Emily Lester

Our #FishOfTheWeek this week is… the Eastern Blue Groper (Achoerodus viridis) 🐟

👇More #fishfacts and the latest #research featuring ASFB members:
doi.org/10.1071/MF24...

🌐 Info via Fishes of Australia: fishesofaustralia.net.au

#Australia #fish #biology

Scientists have developed a scalable “holdfast-graft” method to reseed Tasmania’s lost giant kelp forests. By binding hatchery kelp to other seaweed stubs, divers achieved 40× higher survival. Within a year, the grafted kelp began reproducing—kick-starting self-sustaining forests. #GreatSouthernReef

Australian bird of the year 2025: vote for your favourite #birdoftheyear in the Guardian / BirdLife Australia poll From little penguins to (very big) cassowaries, every bird has its fans. Vote for your favourite in the 2025 Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll

Time to vote for the Australian Bird of the Year! I’m backing the Tawny Frogmouth. It looks like a stick, acts like a log, and still manages to be ridiculously charming. Could this be its year?Vote here: www.theguardian.com/environment/... #AussieBirdOfTheYear #TawnyFrogmouth

Sharp rise in US whale entanglements after NOAA cut-backs - Oceanographic The NOAA has reported a steep increase in large whale deaths by entanglement in fishing gear, news that follows federal budget cut backs

Sharp rise in US whale entanglements after NOAA cut-backs oceanographicmagazine.com/news/sharp-r...

Study spotlights West Papua habitat as whale sharks face increased pressures A new study reports that the Bird’s Head Seascape off Indonesia’s West Papua serves as a vital habitat for juvenile male whale sharks, but lift-net fisheries, tourism boats and emerging mining…

Study spotlights West Papua habitat as whale sharks face increased pressures

Great Barrier Reef suffers worst coral decline on record Reefs have been battered by cyclones and starfish that eat coral, but heat stress driven by climate change is the main cause of damage.

Bleaching on both the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo is a warning we can’t ignore.
The window to protect our coral reefs is closing fast and we must act now to limit warming and safeguard these iconic ecosystems.
🔗 www.bbc.com/news/article...
#CoralBleaching #MarineScience

Poster for a Sharks International 2026 conference session titled “Quantifying the Chase: New Frontiers in Predator–Prey Dynamics.” The background is a watercolor blue gradient. The central image shows multiple shark silhouettes circling a single small red fish. The Sharks International Sri Lanka 2026 logo appears in the middle of the poster. Contact emails for sammyaz@stanford.edu, emily.lester@sydney.edu.au, and lauren.meyer@flinders.edu.au are listed at the bottom for more information.

🦈 Heading to Sharks International 2026?
Consider applying to our session:

🎯 Quantifying the Chase: New Frontiers in Predator–Prey Dynamics

We’re exploring tools, techniques & cross-disciplinary insights.

🌐 si2026.org @sharks-int.bsky.social
#SharksInternational2026 #SharkScience #MarineEcology

🚨New paper! 🌍🦈😇

What do seafloor patterns reveal about fish, fear & food webs?

Tracking reef halos at Ningaloo Reef, we found they shrink in summer but grow in winter, correlated with seasonal temp and upwelling.

Single snapshots don't tell the full story. Context matters!

📖 rdcu.be/ewTI1

Port Jackson season is kicking off in Sydney, and I couldn’t be more excited! Ready to brave some chilly waters for some face time with these curious little sharks 🦈❄️

Coral bleaching and mass mortality at Lizard Island revealed by drone imagery - Coral Reefs Quantitatively assessing mortality post coral bleaching at scale is inherently difficult, yet can be achieved with georeferenced imagery from aerial drones. Here, we assess the coral bleaching mortali...

2024 saw a global bleaching event, but bleaching doesn't always mean corals die. Using drones, we found the 2024 bleaching event killed over 90% of shallow corals at Lizard Island. 🧪🦑🧵

We have to act now.

@griffith.edu.au JCU MQ @geonadir.bsky.social CSIRO

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

🐠🦈 Just out: In this paper we ask "How has reef trophic structure changed since humans started removing predatory fishes from Caribbean coral reefs?".

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Illustrations @cookedillustrations.com

It was really nice yesterday! Promise!

📣 We are excited to announce the opening of submissions for two prestigious #ECR awards:

🐟🏅 ASFB Early Career Excellence Award
www.asfb.org.au/awards/asfb-...

🐟🏅 Early Career International Travel Scholarship
www.asfb.org.au/awards/early...

🚨 Applications close 30 June

#fish #biology #science

An historic illustration of a red, yellow and pink nudibranch with grey dots along the bottom edge.

An historic illustration of a blue and green nudibranch with a yellow edge.

An historic illustration of a mustard yellow and grey striped nudibranch with a blue edge with a yellow trim.

An historic illustration of a red and pink nudibranch with a white and orange edge.

In 1907, Kumataro Ito was hired to illustrate the nudibranchs collected on the Steamer Albatross' Philippine Expedition. 490,000 specimens were collected & stored in ethanol. They've lost their beautiful colors, but the illustrations are still stunning: blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2017/08/arti... 🧪

Yet again we are seeing "unprecedented" marine heatwaves in 2025.

buff.ly/mnEcYcV

What will we see in 2025 & beyond? @dansmale1.bsky.social comments, “If this continues through the summer we would expect to see widespread biological impacts. This is a significant warming event."

buff.ly/U6iBTBN

Last call ⏳🚨

If you have any elasmobranch and killer whale interaction records we want to hear about it!

Please reach our team with the email below, would love to include them in our global review!

🚨NEW PAPER🚨
We used acoustic telemetry to track 355 white sharks over a 15 year period in California, describing differences in seasonal trends among demographic groups. DM if you need a copy, and huge thanks to all collaborators - it took a village!

www.publish.csiro.au/WR/WR24136

For your consideration: the stunningly gorgeous midnight parrotfish, ladies and gentlemen 🤩🌌🦜🐟 #midnightparrotfish #parrotfishcapitaloftheworld #parrotfish #donteatparrotfish #grazer #beak #coral #coralhead #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay #bfi #noaa #aoml #coralcity

Recovery of reef shark populations invokes anti‐predator behaviours in mesopredatory reef fishes on a coral reef The nonconsumptive top-down effects of reef sharks on the wider coral reef community are a topic of controversy. Our study provides an important addition to experimental and spatial evidence for reef....

My first first-author paper (my master's work) is finally out in @animalecology.bsky.social ! We found that the recovery of reef shark populations invoked anti-predator behaviours in mesopredatory reef fishes on Ashmore Reef in Western Australia🦈🐟. doi.org/10.1111/1365...

New #sharkscience from Carlo Cattano et al.
Predatory teleosts shadow sandbar sharks to enhance predation opportunities.
#yawnshark
@ecologicalsociety.bsky.social
@iucnshark.bsky.social

esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Ohhhhh this is for sure going to be my next "Did you know?" fact. Thanks for sharing!

Lemon shark rolling deep with an entourage of jacks on a blue water day #lemonshark #jackcrevalle #entourage #sharksofcoralcity #rollingdeep #crew #coral #coralhead #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #miamibeach #biscaynebay #coralcity #civicpridethroughbiodiversity

🚨 New #Shark Pub available #OpenAccess in @natureportfolio.nature.com journal #ScientificReports 🚨

Here we reveal the dynamic physical processes that drive suitable habitat for Tiger Sharks in a subtropical coastal embayment🦈
🔗link here: rdcu.be/eeZG5
🧵 Thread for more: (1/6)
🎥: @jakemasondiving

In 2019, we showed that tiny, bottom-dwelling fish can fuel coral reef energy fluxes. In our new paper, we reveal a dramatic dichotomy in their functional role across coral reef habitats separated by a few 100 meters.

esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

@esajournals.bsky.social

A cute little wobbegong cruising through the shallows always brightens my day 🦈

Would you like to present a talk or poster at #ASFB2025 in #Darwin⁉️

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION is now OPEN

👇 Follow this link for all the details on eligibility and how to submit.
www.asfbconference.org.au/abstracts

🚨 Portal closes Friday 16 May 🚨

#australia #fish #biology #conference

Wrapped up this week with a very cool encounter. Behold, the majestic Glaucus atlanticus! This pelagic nudibranch inhabits the open oceans where it feeds on venomous creatures, like the man o' war. This beauty has been on my bucketlist for a long time. Thanks @joshuacinner.bsky.social for the spot!

Oh hey. Hey you. Keep swimming. You're doing great.

Bluestripe Snapper (Lutjanus kasmira), South Ari Atoll, Maldives

My colleagues at NOAA fear for their jobs.

Their satellite observation today of accumulating heat stress (already above mortality thresholds) on the northern Great Barrier Reef: Yet again a deadly mass coral bleaching event is underway.

Without NOAA, climate & reef scientists will be blind.

🐠🧪🎓 New position alert: I am looking for a full-time research technician to work on my NSF CAREER project. Perks:

✅ SCUBA-based fieldwork in Belize 🤿
✅ Chemistry labwork 🧪
✅ Lots of fish and fun(ctions) 🐠📈😀

Deadline: Feb 21st

utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UTstaff/job/...

Please share widely.