FOR THE LOVE OF WETLANDS –MARINE ECOLOGIST HELPS PROTECT GLOBAL COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS

FOR THE LOVE OF WETLANDS –MARINE ECOLOGIST HELPS PROTECT GLOBAL COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS

Author: PhD Alyssa Giffin Read Time: 872 words, about 6 minutes. Welcome to part one of the five-part Transition article series, the sequel to the Emergent series, that follows ARI’s Post-Doc Research Fellows as they navigate the next stage of their academic journey post-PhD. Take a journey with them and hear about some of the [...]

Deep Learning For Ecological Monitoring: Performance In Novel Habitats And Benefits Of varied Training Data

Deep Learning For Ecological Monitoring: Performance In Novel Habitats And Benefits Of varied Training Data

By PhD candidate Ellen Ditria, Reading Time: 452 words, about 2 minutes. Fish IDing Sample. Photo: Global Wetlands Project. Deep learning has fast become recognised as a powerful data processing tool for ecologists faced with vast amounts of image-based data. The ability of deep learning to accurately detect target species in videos and images unlocks [...]

How can computer vision supercharge fish connectivity research?

How can computer vision supercharge fish connectivity research?

By Sebastian Lopez-Marcano  Read Time: 344 words, about 3 minutes. Studying animal movement is crucial. Animal movement research is conducted to monitor ecosystem health, understand ecological dynamics and address management and conservation questions. In marine environments, there are different methods to measure fish movement. From nets, tags and statistical modelling, the use of different techniques [...]

Coastal freshwater wetlands: the forgotten (wet)lands

Coastal freshwater wetlands: the forgotten (wet)lands

By PhD candidate Rebekah Grieger Read Time: 468 words about 4 minutes. Wetlands are important features in the coastal landscape, providing many important ecosystem services. Much of the research into coastal wetlands focuses on the salty ones – mangroves, saltmarsh, seagrass – but there are equally important wetlands just up-stream that are generally overlooked, coastal freshwater wetlands.  Our [...]

One of the building blocks of the Great Barrier Reef could be in danger

One of the building blocks of the Great Barrier Reef could be in danger

By PhD Candidate Tessa Page, Read Time: 404 words about 3 minutes. Our new research has revealed adults from one species of reef building coralline algae may be somewhat resilient to the degree of change oceans are predicted to endure by year 2100.   As humans continue to emit CO2 into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, major changes are occurring in our oceans, [...]

The forgotten forests of the sea: Are they also threatened by climate change?

The forgotten forests of the sea: Are they also threatened by climate change?

By PhD Candidates Carolina Olguin Jacobson and Nur Arafeh Dalmau (Guest Co-Author) Read Time: 449 words about 3 minutes. Extreme climatic events, such as marine heatwaves, are threatening one of the most productive (but often forgotten) marine ecosystems; kelp forests.  Sea lions among kelp forest in a remote island Cedros, in Baja California, Mexico. Photo by: Nur Arafeh Dalmau.  The importance of terrestrial forests is well known, but their marine counterpart, underwater kelp forests, are [...]

Data science: The new language of ecologists

Data science: The new language of ecologists

By PhD candidate Sebastian Lopez-Marcano  Read Time: 416 words about 3 minutes. Data creates magic. In ecology, data is necessary to make targeted management decisions. New tools (i.e. deep learning / computer vision) are allowing data to be processed at vast rates which is making data more accessible and useful. However, converting raw data into meaningful insights for ecological research can be challenging.  Data nodes. Photo: Akamai. Through the years, ecologists have become familiar [...]

Director’s Welcome to ARI Magazine Edition 3

Director’s Welcome to ARI Magazine Edition 3

Australian Rivers Institute Director, Stuart Bunn. We welcome you back to another edition of the Australian RiversInstitute (ARI) Magazine. (Link). Over the past few months our staff have been active in strengthening research partnerships and establishing new connections across the globe. The importance of connections, not only with fellow researchers, industry and government but also [...]

Climate change threat to fish diversity in Murray-Darling Basin

Climate change threat to fish diversity in Murray-Darling Basin

By Mark Kennard Read Time: Words 518 about 3 mins Native freshwater fish diversity in the Murray-Darling Basin could be under serious threat from climate change in coming decades. This potential loss of biodiversity could result in a further decline in the health of the Basin. Murray Darling Basin. Photo: iStock Freshwater fishes are highly [...]