Coral Sea voyage to discover new species and tackle marine debris

Pic: Keith Martin-Smith

Tasmanian science teacher and marine scientist Keith Martin-Smith returns from a 12 day scientific expedition – the Great Coral Sea Clean-up and Bio-discovery Voyage – tomorrow morning, Friday 24 June.

He has been working with scientists and skyping back to his students in the class room as part of the Bush Blitz TeachLive program: http://bushblitz.teachlive.org.au/

Here is Keith’s Blog from the journey: http://bushblitz.org.au/keith-martin-smith/

EARLIER (June 9) …

A 12-day voyage to discover new species and tackle marine debris in the Coral Sea will depart Mackay on Saturday.

A crew of 24 specialists including scientists and teachers will board two vessels – the Odyssey and the Iron Joy – before sailing to remote islets and cays as part of the Coral Sea Clean-up and Bio-discovery Voyage.

The Iron Joy crew will focus on marine debris research and clean-up work while those on the Odyssey will aim to uncover new species.

Parks Australia’s Head of Marine Protected Areas Jason Mundy said this voyage would improve our understanding of marine debris and biodiversity in the Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve.

“The Coral Sea covers almost 1 million square kilometres of near-pristine ocean. It is part the Commonwealth Marine Reserve network – which makes up one-third of all Australian waters,” Mr Mundy said.

“The Coral Sea is one of the last places on Earth you will find large populations of sharks, tuna, billfish, swordfish and marlin. It is internationally recognised for its rich biodiversity and is home to vulnerable humpback whales and green turtles as well as 13 species of seabird considered threatened or endangered.

“This voyage goes to ensuring the long term health of the Coral Sea and protecting Australia’s biological diversity.”
Bush Blitz manager Jo Harding said one of the most exciting quests on this voyage would be the search for new species.

“Bush Blitz has discovered over 1,100 new species to date and we expect to find more during this Coral Sea trip,” Ms Harding said.
“Along with finding new species two teachers from the Bush Blitz TeachLive programme will deliver classes via satellite to students more than 3000km away, providing them with a unique chance to take part in a virtual expedition on the high seas.
“We’ll also be studying small land and sea animals that live on marine debris and look at the potential for these animals to hitch a ride across the ocean. While we know this is a natural process longer trips may be possible on debris like plastics that don’t break down in the environment.”
CSIRO technician TJ Lawson said researchers would assess the impact of rubbish on flora and fauna on the Coral Sea islands and work to identify the source of marine debris.

“We need to identify where the litter is coming from and devise a plan to stop it from washing out to sea in the first place,” Ms Lawson said.

“Australia has a world class litter tracking system, and research gather during this voyage will be used to help better manage our aquatic environments on a global scale.”

The clean-up and research voyage will see not-for-profit organisation Tangaroa Blue, Surfrider Foundation and Take3 work with Parks Australia, Bush Blitz and the CSIRO, collaborate to tackle key threats to the health of marine life and seabirds.

Meanwhile debris collected on the voyage will be brought back to the mainland for disposal, with some to be used by Cairns artists to create sculptures from marine debris.

Funding for the Coral Sea Clean-up and Bio-discovery Voyage has been split evenly between Parks Australia and Bush Blitz. Bush Blitz partners BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities and Earthwatch have funded their half of the trip.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

What is Bush Blitz?

• Bush Blitz is Australia’s national nature discovery project.
• The program sends teams of scientists to remote properties across Australia to discover and document the plants and animals that live there.
• Bush Blitz is delivered through a globally unique, multi-million dollar partnership between the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Parks

Australia, through the Australian Biological Resources Study; BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities; and Earthwatch Institute Australia.

• Each blitz expedition focuses on collecting target taxa: dragonflies, butterflies and moths, true bugs, snails, spiders, reptiles, amphibians and flowering plants.
• Bush Blitz is providing the knowledge needed to protect Australia’s unique biodiversity for generations to come – because if we don’t know what’s out there how can we protect it?

What has Bush Blitz achieved so far?

• Since it began in 2010, the program has sent around 200 scientists into the field to survey over two million hectares of land across Australia.
• These blitzes have found almost 1,200 new species: 1,136 new fauna species and 57 new flora species. The blitzes have also recorded over 300 threatened, vulnerable or endangered species; located more than 800 pest species; and added new distribution information for thousands of other species.

Australia’s hidden biodiversity

• There are an estimated 580,000 plant and animal species in Australia – more than in any other country on Earth – and yet three-quarters of this biodiversity is yet to be identified.
• Almost half the Australian continent and over 90 per cent of our marine territory has never been comprehensively surveyed.
Citizen science and Bush Blitz TeachLive
• Bush Blitz is not just about scientific discovery. It also aims to raise public awareness and inspire individuals and communities to take action to better understand and protect the environment.
• One way Bush Blitz achieves this is by exposing school teachers to the practice of
‘real science’ by giving them the chance to work side-by-side with scientists in the field.
• Science teachers can apply to join a Bush Blitz expedition. Those selected are able to participate in the surveys and teach science ‘live’ from the field via the TeachLive website, bringing their newfound knowledge and enthusiasm back to their students.
• Bush Blitz TeachLive is a collaborative project between the Bush Blitz partnership and the Australian Science Teachers Association.
Alexandra de Blas for Jo Harding – Bush Blitz, Mark Sawa – Parks Australia