Bluey teaches kids about resilience
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
29 minutes ago
- ABC News
Dugongs studied in Moreton Bay may help save the vulnerable species worldwide
Janet Lanyon leaps off a red zodiac into the waters of Moreton Bay and swims towards a group of splashing figures in front of her. Moments before, four fit people in rugby helmets launched into the water off the moving boat in pursuit of a dark shadow as it came up for air. Between them is half a tonne of grey muscle — a big male dugong ( Dugong dugon ). The team monitor the dugong's breathing in the water. ( ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives ) The team monitors the dugong's breathing in the water. (ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives) Researchers hold dugong up to measure it. ( ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives ) The dugong is held up while researchers measure it. (ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives) Wetsuit-clad researchers wrap a tape measure around the bull's belly, then stretch it the length of his body to give an accurate reading of the animal's size in the water, while the "catching team" prevents the animal from diving. "Breath … breath … breath …" the team calls out each time the bull opens his massive nostrils. Once they have his measurements, the team slides his hefty body onto a sling and transfers him to a larger boat for a full health check. As the dugong is manoeuvred onto the boat the team pours water over its head to mimic the sensation of surfacing for a breath. ( ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives ) Dr Lanyon oversees the action, keeping track of what data is being collected and making sure her team and the dugong are safe. The marine biologist from the University of Queensland knows dugongs very well. She's been running the world's largest dugong health assessment program at Moreton Bay since it started 16 years ago. Janet Lanyon has studied dugongs for more than three decades. ( ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives ) Although the pursuit and capture looks dramatic, she says monitoring shows the dugongs calm down quickly. "They are pretty relaxed animals really," Dr Lanyon says. And what we learn from these dugongs is critical for helping conserve the enigmatic marine mammal elsewhere in Australia and other places around the world where numbers are falling. Quandamooka Country Moreton Bay is the perfect place to study dugongs. About 800—1,000 dugongs live in the turquoise waters that lie off the Queensland coast near Meanjin/Brisbane. The large mammals spend up to 20 hours a day digging and hoovering up seagrass, consuming roots, rhizomes and leaves. On average, an adult dugong eats 65kg of grass a day — more when they are reproducing. They are also picky eaters, preferring to eat a specific species of seagrass. Their messy feeding leaves trails, like snails in a rock pool, making them relatively easy to find in the 3,500-square-kilometre bay. And it's safer than some of the other potential study sites in Australia. "Up north, you've got crocodiles," Dr Lanyon says. These dugongs are deeply significant to the Quandamooka people, one of the traditional owner groups of Moreton Bay. "Caring for the dugongs is the same as caring for our Country," says Justin Ladbrooke-Parkin, who is the ranger in charge for the Quandamooka Marine Rangers, but speaking from his own experience. "[Dr Lanyon's] research provides that scientific knowledge … but also, it aligns with the cultural knowledge of the Quandamooka, which has been passed down through our generations." Race on deck Once the dugong is on board the boat, a new race is on. To minimise stress to the animal, the researchers extract as much biological information from it as they can within 30 minutes, before it is released. They collect blood, urine, saliva, mucous-laden tears and faecal samples, as well as swabs of skin bacteria that could be used as a "health biomarker". If it was a female, it would also have an ultrasound to detect pregnancies. Data from the samples also reveal aspects of their secret lives. By measuring stress hormone's the team have been able to ascertain that the dugongs recover quickly from their time on board. ( ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives ) By measuring stress hormones, the team has found that dugongs recover quickly from their time on board. (ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives) The tears of a dugong are very sticky and provide a wealth of biological information. ( ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives ) The tears of a dugong are very sticky and provide a wealth of biological information. (ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives) Blood samples are taken from beneath the dugong's pectoral fin. ( ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives ) Blood samples are taken from beneath the dugong's pectoral fin. (ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives) The plastic plate used to collect a faecal sample is covered in alfoil so the plate does not contaminate the poo and the team can test for microplastic. ( ABC: Catalyst ) The plastic plate used to collect a faecal sample is covered in foil so the plate does not contaminate the poo and the team can test for microplastic. (ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives) Adult males start to look a bit rough around the edges towards late winter and early spring when there is less good-quality seagrass in the bay. They also often have marks from fighting each other. "That time coincides with the mating season so it's a time when the adult males are just thinking about finding females," Dr Lanyon says. Sampling shows their testosterone and stress hormones increase during mating season. As a result, it's not uncommon for a few dead males to wash up at this time of year, but Dr Lanyon has been able to use this research to calm public fear of mass mortality events. Seagrass precious for picky eaters Moreton Bay's dugongs are the most studied in the world. "We've now tagged probably 750, or more, different animals in the bay," Dr Lanyon says. One of the major findings of the research is that this population rarely strays from the bay. If an occasional animal swims north, they are unlikely to breed with other dugongs. But their homebody nature, massive appetites and picky eating puts them at risk. Their growth rate, reproductive rates, how healthy they are, their whole life history is determined by their food. Dugongs use fine hairs on their nose to detect seagrass and dig it up. ( Getty Images: Andrea Izzotti ) The underwater meadows they rely on are susceptible to dieback, a disease that is on the rise due primarily to increased extreme weather events. "We're concerned because a lot of the species that are good food for dugongs and that dugongs like to feed on are becoming rarer [in Moreton Bay]," Dr Lanyon says. This ties in with traditional knowledge. "We've always known that there's these special areas for the dugongs and their feeding grounds," Mr Ladbrooke-Parkin says. "And this research obviously just supports that these areas should be protected." Life near a big city Swimming near Australia's third-largest city comes with specific risks for dugongs. Human medicine is flushed into the bay, and urban grime washes down the drains. "We looked at a panel of 18 different common antibiotics and we found that every dugong that we looked at was resistant to quite a few of the antibiotics," Dr Lanyon says. Her team has also found heavy metals, pesticides, microplastics and herbicides in the tissue and circulating blood of Moreton Bay dugongs. Extreme weather can compound these urban risks. "We know that with every flood event or cyclone there's direct damage to seagrass beds," Dr Lanyon says. Even if there is enough seagrass to eat, dugongs are still affected. They show increased levels of heavy metals, pathogens and microplastics after floods, and "there is a drop in body condition compared to that time in other years", Dr Lanyon says. But, she adds, this population may be faring better than those further north. They're exposed to agricultural runoff, which could severely affect the dugongs. In these northern populations, researchers have not been able to observe calves in the year after major cyclones and floods, suggesting none were born or survived early life. Dugong mothers need plenty of high-quality seagrass to fuel their pregnancies and to nurse their calves. ( Supplied: Janet Lanyon ) It is unclear whether this also happens in Morton Bay. There are also other looming threats such as the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has affected many other species of mammals around the world. H5N1 hasn't yet arrived in Australia, but Dr Lanyon is monitoring dugongs for any signs of the disease. "We want to detect an emerging problem, not wait until there's a mass mortality event," she says. International insights Onboard the floating vet clinic, Chiaki Yamato is busy measuring the width of the bull's head. This is her second year studying Moreton Bay's dugongs. While the Moreton Bay population appears to be stable, other populations in waters around Asia and Africa are declining. Before joining the University of Queensland team, Dr Yamato studied dugongs in ThailaND. "In Thailand, if we could see one dugong in three boating days, I was very happy … but here, on the first day I went on the sea we were having lunch surrounded by a herd of dugongs," Dr Yamato says. By taking precise measurements on the boat and comparing those measurements to drone footage Dr Yamato can better estimate size from the air. ( ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives ) By taking precise measurements on the boat and comparing those measurements to drone footage, Dr Yamato can better estimate size from the air. (ABC TV: Dr Ann's Secret Lives) Dugong researcher Dr Chiaki Yamato. ( Supplied: Dr Chiaki Yamato ) Dr Yamato hopes the measurements she takes in Moreton Bay can be used to help develop non-invasive ways of studying the animals elsewhere. (Supplied: Chiaki Yamato) When dugongs come up for breath their body is often bent making them hard to measure. ( Supplied: Dr Chiaki Yamato ) When dugongs come up for breath, their body is often bent, making them hard to measure. (Supplied: Chiaki Yamato) It is too risky to catch and study unhealthy members of declining populations, so Dr Yamato is trying to develop a way to measure the animals using drones. Drones can be an affordable and low-impact way to study species for researchers who are licensed to use them, making her data invaluable for use on vulnerable populations. She'll use the information gathered from measuring the Moreton Bay dugongs in the water and on the boat to help refine measurements taken by drones. Swabbed, sampled and measured, the healthy male is ready for release, but for Dr Yamato, it is not yet goodbye. As the dugong swims free, her drone buzzes in its wake.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Scientists confirm worst coral bleaching on record off Australia's western coastline
While researchers are still assessing the full extent of the damage wrought by a marine heatwave, the Australian Institute of Marine Science has confirmed the most widespread bleaching on record for Western Australia. "The length and intensity of the heat stress, and its footprint across multiple regions, is something we've never seen before on most of the reefs in WA," the institute's senior research scientist James Gilmour said. "Areas which had given us hope because they'd rarely or not bleached before, like the Rowley Shoals, north Kimberley and Ningaloo, have been hit hard this time." Sensitive to heat stress, corals expel the algae living in their tissues in warm water, causing the coral to go pale. Bleaching is not always fatal but if underwater heat is prolonged and severe, corals can die. Sea surface temperatures around Australia last summer were the warmest on record since 1900, with coral heat stress peaking in January. Conditions varied across the tropical reefs spanning 1500km — from "extreme", or 90 per cent bleached or dead, to "medium", somewhere between 11 per cent and 30 per cent. Mermaid and Clerke reefs in the Rowley Shoals, 300km west of Broome, recorded "very high" levels of mortality, between 61 per cent and 90 per cent. The World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef, known for its whale sharks, experienced "high" bleaching and mortality between 31 per cent and 60 per cent. Dr Gilmour said climate change was driving the increased frequency and severity of mass coral bleaching events and giving them little time to bounce back in between. "They need 10 to 15 years to recover fully," he said. "The key to helping coral reefs survive under climate change is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." Improving water quality and cracking down on overfishing can also support reef health. The Great Barrier Reef has also been under pressure, experiencing the largest-ever annual decline in coral cover in two of its three regions in 2024. Heat stress was largely responsible, with predator outbreaks and cyclones also damaging the expansive ecosystem. The updates on coral health land ahead of the expected release of the federal government's 2035 climate goals, due in September under the Paris Agreement rules.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Western Australia's 'catastrophic' bleaching event leaves parts of the spectacular Ningaloo Reef white and grey
Even the pristine "hope spot" of Ningaloo could not escape the state's worst ever coral bleaching. The striking red earth meets a sparkling turquoise sea at Ningaloo. ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) It's the colours that tell you where you are. A sparkling turquoise sea washes into the red earth. More than 500 species of fish and more than 250 species of coral can be found in Ningaloo's waters. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) Bob beneath the surface and you'll find a rainbow palette of life. More than 500 species of fish, and more than 250 species of coral lighting up the seabed. But now, Ningaloo is using its treasured hues to send out an SOS. The reef's distress call is captured in stark images taken by ocean photographer Brooke Pyke earlier this year. "Everything was just completely white," she says. A large formation of coral that has suffered from bleaching. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) The grooves of this brain coral are a stark white after bleaching. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) Bleached pillar coral found in Ningaloo. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) Ningaloo and other WA reefs escaped major bleaching in previous global marine heating events but not this time. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) Brooke has been working in the diving industry for more than a decade. She remembers her first dive at the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef — some 1,200 kilometres north of Perth, off Western Australia's remote north-west coast. "The vibrancy of the colours, the diversity of coral species, the beautiful fish that live amongst all those organisms was just so, so vibrant and so full of life," she says. This is a snapshot of what Ningaloo looked like before the major bleaching event. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) Lettuce coral and other coral species pictured in Ningaloo before the major bleaching event. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) "To see it now … it's just skeletons of what it was before. "It's some of the worst coral bleaching I've ever seen." Ocean photographer Brooke Pyke has been capturing the coral bleaching. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) Brooke Pyke says the bleaching that's occurred at Ningaloo is some of the worst she's ever seen. ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) 2024 was the warmest year on record for global oceans, culminating in the fourth-ever global coral bleaching event, which has circumnavigated oceans in a wave of ongoing coral mortality. It hit Ningaloo late last year. "In around December 2024, we started to notice that water temperatures were abnormally high," says molecular ecologist Dr Kate Quigley. "By the end of February, we were seeing some locations along the Western Australian coastline, including Ningaloo, as high as four degrees warmer than they should be. "For a coral, it is the difference between having a normal temperature versus having a raging fever." 'Unprecedented' damage to previously untouched corals Throughout this year, scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have been surveying the damage to WA's reefs, and a clear picture has now emerged. "There is no doubt the reef has suffered the worst heat stress, and indeed coral bleaching, that we've ever had in Western Australia before," AIMS research scientist James Gilmour says. "It's unprecedented." Dr James Gilmour says the level of bleaching is "unprecedented". ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) Last summer brought the longest, largest and most intense marine heatwave on record for WA. Coral bleaching and mortality is expected when heat stress exceeds eight weeks. During this event, some reefs in WA suffered for 20 to 30 weeks. Until this year, WA's north-west reefs had mostly evaded major bleaching, making them "hope spots" for Dr Gilmour. This time, virtually no WA reefs went unscathed. While the full impact is still being investigated, experts at the AIMS-led WA Coral Bleaching Group have so far reported bleaching and mortality across a 1,500-kilometre area. The Rowley Shoals, a group of three coral atolls off the coast of Broome, had never bleached before. AIMS believes this event killed up to 90 per cent of corals at the Mermaid and Clerke reefs there. Rowley Shoals pictured in 2012. ( Supplied: AIMS/Nick Thake ) Rowley Shoals pictured in April 2025. ( Supplied: AIMS/Anna Cresswell ) Their surveys at Ningaloo in May recorded up to 60 per cent of bleaching and mortality at some sites, with the Tantabiddi and Jurabi areas hit hardest. The scale has eclipsed Ningaloo's other major bleaching event, which occurred after a significant La Nina in 2011. The Tantabiddi reef, pictured in May 2025. ( Supplied: AIMS/Declan Stick ) Coral bleaching in the Tantabiddi reef. ( Supplied: AIMS/Declan Stick ) "It's really a wake-up call to us here," Dr Gilmour says. "Climate change, and global warming, has caught up with Western Australia's coral reefs." This year was the first time two World Heritage reefs on opposite sides of the country were bleaching simultaneously. "There is no doubt that this is the worst that WA has experienced and when you combine it with the Great Barrier Reef, it's the single worst bleaching event in Australia's history," Dr Gilmour says. "The severity, the extent and the duration of this event, is unprecedented." WA's coral reef has historically been more resilient to marine heatwaves. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) Corals are animals, and the heat makes them sick. Warm waters make the coral sick and it's on a scale scientists haven't seen before. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) "That warm water causes the animal to start to lose its relationship with its little symbiotic algae inside of it," Dr Quigley explains. "Over time, the animal can starve. And if the warming is too severe or stays too severe for too long, the animal can actually die." That's what is happening now in some of the worst hit areas. The water at Ningaloo is crystal clear. And Dr Quigley, who is a senior research scientist at the philanthropic Minderoo Foundation, guides me around a section of the reef. Pointing at the seabed as we glide through the water, Dr Quigley is bobbing up every so often to say things like, "see this bommie — that's probably 500-years-old", or, "that's a good sign" when we see a happy-looking coral. But other times she doesn't need to bob up — I can make out the muffled word through her snorkel under the water. "Dead." These coral aren't a bleached-white colour anymore, but more of a grey, with algae growing all over. "When you get that amount of warming for that long, that's going to translate to a lot of mortality," Dr Quigley says. "We're kind of all waiting with bated breath on those exact [mortality] numbers. "But given what we know about the relationship between coral health and warming, it's unlikely to be good. "This has not just been a bad bleaching event, it has been an absolutely catastrophic bleaching event." Molecular ecologist Kate Quigley has come to Ningaloo to survey the damage. ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) Kate Quigley took 7.30 on a tour under the water at Ningaloo. ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) Kate Quigley is concerned about what the results of coral testing will show. ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) A healthy reef doesn't just make for pretty pictures. It's critically important for both ecological and economic reasons, and vital for industries like fisheries and tourism. Just ask anyone who works in the tourist town of Exmouth, synonymous with snorkelling and swimming with whale sharks at Ningaloo. Craig Kitson has lived here for 25 years and runs a glass-bottom boat tourism business. Craig Kitson says the level of coral bleaching has the potential to hurt his business. ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) "We're seeing patches where we've lost about 90 per cent of the coral," he says. "Definitely it has the potential to affect our business. I mean, our business is centred around looking at coral and fish." While some operators would prefer not to draw attention to the bleaching, Craig sees it as vital. Bleached coral at Ningaloo as seen from a drone. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) "From my perspective, I think it's more important than ever that people come and connect with this place," he says. "We tell everyone that comes on board that they're now an ambassador for the reef and they need to go forward and tell people, and the way they vote and the way they live their lives is really important and it's crucial for the next generations." Massive and branching coral in Ningaloo before bleaching. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) Massive and branching coral in Ningaloo after bleaching. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) 'How many wake up calls?' Federal Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson and WA Greens MP Sophie McNeill have travelled to Ningaloo for an in-water briefing by AIMS researchers about the bleaching event. "While Ningaloo is hanging on to life and there's still beauty and wonder here, people should come and see it, we know that if we don't act, there is no future for this reef," Whish-Wilson says. "How many wake up calls do we need?" The Greens say this year's coral bleaching event shows the need for stronger environmental protection laws and an ambitious 2035 emissions reduction target. While Australia is not among the world's top CO2 emitters, it is one of the biggest fossil fuel exporters. Up the coast from Ningaloo, in WA's Pilbara, leading LNG exporter Woodside Energy was recently given the green light to continue operating its North West Shelf gas plant until 2070, something Senator Whish-Wilson says "beggars belief" at a time when Australia's reefs are "suffocating". Woodside says research shows its LNG exports help displace coal in Asia, leading to lower global emissions. A different report, released last year, cast doubt over the environmental benefits of gas compared with coal. WA Greens MP Sophie McNeil and Senator Peter Whish-Wilson. ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) In a statement, Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt told 7.30 the impact on Ningaloo "underlines the need for Australia and the world to take urgent action, including reaching net zero emissions". "That's what the Albanese Government is doing by setting ambitious 2030 emissions targets and driving up investment in renewables," he said. "Following the consideration of rigorous scientific and other advice, a proposed decision to approve the North West Shelf development has been made, subject to strict conditions, particularly relating to the impact of air emissions levels." Mr Watt said the project is also required to be net zero by 2050. The 2050 target comes from the 2015 Paris Agreement, where world leaders pledged to try to prevent temperatures rising more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The West Australian state government introduced legislation to tackle climate emissions in 2023, but the Climate Change Bill was shelved ahead of the state election. Woodside Energy was given the green light to continue operating its North West Shelf gas plant until 2070. ( ABC News: Charlie Mclean ) In an attempt to revive the debate, the WA Greens have re-introduced Labor's climate Bill to WA parliament's upper house, with amendments including a renewable energy target. "Critically, we've put a 2030 target in it because WA is the only state without one," McNeill says. "It is communities like the ones here in Exmouth that will suffer because of the impact of global warming." WA's Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn was unavailable for an interview, but in a statement to 7.30 said this event "underscores the risks our environment faces from the effects of global climate change". He said the state government was "taking some time to review" its previously proposed climate change legislation, in light of new federal regulations which require big polluters to reduce their emissions over time. "We are focused on ensuring that our approach aligns with the most effective measures available to drive down emissions and support our transition to a decarbonised economy," he said. Coalition members are divided on whether Australia should even be pursuing net zero, with Federal WA Liberal Andrew Hastie calling out what he sees as "moral hypocrisy". He says Australia is exporting coal and gas to some of the world's biggest emitters, like China, India and Japan, at the same time as pursuing a costly decarbonisation journey that risks energy reliability. His stance is at odds with WA state Liberal leader Basil Zempilas, who sees no need to drop the 2050 target. A 'resilient, hope spot' Back in Exmouth, Dr Quigley and her team are selectively breeding corals to enhance their heat tolerance in the face of escalating ocean temperatures. Dr Quigley says that while they have seen encouraging results, there is "no silver bullet". "What we need is climate action now." Kate Quigley is breeding heat-resilient corals to cope with more freqent marine heatwaves. ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) Kate Quigley says the best way to protect the reefs is to take action on greenhouse gas emissions. ( ABC News: Mitchell Edgar ) While bleaching does not always mean death for reefs, scientists say they need 10 to 15 years to fully recover, and that rising global temperatures mean the frequency and intensity of these events are likely to increase. Despite the bleaching Dr Gilmour says Ningaloo is still among the healthiest reefs on the planet. Scientists say corals need 10 to 15 years to recover from bleaching fully. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) The intensity and frequency of coral bleaching events are likely to increase. ( Supplied: Brooke Pyke ) "The reef is very resilient, nature is very resilient," he says. "But if you keep hitting it with impacts, then it can't recover." Just off the coast from where we are, we can see humpback whales breaching in the distance and soon after we've finished filming, we spot a manta ray gliding by a group of sea turtles. Ningaloo, Dr Gilmour says, remains his "hope spot". Credits: Reporter: Rhiannon Shine Photos and videos: Mitchell Edgar, Brooke Pyke, Australian Institute of Marine Science (Declan Stick, Anna Cresswell, Nick Thake) Digital production: Jenny Ky Editor: Paul Johnson Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV
