The latest in WA marine research – 2010 Show and Tell day
10 February 2010
What’s happening in marine research along Western Australia’s 13,500 kilometre coastline?
This week more than 230 researchers packed the Western Australian Museum (Maritime) at Fremantle to find out.
More than 100 two-minute ‘newsflash’ presentations by scientists from government, academia and private industry gave an outline of most of the State’s marine research now occurring in the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne, Perth, the South West and the South Coast.
The newsflashes were spearheaded by summaries of Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) research results in six key areas – ecosystems, climate change, Ningaloo Marine Park, fisheries, biotechnology and oceanography.
The appropriately named Show and Tell symposium was organised and sponsored by WAMSI and the Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA), with additional sponsorship from local consulting company Oceanica.
WAMSI Chief Executive Officer Steve Blake said marine research was a vital prerequisite to answer questions about the survival of coral reefs, climate change, the future of marine species, food webs, fisheries, tsunamis, extinctions, warming temperatures and ocean acidification.
Speakers discussed the array of new corals being discovered in the Kimberley region, the presence of heavy metals, tsunami warning systems, ocean temperature and current speed forecasting, the impact of coastal developments, fisheries biology, social uses, dredging of ports, the discovery of new sponges, environmental pests (there are 55 known to impact WA waters), monitoring estuaries, and how particles and larvae are being distributed by the Leeuwin Current.
The next WAMSI symposium will summarise the latest findings in climate processes, climate predictability and the impacts on the Indian Ocean. It will be held at CSIRO’s Floreat headquarters in Perth on March 25 and is being led by the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship program.
Pictured top of page: Chairman of the WAMSI Board, Dr Peter Rogers (second from left), with WAMSI research leaders (from left) John Keesing (node 1), Chris Simpson (node 3) and Greg Ivey (node 6).
Pictured above are Premier's Research Fellow Professor Shaun Collin (left) and conference organisers AMSA WA Chair Dr Karen Hillman and WAMSI CEO Dr Steve Blake.