Public submissions for Western Australia's South Coast Marine Park close June 16. Now is the final chance to have your say. In this new article, we address some key points of interest and concerns expressed about the plans.
greatsouthernreef.com/wa-south-coast…

Coming face to face with a Southern Right Whale left John Totterdell hooked on #whales , and he’s devoted his life to understanding them ever since. He talks us through this moment, which can only be seen to be believed. 🍿 Watch the 5 minute film: youtube.com/watch?v=6cxnWg…

Whale season is officially open across the #GreatSouthernReef ! Last week, a mother and calf were spotted at Coffin Bay on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, making it one of the earliest calf sightings in the last 100 years!

📣 PhD students wanted: Future-proofing seaweeds on the #greatsouthernreef 🥬 Lead meaningful research in a global biodiversity hotspot 🐠🏄‍♀️🌊 Email me CV and letter of motivation or get in touch for more info

“That’s my creatures!”

Inspired by the marine life of the Great Southern Reef, Bec 'Sea Sprite Ceramics' has just launched her GSR collection and new website.

seaspriteceramics.com.au

#greatsouthernreef #ceramicart

The invigorating feeling of a sunrise cold water dip in the Great Southern Reef. Can you relate?

Later this week we share more of Bec’s story, and how the GSR has inspired her art.

#greatsouthernreef

The SARDI Aquatic Sciences team assesses Giant Australian Cuttlefish at Pt. Lowly. Divers count cuttlefish along 50m transects to estimate population density. Learn about the boom and bust of this unique aggregation of #cephalopods on the #greatsouthernreef

Learn all about South Australia's Giant Cuttlefish. Watch: youtu.be/8Eq5QwBiTjw

Giant Australian Cuttlefish have started arriving in South Australia for their annual aggregation.
Learn more greatsouthernreef.com/cuttlefish

Underwater videographer Jake Mason, spends most days in the ocean. 'Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing enough to protect it” explained Jake. His new t-shirt art project - Return to the Ocean is his way of doing more. Check out returntotheocean.com to learn more.

“Practice is what counts”. Like a lot of our feature creators, for Jake Mason it all started with a GoPro.

Jake’s biggest tip is “don’t just hit the record button, actually take a second to think about the shot you want to take. What's your biggest GoPro tip?

Our April feature creator, Jake Mason, loves the variety of marine life near Perth and Busselton. He showcases the beauty and personalities of creatures like porcupine fish, cuttlefish, and weedy seadragons. More on Jake’s spotlight on the #GreatSouthernReef later this week.

Happy to report that my honours research is published!

We found that Tassie giant kelp forests support similar fauna to forests without giant kelp. So they might offer redundancy, but maybe only since these forests are already so degraded

#OpenAccess @ link.springer.com/article/10.100…

Jack Parker's research investigates deep water habitats as climate refuges. With ocean temperatures rising, species may migrate to cooler mesophotic reefs, which offer stable temperatures compared to shallower waters. #GreatSouthernReef #MesophoticZone

During his deep water ROV deployments in Western Australia, PhD candidate Jack Parker has encountered various species on mesophotic reefs, including the captivating foxfish wrasse (Bodianus frenchii). Endemic to the #GreatSouthernReef , they have a lifespan exceeding 80 years!

Beyond the sunlit shallows of Australia's #GreatSouthernReef lies deep water mesophotic habitats, or 'sponge gardens'. PhD candidate Jack Parker is investigating these reefs, mapping habitats, revealing their rich biodiversity & how they function as refuges in a changing world.

Seadragons of the #greatsouthernreef are listed as 'Least Concern' by the IUCN, but this status often points to insufficient data rather than actual security of populations. Join SeadragonSearch to help fill critical data gaps, vital for reassessing their conservation status

To date, SeadragonSearch has amassed thousands of observations. Researchers use this data to help understand population dynamics, distribution patterns, and potential threats, forming the bedrock of evidence-based conservation strategies.

Learn more at greatsouthernreef.com/seadragon-sear…

This week we are exploring the power of citizen science with SeadragonSearch! Learn how your photographs can help identify individual seadragons, thanks to advanced AI analyzing their unique markings.

Seadragons of the #GreatSouthernReef are celebrated internationally. Yes despite their popularity remain shrouded in mystery.

SeadragonSearch uses #citizenscience and machine learning to map distribution and learn vital conservation info.

Learn more: greatsouthernreef.com/seadragonsearch