Reef Ecologic’s Post

There are over 100,000 citizen scientists in Australia and this story shares the importance of citizen science and the benefits for individuals, communities, government and the environment

📣 New Marine Science blog! The IUCN Red List has recently released its latest assessment on the health of 892 coral reef species - one of the most comprehensive to date. Last October, Cefas scientists, Benjamin Coburn, Jo Bluemel and Elena Couce joined an expert panel of 20 coral reef scientists at a workshop hosted by the IUCN SSC Coral Specialist Group in Singapore to provide #advice and #evidence to assess the vulnerability of over 400 coral species from the Indo-Pacific region. 🌊 🐟 In this blog, they, along with Michelle-Devlin, discuss the work and many hours involved in contributing to this globally important assessment. 📋 ▶️ Read more: https://lnkd.in/e7VpY4Zf The Red List aims to provide policymakers and conservationists with the latest information on status of coral reef species to help guide conservation efforts and interventions.

Today marks an important point of progression in the deepening of our understanding of Ireland’s offshore arena and marine life with the publication of the ObSERVE Phase II Aerial Project reports. Ireland’s marine waters are rich in biodiversity and are home to an extraordinary range of species including rare species such as the blue whale, and deep-diving beaked whales, as well as more common species such as pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins. Our seas also provide important foraging ground for leatherback turtles and dozens of seabird species such as puffins, guillemots, petrels, gannets and shearwaters. ObSERVE is a groundbreaking scientific programme that was established in 2014 and designed to improve our knowledge and understanding of these species and their habitats. This better understanding is achieved by regularly collecting and analysing high quality data on the distribution and abundance of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), seabirds, turtles and other marine species around the Irish coast and in our wild Atlantic waters. You can read more about the report at this link: https://lnkd.in/e4qPxzfa

Citizens of the Sea: eDNA through the lense of Citizen Science A new initiative looks forward to play a significant role in mapping ocean biodiversity at scale, particularly in remote areas that are often beyond research of scientists. How? Through the implication of sailors in collaboration with the Island Cruising Association rally and global racing organizations. This year 25 vessels will participate in the scale trial, gathering eDNA as they sail between New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and New Caledonia. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3ALL2IV #CitizenScience #Sailing #Sailor #Sea #Science #eDNA #biodiversity

The theme of ICAIS 2026 is Transcending Boundaries. The conference will explore how aquatic invasive species can be addressed through integration of research and practice across habitat types, geographic regions, scientific and other disciplines, and research-policy interfaces.

You won't believe what you sea this #ScienceWeek! 🌊🐬🦈 In a world first, scientists from the South Australia Research and Development Institute (SARDI) have used cameras deployed on Australian sea lions to map the critical habitats used by the endangered species, collecting 90 hours of footage across more than 500km of seabed!! The footage has captured global attention, providing exquisite imagery of sea lions swimming through underwater chasms, kelp forests and sponge gardens as they search for prey, interacting with other marine life such as dolphins and sharks along the way! It's enabled scientists to better understand the habitats important to the species' survival and map over 5,000sq km of previously unmapped seabed! The research was undertaken in partnership with the University of Adelaide and funded through the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program ( NESP Marine and Coastal Hub ) who continue to support and extend this important work. Learn more here: https://ow.ly/Gpmz50SViwf #scienceweek #conservation

We are excited to share with you our latest scientific paper on using environmental DNA to study cetacean communities and their potential prey off the northern coast of Mainland Portugal! For this study, we used eDNA to characterise the study area regarding cetacean occurrence. Species identified from seawater samples collected across four seasonal campaigns include the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), bottlenose dolphin (Tursiop truncatus), Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus), harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), and fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)! Our findings shed new light on the year-round cetacean presence and their feeding habits in this region, reinforcing the power of eDNA for marine conservation research. 🌊 🐋 Click the link to read the full article 👉🏼 https://lnkd.in/eYGzPkVC #CETUSproject #marinemammals #cetaceans #ocean #oceanlife #oceanconservation #research #cetaceanmonitoring #cetaceanresearch

Today is World Sea Turtle Day! 🐢🌎 You may have noticed that the #DerbyUni turtle appears in many of our adverts around the world. But do you know why? 💭The turtle symbolises our research ethos to build a better future for everyone, acting as a reminder that through our work we are making a postive impact on the world. We are turning the tide in the world of aquatic research, with the story of coral spawning, which took place at our Aquatic Research Facility, recently featured in The Times. 🌊🪸 Learn more about the turtle and our aquatic research: https://ow.ly/nqse50Si1JV.

📢New Article Published Welcome to read the new article: "Middle Devonian actinopterygians from Lithuania and Belarus" by Darja Dankina, Jonas Šečkus and Dmitry P. Plax. This study presents the evolutionary and environmental dynamics of the Middle Devonian period in Lithuania and Belarus, illustrating a complex pattern of ichthyofaunal distribution and adaptation in ancient aquatic ecosystems. https://lnkd.in/gPuxNWSt

📢New Article Published Welcome to read the new article: "Middle Devonian actinopterygians from Lithuania and Belarus" by Darja Dankina, Jonas Šečkus and Dmitry P. Plax. This study presents the evolutionary and environmental dynamics of the Middle Devonian period in Lithuania and Belarus, illustrating a complex pattern of ichthyofaunal distribution and adaptation in ancient aquatic ecosystems. https://lnkd.in/gPuxNWSt