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marine science posts

Turtle nail clippings: discoveries from Ningaloo Reef News

by Jasmine Fellows, 21 August 2020 | 0 comments

Photo of a turtle with an aerial on it's back, swimming in blue water.

By Natalie Kikken Did you know that nails grow on a turtle’s flippers? At Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, turtle nail clippings are providing new and exciting insights. CSIRO scientists can work out what turtles eat by analysing the chemicals in these nail samples.

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The biggest penguins News

by David Shaw, 2 July 2020 | 0 comments

Illustration of a Kumimanu swimming through a wave

Penguins come in many shapes and sizes, from little penguins all the way up to kings and emperors. But millions of years ago, penguins were even bigger, and studying these gigantic birds can teach us a lot about evolution.

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Remote ocean research during COVID-19 News

by David Shaw, 18 June 2020 | 0 comments

Image of a ship Falkor 1

By Hannah Evans The depths of oceans are mysterious. Since Earth’s surface is covered by over 70% ocean, there is a lot to explore. But during a pandemic, it’s a bad idea to fill a research ship with scientists from around the world. Many research ships have stopped sailing, but not all of them!

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Special delivery! Robotic helper for baby coral News

by David Shaw, 8 November 2018 | 0 comments

Image of two small robots releasing a cloud of coral polyps over a dead area of reef.

The Great Barrier Reef has had a rough time. Rising temperatures , storms and attacks from crown of thorn starfish are among the problems damaging the reef. This year, scientists are aiming to supercharge its recovery with a new robotic helper.

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Not a Nobel – a quick quiz Quiz

by David Shaw, 10 October 2018 | 0 comments

Black lightning bolt in purple circle

Getting 5/5 in this quiz won’t guarantee you a Nobel, but it might give you a hint on how to get one!

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Coral polyps just love the taste of plastic News

by David Shaw, 18 January 2018 | 0 comments

Photo of brown and white star like coral polyps clustered closely together.

Plastic waste in our oceans is a big problem for marine fauna. Not only can it look like food, it seems some animals have developed a taste for the material. And that’s a problem.

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Scientists discover Octlantis News

by David Shaw, 20 November 2017 | 0 comments

A gloomy octopus

It was once thought octopuses were not very social animals. They seem to keep to themselves, only meeting to fight or mate. It turns out that’s not always the case. A social octopus should consider moving to Octlantis.

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Robot assassin protects the reef News

by David Shaw, 21 September 2015 | 0 comments

A coral reef. tHere is a spiky starfish with targets drawn on it.

Written by Azmina Hossain The crown-of-thorns is a venomous starfish that lives in the Great Barrier Reef. Growing up to massive lengths of 80 centimetres and having a body entirely covered in toxic spikes, the starfish is almost indestructible and is a vicious predator. They eat coral, the building blocks of the Great Barrier Reef….

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Whale poetry Poem

by Andrew Wright, 30 April 2015 | 1 comments

Congratulations to all of the winners of our whale poetry competition. The following ten people have won tickets for two to the Humpback Whale 3D film at IMAX Darling Harbour.

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Robots explore underwater volcano News

by David Shaw, 20 March 2015 | 0 comments

A piece of pumice covered in spnges and molluscs.

Written by Beth Askham When mysterious lumps of pumice stone washed up on beaches in Tasmania, Australia, Rebecca Carey knew that they must be coming from an underwater volcano. Rebecca is a Tasmanian volcanologist (someone who studies volcanos), and she had been tracking the travelling pumice for more than a year.

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