An elephant seal camping on a Perth beach has received thousands of visitors, hundreds of Twitter followers and the title "Steven Sealberg" (decided by online pole). The 2000kg seal, more at home in sub-Antarctic islands, has been logged on Redmap here. Read more about the seal in PerthNow.
Large fish have disappeared from vast tracts of the Australian coast, writes The Guardian. The Reef Life Survey has shown how climate change looms as greatest of marine threats, which also includes fishing pressures and pollution. Read the full article here.
University of Western Australia (UWA) researchers have warned of the potential for "very large extinction rates" among marine life unique to southern WA due to climate change, writes ABC News. Read the full story here.
The Guardian newspaper writes: Australian animals and plants will increasingly have to find new homes in the coming decades due to climate change according to research used to create new maps of how local conditions are changing. Read the full story here.
RISING sea temperatures could make dangerous irukandji and box jellyfish a problem in Northern Rivers waters [in the Lismore area, NSW], writes The Northern Star. Read the full article here.
Global ocean temperatures rose dramatically last year, providing another strong sign that the oft-cited global warming "pause" or "hiatus" since 2000 has happened only at the surface – while the rest of the planet has been heating up at an increasingly rapid pace, writes The Weather Channel. Read the full story and easy-to-read graphics here.
Queensland researchers say rising carbon dioxide levels are causing worsening health effects for fish living on the Great Barrier Reef, writes ABC's PM program. Read and listen to the story here.
CSIRO scientists have to classify a new species of giant jellyfish after a family discovered a 1.5m unknown jelly species washed up on a beach south of Hobart, writes ABC News Online. Read the full story here.
The world's largest ray species - usually found in warmer waters - has been spotted in Tasmania and logged on Redmap, writes The Mercury newspaper. Read the full story here.
Journalist Emma Carmichael takes a look at the citizen science behind Redmap. She interviewed Redmap's Dr Gretta Pecl and Victorian diver and Redmap member Mary Malloy. Read and listen to the interview here.
