celebrating oceans initiatives 2013 - uwa oceans institute ... · 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm venue: ......

OCEANS INSTITUTE NEwS | Issue 11 | November 2013

Oceans Instituteoceans.uwa.edu.au

Human Nutrition at Imperial College of London is an outstanding speaker who will give a lecture on how nutrition is shaping life in the future, highlighting the links between poor nutrition and modern degenerative diseases.

Introducing the Southseas Oceans Hero Many individuals and community groups recognise the importance of managing the human impacts on the environment, particularly our ocean. This $5,000 award, sponsored by Southseas Abalone Ltd., will recognise the achievement of an individual or a community group in promoting the stewardship, understanding and conservation of the ocean.

Event details:Sunday November 102:00 pm – 4:30 pmVenue: Western Australian Maritime Museum Cost: Free, but RSVP is essential.

Register online at: https://oceans2013.eventbrite.com.au

Program:Discovering cutting-edge research in wAThe OI proudly hosts some of the best world leaders in ocean research, and their work is happening here in WA. However, their work still remain a mystery for most of our community. This should change.

Three OI researchers will give a short introduction on their significant research projects:ÌÌ PhD student Julia Reisser will speak

about ‘Marine Plastic Pollution in Waters Around Australia’.

ÌÌ Dr Scott Draper will speak about ‘Placing Wind Turbines Underwater’.

ÌÌ Winthrop Professor Malcolm McCulloch will speak about ‘Coral Resilience to Ocean Acidification’.

‘The Driving Force: Food, Evolution and the Future’‘You are what you eat’ said philosopher and anthropologist Ludwig Feuerbach. But what if we also are what our grandmothers ate? What’s the role that marine food has played in evolution?

Professor Michael Crawford, Director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry and

A once-a year event created for the broader community who want to better understand marine issues in wA and contribute in some way to the marine environment.

The event, that will take place at the Western Australian Maritime Museum on Sunday 10 November, has been organised by The Oceans Community and The UWA Oceans Institute (OI) with the objective to increase WA citizens’ awareness and engagement with the Oceans Institute’s vision: ‘Ocean Solutions for Humanity’s Grand Challenges’.

The future of humanity is critically dependent on the development of the capacity to provide healthy lives to the 9 billion people that will populate the planet by 2050. Through Ocean-Solution science the OI is exploring and devising approaches to maximise Australia’s delivery of outcomes while minimising effort, costs and environmental impacts.

Celebrating Oceans Initiatives 2013:

In this issue

PHOTO: wAMM

Coral makes clouds to keep climate sweet (Coral in Nature) | p7

Nemo in Hot water | p4

Marine life on the move as oceans warm | p6

2 | oceans.uwa.edu.au

wElCOME

Particularly intense and far reaching are the links established with Zheijang University, one of China’s most prestigious universities (see back cover). Promising links are already being established with the Universiti Malaysis Terengganu, Malaysia’s top institution for Marine Research, adding to those already developed with KAUST, in Saudi Arabia, and Woods Hole Institute of Oceanography in the United States. Steps are also being taken to develop

New Advisory Board MemberMr Michael wood has been appointed as a member on The UwA Oceans Institute Advisory Board. Mr wood is currently Director of the western Australian office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and leads DFAT’s engagement with the wA State Government and local business.

Mr Wood is an experienced Australian diplomat who has worked extensively in Australia and overseas in government relations, public affairs and communications, policy development and negotiation. Between 1996 and

2012, he held roles in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and India.

His broad experience in multilateral, regional and bilateral trade negotiations in particular, has led to a strong understanding of business needs and motivations. Mr Wood’s track record as an advocate of government policies is based on strong networking and communication skills. The UWA Oceans Institute is excited to be able to utilise his expertise in this area to forge communication links with Government relating to Ocean Solutions.

partnerships in Brazil and India.The Ocean Solution Dialogues is

gaining additional momentum with the preparation of two important events focused on “The Role of the Ocean as a Safe and Source of Sustainable Food” and “Effective Marine Monitoring”, both to be held in November 2013.

In addition to all of our current success, our research outcomes continue to reach the pages of the top scientific journals!

The past months have witnessed an intense development of international partnerships in China, Malaysia and the United States. This will allow the UwA Oceans Institute to share its vision with our new partners to seek Ocean Solutions for Humanity’s Grand Challenge by generating a critical mass network of collaborating institutions around the world.

Director’s welcome

PHOTO: JOAN COSTA 2013

Mr Michael Wood

MOOC The second edition of the Ocean Solutions massive open online course (MOOC) started last 21 October with Elizabeth Myers as the new teaching assistant. On the first edition of the course, Winthrop Professor Carlos Duarte and Aisling Fontanini demonstrated to over 900 students from around the globe, how the Ocean can play an important role in tackling humanities grand challenges.

“Shark Hazard Mitigation” – Round 2 of Funding AnnouncedWA Premier Colin Barnett was at the laboratory of the Neuroecology group on 18 October, accompanied by the media, to announce a $165,370 beach enclosure trial at Dunsborough (Busselton) and to launch Round 2 of the Applied Research Program “Shark Hazard Mitigation”. OI members W/Prof Shaun Collin and Assoc/Prof Nathan Hart of the School of Animal Biology, and W/Prof Mohammed Bennamoun of the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering were successful in receiving grants under round 1 of the scheme.

Congratulations Asha!Oceans Institute PhD student Asha de Vos received one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Sri Lanka Awards from TOYP 2013 for Environmental Leadership.

PHOTO: RyAN lASH

Creating new international partnerships

Oceans Institute | ISSUE 11 NOvEMBER 2013 | 3

NEwS IN BRIEF

UWA science leads to world-first anti-shark suitsA Western Australian company has used pioneering research by leading UWA’s shark experts to develop wetsuits designed to confuse sharks or render surfers invisible to the predators.

The world-first shark repellent suits are based on discoveries by Associate Professor Nathan Hart and Winthrop Professor Shaun Collin, from the UWA’s Oceans Institute and School of Animal Biology, about how predatory sharks see and detect prey. The suits use a specific combination of colours and patterns to deter the creatures.

Their anti-shark wetsuits had received overwhelming media coverage, appearing in different media such as The Guardian, US Huffington Post, ABC, WIRED and The Australian.

The following projects of UwA Oceans Institute members have been approved under the University of Queensland – UwA Bilateral Research Collaboration program:

Assoc/Prof Peta Clode with UQ Bernard DegnanSCIENCE Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis‘How do Molluscs get calcium to their shells?’

w/Prof Carlos Duarte with UQ Catherine lovelockSCIENCE Plant Biology‘Fixing Nature: A critical account of our struggles to address problems in the coastal marine environment’

Assoc/Prof Anas Ghadouani with UQ Zhiguo yuanFAHSS Environmental Systems Engineering

‘Green House Gas (GHG) emissions in aquatic systems: Development of a collaborative framework for strategic research’

w/Prof Gary Kendrick with UQ Catherine O’BrienSCIENCE Plant Biology‘Assessment of carbon partitioning and storage in seagrass ecosystems using mathematical models validated across multiple latitudes and species’

Research Collaboration Awards 2014Dr Ylva Olsen was awarded with $16,510 for the project ‘Do seagrass meadows provide pH refugia for calcifying organisms?’

Asst/Prof Thomas Wernberg was awarded with $20,000 for the project ‘Latitudinal and Inter-hemispherical network in kelp ecophysiology’.

10th International Temperate Reefs Symposium (ITRS) in January 2014Registrations are now open for ITRS, the premier conference for marine scientists with a focus on temperate hard-bottom habitats. The scope is broad and captures natural rocky reefs, man-made structures, and biogenic surfaces. Ecology is a key focus, but the meeting also caters for other scientific disciplines of relevance to temperate reef biology from biogeochemistry, genetics, oceanography and remote sensing to biogeography and management, not to mention all their interdisciplinary links!

The Symposium will be hosted at UWA from 12 to 17 January 2014. For further information visit ITRS’ website http://10itrs.org .

photo: saMs

Congratulations!

PHOTO: SAMS


REEF ICON

Rising sea temperatures and subsequent bleaching of corals and anemones is causing significant and widespread damage to coral reef ecosystems and threatening the iconic species associated with them.

In a paper published in the August edition of the international journal PLOS ONE, scientists including Research Associates Dr Jean-Paul Hobbs and Dr Michele Thums of the UWA Oceans Institute and IOMRC Postdoctoral Fellows examined fish that depend on anemones from the Pacific, Indian Oceans and the Red Sea, they counted almost 14,000 anemones.

They found that higher sea temperatures were linked to five major bleaching events where 20 to 100 per cent of anemones bleached. While some

anemones can survive bleaching and recover, some are still at risk of dying or serious health issues.

Dr Hobbs, lead author of the study, said the research highlighted the danger of climate change to anemones.

“Increases in sea temperatures cause anemones to become stressed and turn white and the death of bleached anemones has dire consequences for anemonefish,” he said. “When an anemone dies, the anemonefish have nowhere to live and no protection and they are quickly eaten by predators.”

The study concludes that the future of the iconic and commercially valuable anemonefish is dependent on the ability of host anemones to cope with rising sea temperatures associated with climate change.

The study, Taxonomic, Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Bleaching in Anemones Inhabited by Anemonefishes, involved scientists from UWA’s Oceans Institute and the School of Environmental Systems Engineering; the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Queensland; The Red Sea Research Center at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia; The Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California; and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

Nemo in hot water: Climate change threatens coral reef icon

PHOTO: PABlO SAENZ AGUDElO


BEHAvIOUR

By Rebecca Graham

NOCTURNAl fish at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, off Geraldton are at the centre of research that has found the type of lighting chosen to survey them influences their behaviour and abundance.

While behaviours of fish that are active in the day (diurnal fish) have been thoroughly documented, nocturnal fish studies have been scarce, and those conducted generally involve invasive net capture techniques which could have misleading results.

The UWA Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology study assessed nocturnal reef fish populations in areas open and closed to fishing at the Islands.

Call for ‘citizen scientists’ to help protect sea turtlesTurtles are in danger around the world. In some countries, turtles and their eggs are hunted for food. Pollution indirectly harms them and many die in fishing nets. Development often causes habitat loss by eliminating nesting beaches and damaging their feeding grounds.

PhD student Ms Julia Reisser (@julia_reisser on Twitter) along with colleagues in Brazil, published a study in the prestigious journal Marine Biology in which they show that we can still discover important information about sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) just by looking at them.

“Several high-tech methods such as genetic analysis and satellite tracking are providing useful information regarding sea turtle ecology,” Julia said. “However, observational approaches, extensively used by naturalists in early ecology, still have the potential to fill gaps in our marine ecological knowledge.”

The study quantified the influence of environmental variables on the distribution and behaviour of green

sea turtles by using a combination of quantitative observational methods.

They identified shallow waters (0 - 5 meters) as a critical feeding habitat for juvenile green turtles and described how, where, and what these reptiles are feeding upon within the waters of a marine reserve in Arvoredo, southern Brazil.

“Underwater observations such as the ones described in this study could be incorporated to other research programs such Citizen Science projects that involve diving activities,” Ms Reisser said.

Like other sea turtles, green turtles, which live in tropical and sub-tropical oceans, migrate long distances between feeding grounds and hatching beaches. Females crawl out onto the beaches, dig nests and lay eggs during the night. Later, hatchlings emerge and scramble into the water. Their in-water behaviour and distribution are still mysterious to scientists and some call turtles’ first years of life “the lost years” due to difficulties tracking their movements.

Green turtle feedinG upon a seaGrass (halodule WriGhtii) in the abrolhos Marine national park, brazil.

PHOTO: MAIRA PROIETTI

Baited Remote Underwater Stereo-video Systems – a non-invasive sampling method consisting of a frame mounted with two video cameras which face a bait attached to a pole – were equipped with the three different lights to assess their effects.

Study co-author Dianne McLean says total fish numbers and composition, consisting of both fishery targeted and non-targeted species, differed under different light conditions and fishing status.

“Red lights were very effective for surveying a range of non-target species [43 per cent of all individuals],” says Dr McLean.

“This lighting condition is likely beyond the visual spectrum for these fish and may not have disturbed their behaviour.”

“Pink snapper (Pagrus auratus), a heavily targeted fishery species, was twice as abundant under blue lights

and white lights, but only in areas closed to fishing.”

“This may have been simply due to the attraction of large schools of bait fish under these lighting conditions.”

Dr McLean says the study is focused on an area often overlooked in the marine ecology community.

“Also, patterns of habitat use may be very different at night and therefore nocturnal studies are very important for understanding the value of particular habitats for fish.”

Dr McLean recommends additional research into the visual spectrum of fish.

She says observational nocturnal sampling will directly benefit fisheries management and marine conservation by providing a clearer picture of true relative abundance of fish in particular areas.

For more science news go to www.sciencewa.net.au

Red lights illuminate wA’s nocturnal fish


CHANGING ClIMATE

According to a three-year international study published in Nature Climate Change, warming oceans are impacting the breeding patterns and habitat of marine life, which re-arranges the broader marine landscape as species adjust to a changing climate.

The international team included 19 researchers from Australia, USA, Canada, UK, Europe and South Africa. The team was led by CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation Flagship and University of Queensland marine ecologists Elvira Poloczanska and Anthony Richardson and included co-author Winthrop Professor Carlos Duarte from the UWA Oceans Institute (@duarteoceans on Twitter).

The study found that marine species are shifting their geographic distribution poleward and doing so much faster than their land-based counterparts. Despite the ocean having absorbed 80 per cent of the heat added to the global climate system, the ocean’s thermal capacity has

led to surface waters warming three times slower than air temperatures over land.

“The rapid poleward shift of marine life tracks the poleward migration of isotherms across the ocean, and represents an effort of marine life to keep within the thermal regimes they are adapted to, avoiding warmer waters and those experiencing heat waves impacting on marine life,” said Professor Duarte.

The research team also considered changes in the species’ life cycle, such as breeding times, to find that these are also changing as seas warm. Although the study reported global impacts, there is strong evidence of change in the Australian marine environment.

“The analysis presented provides a basis to predict shifts in the distribution of marine life and can help design dynamic marine reserve systems, able to track the species they are designed to conserve, and help the fishing industry anticipate shifts in target species that could, otherwise, cause economic collapse.

Marine life on the move as oceans warm


Ocean Solutions SeminarOn 16 October Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe presented an Oceans Solutions Seminar titled, “Transforming the Indian Ocean Region” at the Oceans Institute.

Sergei is a security analyst, defence writer, consultant and a Visiting Fellow at the National Security Institute, University of Canberra. His research interests emphasise geo-political analysis, sovereign risk, maritime security, military issues, trans-national threats. Sergei’s work has also appeared in Harvard International Review, Forbes Asia, Australian Financial Review, The Australian, China Security, among others.

As Serge explained during his seminar, Australians have a tendency to look north and east when considering our national interests. However, the ongoing deployment of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in South Asia and the Middle East, including the growth of piracy in the northern and western Indian Ocean, escalation in strategic rivalry between China, India and the West, and the unprecedented rise in human trafficking and its attendant security concerns have compelled Australia to re-examine our increasingly important western frontier: the Indian Ocean Region.

China and India are also heavily active in strengthening their respective diplomatic, economic and military interests in the Indian Ocean Region. The emergence of these two powers is shrinking the traditional strategic leverage that the Western powers have enjoyed in this part of the world. As their economic and military power continues to grow in the decades ahead, it is possible, and even likely, that China and India may emerge as the region’s dominant players, which would permanently alter the balance of power, not least for Western, and Australian, interests.


By Dr Bonnie laverock, supported by an AIMS-CSIRO-UwA Fellowship.

Marine microorganisms comprise of 90% of the oceans’ biomass, and drive the biogeochemical cycling of globally important elements such as carbon and nitrogen (N). In coastal systems, up to 80% of the N required for growth by primary producers in the water column is provided by microbial processes occurring in the underlying sediment.

My research on coastal sediments in the UK showed that under normal conditions, ammonia oxidation rates within the burrow wall of the shrimp Upogebia deltaura were, on average, fivefold greater compared to rates in

surface sediments. However, under future scenarios of ocean acidification, this increased ecosystem function was inhibited. This research highlighted the importance of organism interactions for ecosystem function, particularly when considering how ecosystems may respond to future global change.

The Western Australian coastline supports some of the most iconic and pristine ecosystems in Australia. In particular, WA boasts the highest diversity of seagrasses in the world. My current research with the UWA Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology therefore focuses on understanding how microbial activity affects the growth and productivity of seagrasses in WA.

We already know of symbioses between seagrasses and bacteria,

in which nitrogen and carbon are exchanged between plant and microbe. However, there is a need to understand how this relationship works, and how it may change in future oceans. Unravelling microbial interactions with higher organisms is one step in understanding how this will affect the productivity and sustainability of our coastal ecosystems, which are under increasing pressure from climate change, industry and agriculture. This research is published in

Laverock et al. (2013), part of the current theme issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: “Ocean acidification and climate change: advances in ecology and evolution” (Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 2013 368 20120441; doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0441).

Investigating microbial processes and interactions in coastal sediments

According to a study recently published in Nature, it is the first time that an animal (coral) has been identified as a DMSP producer. Previously, it was assumed that the large concentrations of DMSP emitted from coral reefs come solely from their symbiotic algae.

Associate Professor Peta Clode, a member of the UWA Oceans Institute, was one of the team whose findings are published online today in Nature.

The team discovered that coral produces an important sulphur molecule, dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP), with many properties. The researchers revealed that the molecule, (DMSP), and

its production increases when corals are subjected to water temperatures causing thermal stress.

However, the scientists have warned that if coral numbers decline, there could be a major decrease in production of these vital sulphur molecules (DMSP), and this will in turn, impede cloud formation. These sulphur molecules are also important as they serve as nuclei for the formation of water droplets in the atmosphere – and hence help to create clouds.

Cloud production, especially in the tropics, is an important regulator of climate – because clouds shade the Earth and reflect much of the sun’s heat back into space. If fewer clouds are produced, less heat will be reflected – which ultimately will lead to warmer sea surface temperatures.

The team, led by researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, also included Associate Professor Clode at UWA, and researchers from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, Murdoch University, and the Australian National University

Coral makes Clouds to keep Climate sweet

Cloud production, especially in the tropics, is an important regulator of climate – because clouds shade the Earth and reflect much of the sun’s heat back into space.

RESEARCH


vISITORS

Dr Robinson W. FulweilerDr Fulweiler, Associate Director of the Boston University Marine Program, will be joining the UwA Oceans Institute under a grant of the UwA Oceans Institute’s visiting Scientist Program.

She will work on the development of a joint online course between the The UWA Oceans Institute and Boston University for professionals on Marine Ecology. In addition to this, Dr Fulweiler will develop a project with Oceans Institute’s Director Professor Carlos Duarte on keys to success in solving problems in marine ecosystems.

During her visit, Dr Fulweiler will deliver a seminar on coastal biogeochemistry to the Oceans Institute members and a public lecture on impacts of climate change on coastal nutrient cycling.

Dr Iris Hendriks is a researcher at the Mediterranean Institute of Advanced Studies (IMEDEA) and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). She works on links between hydrodynamics, ocean carbonate chemistry and benthic ecosystem processes.

Dr Hendriks will visit the UWA Oceans Institute in February-March 2014 to participate in a project that will examine

the role of metabolism in modifying pH and carbonate chemistry in macrophyte habitats. She will bring a custom-built, autonomous data logger with 15 in situ pH sensors to carry out fine-scale measurements in seagrass-coral habitats.

During her visit, Dr Hendriks will also give a seminar about her ocean acidification work and host a workshop/round-table discussion.

Dr Iris Hendriks

Pere Masqué is a Professor at the Department of Physics, and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain) where he leads the Environmental Radioactivity laboratory.

His research group uses both natural and artificial radioactive isotopes as tracers of environmental processes, mostly in the oceans.

Prof Masqué will spend three weeks at the UWA Oceans Institute in November 2013 to discuss data recently obtained in the frame of the on-going

Coastal Carbon Cluster, focusing on the evaluation of the capacity of seagrass meadows as sinks of carbon.

His main contribution will be providing the geochronology at decadal and centennial time-scales in sediments collected at various sites around Australia. He will also give an Ocean Solutions Seminar in early 2014 and a talk about the impact of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident in the ocean for IAS.

Prof Masqué has recently been awarded with a 2014 Gledden Visiting Fellowship, which will allow him to undertake collaborative research for one year at the UWA Oceans Institute.

Professor Pere Masqué

PHOTO: PERE MASQUE

PHOTO: IRIS HENDRIKS

PHOTO: CARlOS DUARTE


INQUIRING MINDS lECTURE

Professor Erika Techera, Dean of law at UwA and member of the UwA Oceans Institute, gave an ‘Inquiring Minds’ public lecture organised by the UwA Institute of Advance Studies

on wednesday 9 October. The lecture was titled ‘Oceans Governance and Marine Species Protection’.

Professor Techera’s presentation traced the development of the Law of the Sea from ancient origins to modern challenges and pointed that even though significant advances have been made, it has become clear that the oceans and their living resources are coming under increasing pressure. Therefore, her presentation addressed the conservation and management of marine species, an issue of significant importance for Australia and indeed many other countries.

As a teacher and researcher in international and comparative environmental law, Professor Techera focuses on marine environmental governance and heritage law and policy and has published and presented widely on marine protected areas, Indigenous governance and the recognition of

customary law. She is currently working on an ARC Discovery Project regarding the international governance of sharks.

Prof Techera’s lecture is available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/davidglance?feature=watch

Oceans Governance and Marine Species Protection


In October 2013, winthrop Professor Carlos presented the first results of a global survey of plastic pollution in the ocean, along with the ensuing insights on the fate of plastic pollution in the ocean.

As W/Prof Duarte explained during his lecture, the introduction of plastics in the 1950’s was celebrated as a huge advance. Since then, we have plastified our lives at the expense of introducing a huge source of pollution into the environment.

Plastics carry a broad range of persistent organic pollutants (PoPs) added to plastic polymers as additives

to confer special properties. The ocean is the ultimate sink for plastic pollution, impacting marine life from tiny copepods to whales. When an accumulation of plastic debris was found floating in the NW Pacific, it alerted the public to the build up of plastic in areas of the ocean with regards to oceanographic dynamics. This triggered an interest with researchers in mapping the abundance of floating plastic debris in the ocean and W/Prof Duarte explained how they did it and the results that were discovered.

W/Prof Duarte’s Public Lecture is available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/davidglance?feature=watch

Plastic Pollution in the Global Ocean: Where has all the plastic gone?

PHOTO: GUIOMAR DUARTE

About Inquiring Minds lecture seriesThe Inquiring Minds lecture series focuses on the exciting research being undertaken at UWA by our world leading researchers and by visiting national and international scholars, from a wide range of disciplines. The Inquiring Minds series is presented by UWA’s Institute of Advanced Studies, Research Services and the Centre for Software Practice. The lectures are recorded and available for viewing on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/davidglance?feature=watch


In July of this year, winthrop Professor Carlos Duarte gave the opening keynote address at the annual Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) conference. 2013 was the Golden Jubilee conference of AMSA and it was, appropriately, held at the Gold Coast. The conference was well attended with 430 delegates and 300 oral presentations, making it one of the largest AMSA conferences ever held.

This theme of this year’s conference was ‘Shaping the Future’ and W/Prof Duarte’s talk titled ‘Blue Growth: Ocean Solutions for Australia and Humanity’s Grand Challenges’ posed questions about the nexus between sustainable use and conservation of ocean resources as well as commercialisation versus independence of science. Many delegates left the auditorium thinking more carefully about how their own areas of research might contribute to offering solutions to global-scale problems.

Discussion around W/Prof Duarte’s talk continued throughout the conference as well as after the conference in Postgraduate discussion groups; a sure sign that W/Prof Duarte has helped us to think more carefully about the role of Australian scientists in ‘Shaping the Future’ of marine science in Australia and beyond.

Spreading the word on Blue Growth

The Ocean Solutions Dialogues are a series of workshops developed by OI researchers to engage in thought provoking discussion and debate with fellow researchers from other state and international institutions, government and industry stakeholders focused on addressing ocean-based solutions to relevant societal problems.

wORKSHOP 3: Sustainable Food from the Ocean, 11 November 2013

Recent reports from the United Nations are alerting us that there is a much faster population growth than previously expected, driving the estimate for 2100 to 11 million people, this renders the question: How people will be fed?

The ocean offers the only option to significantly raise food production globally, but the development of a smart, sustainable aquaculture industry is a pre-requisite. Advanced nations should consider the development of controlled food production systems from the oceans as part of their defense strategy, as food insecurity will be the greatest challenge of the 21st Century.

In this Dialogue participants will identify hurdles for the successful development of aquaculture in Australia and partnerships and solutions to remove these and render aquaculture a

sustainable and profitable industry in Australia.

wORKSHOP 4: Effective Marine Monitoring, 21 November 2013

Western Australia covers an area of 2 529 875 km2 and has a population of 2 million people. With 72% of the West Australian population living in and around Perth, and a coastline which spans 20,871km, much of which is remote and relatively inaccessible. Monitoring the health, risks and status of marine resources in this vast span of water remains a challenge.

Addressing this challenge requires the use of cutting edge technology, broad collaborative partnerships and a strategic outlook that helps focus and assist the delivery of monitoring products best suited to address the needs of all stakeholders, government, industry, research providers and citizen groups with an interest in marine monitoring. The regulatory framework for monitoring is dynamic and changes rapidly, requiring a continuous revision and update of monitoring strategies and technology.

This dialogue will ask the following questions:1. What monitoring programs are

currently in place in Western Australia?2. What capacities for efficient marine

monitoring need to be deployed in Western Australia?

The Ocean Solutions DialoguesPHOTO: JOAN COSTA 2013

BlUE GROwTH


CHINA

The University is working with Zhejiang University and the Zhejiang Province to formalise a number of MOUs of collaboration.

The Oceans Institute has been working hard to gain State level support for establishing closer ties with both the Zhejiang Province and Zhejiang University in the areas of Ocean Science, Engineering and Governance. The first step of cementing the relationship was the singing of an MOU on the 27 September at UWA.

Based on the best scientific and technological knowledge, this support will harness the State’s efforts in the safe and sustainable use of ocean resources in concert with industry.

In addition to facilitating the joint exchange of students and staff; participation in the development of our emerging leaders and joint participation in the International Indian Ocean Expedition 2 are also planned. Future research will focus on the use of large-scale seaweed farms to alleviate eutrophication, the environmental impacts of sensory pollution and evaluating the potential for marine energy.

Major financial commitments by Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan Island, and Western Australia, the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, have provided an important opportunity to open up a “Gateway to China” and cement a firm platform for collaborative ocean research and exchange.

Collaboration with China takes shape

PHOTO: UwA


The UwA Oceans InstituteThe University of Western AustraliaM470, 35 Stirling HighwayCrawley WA 6009 AustraliaTel: +61 8 6488 8116Email: [email protected]

Find us on Facebook: UwAOceansInstitute

Find us on Twitter: @uwaoceans

We welcome contributions, photos, feedback and anecdotes. Please send to [email protected] or mail to the Oceans Institute address.

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OCEANS COMMUNITy

The Oceans Community is a broad community outreach activity of The UwA Oceans Institute, whose role is to increase awareness and engagement of general public with the Ocean Solutions for Humanity’s Grand Challenges; Oceans Institute’s vision.

Membership of the Oceans Community will provide opportunities for those who want to better understand marine issues and contribute in some way to the marine environment. For this reason, this year the Oceans Community has co-sponsored the event Celebrating Oceans Initiatives 2013.

Mr Jock Clough, Oceans Community’s Chairman, said “The Oceans Community believes a greater

public awareness of, and engagement with, the Oceans Institute’s ‘grand challenges’ will help to achieve more understandable and acceptable outcomes for the whole community.”

The goals of the Oceans Community are achieved through:ÌÌ Raising awareness on recent

developments in ocean; science, engineering and governance

ÌÌ Encouraging greater debate on important marine issues

ÌÌ Providing input to The UWA Oceans Institute activities incorporating the broad diversity of experiences and insights of the citizens that interface with the ocean

ÌÌ Developing a shared understanding of the oceans

ÌÌ Promoting marine science to schools and other educational institutions


Oceans Community – The mechanism to bring together society with our Ocean Solutions vision and Science

celebrating oceans initiatives 2013 - uwa oceans institute ... · 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm venue: ......

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