Indigenous led research vessel launched with dockside cultural smoking ceremony

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A newly-refurbished vessel was launched today to be used for a landmark research, training and environment rehabilitation collaboration in Shark Bay – an area which has been hit hard by devastating marine heatwaves.

The 23-metre ‘Marine 2’ is owned by The Jock Clough Marine Foundation, which offered it to the Indigenous-owned and operated Tidal Moon for its exclusive use. The event took place with a dockside cultural smoking ceremony at Fremantle’s Sardine Jetty.

Tidal Moon has a sea cucumber harvesting business and has applied for a license to help rehabilitate up to 1,000 square kilometres of seagrass in Shark Bay. The meadows were lost just over a decade ago in a series of marine heatwaves.

‘Marine 2’ will enable the training and employment of local Malgana People, as well as marine research delivered by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) with its partners.

“Seagrass provides a vital habitat and breeding area for marine animals,” Mr Wear said.

“It also prevents the release of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide and is regarded as the ocean’s lungs.”

“Myself and Malgana Elders are honoured that Shark Bay’s Traditional Custodians will lead this exciting collaboration which brings together important marine research and innovative projects that benefit the environment.”

“We are combining Western marine science and Indigenous Sea Country knowledge.”

“This is also going to create new private sector job opportunities and give our young people new opportunities to care for Sea Country,” Mr Wear said.

WA philanthropist, businessman and Jock Clough Marine Foundation Co-Trustee, Jock Clough said he was looking forward to supporting the collaborative effort.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Tidal Moon, with its Traditional Owners and custodians, WAMSI and the Jock Clough Marine Foundation to work together, and really make a difference to the knowledge of a very special place,” Mr Clough said.

WAMSI CEO Dr Luke Twomey said the organisation had developed a Science Plan for Shark Bay (Gathaagudu) and further research would provide essential data to help inform the way local and global marine ecosystems were managed. “Shark Bay is like the canary in the coalmine for climate change and our partner scientists will be able to make a real difference through this initiative,” Dr Twomey said.

Tidal Moon has been working with scientists from WAMSI’s partner institutions and with CSIRO to better understand the role of seagrass in Shark Bay’s ecosystem and the best ways to prevent future losses.

WAMSI manages major marine science projects through its partnership with Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, The University of Western Australia as well as the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, the Western Australian Museum, Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

Penguin ‘poop study’ to help unlock colony’s diet

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Researchers from The University of Western Australia and Murdoch University are analysing DNA from the excrement of little penguins in Cockburn Sound to find out what, other than fish, they are eating and whether it is affecting their breeding.

Penguin researcher Dr Belinda Cannell, from UWA, said analysing the animals’ diet in greater detail would provide an insight into their breeding and how it related to the availability of their primary diet, which is fish.

Little penguins in Cockburn Sound (their northern most range in Western Australia) primarily eat anchovies, pilchards, scaly mackerel and sandy sprat.

Penguins are known to also feed on crustaceans, cephalopods and even jellyfish.

“If it’s a poor year and there are not a lot of fish around, the little penguins may be feeding more on other things such as jellyfish,” Dr Cannell said.

This could then have an impact on their ability to produce and raise young.

“This other food may not get them into the condition where they can breed and feed their young,” Dr Cannell said.

“It may be that the chicks don’t fatten up as quickly.”

She said diet made up one element of the project, which is part of the WAMSI Westport Marine Science Program.

Another methodology being used to determine diet composition is the analysis of stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur from the down of little penguin chicks and feathers from adults.

“Stable isotopes of carbon reflect primary production sources and is more enriched in inshore, seagrass dominated areas, compared to offshore food webs,” Dr Cannell said.

“The stable isotope of nitrogen increases up the food chain and can also increase between size classes of the same prey species.”

“Stable isotopes of sulphur can be useful to distinguish between offshore and inshore components in food webs and can also indicate if producers are using sulphur from seawater, which is more enriched, or from sediments which are less enriched.

“This gives us a better idea of the whole diet of these birds.”

Dr Cannell said stable isotopes assist with establishing diet composition.

“I presume little penguins are eating jellyfish, but we haven’t had stable isotopes for jellyfish until now.”

The Western Australian Museum provided samples to assist with the research.

Cockburn Sound research reports now online

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Cockburn Sound research teams have started delivering project reports for their work on the WAMSI Westport Marine Science Program.

These are now published on WAMSI’s Cockburn Sound webpage under ‘Research Themes and Reports‘.

More than 100 scientists and researchers are working across 33 projects, helping to build a picture of the Sound’s environment and provide key input into the port design.

In one of the latest reports to be released, scientists have carried out a detailed literature review identifying potential invasive marine species which may have become established in Cockburn Sound, with procedures to mitigate the risk of introducing these to future Westport facilities.

Another project explores the potential effects of suspended sediment on fishes from dredging, while a social science study has identified and mapped 31 non-fishing recreational activities and 11 associated values for the Sound.

Reports will continue to be published on our website over the next few months.

 

Eco-design and pre-seeding among options to encourage healthy port marine life

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Pre-seeding new port structures to encourage the colonisation of native species is one of the mitigation measures against invasive marine plants and animals, outlined in a new report prepared for the WAMSI Westport Marine Science Program.

The literature review by Curtin University School of Molecular and Life Sciences Adjunct Professor Fred Wells lists many of the invasive marine species that have been recorded in waters around Perth and mitigation measures that could be used during any port construction.

Pre-seeding works by attaching local, fast-growing species to a new structure. The common mussel is one option identified in the report.

Professor Wells said invasive marine species were a worldwide problem and shipping was the most common way they spread to coastal areas. Ninety-eight percent of trade in and out of Australia is on vessels.

“Invasive marine species are concentrated on artificial surfaces and eco-engineering is a new field that attempts to encourage biodiversity and prevent potential marine pests taking hold,” Professor Wells said.

“The risk of introducing new species is greatest during construction but experience during the construction boom in the Pilbara demonstrated the issue is manageable.”

Professor Wells said eco-design was a new and evolving field that could help improve the biodiversity of the marine community that develops underwater, while minimising the risk of invasive species.

“Current design procedures tend to create uniform habitats, such as seawalls with smooth vertical faces. The lack of habitat diversity reduces the biodiversity of the marine community that develops on the structure. “

“Increasing the habitat diversity of new immersed structures and pre-seeding them with native species appear to be the most promising ways for mitigating against species that can cause ecological harm and prove expensive.”

Professor Wells said the biggest threats from invasive species to marine ecosystems were introducing disease, displacing native species, changing the ecology of native communities, clogging pipes and damaging other critical infrastructure.

The report, which was done to understand potential risks, is a literature review of invasive marine species from Cottesloe to Cockburn Sound, including waters around Fremantle and the Swan River.

A comprehensive survey more than a decade ago recorded 60 introduced marine species living in WA waters. Three were on the national marine pest list. Four additional marine pests were subsequently recorded in WA.

“Fortunately, most introduced marine species are apparently innocuous, causing no known adverse effects and we know only a small portion become pests,” Professor Wells said.

 

 

Volunteers spring into action to help seagrass recovery in Cockburn Sound

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A seagrass restoration program, that is helping to regenerate Cockburn Sound’s underwater meadows, has had a record number of volunteers helping to spread hundreds of thousands of seeds from the plants.

About 80 per cent of Cockburn Sound’s meadows were wiped out in the 1950s and 60s because of poor water quality. Seeds for Snapper harnesses community help, backed by scientific knowledge, to collect seagrass seeds and disperse them where they are most needed.

Research officer Rachel Austin, from The University of Western Australia’s School of Biological Sciences, who helps run Seeds for Snapper with fishing conservation charity OzFish, said volunteers helped disperse 670,000 seeds over 10 sites during November. They donated 1500 hours.

“It’s very simple, very scalable and results in much higher seeding density than what happens naturally,” Ms Austin said.

“We estimate that more than 90 percent of seagrass fruit ends up where it cannot grow, including on the beach and in deep water.

“We are able to collect the seeds and throw them into specially chosen areas where they are more likely to take hold.”

Rachel Austin with a beaker of seagrass seeds.

Rachel Austin from UWA with seagrass seeds at a volunteers’ day in Cockburn Sound.

“By doing what we are doing we can get substantially more seedlings in an area compared to what can happen naturally.”

She said the program had not only had a practical benefit in helping regenerate parts of the seabed but had also increased awareness of the importance of seagrass for storing carbon, stabilising the seabed and providing breeding areas and habitat for marine animals.

 

 

“If you want squid, fish and octopus you’ve got to have somewhere for them to live and that is your seagrass meadows,” Ms Austin said.

“About 200 hectares has regrown but we’re still missing 2,000 hectares.”

Seagrass restoration is among the research projects currently underway as part of the WAMSI Westport Marine Science Program.

OzFish Western Australia Program Manager, Steve Pursell, said 2023 was the second biggest year for Seeds for Snapper in terms of the number of seeds released into Cockburn Sound. Last year was the highest since it started six years ago.

“The program has really gained momentum,” Mr Pursell said.

“We had people from a range of backgrounds and all ages, helping out this year.

“We even had a volunteer fly in from New York, just to work on the project,” he said.

“Some volunteers who come along don’t initially realise the difference between seagrass and seaweed but they soon learn that, and many go on to become great advocates for the importance of seagrass and our habitat restoration work.”.

He said volunteer divers collected seagrass fruit in nets and other groups on shore worked at tanks to sort husks from the seeds. Volunteers and recreational boaters then took the seeds into Cockburn Sound to throw them back in the water at selected sites.

Ms Austin said she was heartened by the response to Seeds for Snapper from fishers they met at boat ramps.

“Public awareness around the importance of seagrass has really grown and the fishers we speak to are really enthusiastic. It gives you hope for the future.”

She said the program involving monitoring sites where seeds were dispersed.

“Our main species Posidonia australis (ribbon-weed) is quite a slow growing species so you’re talking a good five to 10 years before you have a dense meadow.

“But we have found incredible growth in some areas.

“Some sites are not as good, and we learn every year.

“At all our sites it does look like we are getting higher seedling densities than if it was left to nature.”

People who are interested in volunteering for the 2024 Seeds for Snapper program can find more information here or email seedsforsnapper@ozfish.org.au

WAMSI coral researcher a Student Scientist of the Year finalist

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Marine scientist Josh Bonesso said he was honoured to be a ‘Student Scientist of the Year’ finalist in the Premier’s Science Awards and hoped it shone a light on the impact of climate change on coral reefs.

Josh is a PhD student at The University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute and works part time at the Western Australian Marine Science Institution. The Premier’s Science Awards winners were announced at a ceremony in Perth on 11 September.

Josh was named as a finalist for his work developing ways to rapidly assess the sensitivity of coral islands to climate change.

“I hope being a finalist helps draw attention to the impacts of climate change and the vulnerability of the world’s coral reefs and their islands,” Josh said.

“Coral reef-islands are the landform most threatened by the effects of climate change such as rising sea levels and ocean warming,” Josh said. “But much of our knowledge of changes to these islands has come from two-dimensional satellite images. My research, using three-dimensional mapping technology, captured the largest regional-scale group of islands globally, here in WA’s Pilbara.”

“This led me to develop a unique tool to rapidly assess changes to key features which could act as a crucial warning of imminent threats to the islands.”

He said he was thrilled for the winner, medical researcher Denby Evans, from Telethon Kids Institute and Curtin University.

The awards recognise remarkable achievement and innovation of scientists and science students in the state.

WAMSI CEO Dr Luke Twomey said Josh was an innovative scientist with a passion for educating and inspiring people about marine science and he congratulated him on being an award finalist.

“Josh’s research, which has now been published in a leading scientific journal, has broad ranging benefits worldwide,” Dr Twomey said.

“Josh’s ability to think laterally has established opportunities to lead and collaborate across government and scientific institutions to better safeguard WA’s marine assets.”

“Josh has been a regular speaker with WAMSI’s Thinking Blue outreach program and is always happy to share his knowledge about coral reefs and islands. He does terrific work communicating marine science within the community.”

Water quality improving but Cockburn Sound still impacted by pollution legacy

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Water quality in Cockburn Sound has been steadily improving for decades but seagrass and some fish stocks are still struggling to recover from the days of unrestricted pollution discharge, according to marine scientist Dr Fiona Webster.

Dr Webster, who works at the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation assessing marine proposals, was speaking to students about the impacts of marine pollutants as part of WAMSI’s Thinking Blue education outreach program.

The program features lectures by some of the state’s top marine scientists, including from WAMSI’s partner organisations.

Dr Webster told the students that in the 1970s there were concerns about the environmental impact of industry discharging pollutants such as nutrients and heavy metals straight into Cockburn Sound.

“Around 80 percent of seagrass was lost and there were concerns people couldn’t swim or couldn’t fish and many were worried,” Dr Webster said.

“Whilst the extent of environmental deterioration sounds extreme, you have to remember that the Environmental Protection Act didn’t exist until 1986,” she said.

To protect Cockburn Sound, the State Government introduced two key initiatives; firstly direct discharges were banned and secondly the State Environment Policy for Cockburn Sound was developed.

Dr Webster said that while parts of Cockburn Sound will remain industrialised, the State Environment Policy ensured environmental, social and cultural values were protected and the water was safe to swim in and fish were safe to eat.

“Monitoring has shown the water quality has been improving since then and most areas now have good water quality,” Dr Webster said. “But seagrass is not recovering so well.”

“Part of that could be the organic nutrient load in the sediment.”

“Some fish stocks are also still depressed including the garfish and blue swimmer crabs.”

Whilst water quality in Cockburn is looking good, there are always new and emerging contaminants to watch out for such as PFAS (a key constituent in fire fighting foam) and microplastics.

Dr Webster told the students there was good work going on to support the environment including the replenishment of fish stocks and the Seeds for Snapper program. This involved volunteers collecting seagrass seeds and dropping them in areas needing regeneration.

Early inspiration

One of the aims of Thinking Blue is to inspire students to study marine science.

Dr Webster told the students, until her dad gave her a pair of goggles when she was six years old, she’d been nervous of seaweed.

“When I had my goggles on, suddenly I could see fish and bubbles and kelp.”

She later studied science and did a PhD after completing researching at Ningaloo Reef.

She told the students her career had ‘meandered’ from measuring crayfish on commercial vessels at the Abrolhos Islands to spending 18 months on a yacht off Madagascar to working with an Australian aid organisation in Tonga.

It’s a career journey that certainly inspires.

You can watch Dr Fiona Webster’s lecture here.

Marine interdependence – From turtle hunting crabs to tongue eating louse

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A camera focused on a Ningaloo Reef beach captures life and death in a marine ecosystem in its rawest form: Ghost crabs scramble to catch freshly hatched loggerhead sea turtles before sea gulls swoop in to snap up others as they stagger towards the shoreline.

Once in the water, there are new predators for the few that make it that far, but also organisms for them to eat and fuel their growth.

The footage, shot by recent PhD graduate Casper Avenent, was played to students as part of a WAMSI Thinking Blue lecture on the ‘Interdependence of organisms in marine ecosystems’ by Professor Glenn Hyndes from Edith Cowan University.

“As for the golden ghost crabs, they are possibly eaten by rays and dingoes but we don’t know”.

The scene on a small part of one Australian beach represents a much bigger ecological story.

“On this one beach at Ningaloo, there are different species of ghost crabs with very different diets,” Professor Hyndes said.

“We have found from gut analysis, the horned eyed ghost crabs feed a lot on insects and the golden ghost crabs will feed on carrion including dead rats, birds, fish, as well as turtle eggs and hatchlings.”

Professor Hyndes’ talk incorporated the many ways various species of plants and animals are interdependent and along with the video from the Exmouth area, he used an example of life along the south coast of Western Australia.

“There is algae, consumed by abalone and sea urchins, which are eaten by animals such as western blue groper. Bronze whaler sharks are consuming fish.”

One theme of Professor Hyndes’ talk was ‘Habitat Matters’.

Certain jellyfish provided shelter for juvenile fish and seagrass also played a vital role in a number of ways including giving a habitat for fish.

“The different seagrass species will be important for different fish species. For instance, the sea trumpeter fish prefer the canopy formation of the Amphibolis griffithii seagrass and blow fish are more likely to swim among the more sparce Posidonia coriacea.

Another example of interdependence was the anemone fish which can have sea louse feeding on its tongue and the inside of its mouth.

“This has a negative impact on the fish but there are cleaner wrasse fish that feed on the louse” Professor Glenn Hyndes said.

Professor Hyndes’ talk, including his slides and video footage from Ningaloo, can be found here on the WAMSI YouTube page.

How does the ocean’s only flowering plant cope with being buried?

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In water tanks at Edith Cowan University, pots containing Posidonia sinuosa, the most widespread species of seagrass in Cockburn Sound, have been tested to see how much burial under sediment they can withstand. The research, part of the WAMSI Westport Marine Science Program, is looking at the resilience of the ocean’s only flowering plant, to dredging.

ECU researcher, Chanelle Webster, said seagrass was an important part of the ecosystem – providing not only food and habitat for marine animals but also stabilising the seabed and storing carbon which could help combat climate change.

Seagrasses tend to occur in the shallow waters along coastlines as they require a lot of sunlight, but they are easily affected by disturbances in the light reaching the plants.

“One of the main impacts of dredging is changing the amount of light plants receive when sediment is stirred up during operation,” Ms Webster said.

“Another effect of dredging on seagrass is when sediment gets moved and dumped in an area, the particles can settle on seagrass and bury it. This is where my experiment comes in.”

“There are about 10 different species of seagrass in the Sound but Posidonia sinuosa is the main species, you can find it in all areas of the Sound from Kwinana to Garden Island, and this is why we decided to do the experiment with this species.”

“We have been trying to understand how much burial Posidonia sinuosa can tolerate before you start seeing negative impacts to their growth or survival.”

Some of the potted seagrasses had no sediment added, others had up to 16 centimetres of sediment put on them in controlled conditions over four months.

The research team measured the amount the plants grew and noted cellular changes.

“From preliminary analysis, plants tolerate up to four centimetres of burial by sediment but with eight centimetres and more of burial they are impacted.

“When plants were buried by 8cm or more of sediment the growth was significantly less.”

The research indicated Posidonia sinuosa could tolerate burial of four centimetres of sediment for 16 weeks which was the duration of the experiment.

Ms Webster said while further analysis was still to be done, the preliminary results were promising in terms of being able to minimise impacts to seagrasses in the Sound.

WAMSI offering two free student registrations for lobster biology conference

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The Western Australian Marine Science Institution is offering two WA-based Honours, Masters or PhD students the chance to improve their understanding of rock lobster and crab biology with free registration for the International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management (ICWL) in Fremantle this October.

The theme of the 12th ICWL is ‘Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM)’ – an approach that recognises all interactions within an ecosystem rather than considering a single species or issue in isolation.

WAMSI is a Bronze Sponsor of the conference and has secured two student registrations to offer people undertaking study at any of our partner universities (Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia) or working at our partner organisations while doing further studies. They must be WA based but can be enrolled at other universities.

WAMSI Research Director Dr Jenny Shaw said it was an opportunity for students to find out more about marine research and fisheries and explore career opportunities.

“The ICWL began in Perth more than 40 years ago. At the time, 37 biologists from six countries met to discuss and compare their work on a range of lobster topics,” Dr Shaw said.

“Since then, it has grown in popularity and prestige.”

“Given the WA rock lobster fishery is the largest single species fishery in Australia with a value of more than $450m annually and was the first in the world to achieve Marine Stewardship Council accreditation, this is a fabulous opportunity for students to learn more about the industry as well as science around the species.

“It’s also a terrific opportunity to network at a prestigious, international conference.”

Students who are interested in applying for WAMSI’s student registration offer are asked to:

Write a letter (maximum of one page) outlining their area of study, explaining how they would benefit from attending the conference and stating where they are enrolled.

Applications should be addressed to Dr Jenny Shaw and be emailed to info@wamsi.org.au by 5.00pm on Monday 4 September 2023. A decision will be made on Monday 18 September.

Details about the conference can be found here.