phytoplankton Light Acclimation to Periodic Turbulent Mixing Along a Tidally Dominated Tropical Coastline published in JGR Oceans.    

The study in King Sound, which is a 100‐kilometre‐long, semi-enclosed embayment opening to the Indian Ocean, was conducted by researchers from CSIRO and The University of Western Australia as part of the Western Australian Marine Science Institution’s (WAMSI) Kimberley Marine Research Program.

It reveals that despite low nutrients and decreased water clarity in areas of the Sound, phytoplankton were able to photosynthesise as if it were in a high light exposure environment. On the adjacent shelf however, the roles reversed, phytoplankton migrate deeper and acclimatise their photosynthetic strategy to a lower light environment, enabling them to reach available nutrients at depth.

“King Sound experiences very large variations in light over short time scales, and we found that the phytoplankton community there was dominated by diatoms, a microalgae that can rapidly adjust pigment within the cell to acclimate to water column light conditions,” James McLaughlin said.

“What this does is allow higher maximum photosynthetic rates to be attained by the phytoplankton which are trying to live in a region with extreme tides, in an environment that is constantly changing from deeper turbid and dark waters to shallow more light exposed ones,” James said.

Tides help to redistribute phytoplankton and nutrients and this in turn influences their population and community structure within marine ecosystems. It is important to better understand the impact of tidal mixing on the ability of phytoplankton to capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide in these dynamic coastal areas.

 

The $30 million Kimberley Marine Research Program was 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.