Prof Mary-Anne Lea

Avian flu strikes California’s northern elephant seals; area quarantined Ever since a deadly strain of avian influenza, H5N1, killed some 17,000 southern elephant seal pups on South American coastlines in 2023 and 2024, researchers and public officials have kept an…

Seven young northern elephant seals at California’s Año Nuevo State Park tested positive for H5N1, marking the first known infections in the species.

The virus has hit hundreds of bird and mammal species worldwide. Officials have closed the beaches as a precaution.

Climate change is slowing southern right whale birth rate, 33-year study finds Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off Australia’s southern coast are having calves less often than they used to. A new study links this slowdown to warming water and shrinking sea ice in…

A 33-year study finds southern right whales off Australia are calving less often, with birth intervals rising since 2015.

Researchers link the slowdown to climate-driven declines in krill and copepods, warning similar trends worldwide could threaten a species still recovering from whaling.

Call for Proposals for #IMCC8 now open!
Have an idea for a symposium, workshop, training course, that can move marine #conservation forward? Now’s the time to shape the program with bold science, practical solutions + inclusive perspectives.
Due by March 6th. Learn more: conbio.org/mini-sites/i...

We invite you to submit an abstract for a session on animal movement, behaviour and biologging at the 7th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity in Bruges, Belgium (17-20 November 2026) @wcmb2026.bsky.social, @inbo.be, @vliz.be, @aquatictracking.bsky.social

More info below! 👇

My friend Jon has died | First Dog on the Moon Jon Kudelka loved his beautiful family and was fiercely intolerant of greed and hypocrisy * Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published * Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...

My friend Jon has died | First Dog on the Moon

A silly seal

1) 💕 Looking for your perfect match on #ValentinesDay? So are these marine species 😍

As ocean temperatures and conditions shift, predators and prey are falling out of sync, causing cascading effects across marine ecosystems in South America, Southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Logo for IMCC8

Join 800+ ocean conservationists in Edinburgh, Nov 13-17, 2026 to Make Marine Science Matter.

Submit symposia, workshops, focus groups, art & conservation projects + nominate plenary speakers by March 6.

Details: conbio.org/mini-sites/i...

Pervasive increase in tree mortality across the Australian continent Nature Plants - Eight decades of forest plot monitoring show a pervasive increase in tree mortality across Australia’s forest biomes driven by climate change, jeopardizing their role as...

New research from our group: A pervasive increase in tree mortality across the Australian continent - driven by rising temperatures
rdcu.be/eXSa7

A rare right whale spotted off Ireland resurfaces near Boston In a rare sighting, a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, first photographed in 2024 off the coast of Ireland, was recently reidentified near Boston, U.S., on Nov. 19. This is the first…

A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale first spotted off Ireland in 2024 has been reidentified near Boston after crossing the Atlantic — a rare journey highlighting both the species’ resilience and how much scientists still have to learn.

Warm, humid ‘atmospheric rivers’ threaten Antarctica Growing more common as climate warms, these once-rare events could ultimately accelerate ice loss

Growing more common as the climate warms, once-rare “atmospheric rivers” could ultimately accelerate ice loss. https://scim.ag/4pwFAhx

Here’s a glimpse of our SCAR team at this year’s 44th CCAMLR Meetings.

SCAR contributed seven papers covering topics from krill management to climate change, avian influenza, and plastic pollution, supporting the conservation of the Southern Ocean.

🌊 Full report:
scar.org/scar-news/st...

The application deadline for the 2026 SCAR Ant-ICON | SC-ATS science-policy fellowship programme is coming up soon!

Apply by 23 November to be considered for the 2026 cohort: scar.org/fellowships-...

The great escape: seal flees killer whales by jumping on to photographer’s boat Charvet Drucker captures dramatic video and photos of seal being hunted by orcas in Salish Sea, north-west of Seattle

Common seal uses photographer’s boat as refuge from orcas on the hunt!

ACEAS researchers awarded ARC Discovery Project grant to unlock East Antarctica’s secrets - ACEAS A team from the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) has received a prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project grant to investigate East Antarctica’s Auro...

👏 Congratulations to a team of ACEAS researchers who have been awarded an ARC Discovery Project grant to investigate East Antarctica’s Aurora Subglacial Basin – a region posing one of the greatest risks for multi-metre sea level rise this century.

Read more: antarctic.org.au/aceas-resear...

Bird Flu Ravaged the World’s Largest Elephant Seal Population, Study Finds

Bird Flu Ravaged the World’s Largest Elephant Seal Population, Study Finds www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/s...

Fears for elephant seals as bird flu kills half of population in South Atlantic Study estimates 53,000 females have died on South Georgia since 2023, with ‘dramatic impact’ on future of the species

New study highlights the drastic, ongoing impact of bird flu on southern elephant seals at South Georgia. Significant mortality has now been recorded across many key breeding sites leading to increasing concerns about their conservation management. @ccgbam.bsky.social
@bas.ac.uk

The Slender-billed Curlew was declared extinct in October 2025.

At #AEWAMOP9, delegates paid tribute to it, with this rare taxidermied specimen on view.

Read personal reflections and testimonies from those who searched for, studied, and cared deeply about it: www.unep-aewa.org/en/news/reme...

Culture and conservation in baleen whales | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Culture, defined as information or behaviours shared within a population and acquired from conspecifics through social learning, acts as a second inheritance system which has important implications for species' ecology and evolution. Understanding the ...

New paper:
Culture and conservation in baleen whales

@ellengarland.bsky.social, @petercorkeron.bsky.social, Mike Noad, Briana Abrahms, @jennyallen13.bsky.social, @rconstantine.bsky.social, @lrendell.bsky.social, Renata Sousa-Lima, Kate Stafford, @emma-carroll.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

Why are Procellariiform seabirds most diverse in the Southern Hemisphere?

Our study found that wind patterns and time since evolutionary origin best explain the extratropical peak in breeding species richness of these remarkable seabirds. 🐦💨

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Abandoning Antarctic krill management measure threatens conservation progress (commentary) All along the western Antarctic Peninsula, whales, penguins and seals in their millions depend on krill (Euphausia superba) throughout the year. In the most rapidly warming region on the continent,…

[COMMENTARY]

This October, as delegates gather to discuss CCAMLR priorities, the authors of a new commentary argue, “At stake is more than a fishing rule, but also the commitment to manage fisheries proactively, rather than reactively.”

** Views are authors'.

Fascinating! 😍 Still so much to discover and learn!

Schematic diagram of the influence of seabirds on temperate and tropical near-shore marine systems. Temperatre systems: - Nutrient enrichment and predation on herbivorous invertebrates can lead to increased algal production - Phytoplankton communities change, featuring more large-celled species - Intertidal organisms incorporate seabird-enriched material by grazing on detritus and biofilm in tidepools - Macroalgae biodiversity and primary production are boosted Tropical systems: - Mangrove leaf nutritional quality increases - Corals recover faster after bleaching events - Fish biomass increases across different trophic groups - Pelagic and benthic consumers' foraging behaviour shifts - Parrotfish grazing and bioerosion rates increase - Fish grow larger

New in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com: our review of the influence of #seabirds, via their nutrient transfer, on islands & adjacent marine ecosystems 🐦🏝️🪸

We highlight knowledge gaps & future directions ✨

"The circular seabird economy is critical for oceans, islands and people": doi.org/10.1038/s443...

Global body adopts policy to protect Earth’s old, wise and large animals | Charles Darwin University The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recognised Charles Darwin University-led research into the Earth’s oldest animals with the adoption of the ‘Longevity Conservation’ global...

the IUCN have passed the Longevity Conservation motion put forward to them by @kellerfish.bsky.social and @pili-scotland.bsky.social and based on the paper we wrote on the value of older individuals in animal societies.
www.cdu.edu.au/news/global-...

Scientists fear bird flu outbreak after elephant seal deaths on Heard Island Scientists suspect a deadly strain of bird flu, H5N1, has infected wildlife on Heard Island after observing a high mortality rate in elephant seals on the Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic.

HPAI H5N1 likely linked to elephant seal mortality on sub-Antarctic Heard Island

Ancient rock art in northern WA shows Tasmanian tiger, Tasmanian devil There are more than 2 million artworks on the rocks at Murujuga, with more stories under the waves.

Ancient Murijuga cultural depictions of locally extinct Tasmanian devils and Thylacines

A circular diagram illustrating interconnected barriers to sustainability and biodiversity conservation. The center features a yellow triskelion symbol with "Views, Structures, Practices" surrounded by concentric rings dividing the content into sectors. The diagram is organized into 20 segments (A-T) radiating outward, each with an icon and text describing different challenges. These include topics like "Marginalization of Indigenous knowledge," "Shareholder profit," and "Socio-economic disparities." The outer ring contains detailed explanations for each segment. The color scheme uses muted browns, greens, and blues to differentiate major thematic areas. The overall structure shows how these barriers connect and reinforce persistent relations of domination over nature and people.

Explore the complex relationships between various challenges to achieving transformative change in this graphic from the IPBES #TransformativeChange Summary for Policymakers. 📊

Find out more: https://www.ipbes.net/transformative-change/media-release

Our Career Development Fellowships are still open for applications. This scheme provides early career scientists from underrepresented groups with research funding and training opportunities to build a strong base for a successful research career: #RSGrants royalsociety.org/grants/caree...

Bit of a extratropical cyclone to the south of Tasmania/ Lutruwita today. Been blowing the proverbial all day and probably all tomorrow too.

Over it 😤

In Northeast Atlantic, Management of Small Fish Should Account for Broader Ecosystem Northeast Atlantic governments have an opportunity to catalyze major global change. As seafood demand rises and aquaculture grows, achieving a balance between ecological and industrial needs is urgent...

Opportunity for ecosystem-based fisheries management in northern European waters