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PARTNERS
Seacam Housings
Digital Dimensions
Undersea Explorer
Kimberley Escape
Scubapro
Eye to Eye Marine Encounters
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Undersea Explorer with her new colours and flashy white paint job needed another split-level photo this time with Cristiana Damiano our Brazilian marine biologist friend modeling with Pixie Pinnacle!
Contact: www.undersea.com.au |
Dr. Alastair Birtles and Susan Sobtzick busy reviewing their minke whale footage at night after a full day's work hanging on the minke line.
The Minke Whale Research team reports:
"Field research on Undersea Explorer over seven weeks in June-July 2006
yielded some truly remarkable discoveries, with at least 354 (and
possibly as many as 376) whales encountered over seven weeks of
standardised observations – the highest number of whales we’ve ever
seen in one season. Some of our well-known friends returned to the
northern GBR to interact with us again this year and several had a few
surprises for us. ‘Kinky Minke’ (known for the kink in her tail), first
identified in 2000 and seen in four of the seven years since, visited us
again in 2006, this time with her new (and probably first) calf. This is all
the more exciting for us as Kinky’s sex was unknown until this very
sighting! The calf was identified as male and we have named him ‘Moby
Dick’. In 2005 ‘Wiggly Nape Streak’ (first ID’d in 1999 and seen in four
of the seven years since), reappeared with her calf ‘Little Wiggle’. Other highlights include resightings of ‘Pavlova’ (first seen in
2005) who delighted us again with her prolonged and up-close vertical pirouetting behaviour, and through the core June-July season there were several observations of courtship and other interesting behavioural displays. " |
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John Rumney and Dr. Billy Sinclair checks out newly caught nautilus. Other than helping out with the nautilus research, Dr. Billy brought onboard with him a massice twin plankton net to collect fish larvae for DNA study at Central Queensland University where he is Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology. |
Marine biologist Chico Birrell, engineer Brendan Robinson and skipper John Rumney grab a grey reef shark to collect skin sample for DNA testing for researcher Jonathan Werry of Griffith
University. Jonathan is using a number of
innovative techniques to investigate shark
ecology and feeding. Finding out a shark’s diet
generally entails forcing a captured shark to
regurgitate, then conducting a stomach content
analysis. Instead of this, Undersea has been helping Jonathan collect tissue samples from various
shark species, as well as their potential prey. By
analyzing and comparing the chemical signals and fatty acid components of the tissues,
Jonathan can tell what sort of fish the sharks have been eating. In other words, he studies the
chemical equivalent of “You are what you eat!” Through this technique, Jonathan is
determining the relative importance of pelagic (open water) versus coral reef-associated
species of fish, in the diet of grey reef whalers and white tip reef sharks. These species
are regularly seen at Osprey Reef, one of Jonathan’s study
sites. Jonathan’s research has very important conservation implications. Protecting habitats where sharks are living
can only be successful if the habitat their prey lives in is
also protected. Data: Undersea Eye |
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THE SHARK CLAW
New technology, designed and developed by Richard Fitzpatrick has taken a huge
bite out of the risks of shark research.
The shark claw is an innovative device that has proven to be quicker and far less stressful on
both the shark and researchers. Bait is used to attract the shark to a small boat and the claw is
positioned above the animal’s body. When a shark’s peduncle (where the tail meets the trunk) is
exposed during feeding, the claw is deployed causing it to be clamped around its caudal (tail) fin.
A rope extends from the claw and is attached to a large float making it impossible for the shark to
swim away. After approximately one minute the shark becomes docile (not so much because of
the struggle, but because of the change in orientation) and hangs relatively calm in the water column. The shark can then be taken back to the Undersea Explorer, so that it can be secured and
tagged with a satellite transmitter for research. Data: Undersea Eye |
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