Human-induced climate change is triggering changes beneath the waves that could have a long-term effect on marine food webs, a study suggests. An assessment of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic found the microscopic organisms' pole-ward shift was faster than previously reported. Read more at BBC News.
A group of scientists says it has now reconstructed the history of the planet's sea levels arcing back over some 3000 years - leading it to conclude that the rate of increase experienced in the 20th century was "extremely likely" to have been faster than during nearly the entire period. Read more at The Sydney Morning Herald.
Do you have an idea for an online citizen science project? Inspiring Australia is looking for a great new idea for the 2016 National Science Week citizen science project. The chosen project will be built and produced by the ABC and promoted across their TV, radio and online channels. Read more here.
BEING more waterwise could be the first step we can all make towards helping two endangered WA freshwater fish species battle for survival during climate change. Read more at Science Network WA.
Coral reefs around the world are facing a whole spectrum of human-induced disturbances that are affecting their ability to grow, reproduce and survive. These range from local pressures such as overfishing and sedimentation, to global ones such as ocean acidification and warming. With the third global coral bleaching event underway, we now more than ever, need to understand how coral responds to these stressors. Read more in The Conversation.
Are you in Year 11 or 12 and thinking of becoming a marine biologist? Then check out the amazing Temperate Marine Biology unit run by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS). The course provides students with key concepts in marine biology plus a real-world, research experience on Maria Island, Tasmania. And REDMAP is offering one student a scholarship for the field trip part of the course!
Warming temperatures are pushing land and sea creatures closer to the north and south poles and to cooler altitudes at rates faster than first predicted, scientists say. Scientists from 40 countries are gathering in Hobart for a four-day conference about how climate change is forcing species to move, including humans. Read the full story at ABC News.
Join a team of international scientists to learn how climate change is impacting flora and fauna around the world. Plants and animals from the Arctic to oceans and on land are responding to warming temperatures, many by shifting where they live. This public forum in Hobart is your chance to ask scientists questions about the affects on natural ecosystems. And what does this mean for you?
Where: The Grand Chancellor, …
MARINE biologist Gretta Pecl and a team of Hobart scientists have found themselves hard up against the perfect natural marine laboratory — the cool but warming waters of Tasmania’s East Coast. With colleagues at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and CSIRO, their research to study the sensitivity of species to rapid climate change has clearly documented a significant shift southward in the fauna and flora inhabiting East Coast …
A rapid loss of phytoplankton threatens to turn the western Indian Ocean into an “ecological desert,” a new study warns. The research reveals that phytoplankton populations in the region fell an alarming 30 percent over the last 16 years. A decline in ocean mixing due to warming surface waters is to blame for that phytoplankton plummet, researchers propose in Geophysical Research Letters. Read the full story in Science News.
