Archives for 2016

The Australian Coral Reef Society has released a paper (PDF, 750KB) identifying 8 key stressors affecting coral reefs and suggesting policy goals: 1.  Climate change is the greatest and most pressing challenge. It affects coral reefs through warming sea surface temperatures (see Death by bleaching), ocean acidification, increasing storm intensity and rising sea levels.  Suggested policy goals:  transition away from fossil fuels; invest in […]

The Australian Museum’s Lizard Island Research Station has published its 2015 Report.  The cover shows a magnificent black feather star Colobometra perspinosa with a beautiful sea fan (species not identified) in the background. Despite the disruption by Cyclone Nathan in March, the Station hosted 140 visiting scientists in 2015 – a record!  The Report provides details of their 149 research projects, including ground-breaking […]

Nudibranchs are slug-like marine animals.  Many nudibranch species use extraordinary colours and patterns to warn predators they are toxic. Research by scientist Naomi Green at the Australian Museum’s Lizard Island Research Station is expanding our understanding of nudibranch warnings and how fish respond. Naomi states, ‘Visual signals are used by animals to attract mates and prey, defend territories and deter predators. The […]

Field research by Dr Ulrike (Uli) Siebeck and her team at the Australian Museum’s Lizard Island Research Station is busting the myth that fish have a short span of memory and lack ability to learn. Reef fish live in a dynamic, colourful environment. Like other animals, they have to discriminate between predators and prey, members […]

The Great Barrier Reef Virtual Reality Dive The Australian Museum is hosting a Virtual Reality Dive experience, created by Alchemy VR in conjunction with David Attenborough.  Wearing the latest VR headsets, participants are able to turn and see in every direction, as though they were sitting with David A in his mini Triton submarine.  The […]

Sea temperatures around Lizard Island and elsewhere in the northern sector of the Great Barrier Reef were one or two degrees above normal for several weeks in March 2016, but started to cool off in April.   See BOM Anomaly Forecast. Coral tolerates short-term variations.  However, when elevated sea temperatures continue for a week or […]

This photo essay was created by Professor Justin Marshall,  Chief Investigator and Project Leader at CoralWatch. It provides a few graphic glimpses of how coral bleaching is affecting reef ecology. Nemo is an Eastern Clown Anemonefish Amphiprion percula. This is his normal healthy habitat.   Nemo’s home has bleached severely. An octopus camouflages itself as […]

Recent research shows at least one small shark species will be able to cope with the level of ocean acidification predicted for the end of this century. Dr. Jodie Rummer from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoralCoE) at James Cook University (JCU) and her students and colleagues have been studying the […]

I have been researching mechanisms employed by Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish Acanthaster planci (COTS) during their early life stages to reduce their chances of being eaten by predators, and predation rates during these stages.   COTS is one of the most destructive predators associated with coral reefs. Population explosions of this coral-eating seastar are a major cause […]

The life of a Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish Acanthaster planci (COTS) progresses through five main stages: 1. Egg > blastula > gastrula A single large female COTS can produce 60 million eggs over a spawning season.  This occurs during the warmer months of October to February in Australian waters.  The eggs are released into the water, where they […]