UQ Centre for Marine Science

CMS researchers Dr Matthew Holden (UQ School of Mathematics and Physics) and Dr Elvis Okoffo (Queensland Alliance of Environmental Health Sciences) have been named as finalists in this year's Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Awards! A huge congratulations to Dr Holden and Dr Okoffo, pictured here with the 2023 Queensland Young Tall Poppy of the Year, CMS member Associate Professor Carissa Klein.

You can view the full list of this year's finalists here: https://www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au/science-comms/programs-events/science-celebration

We had such a great time at the UQ Moreton Bay Research Station and Study Centre Open Day over the weekend! Our friends at CoralWatch ran a range of great actitvities on the day. Thanks to everyone who came along!

Are you a current marine student or recent graduate and wondering what your options are for a career in the marine sciences? Along with our friends and colleagues at AMSA South East Queensland, the Centre for Marine Science will be hosting a 'Careers in Marine Science' breakfast event on Thursday 29 August from 7.30am - 9.30am. Attendees will hear from speakers in a range of marine careers, including government, NGO, consulting, and academia, and have the chance to interact with the speakers in small groups. Speakers will share insights into their career paths and provide some tips and tricks for finding the path that's right for you. This is a free event, but registration is essential for catering purposes and numbers are limited. If you're interested, you can grab your ticket via the link below. We hope to see you there!

Careers in Marine Science Breakfast Event | Humanitix Hear from marine professionals in a range of industries about career options in the marine sciences! Fully catered event.

Don't forget that MBRS Open Day is this Saturday 10 August! Limited tickets still available for both boat trips with Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre, please email [email protected] if you would like to book!

We're looking forward to UQ Moreton Bay Research Station and Study Centre's upcoming Open Day on Saturday 10 August! There is a great line-up of activities planned for the whole family, we hope to see you there!

CMS researcher Dr Ben Mos and colleagues have uncovered an under the sea phenomenon where coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) larvae have been feasting on blue-green algae bacteria known as ‘sea sawdust’.

The team of marine scientists from The University of Queensland and Southern Cross University found COTS larvae grow and thrive when raised on an exclusive diet of Trichodesmium – a bacteria that often floats on the ocean’s surface in large slicks.
Until now, scientists had thought almost nothing touched these threadlike bacteria because of their toxicity, size, and poor nutritional content.

Blue-green algae blooms can extend hundreds to thousands of kilometres across the ocean and often float on the surface in large rafts like sawdust – hence the name. They play a crucial role in marine ecosystems by making nitrogen from the atmosphere available to other sea life, but now we know it is also a food source.
By knowing how sea sawdust helps COTS thrive, we can potentially change the way we combat this very damaging coral predator.

Reef pest feasts on ‘sea sawdust’ Researchers have uncovered an under the sea phenomenon where coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish larvae have been feasting on blue-green algae bacteria known as ‘sea sawdust’.

We are looking forward to hosting our next TalkFest event tomorrow, Friday 19 July, from 10.30am! If you're on campus for O-week festivities, why not drop by and hear from some of our incredible CMS researchers and collaborators. Our friends at Marine Society UQ will also be there, so if you are new to UQ and looking to connect with other marine students, pop by and have a chat with their friendly team.

Humpback whales off the coast of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) show flexibility with change! CMS researchers from the Cetacean Ecology Group set out to measure the baseline health of these whales, but instead found differences in gene expression and stress hormones between 2020 and 2021. The researchers said that there are multiple hypotheses for the potential natural and human impacts that could be driving these changes.

The full article is available open access at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106596

https://stories.uq.edu.au/news/2024/humpbacks-happier-during-pandemic-pause/index.html

Happier humpbacks University of Queensland-led research has found migrating humpback whales off Australia’s east coast became less stressed over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are very excited by the recent appointment of the wonderful Dr Courtney Morgans to the broader Centre for Marine Science team. Dr Morgans is the new Senior Project Officer for CoralWatch and brings with her a wealth of experience in marine and conservation sciences. Welcome Courtney!

Hello CoralWatchers from all around the world. This is Diana and I like to introduce our new staff member Courtney Morgans. Courtney’s background is in conservation ecology, her research focuses on understanding the impacts of human activities on species and ecosystems and finding ways to better manage natural resources to improve outcomes for wildlife and people in both terrestrial and aquatic environments.

Courtney is passionate about science, education, and communication, has extensive experience in citizen science and we are very excited to have her part of the CoralWatch team. Next to scientific input, Courtney will be providing general support to the day-to-day activities of the CoralWatch program. I am sure you will get in touch with her soon, please welcome her to CoralWatch.

UQ Centre for Marine Science, UQ Moreton Bay Research Station and Study Centre, UQ Sustainability Office Marine Science & Aquatic Practices (MTAQ) Teachers CoralWatch Ambassadors

In a world first, CMS PhD candidates Marie Morin and Mathias Jönsson have analysed the genetics of the crown-of-thorns-starfish (CoTS) on the Great Barrier Reef. CoTS are voracious predators that can have significant impacts on coral reef health, and scientists are working to understand the dynamics of CoTS outbreaks to better target management programs. This new research provides important insights into seasonal variations and breeding behaviour, which may lead to the development of new ways to predict and control CoTS outbreaks. Amazing work by Marie, Mathias and Prof Bernie Degnan!

Genetics provide key to fight crown-of-thorns starfish Scientists are one step closer to combatting coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish, following a University of Queensland study into the pest’s genetics.

📣📣Lunchtime Seminar today📣📣
Join us to lunch and learn at 1pm today. We have 2 great speakers booked in for this month's Postgraduate Seminar Series.

Dongfang Liu (School of Civil Engineering) will present his research on Predicting rubble stability to protect the Great Barrier Reef and Amelia Desbiens (School of the Environment) will present her research on Disentangling predator-prey dynamics of the crown-of-thorns seastar.

Read their bios in the attached flyer. We look forward to you joining us in person Goddard (8)-501, or via Zoom:
bit.ly/CMS-010524

📣 The CMS postgraduate seminar for April is on this week📣
🌊🪸EVERYONE is welcome to join us Wednesday 10th April from 1-2pm 🐟🐠
This month we will hear from Elizabeth Buccheri (School of the Environment) with her presentation on the drivers and limitations of early recovery for spawning corals on the Great Barrier Reef and Stephanie Heyworth (School of the Environment) presenting her research titled Seeing and saving seahorses: an investigation into the seahorse visual system for conservation.

Join us in person in Room 501 in the Goddard building at the St Lucia campus, or online via Zoom. You can find the abstracts of the talks and further information in the flyer below. The QR code will take you to the zoom registration link. No registration is required for in person attendance.
We hope to see lots of people for our second seminar for the year!

Did you see that our friends at CoralWatch are hiring? They are currently advertising for a Senior Project Officer, who will assist with daily project management, including event co-ordination and liaising with CoralWatch users to monitor the health of coral reefs worldwide. The role is part-time (5 days/fortnight) on a fixed-term contract until October 2025. If this sounds like you, get in quick - applications close tomorrow Wednesday 27 March. Apply here: https://www.seek.com.au/job/74419258?tracking=SHR-WEB-SharedJob-anz-1&share=fb&fbclid=IwAR0HwwhcvRRUJeakXSHBkrxW2FEEgm1J5xqoWR98uRhAduH03B7ZV6G5rnQ

The power of citizen science! Between 2021-2022, volunteer divers from UniDive conducted a series of ecological assessments of Mudjimba Reef on the Sunshine Coast, led by CMS Deputy Director Associate Professor Chris Roelfsema. Recently, the Queensland Government announced enhanced protections for Mudjimba Reef, approving the installation of six reef protection markers to let vessel owners know where they can safely drop their anchors without damaging the reef. UniDive's ecological assessments of the area were used to help guide the Queensland Government's decision to provide additional protections for this unique reef environment. This demonstrates the power and utility of citizen science for decision-makers, and is great news for Mudjimba Reef! You can read the full statement here: https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/99924?fbclid=IwAR2hllriP4zrQk78gEmU7IAWqH57hQ68tpcOLHcmRqK2YzLKRcD2u67D2Yo

Enhanced protection for marine jewel Mudjimba Reef Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and InnovationThe Honourable Leanne Linard

Calling all marine postgraduate students! Our friends at AMSA South East Queensland are again running their Marine Postgraduate Student Symposium at UQ Moreton Bay Research Station and Study Centre from Friday 24 - Sunday 26 May. The weekend provides postgraduate students (honours, masters, PhD) with targeted professional development and networking opportunities, as well as mentoring from some of Australia's leading marine researchers. Students from all institutions across Australia are welcome. Further details can be found in the images below, and if you'd like secure your spot, be sure to register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/marine-postgraduate-student-symposium-tickets-865973629437?aff=oddtdtcreator

🐋Volunteer opportunity 🐋! Our colleagues at the Cetacean Ecology Group are seeking volunteers to assist with a six-week behavioural response study on humpback whales at Peregian Beach on the Sunshine Coast from 8 September to 19 October. Volunteers will primarily assist with land-based observations of the whales as they pass through the study site. Training will be provided, and applicants must be available for the entire duration of the project. Food and accommodation will be provided, but volunteers will need to make their own way to the study site. Further details on the project, who the team are looking for, and how to apply can be found in the below post. Note that applications must be submitted by 30 April at the latest.

📣Announcing the first CMS postgraduate seminar for 2024📣

🌊🪸EVERYONE is welcome to join us tomorrow Wednesday 6th March from 1-2pm 🐟🐠

This month we will hear from Wen Deng (School of Civil Engineering) with his presentation on the structural and hydrodynamic analysis of coral breakage and Jasper Stead (Queensland Brain Institute) presenting his research titled What can brains tell us about the ecology of marine fishes?

Join us in person in Room 501 in the Goddard building at the St Lucia campus, or online via Zoom. You can find the abstracts of the talks and further information in the flyer below. The QR code will take you to the zoom registration link. No registration is required for in person attendance.

We hope to see lots of people for our first seminar for the year!

Science meets art with these amazing Living Seawalls, a project developed by the Sydney Institute of Marine Science in collaboration with the Reef Design Lab. The Living Seawalls design mimics natural nooks and crevices in rocky shore environments to encourage marine plants and animals to settle on the concrete panels, and has been hugely successful so far. Renovations at Manly's Fairy Bower ocean pool provided an opportunity to install new living seawall panels, which have proven to be a hit with both locals and marine critters! You can read more about the Living Seawalls project at the link below.

New spaces for ocean life In an alliance between Australian marine ecologists and industrial designers, science and art meet to restore ecological function at some of the world’s most altered coastal landscapes.

From the coast of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), the eastern Australian humpback whale population can be viewed every year during their annual migration from their summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic to their breeding grounds in tropical waters in the winter. Researchers from UQ's Cetacean Ecology Group are working to measure the health of these whales as the population reaches full recovery from near extinction due to commercial whaling. These drone photographs show some candid moments captured while collecting data to measure the energy reserves of humpback whales during the migratory period. It turns out sometimes the whales study us!

The group recently found that gene expression in humpback whale blubber reflects physiological changes between the migratory seasons. You can read the open source publication via this link: https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17209

All photographs were taken by Jacob Linsky under permit during the 2020 and 2021 humpback whale migrations.

The Centre for Marine Science will be closed from tomorrow Friday 22 December until Tuesday 2 January so our team can enjoy a well-deserved break. We hope all our followers have a whaley good Christmas and New Year break!

Photo credit: UQ's Cetacean Ecology Group

With hotter weather on the way, we bet many of you are looking forward to spending some time at the beach over the summer (we know we are!). Beyond just being a great place to cool off, our oceans play a hugely important role in regulating our climate and also generate most of the oxygen we breathe. In the below article, CMS members Dr Amelia Wenger and Dr Daniel Harris share some great tips on how we can help to protect our oceans in our everyday lives so we can continue to enjoy summer days at the beach!

7 ways to protect our oceans in everyday life With summer on the horizon, many of us look forward to enjoying some sun, surf and sand. But beyond your well-earned holiday break, oceans play an essential role in life regeneration. So, how can you help to look after our beaches all year round? UQ researchers, Dr Daniel Harris and Dr Amelia Wenger...

Turn up or tune in this coming Wednesday 1 November at 1pm for the 7th and FINAL marine postgraduate seminar for 2023 hosted by the Centre for Marine Science.
This month we will hear from Rose Foster (School of Law, UQ) and Dr Katharine Prata (School of the Environment, UQ) presenting their research in Room 257 in the Goddard building at the St Lucia campus, as well as online via Zoom. You can find the abstracts of the talks and further information in the flyer below. The QR code will take you to the zoom registration link. No registration is required for in person attendance.
Don't forget the CMS HDR Committee would like to invite all marine HDR students to catch-up over lunch (BYO) before the seminar. We will meet at 12pm on the Goddard Roof (Level 5, look for the CMS banner).
We hope to see lots of people for our final seminar for the year!

Thank you for being a this . Because of you, world-leading marine research will continue to thrive at UQ, and with it, solutions to the challenges facing our oceans and coastal communities. Learn more about UQ’s remarkable marine scientists here https://marine.uq.edu.au/

There’s still time to and enable solutions to the challenges facing our precious marine environments. Thanks to the generosity of Southern Pacific Developments and the Goodman Foundation, gifts of all sizes gifts to the Marine Solutions Fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $15,000.

Learn more at https://givingday.uq.edu.au/campaigns/marine-solutions-fund

It’s UQ Giving Day! With your support, UQ’s extraordinary marine scientists will continue to deepen understanding of the challenges facing precious marine environments – and how to solve them.

Every donation to the Marine Solutions Fund this UQ Giving Day will help conserve and protect our oceans for future generations. Generous early donations mean gifts like yours will be matched up to a $15,000 total.

Learn more at https://givingday.uq.edu.au/campaigns/marine-solutions-fund

Support marine solutions on UQ Giving Day, Wednesday 18 October and enable critical marine research across a diverse range of ecosystems and wildlife, from coral reefs to whales, seagrass meadows to dugongs.

Your donation will contribute to world-leading fieldwork at UQ’s Heron Island and Moreton Bay (Quandamooka) research stations and to the rising stars seeking solutions to ever-growing challenges facing our oceans and coastal communities.

Join in as the UQ community creates positive change for marine environments. Learn more at https://givingday.uq.edu.au/campaigns/marine-solutions-fund

Join us for UQ Giving Day on October 18 – together, we can fuel transformative research. Your contribution towards the Marine Solutions fund powers breakthroughs that can tackle the biggest environmental challenges of our time. Give today to create change for generations to come.
https://givingday.uq.edu.au/pages/giving-causes/?referral_id=650d1dbd7686bf22639298de

Turn up or tune in this coming Wednesday 4 October at 1pm for the 6th marine postgraduate seminar for 2023 hosted by the Centre for Marine Science.

This month we will hear from Jack Hill and Sienna Blanckensee (both School of the Environment, UQ) presenting their research in Room 257 in the Goddard building at the St Lucia campus, as well as online via Zoom. You can find the abstracts of the talks and further information in the flyer below. The QR code will take you to the zoom registration link. No registration is required for in person attendance.

Don't forget the CMS HDR Committee would like to invite all marine HDR students to catch-up over lunch (BYO) before the seminar. We will meet at 12pm on the Goddard Roof (Level 5, look for the CMS banner).

🌊Sept 6th is the date for the 5th postgraduate seminar for 2023 hosted by the Centre for Marine Science. 🌊
This month we will hear from Laura Smith (School of the Environment, UQ) and Tracey Read (School of Chemical Engineering, UQ) presenting their research from 1-2pm in Room 257 in the Goddard building at the St Lucia campus, as well as online via Zoom. 🐟🥤🍬
You can find the abstracts of the talks and further information in the flyer below. The QR code will take you to the zoom registration link. No registration is required for in person attendance.
Don't forget the CMS HDR Committee would like to invite all marine HDR students to catch-up over lunch (BYO) before the seminar. We will meet at 12pm on the Goddard Roof (Level 5, look for the CMS banner).

Turn up or tune in this coming Wednesday 9th of August at 1pm for the 4th marine postgraduate seminar for 2023 hosted by the Centre for Marine Science.

This month we will hear from Vicki Bennion (School of the Environment, UQ) and Emma Church (School of the Environment, UQ) presenting their research in Room 257 in the Goddard building at the St Lucia campus, as well as online via Zoom.

You can find the abstracts of the talks and further information in the flyer below. The QR code will take you to the zoom registration link. No registration is required for in person attendance.

Don't forget the CMS HDR Committee would like to invite all marine HDR students to catch-up over lunch (BYO) before the seminar. We will meet at 12pm on the Goddard Roof (Level 5, look for the CMS banner).