Dr Charlotte Birkmanis

Baby blue whale numbers peak at just the right time off WA coast Researchers are relieved as baby blue whale numbers increase after a slow start to the migration season.

Some good news 🐳 #BlueWhale
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...

Spectacular strawberry squid! Histioteuthis squid w/massively asymmetrical eyes: 1 larger for viewing the silhouettes of predators & prey above, & 1 smaller eye for capturing glimmers of bioluminescent snacks below. #AsgardArchea - 730m - ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute

What new protections will mean for these widely hunted sharks The sharks and rays are widely hunted, their parts used in commercial products like makeup and moisturizers and in culinary delicacies.

Sweeping trade protections adopted for sharks and rays at #CITESCOP20.

“It’s taken 20 to 30 years to get recognition that sharks and rays — keystone predators in marine ecosystems globally — need that protection,” says WCS’s @lukedavid301.bsky.social.

🌏 www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solu...

Platform-independent experiments on social media

"Changing algorithms with artificial intelligence tools can influence partisan animosity"

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A four-panel dashboard showing the Threatened Species Index 2025. Top-left: a line graph titled ‘Main index’ displaying a steady decline of 75% between 1985 and 2022. Top-right: a map of Australia with numerous points indicating spatial representativeness of monitoring sites. Bottom-left: a scatter plot titled ‘Monitoring consistency’ showing site-year observations over time. Bottom-right: a dual-axis chart showing growth in the number of taxa and number of time series per year from 1952 to 2022, both rising sharply before levelling off in more recent years.

We are thrilled to announce the release of the 2025 Threatened Species Index! The latest data indicate that threatened and near-threatened species in Australia have declined by an average of 75% since 1985. View the latest trends here: tsx.org.au/tsx2025
@tern-aus.bsky.social 🦎🐸🐦🌿🐨

New Job Opportunity at the SOSF-DRC ANNOUNCEMENT: OPEN POSITION   The natural environments of D’Arros Island and St Joseph Atoll are among the most ecologically healthy and unique in Seychelles and in the world. More sea turtles come to...

New Job Opportunity at the SOSF-DRC

saveourseas.com/sosf-darros-...

Help shape the future of Australia’s research infrastructure. The NRI Issues Paper consultation survey is now open. Your input will guide the 2026 NRI Roadmap and future funding priorities.

🔗 bit.ly/4qKpVwo

New Study Reveals Persistent Illegal Trade in Protected Sharks with Calls to Strengthen World’s Wildlife-Trade Treaty to Prevent Extinctions.

@wcs.org
@fiu.bsky.social

🎥: Byron Dilkes
🎥: Open Planet Studios | Silverback Films

Scientists Recreate Rare Pigment Behind Octopus 'Superpowers' Octopuses and other cephalopods are masters of camouflage, thanks largely to color-changing skin that can help them seemingly vanish into the background.

“A team led by UC San Diego was able to mass-produce a key pigment, xanthommatin, that occurs in the psychedelic skin of many cephalopods. Until now, xanthommatin has proven impractical to collect from animals or make in a lab.”

#scicomm

www.sciencealert.com/scientists-r...
🧪 🐙 🦑

Impact Report 2024

Travel to the coast of Chile and into Antarctica via the interactive Schmidt Ocean Institute 2024 Impact Report. We are bringing the depths to light: www.2024annualreport.schmidtocean.org

Two scientists work together in a lab, one holding a test tube and the other observing. Overlaid bold yellow text reads: “Science for Public Good Fund.” Below in white text: “Apply at act.ucsusa.org/SFPG26.” Smaller italic text says: “Applications for science advocacy minigrants will be accepted through January 6th.” At the bottom is the Union of Concerned Scientists logo.

🔬✨Applications are open! The Science for Public Good Fund offers up to $1500 to support community-driven science advocacy projects. From workshops to local campaigns, you can help spark change.

🔗 Apply here now: act.ucsusa.org/4nCzPhl

📢 SARDI have #marine #jobs available:

🐟 Research Officer
🐟 Estuarine & Coastal Moorings National Data Lead
🐟 Estuarine & Coastal Moorings National Coordinator
🐟 Senior Research Scientist (x2)
🐟 Field Operations Manager
🐟 Senior Research Services Officer

🚨 16 Oct
👀 iworkfor.sa.gov.au

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

A small, wallaby-like animal stands on its hind-legs. Text overlay says: New science - Brush-tailed bettongs reintroduced to SA National Park after over 100 years.

🧪 Science Spotlight 🧪 Researchers have successfully reintroduced brush-tailed bettongs into a National Park, despite the presence of feral predators like cats and foxes.

Bettongs sourced from populations with larger body sizes and previous predator exposure survived better.

Jane Goodall said she would launch Trump and Musk on one-way trip into space Primatologist said in interview released after her death she would also put Putin, Xi and Netanyahu on that spaceship In a lifetime studying the behavior of chimpanzees, Jane Goodall became something of an authority on the aggressiveness of alpha male adults. Now, in an interview released just days after her death, the famed primatologist reveals what she would do with Donald Trump, Elon Musk and other human beings she saw as showing similar traits: launch them on a one-way trip into space. The insight into Goodall’s thinking comes in the Netflix documentary Famous Last Words, recorded in March and kept under wraps until her death last week at the age of 91. Continue reading...

Jane Goodall said she would launch Trump and Musk on one-way trip into space

A 2024 study found that ants best humans at tests of collective intelligence.

Learn more on #WorldAnimalDay: https://scim.ag/42nMvQJ

A South American lungfish against a black background, with text: This odd fish has 30 times as much DNA as humans—a new record for animals.

A species of lungfish found in South America has claimed the title of the animal with the biggest genome sequenced so far.

Learn more on #WorldAnimalDay: https://scim.ag/46OMl6v

IMOS is producing a comprehensive national seagrass mega-dataset, which will soon be available through the new Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN) Portal.

Learn more 🔗 bit.ly/3IAmTtm

A national effort to decode venoms for science and innovation - Bioplatforms Australia Australia harbours one of the world’s richest diversities of venomous species, from spiders and snakes to marine organisms and insects. Venoms play critical ecological roles, helping species hunt, def...

JCU is thrilled to be involved in The Australian Venom Innovation and Discovery (AVID) Initiative. 🐍💉💊

This new national program is building the first large-scale molecular data resource on Australia’s venomous biodiversity.

Read more here bioplatforms.com/australian-v...

Unveiling the secrets of an adaptable, ubiquitous ocean algae La Jolla, California—September 30, 2025—Phaeocystales, a group of bloom-forming marine algae, are gaining attention for their remarkable...

A team led by JCVI and @scrippsocean.bsky.social have decoded the DNA of a critical algae group found in every ocean. Despite challenges it poses to fishing, tourism, and public health, it plays pivotal role in the ocean food web, climate, and even cloud formation. 🧪🧬

www.jcvi.org/media-center...

🌟 Postdoc Opportunity in Marine Biogeochemistry at CNRS-CEREGE!

🚢 Are you a passionate researcher ready to tackle climate change? Dive into the ERC-funded Deep-C project in Aix-en-Provence, France!

⬇️

Are you hoping to attend the #IUCN World Conservation Congress?

We're coordinating check-ins and meet-ups in Abu Dhabi for delegates from Australia, NZ and the Pacific.

Join the Australian delegation: shorturl.at/lz7WC

Join our webinar to learn how to participate at Congress: shorturl.at/XWuJQ

We've recently published research basking shark breaching behavior. How kind of them to demonstrate it again on camera!

Footage from Treas Heapes onboard Sally O’Keefee sailing to Inis Oirr.

This National Science Week, we’re decoding the ocean’s hidden language, one ‘ping’ at a time.

Learn more about the many ways IMOS collects critical marine data.

🔗 bit.ly/4mxjNVk

#NCRISImpact

Rows of international flags line the entrance to the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, with the United Nations emblem visible on the building. Below, a blue banner reads: “Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee INC 5.2 Schedule – From 5 to 14 August 2025 – Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland,” with calendar and location icons.

Check out the agenda to see what’s happening each day at the second part of the #INC5 as negotiators come together to finalize a #PlasticsTreaty for a plastic pollution-free future: www.unep.org/inc-plastic-...

FINAL REMINDER

Reminder that the ISRA project is still accepting proposals for preliminary Areas of Interest in Australia and Southeast Indian Ocean, the final deadline is on August 16th.

Stay tuned for more updates on the ISRA project!

#shark #ray #chimaera #ISRA #marine #conservation #research

I couldn’t agree more!

🧪🪸🌊 Just like a doctor orders a blood test, #WHOI #ReefSolutions scientists are analyzing seawater microbes to learn more about the health of coral reefs.

📲Learn how this fast, non-invasive method might #GiveReefsAChance from @mongabay.com: go.whoi.edu/mongabay-coral

Mangroves are rising. Rivers are healing.

This #WorldMangroveDay, join #GenerationRestoration in supporting projects helping cities and communities restore long-neglected wetlands, preserving biodiversity, and making urban areas more resilient to climate change: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...

The #BigSeaweedSearch Week starts today! 🙌

Become a citizen scientist and help us monitor the impacts of climate change on our marine life by heading to the coast and recording what seaweeds you find

Find out more here: www.mcsuk.org/what-you-can-do/citizen-science/big-seaweed-search