Great Barrier Reef research finds the destructive starfish is eaten more often than thought.

Full paper, video, gifs and still images available. Details below.

Crown-of-thorns starfish are on the menu for many more fish species than previously suspected, an investigation using fish poo and gut goo reveals.

The finding suggests that some fish, including popular eating and aquarium species, might have a role to play in keeping the destructive pest population under control.

Remotely operated vehicles used by the oil and gas sector can be enhanced to gather more scientific data, researchers say.

Underwater robots are regularly used by the oil and gas industry to inspect and maintain offshore structures. The same machines could be adapted to gather extra scientific information, thus boosting environmental and resource management capabilities, an Australian-led study has revealed.

Scientists from around the globe, led by Dianne McLean and Miles Parsons from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), are urging closer ties between industry and researchers to maximise the use of the underwater robots, known as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

In a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, they identify a range of instruments that can be easily added to the craft, including cameras, audio recorders and sample collectors.

The radioactive legacy of the arms race solves a mystery about the world’s largest fish.

Atomic bomb tests conducted during the Cold War have helped scientists for the first time correctly determine the age of whale sharks.

The discovery, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, will help ensure the survival of the species – the largest fish in the world – which is classified as endangered.

Scarring and major lacerations due to vessel collisions becoming more common, study finds.

Almost one-fifth of the whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef Marine Park show major scarring or fin amputations, with the number of injured animals increasing in recent years, new research reveals.

Distinctive scar patterns strongly suggest many of the injuries are caused by boat collisions, says whale shark scientist Emily Lester from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).

EMBARGO LIFTED: 4am AEDT, Thursday 24 October 2013

Nature paper reveals coral animals produce the ‘smell of the ocean’ – influencing cloud formation and protecting themselves against rising seawater temperatures. 

Australian marine scientists have found the first evidence that coral itself may play an important role in regulating local climate.

They have discovered that the coral animal—not just its algal symbiont—makes an important sulphur-based molecule with properties to assist it in many ways, ranging from cellular protection in times of heat stress to local climate cooling by encouraging clouds to form.

These findings have been published in the prestigious weekly science journal Nature.

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$5.6 million upgrade to Arafura Timor Research Facility

Launched by Federal Science and Research Minister Don Farrell

Media call 9.30 am, Friday 24 May 2013, 23 Ellengowan Drive, Brinkin

Darwin Harbour has extreme tidal rises and falls of up to eight-metres. So the ebbing and flowing currents in the channels are strong and fast, all of which makes it difficult for pilots to berth bulk carriers or manoeuvre dredges. [continue reading…]

A remote WA coral reef has recovered from mass bleaching in just twelve years – surprising scientists with its resilience. The study published overnight in the journal Science challenges our assumptions about reef recovery. Photos and video available and more information below.

Colour-changing dragons will reveal their secrets in a half million dollar study launching on Sunday. The tricks of bearded dragons could change medicine and solar energy.   [continue reading…]

A pair of spectacles can cost just $2. An eye test and fitting can take just 30 minutes.

So why are over 700 million people suffering from poor vision?

An international study by the Brien Holden Vision Institute in Australia and South Africa, and Johns Hopkins University in the US reveals that lack of access to basic optometry services is costing US$202 billion each year.

The research is published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation.

More below.

Also in this bulletin:

• Twenty seven years of coral loss on the Great Barrier Reef
• Dates for the Fresh Science 2012 National Final
• Inside the synchrotron
• Australia’s other great telescope complex [continue reading…]

Can we save the Reef by controlling crown of thorns starfish?

The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral cover in the last 27 years. The loss was due to storm damage (48%), crown of thorns starfish (42%), and bleaching (10%) according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today by researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in Townsville and the University of Wollongong. [continue reading…]