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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · 6h

Seabirds foraging at sea face deadly threats from eating plastics & being caught up in fisheries bycatch. A new Honours study reveals colour influences their food choices, and avoiding preferred colours in items like fishing gear & weather balloons could prevent seabird deaths🪶 tinyurl.com/k29kxyh6

Photos by Elliot Styles and Karina Sorrell

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · 6d

In a major step for marine conservation, IMAS scientists have released 65 captive-raised red handfish into the wild! It was an exciting moment after an incredible effort by many people over many years - and it's given the red handfish the best possible chance of survival: tinyurl.com/mpbyb56z

IMAS diver Tyson Bessell releasing handfish. Credit: Francisco Albergoli

Assoc Prof Andrew Trotter inspecting handfish before release into the wild. Credit: Jemina Stuart-Smith

Our super happy IMAS handfish dive & aquaculture team after releasing the 65 red handfish to the wild. Credit: Jeremy Smith

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Aug 28

Two of our IMAS scientists will soon embark on a multi-year journey with other leading climate experts to draft the 7th #IPCC #climatereport. Profs Melissa Hart & Gretta Pecl will be lead authors for Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation & Vulnerability 🪼 www.ipcc.ch/2025/08/18/pr-ar7-authors/ 🪸

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Aug 25

From the fjords of Norway to the reefs of Bali, Andrew Sullivan’s PhD with IMAS @utas.edu.au is taking him around the world as he investigates how nations are developing policy for a sustainable ocean - and it will help inform future ocean governance. Discover more: tinyurl.com/53xf5svj

Andrew Sullivan's research is part of an investigation into how countries are managing their ocean spaces

School of fish. Credit: Amanda Cotton | Ocean Image Bank

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Reposted by Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Australian Antarctic Program Partnership @antarctic.bsky.social · Aug 21

1️⃣ "Antarctica might seem a long way away, but really the changes that happen there have consequences for everyone on the planet." — Nerilie Abram, AAD Chief Scientist, ABC Radio

🌊 Rising seas are a planetary impact of global heating. The contribution of melting ice in Antarctica is growing.

🎞️ NASA

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Reposted by Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Australian Antarctic Program Partnership @antarctic.bsky.social · Aug 21

2️⃣ But it's much more than sea-level rise.

" #Antarctica has long been seen as a remote, unchanging environment. Not any more. The ice-covered continent and the surrounding Southern Ocean are undergoing abrupt and alarming changes" — @aunz.theconversation.com

▶️ theconversation.com/from-sea-ice...

From sea ice to ocean currents, Antarctica is now undergoing abrupt changes – and we’ll all feel them

The vast ice of Antarctica has long seemed impregnable. But sudden changes are arriving – from shrinking sea ice to melting ice sheets and slowing ocean currents.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Australian Antarctic Program Partnership @antarctic.bsky.social · Aug 21

3️⃣ 'Emerging evidence of abrupt changes in the Antarctic environment' is published in nature.com today, led by @climatenerilie.bsky.social with authors from @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social, @arcsaef.bsky.social, AAD, @imas-utas.bsky.social, @ccrc.bsky.social & other key research groups.

▶️ rdcu.be/eBCJA

Emerging evidence of abrupt changes in the Antarctic environment

Nature - Abrupt changes are developing across Antarctica’s ice, ocean and biological systems; some of these changes are intensifying faster than equivalent Arctic changes, potentially...

rdcu.be

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Aug 15

Deep-sea skates caught accidentally in Southern Ocean fisheries are usually released if they appear unharmed. But their chances of survival after release were unclear until now. IMAS PhD research shows only 1 in 4 survive, and it will improve skate bycatch mmt strategies doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

IMAS PhD candidate, Colette Appert trialling the best tag attachment on an adult Kerguelen Sandpaper Skate. (Photo: Jaimie Cleeland)

The Kerguelen Sandpaper Skate is native to Heard and McDonald Islands in the Southern Ocean, and its slow growth and maturation make it highly susceptible to fishing pressure. Photo: Measuring a deceased juvenile Skate by Colette Appert

Trialling a pop-up archival satellite tag attachment on the tail of a deceased Skate. (Photo: Colette Appert)

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Aug 14

@utas.edu.au @sbtebbett.bsky.social @jpk-iii.bsky.social @reeflifesurvey.bsky.social

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Aug 14

A Trans-Tasman collaboration between IMAS & @aucklanduni.bsky.social researchers shows Longspined Sea Urchins are a huge threat to NE #NewZealand marine ecosystems. And as the region is at lower latitudes, the impact there could outstrip what we've seen in #Tasmania.

Study: doi.org/10.1016/j.je...

Urchin barrens in NE Tasmania. Credit: Matt Testoni IMAS

Urchin barrens in NE New Zealand. Credit: Crispin Middleton | SeacologyNZ

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jul 31

How do international Antarctic partnerships benefit the life and work of researchers? IMAS/AAPP researcher Dr Alex Fraser said they are "a fantastic way to broaden collaborative networks, especially for young scientists."

❄️ tinyurl.com/suac8efs

@antarctic.bsky.social @utas.edu.au

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Reposted by Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social · Jul 23

"We are addressing a critical challenge": the future of marine ecosystem modelling 🐟 - @fishmarinemip.bsky.social

Find out what happens when dozens of marine ecosystem specialists from around the world come together ⬇️

@imas-utas.bsky.social | @utas.edu.au | @antarctic.bsky.social

bit.ly/4f3EaXD

"We are addressing a critical challenge": the future of marine ecosystem modelling - ACEAS

“We are addressing a critical challenge”: the future of marine ecosystem modelling Marine ecosystem researchers from around the world have gathered in Hobart to discuss the big challenges facing those...

antarctic.org.au

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Reposted by Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Australian Antarctic Program Partnership @antarctic.bsky.social · Jul 22

#Antarctic sea ice is:

⚙️ a global climate engine
☂️ a cooling sunshade
🌀 a pumphouse for currents
🧊 a vast verandah for life
♻️ one of the largest seasonal cycles on Earth
🌬️ highly sensitive to climate variability

🌊 What happens when there's less sea ice?
aapp.shorthandstories.com/a-world-with...

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jul 17

By turning recycled marine samples into a classroom resource, Megan Chang is creating educational tools for the next generation of fisheries scientists. Megan reused old research samples and materials, including underwater footage. See what she did 👉 tinyurl.com/mrx98y3b

Students using the microscope in the lab. Credit: Adam Gibson

Galapagos Sharks captured by IMAS researchers using baited remote under video (BRUV)

For Megan Chang, the Professional Masters stream at IMAS was an exciting pathway to a career in the aquaculture industry.

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jul 9

A marine science pioneer, an emerging leader & a scientist with a passion for elevating Indigenous perspectives in marine conservation have taken centre stage as Australian Marine Sciences Association award recipients this year. Dive in to find out what inspires them - and us! tinyurl.com/5utrdvnj

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jul 3

Now is not the time to put funding on ice. Australian Antarctic field programs should be ambitious as the rule not the exception, writes Professor Matt King in today's Mercury Newspaper, republished here: tinyurl.com/2zhpbryk

@antarcticsciaus.bsky.social @utas.edu.au @deformedearth.bsky.social

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jul 1

Recent record summer lows in Antarctic sea ice are a window into a future warmer climate with more extreme events, but what impacts can we expect? New research clearly shows that faster action on climate change is vital to prevent even more drastic changes in the future: tinyurl.com/Low-summer-s...

Antarctic summer sea ice is at record lows. Here’s how it will harm the planet – and us

New research explores the wide-ranging consequences of record low summer sea ice in Antarctica. From more ocean warming to extra icebergs, it’s bad news we must hear.

theconversation.com

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jun 30

Seas the opportunity 🚢 Applications for our 2026 CAPSTAN voyages are now open!

This exciting at-sea experience for university students & trainers is all happening aboard CSIRO's research vessel #RVInvestigator, with two voyage opportunities in 2026.

Apply now: www.csiro.au/capstan

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Reposted by Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Australian Antarctic Program Partnership @antarctic.bsky.social · Jun 29

🌏 climate history: AAPP has a key role in the Million Year Ice Core project with the Australian Antarctic Division — develop a state-of-the-art lab @imas-utas.bsky.social in Hobart to analyse the chemistry of air bubbles in ice cores retrieved from #Antarctica.

🧊 www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...

Scientists analyse first samples from ancient Antarctic ice core

Australian scientists have started analysing the first batch of samples from the 'Million Year Ice Core' project.

www.abc.net.au

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jun 25

IMAS / AAPP sea-ice researcher @edoddridge.bsky.social has been awarded the prestigious Dr Peter Smith Medal by The Royal Society of Tasmania, in recognition of his outstanding research on sea-ice changes around Antarctica.
✨Read more: tinyurl.com/5n93seke
📸 Credit Bernard Pryor OAM. @utas.edu.au

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jun 16

What can the ancient rocks in the Denman region tell us?
Go deeper with Prof Jo Whittaker (IMAS) and Dr Karin Orth (UTAS) to discover what lies beneath, and how ancient rocks hold vital clues about how fast the Denman Glacier is melting ❄️ @utas.edu.au

Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) @antarcticsciaus.bsky.social · Jun 13

"The rocks that the glacier sits on impact the way it behaves, the heat that’s coming through the crust impacts the way that glacier behaves."

WATCH: Professor Jo Whittaker (IMAS) and Dr Karin Orth (UTAS) on what the Denman region's ancient rocks can tell us ⬇️ #DMV

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn4Q...

Revealed in the Rocks: the Heat Below

YouTube video by ACEAS

www.youtube.com

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jun 12

Unprecedented biodiversity loss and climate collapse are threatening livelihoods across the globe. Ecologists have been critical to uncovering the drivers of biodiversity decline. A new study outlines six actions for ecologists in a time of global environmental crisis: tinyurl.com/5n874r97

Underwater camera captures sea life. Credit: IMAS

Six actions for ecologists in times of planetary crisis infographic.

Diver among the seaweed. Credit: Scott Ling

IMAS and Centre for Marine Socioecology (CMS) Professor Gretta Pecl AM

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jun 6

Ocean literacy is an understanding of the ocean’s influence on us and our influence on it. It empowers communities to make informed decisions about the ocean. The need for ocean literacy is increasing in Australia and abroad, with researchers calling for a national strategy: tinyurl.com/3cmnvs4v

Primary school students learning about the ocean. Credit: Stefan Andrews | Great Southern Reef Foundation and Deakin University

A fever of rays. Photo: Amanda Cotton | Ocean Image Bank

Cover image: Credit Jordan Robbins | Ocean Image Bank

Professor Gretta Pecl AM showing two students a sample at the Beaker Street SquidFest in Tasmania. Credit: IMAS

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jun 5

As part of National Geographic Society & Rolex #PerpetualPlanet Ocean Expeditions, our IMAS ecologist Dr Jane Younger investigated emerging diseases in Antarctic wildlife aboard the R/V Falkor (too) in collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute:🐧 youtu.be/PWV9O8un9P4

More info: bit.ly/3FGjgjX

National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Ocean Expeditions

YouTube video by National Geographic Society

youtu.be

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Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies @imas-utas.bsky.social · Jun 3

"There are no images from this part of the Antarctic coastline, this is complete voyage of discovery stuff for us," said IMAS/ACEAS Adjunct Prof Emeritus Craig Johnson.

Watch the joy & science of mapping sea floor communities around the Denman Glacier for the very first time youtu.be/gzh5zf73yy4

Voyage of Discovery: mapping the Antarctic sea floor

YouTube video by ACEAS

youtu.be

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