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John Turnbull PhD

@johnwturnbull.bsky.social

1.2K followers 1K following 50 posts

Marine ecologist focusing on social-ecological systems, remote and protected areas; ROV, photogrammetry and UVC specialist; Reef Life Survey coordinator and Research Fellow at Uni of Sydney, www.marineexplorer.org

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Jul 27

A short set of clips from today's dive at Bare Island; testing lighting and camera settings. Lots of planktivores about... but 15 C water temp was a bit cool. 🦑 vimeo.com/1104838811

Bare Island July 2025

A short set of clips from today's dive; testing lighting and camera settings. Lots of planktivores about... but 15 C water temp was a bit cool

vimeo.com

John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Jun 27

Nice to see substantial populations of Hippocampus whitei #seahorses on our surveys of two sites in #sydneyharbour today #marinescience #threatenedspecies 🧪🦑

mosaic of six photographs of seahorses on nets

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 28

@arcsaef.bsky.social

John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 28

@arcsaef.bsky.social

John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 28

@arcsaef.bsky.social

John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 19

In our final week of fieldwork at One Tree Island and we have almost completed surveys on 26 sites, with current loggers and microhabitat studies on many of them. A massive thanks to all concerned! 🧪🦑 #SAEF_ARC #SydneyUni #marineexplorer

Pics of several fishers, a diver doing surveys and a current logger

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 14

Whilst there is more dead coral than live, there are signs of growth throughout; small patches of live coral on broken reef, live tips on dead branches. The challenge of course will be when the next heatwave comes. For close ups: www.flickr.com/photos/johnw... #SAEF_ARC #marineexplorer

John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 12

Our latest paper highlights changes in the marine community at Shiprock in Sydney over half a century. #sydney_science #SAEF_ARC #marineexplorer 🧪🦑
Open access: doi.org/10.1071/MF24...

Inforgraphic showing how marine life hase changed from the 1960s to the 2010s

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 12

Wonderful diversity of critters on our surveys today at the Labyrinth, #onetreeisland #sydneyuni #SAEF_ARC #marineexplorer 🧪🦑

Goby with shrimp, squid, nudibranch, damsel fish and hermit crab

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 9

Despite extensive damage from the recent cyclone and 2024 bleaching, there are some signs of recovery in the southern GBR #onetreeisland #universityofsydney #SAEF_ARC #marineexplorer 🧪🦑

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 6

The photogrammetry stage of our field trip is now well underway, capturing reef complexity and biodiversity in great detail #one_tree_island #sydney_science #marineexplorer #saef_arc 🧪🦑

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 4

Getting ready for a day in the field #SAEF_ARC #Universityofsydney ##marineexplorer #@OneTreeIslandRS 🧪🦑

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · May 2

Highly protected, actively managed MPAs with evidence of monitoring and enforcement have more positive ecological outcomes.
Cell Reports Sustainability: Cell Reports Sustainability 🧪🦑 www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Marine protected areas stage of establishment and level of protection are good predictors of their conservation outcomes

Global targets should track MPA quality and quantity. This is the first study using a new science-based framework across 123 MPAs and tying levels of protection and stages of establishment directly to...

www.cell.com

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Apr 29

Day 5 of our University of Sydney research trip to One Tree Island, and we have refined our methods and completed 8 biodiversity surveys. Tomorrow we put out flow meters to measure lagoon currents, then start our microhabitat study in earnest. #marineexplorer 🦑 🧪

Series of images of reef fishes, diver surveying and hermit crab

John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Mar 15

Ha ha yes, I wasn't sure how to direct the effort; perhaps "the big camouflaged animal" without actually calling out Cephalopods :)

John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Mar 15

Can you see the animal? flic.kr/p/2qRYAN7 🦑

Can you see the animal?

Jervis Bay RLS

flic.kr

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Mar 14

Wobby in a cave, Jervis Bay. #reeflifesurvey #marineexplorer flic.kr/p/2qRMhJd 🦑

Orectolobus halei

Jervis Bay RLS

flic.kr

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Mar 13

Day 1 of #reeflifesurvey in JB; lovely warm, calm conditions for our first two sites 🦑 🧪

Bulseyes, urchins and divers doing surveys

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Mar 1

A few fishy faces (ok, two are invertebrates) from this morning's #reeflifesurvey at Camp Cove in #sydneyharbour. If you want to see the flathead (looks like just sand and paddleweed until you zoom in) see www.flickr.com/photos/johnw... 🦑 🧪

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Feb 10

ah yes, sorry, can I add it now?

John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Feb 9

Several endangered White's #seahorses on the nets in #SydneyHarbour during our surveys last weekend... and more red cuttlefish (A. mestus) than we normally see #marinescience #marineexplorer 🦑 🧪

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Dec 14

As we cross from the Coral Sea back into the GBR we have favourable winds and a nice big incoming tide; smiles all around! A few more sites in the GBR over the next few days before we wrap up #reeflifesurvey #marineexplorer 🦑 🧪

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Dec 12

Day 12 of #reeflifesurvey in the GBR and Coral Sea, and we are at Marion reefs around 400 km offshore. Some terrific sea life today particularly on our big bommie site. #marineexplorer 🦑 🧪

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Dec 9

After 10 days of good weather we have completed #reeflifesurvey in the Capricorn Bunkers, Swains, Saumarez and Frederick reefs. The water is a beautiful blue in the Coral Sea but fish IDs are a challenge! Next: Marion reefs then back to GBR. Pics: www.flickr.com/photos/johnw... #marineexplorer 🦑 🧪

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John Turnbull PhD @johnwturnbull.bsky.social · Dec 3

Day 3 and we've been surveying around the Keppel Islands. Conditions were calm last night for our transit to the Capricorn Bunker group. #reeflifesurvey #marineexplorer #marinescience 🦑 🧪

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