Redmap

Robotic vehicles offer a new tool in study of shark behavior

The dramatic video footage of a great white shark attacking the REMUS SharkCam autonomous underwater vehicle brought some of the highest ratings to Shark Week 2014 and went viral. While the footage was unprecedented, the scientific understanding enabled by the REMUS SharkCam is just as groundbreaking and represents the first successful efforts to autonomously track and image any animal in the marine environment. Read more in Science Daily.

Marine heatwaves tipped to intensify

RESEARCHERS have found strong temperature differences between the western Pacific and central Pacific—which are predicted to increase in future—intensify the magnitude of marine heatwaves in WA. Marine heatwaves can have devastating effects on WA’s marine life, according to the study’s lead researcher Curtin University senior fellow Dr Jens Zinke. Read more at Science Network WA.

Nemo and the Zombie Anemone

Comparing a bleached anemone to the undead may be a bit of a stretch, but it is fair to say a bleached anemone is hovering somewhere between life and death and depending on what happens next, it can go either way. Read how warming seas are bleaching some corals and anemones in National Geographic.

Spotted Handfish: the darlings of the Derwent

A fish that prefers to walk on its ‘hands’ rather than swim is one of the few species that has survived totally unchanged, since dinosaurs walked the earth. Fifty million years ago, handfish were found trotting across the rivers of the world, but now these shallow bottom dwellers are some of the rarest animals on Earth. The Spotted Handfish, with its unusually large overgrown pectoral fins that look like hands, …

Rapid Arctic warming drives shifts in marine mammals

Recent extremes in sea ice loss has opened new waters to humpback and fin whales that once ranged through the far north only in summer. And as climate change drives the ice into further retreat, such 'summer' species may begin competing with bowhead whales that once had the habitat to themselves. Read about this new research in Science Daily.

It may be a sea slug but it's a beauty! Check out this Redmap sighting...

This sighting of a sea slug (a nudibranch) was spotted by Redmap member Azri Saparwan south of Adelaide - and what a beauty! Check out the sighting of Mexichromis macropus on Redmap here.

A wonderful sighting: The Fish-On website

If you love fishing and have some time this summer holiday then check out the Fish-On website! It provides awesome information on Australia's top 100 fish to catch - and tips on how to catch them.

Citizens help study 1800s naval logs to understand modern climate change

Scientists and everyday citizens are coming together to study 1800s naval logs in bid to understand modern climate change! The maritime log books include precise measurements of longitude and latitude, weather, the location of icebergs and the edge of the ice shelf that can be compared to today's conditions. But scientists need the community's help to sieve through the information. Read more in the National Post.

WA's manta mysteries to be solved

WHEN manta rays (Mobulidae) are sighted along Broome’s beautiful coast, there’s always great excitement and sharing of photos on social media. So a presentation by manta ray researchers visiting Broome brought manta fans out in droves. Read more at Science Network WA.

Dugong sighting in southern NSW!

The usually tropical loving dugong is more at home in warm Queensland waters - but Redmap volunteer Michael Standen spotted this one in southern NSW. See his sighting here!