Centre for Marine Science & Technology in Bentley, Western Australia | Educational research centre

Centre for Marine Science & Technology

Locality: Bentley, Western Australia

Phone: +61 8 9266 7380

Address: Building 301, Curtin University, Kent St 6102 Bentley, WA, Australia

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• Educational research centre

24.01.2022 Last November, CMSTs Iain Parnum along with Petra Helmholz and David Belton from Curtin Spatial Sciences hosted visiting researchers Robin Rofallski, Christoph Tholen and Lars Nolle from Jade University of Applied Sciences in Germany. One of the results is this conference paper that presented new underwater photogrammetry methods for surveying artificial reefs: https://search.proquest.com/docview/2432979737 Cool stuff!!

24.01.2022 Beautiful podcast, Bec from Project ORCA - Orca Research & Conservation Australia! So well done. Cheerful and informative. Great anecdotes and great science.

23.01.2022 Last few days to pre order your GABRWS merch! Pre sale will end Sunday 6th of September, so if youre thinking about supporting our southern right whale researc...h, now is your chance. Here is our 2020 field crew rocking the merch on the Bunda Cliffs. Tees $35 Hoodies $60 Beanies $20 Keep Cups $25 All profits will fund the critical GABRWS research into assessing the health of southern right whale populations using visual qualitative data and quantitative photogrammetry data. You will also be increasing out reach and public awareness into the endangered southern right whale in Australia. Send us a personal message via Facebook or Instagram to order and all merch is listed in our Facebook shop. Go on grab yourself some GABRWS gear before its too late! #southernrightwhales #merch #jointhepod #GABRWSpod #research #30yearsofresearch #gab30years #whaleresearch #southaustralia #marinemammals #takingaction #callltoaction #HeadofBight #whales #whaleresearch #research #rightwhales #marinemammals #marinepark #australia #Nullarbor #science #environment

22.01.2022 PhD stipend (28,000 AUD/year, indexed annually) available at CMST. Marine acoustic habitat model for Australias Northwest Shelf There are 9 species of baleen whales that annually migrate to the NW Shelf and 18 species of toothed whales. This region has experienced strong industrial (mostly oil & gas) development over the years. CMST has >50 1-year datasets of underwater acoustic recordings from Australias NWShelf, collected over 20 years. This dataset provides a unique reco...rd of the marine soundscape, marine fauna (fish spawning choruses, migrating whale song), anthropogenic operations (shipping, oil & gas), ocean weather (wind, storms), and changes over time. We are synthesising the lot to build an acoustic habitat model for the NWShelf. The process includes various steps: 1) Building a library of acoustic detectors. 2) Building a database of acoustic detections (by species, noise source, location and time). 3) Sourcing environmental covariates. 4) Exploring spatial and temporal correlations and dependencies. 5) Building the habitat model. 6) Applying the model to answer acoustic ecological questions (incl. the effects of noise). In discussion with the PhD student, this thesis can contribute to any of the above steps and focus on one or more species and sites to study specific acoustic ecological questions. While all the data is available, there might be opportunities for fieldwork, if desired. Supervisors: Robert McCauley, Christine Erbe Applications close 30 June 2020. Enrolment and project start: 1 August 2020. Yes, this is a fast-tracked process. Eligibility: Australian permanent residents and citizens, New Zealand citizens, permanent humanitarian visa holders For more information, please contact us.

22.01.2022 Meet Chong Wei, Forrest Fellow at CMST: Working with animals was one of my dreams when I was a little boy, who lived next to the city zoo and was attracted by the sounds the animals made at night. However, when I applied to do my Masters in Marine Biology at Xiamen University, China, I was rejected because my former major was in Computer Science, nothing related to Biology. Then after spending one year studying marine physics (in beast mode), I finally got accepted into Ma...rine Physics at Xiamen University (hard work never fails) where I completed my Masters in 2011 on the whistles of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. For my PhD, I studied sound production and propagation mechanisms in dolphins. Ive always wanted to travel the world. And in 2013, a dream came true, I landed in paradise, at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), University of Hawaii, as a joint PhD student. I took a boat to work every morning on beautiful Coconut Island! More importantly, I met my life mentor Prof. Whitlow Au, who made me fall in love with marine bioacoustics and introduced me to the worlds bioacoustic community. (I am so grateful he introduced me to Prof. Christine Erbe, the Director of the Centre for Marine Science & Technology (CMST), Curtin University.) However, my funding applications were not immediately successful. In 2016, I took my first job at the Acoustic Research Laboratory, National University of Singapore. I worked on the BeamSound project, using numerical techniques to study the psycho-physical mechanism of dolphin cross-modal matching in target discrimination. It truly was a blessing when I won the Forrest Research Fellowship, which finally brought me to CMST in 2019. I immediately fell in love with my new home thanks to the kind support from both CMST and the Forrest community. Here at CMST, we have researchers with diverse expertise, which provides a unique platform for my interdisciplinary research. For my research, I collect fresh deceased marine animals for CT imaging, then construct finite element models to study the sound propagation and reception mechanisms in marine animals, as well as the impacts of noise on animal hearing. I feel very fortunate to be part of the CMST and Forrest families. #HumansOfCMST See more

22.01.2022 Initial analysis of oil from the Mauritius spill by experts at WHOI and the Western Australian Organic Isotope Geochemistry Centre at Curtin University reveals ...a complex chemical composition, demanding a closer look. Identifying the fuel's makeup will help responders plan a more effective long-term cleanup strategy, says WHOI expert Chris Reddy This was just a first step, said Professor Kliti Grice, Director of the Western Australian Organic Isotope Geochemistry Centre (WA-OIGC). Our limited view of what spilled only reinforces the need for long-term monitoring, access to samples from the ship, and a more in-depth analysis that officials can incorporate into detailed plans to help Mauritius and its environment recover from this.

21.01.2022 Oh no!! Wish we were there to help. What a tragedy. Thinking of you, Mauritius! Hoping ocean weather conditions will be favorable so that the spill can be contained asap.

21.01.2022 The ocean provides us with fun, food and fresh air! How do we tell people about the projects underway to help it to continue do this? To find out more, join us ...on Monday 8th June for our World Oceans Day Attracting Attention panel https://tinyurl.com/ycdhlla2 #forblue #waof #waoceanhealth #worldoceansday #blueeconomy See more

21.01.2022 More sad news. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53917793

20.01.2022 Hybrid virtual/on-site bioacoustics conference, 2-5 Nov 2020. https://africanbioacoustic.wixsite.com/abcommunity

18.01.2022 Why, at 24 metres long, is a pygmy blue whale considered short? Thats because pygmy blue whales, true to their name, are slightly smaller than the Antarctic or... true blue whale. Theres a lot we do not know about the Pygmy Blue Whales. Thats why marine megafauna scientist Dr Michele Thums and project manager Mr Chris Teasdale, departed Fremantle to track and record data on pygmy blue whales off the North West Cape (near Exmouth, Western Australia) on board the RV Whale Song from the Centre for Whale Research (Western Australia) Inc. This information will help protect these endangered whales along their annual migratory journey from southern Australia to northern tropical waters and back again. It will allow us to identify their feeding areas and where their movement patterns overlap with industrial activity in order to enable Australia to make the right long-term decisions that preserve our rich and diverse marine environment. This scientific endeavour with Centre for Marine Science & Technology - CMST, Curtin University is part of the North West Shoals to Shore Research Program funded by Santos: Proudly Australian to better understand Australias marine environment. It is a good example of science and industry working together to unlock the knowledge needed to preserve the marine environment and create economic value for the nation.

18.01.2022 No killer whales in the Bremer Canyon ;-)

18.01.2022 Hot off the press: Seismic air gun exposure has been shown to harm invertebrate sensory organs. Lobsters collected from a noisy site showed pre-existing damage to the statocyst. Exposure to seismic air guns did not cause any further damage. Environmental noise exposure was sufficient to reach maximum damage threshold. Well done, Rob McCauley and colleagues. https://www.sciencedirect.com//a/abs/pii/S0269749120361662

17.01.2022 Meet Lauren Hawkins: My school holidays were often taken up by road trips around Western Australia, exploring the goldfields, hiking through the Karri forests or snorkelling along WAs many amazing beaches. I didnt know exactly what career I wanted but I always knew it would involve studying the natural world around me and this led me to enrol in a Bachelor of Environmental Sciences at Murdoch University. In my second year, a lecturer encouraged me to enrol in a research uni...t, studying coral assemblages and manta rays on the Ningaloo Reef. This was my first real taste of what being a marine scientist felt like and from that point I was hooked. I knew my future was in research after participating in a range of terrestrial and marine research projects. Highlights would have to include radio-tracking Golden Bandicoots in the Pilbara and observing majestic Basking sharks off the Scottish coast. These projects really inspired me to continue my studies and to develop my own ecological questions. This brought me to the team at the Centre for Marine Science and Technology and this is where my foray into fish acoustics began. Fish sounds are so unique and diverse. Passive acoustic monitoring of these sounds can tell us a lot about fish distribution, behaviour and ecological interactions. My honours project looked at fish vocalisations recorded in the Perth Canyon, in Western Australia. It was an awesome project and I learnt so muchso I decided to stay. Im currently doing a PhD with CMST, mapping the spatial and temporal distributions of fish choruses recorded around Australia and investigating the environmental and anthropogenic cues that drive their behaviour. Acoustics has definitely brought with it a number of challenges, but I have no regrets. I am so stoked that I get to work with an amazing, supportive and diverse team of people. There is always something new to learn and many laughs to be had at CMST. #HumansOfCMST

16.01.2022 Australian Guidelines for Seafloor Surveying are out now! https://australian-multibeam-guidelines.github.io/ with Iain Parnum

15.01.2022 ~~ WORKING TOGETHER FOR STRONGER PROTECTION ~~ We have exciting news! Earlier this year, working with colleagues across the globe, we collectively submitted a p...roposal to the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force highlighting and aiming to protect the southwest region where we regularly sight killer whales and sperm whales. With the hard work of this team, this region has now been declared an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA)! So what does this mean? Well, the IMMA initiative helps support a stronger global profile for the role of marine mammals in protected areas, and provides a stronger voice for the MMPA constituency within IUCN. IMMAs are identified in order to prioritise their consideration for conservation measures by governments, intergovernmental organisations, conservation groups, and the general public. This means we are working towards greater protection for the Bremer Sub-Basin and Albany canyon area with global recognition. You can check out the details of this newly created Albany Canyon Region IMMA here: https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org/p/albany-canyon-region/ Thanks to all our partners for a collaborative effort on this one, science and conservation is stronger when we work together. Thanks to Centre for Marine Science & Technology - CMST, Curtin University, WWF-Australia, CETREC WA, Edith Cowan University, CEBEL Flinders University, Killer Whales Australia and the University of St Andrews. #projectorca #orcatalkoz #killerwhales #orca #killerwhaleresearchaustralia #killerwhalesaustralia

13.01.2022 PhD project on Ship Noise in Australian waters available now. Check out Curtin Universitys scholarships for domestic and international students; closing 1 Sep. https://scholarships.curtin.edu.au/Scholarship/?id=4532 https://scholarshipsapp.curtin.edu.au//ExportScholars/4532

13.01.2022 Interested in marine soundscapes from the Australian tropics to Antarctica? Join us for a PhD! Find out more about this project on Curtin Universitys PhD scholarships page at the links below. Scholarships cover tuition fees and pay an annual living allowance. Scholarships are open to both domestic and international applicants. Scholarship applications close 1 Sep 2020. https://scholarships.curtin.edu.au/Scholarship/?id=4526... https://scholarshipsapp.curtin.edu.au//ExportScholars/4526

12.01.2022 Three weeks until the GAB right whale field season kicks off! There are already whales at Head of Bight and the team are keen to begin collecting photo identifi...cation data. This field season will mark the 30th consecutive year of research at the Head of Bight! #southernrightwhales #HeadofBight #marinebiology #research #30yearsofresearch #gab30years #ecology #marineparks #whaleresearch #southaustralia #nullarbor #wildlife #righwhales #marinemammals #ig_discover_australia #ig_wildlife #insta_nature See more

11.01.2022 Dr. Robert L. Brownell Jnr is a Senior Scientist on Internationally Threatened Cetaceans NOAA, California. Bob is an international scientist, walking encycloped...ia, and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to most cetacean species around the world. Bob has supported the GAB Right Whale Study since it began. In particular, Bob has helped to drive collaborative efforts for the global right whale comparative studies, the publication of whaling records, and ensuring that the project contributes to efforts of the International Whaling Commission Science Committee and the International Union for Nature and Conservation. Bob is pictured here on the Bunda cliffs in 2016 with Claire. Thank you Bob for your incredible work! #southernrightwhales #marinebiologist #research #GABrightwhales #whaleresearch #GABRWS #legend #southaustralia #endangered #marinemammals #HeadofBight #marinebiology #30yearsofresearch #gab30years #ecology #marineparks #Nullarbor #wildlife #rightwhales #marinemammals #ig_discoveraustralia #ig_wildlife #insta_nature

11.01.2022 Special issue announcement: "Ocean Noise: From Science to Management". Research articles, review papers, as well as opinion papers and commentaries relevant to the management of ocean noise are invited. Submission of manuscripts closes 13 Nov 2020. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jmse/special_issues/ocean_noise

11.01.2022 Last few days to pre order your GABRWS merch! Pre sale will end Sunday 6th of September, so if you're thinking about supporting our southern right whale researc...h, now is your chance. Here is our 2020 field crew rocking the merch on the Bunda Cliffs. Tees $35 Hoodies $60 Beanies $20 Keep Cups $25 All profits will fund the critical GABRWS research into assessing the health of southern right whale populations using visual qualitative data and quantitative photogrammetry data. You will also be increasing out reach and public awareness into the endangered southern right whale in Australia. Send us a personal message via Facebook or Instagram to order and all merch is listed in our Facebook shop. Go on grab yourself some GABRWS gear before its too late! #southernrightwhales #merch #jointhepod #GABRWSpod #research #30yearsofresearch #gab30years #whaleresearch #southaustralia #marinemammals #takingaction #callltoaction #HeadofBight #whales #whaleresearch #research #rightwhales #marinemammals #marinepark #australia #Nullarbor #science #environment

10.01.2022 Nice interview about Western Australian killer whales, Bec Wellard.

09.01.2022 To celebrate 30 years of research at Head of Bight, the GAB Right Whale Study will be showcasing some of the pioneers of southern right whale research in South ...Australia. 30 years of research is not possible without a dedicated and passionate community of marine biologists, researchers, project managers, mentors, volunteers, and whale enthusiasts. Thank you for your incredible work over the past 30 years! All drone footage shot under permit M26085-7 Keep that drone high! Curtin University #southernrightwhales #marinebiologist #research #endangered #whaleresearch #southaustralia #marinemammals #HeadofBight #marinebiology #30yearsofresearch #gab30years #ecology #marineparks #Nullarbor #natgeo #wildlife #rightwhales #marinemammals #ig_discoveraustralia #ig_wildlife #insta_nature #droneshot #sciencedrone

08.01.2022 Good luck, Mauritius! All our thoughts, hopes and well-wishes are with you!!!

08.01.2022 World Whale and Dolphin Day was established in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission. This day is celebrated on July 23 as it marks the same date in 1982... when the members of the Commission voted for a complete ban on commercial whaling. Even though the name of the celebration includes whales and dolphins, its main aim remains to attract the attention of the public, authorities and all humanity to the issues of all sea mammals protection. According to the Zoological Society of Londons and World Wildlife Funds (WWF) Living Blue Planet Report that summarises scientific findings on global animal populations, based on over 5000 populations studied, the number of sea mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and other animals living in the World Ocean has been estimated to have dropped by 49% over a 40 year period between 1970 and 2012. To celebrate International Whale and Dolphin Day we are running a t-shirt design competition. The winner will receive a whaley cool SouWEST prize pack which will include their design printed on a t-shirt and some other goodies! Competition closes 30 September. To enter, read our Terms and Conditions on our website, fill in an application form and get creating! www.souwest.org #science #education #teachers #whaleconservation #marine Busselton Community Notices Busselton Dunsborough Mail

08.01.2022 FMARS Special Issue completed! On the impacts of shipping on marine fauna. Will soon be available as an e-book, too. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles//fmars.2020.00637/full Nice range of articles, including reviews on ship noise and ship strike. Wonderful collaboration with my co-editors Josh Smith, Jessica Redfern and Dave Peel.

07.01.2022 PhD project on Ship Noise in Australian waters available now. Check out Curtin University's scholarships for domestic and international students; closing 1 Sep. https://scholarships.curtin.edu.au/Scholarship/?id=4532 https://scholarshipsapp.curtin.edu.au//ExportScholars/4532

06.01.2022 The title speaks for itself. Great team work, Chandra Salgado Kent, Phil Bouchet, Bec Wellard, Iain Parnum, Leila Fouda and Christine Erbe.

06.01.2022 https://news.curtin.edu.au//curtin-mauritius-helps-in-em/

05.01.2022 PhD opportunity: Making highly stereotypical sounds, minke whales can easily be tracked acoustically. Join us for a PhD on the acoustic ecology of Australian minke whales. Curtin scholarships available for both domestic and international students. https://scholarships.curtin.edu.au/Scholarship/?id=4566 https://scholarshipsapp.curtin.edu.au//ExportScholars/4566

05.01.2022 Nice to read about positive feedback and rankings in these crazy times: "Curtin University has been awarded multiple five star ratings in the 2021 Good Universities Guide, and has been ranked Western Australias top university for graduate outcomes including full-time employment and starting salary; as well as staff qualifications, learner engagement and learning resources."

05.01.2022 Australia is concerned about the grounding of the MV Wakashio and is closely monitoring events in the wake of the oil spill off the coast of Mauritius. Austral...ia stands with Mauritius in its efforts to address this emergency and is working with international partners and Mauritian authorities on a coordinated approach to response efforts. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority - AMSA , CSIRO and Curtin University have established a panel of specialists to channel coordinated Australian expertise in oil spill management to Mauritius. To complement existing international response efforts, the panel is liaising closely with lead Mauritian agencies to develop medium to longer-term rehabilitation and recovery plans once the spill is contained. In the interim, Curtin University and Australian industry partners (RPS Energy) are assisting the Mauritius Oceanography Institute with oil slick monitoring, which the Mauritians are using to guide the placement of oil booms. We express our admiration to the many Mauritians around the country who have been out in force since last weekend to help build booms and clean up the shores on the south coast. This includes staff and families from the Australian High Commission. #buildbackbetter #EnsamNouCapave Government of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

04.01.2022 PhD project in acoustic imaging available now: "Mapping seafloor habitats using acoustic backscatter". Domestic and international stipends available. https://scholarships.curtin.edu.au/Scholarship/?id=4572 https://scholarshipsapp.curtin.edu.au//ExportScholars/4572

03.01.2022 Meet Prof. Marcos Rossi-Santos: The ocean has always been a part of my life, since I was a kid. I still remember spending hours enjoying the sand, the warm waters of the western South Atlantic, the surf (We had styrofoam boards at that time.) and my wish to stay longer when the weekends or holidays were over. I was introduced to snorkelling at the age of 14 and havent stopped returning to the ocean. Influenced by the silent world of Jacques Cousteau, I was driven to a Jour...nalism faculty, wishing to document marine wildlife, but quickly switched to Biology, working on the beautiful island of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. I was a Bachelors student when the Latin American Congress on Aquatic Mammals came into town. Immediately afterwards I began an internship on a local dolphin project, which led to my Bachelors thesis on the feeding behaviour of Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis). I later studied Amazon river dolphins with Dr Vera da Silva. Dr Jeff Podos finally introduced me to the world of bioacoustics, allowing me to combine my two passions: biology and music. I travelled to the Galapagos Islands, as his research assistant, studying Darwins finches. Eventually, I moved to Northeastern Brazil, Bahia State, with tropical weather, vibrant beaches, coral reefs, dolphins and whales. There, I founded a Guiana dolphin project at the prestigious conservation NGO Humpback Whale Institute. I added baleen whales to my research world, working along the entire eastern Brazilian coast and all the way to the South Georgia Islands, Antarctica. As a university professor, I love training and inspiring young scientists to collaborate on the big challenge of marine conservation. Us professors are life-long learners, and so here I am, on sabbatical (arrived just before the pandemic crashed the world) at CMST, Curtin Uni, where I was warmly received by some of my greatest references, Dr. Christine Erbe and Dr. Rob McCauley. CMST is a group of enthusiastic and interdisciplinary researchers, passionate about the ocean and experienced in acoustic technology to enhance our knowledge about this ecosystem, which is essential to human life on this planet, and could easily be called planet Water. I am honoured to be part of this team and its story. #HumansOfCMST See more

03.01.2022 Nice to read about positive feedback and rankings in these 'crazy' times: "Curtin University has been awarded multiple five star ratings in the 2021 Good Universities Guide, and has been ranked Western Australias top university for graduate outcomes including full-time employment and starting salary; as well as staff qualifications, learner engagement and learning resources."

02.01.2022 Last November, CMST's Iain Parnum along with Petra Helmholz and David Belton from Curtin Spatial Sciences hosted visiting researchers Robin Rofallski, Christoph Tholen and Lars Nolle from Jade University of Applied Sciences in Germany. One of the results is this conference paper that presented new underwater photogrammetry methods for surveying artificial reefs: https://search.proquest.com/docview/2432979737 Cool stuff!!

02.01.2022 Meet the Team: Dr. Stephen Burnell, Chief Investigator and pioneer of the long-term southern right whale research project at Head of Bight, and current CEO of C...ollaborate Against Cancer at Minderoo Foundation. Burnell started this research project in 1991, which classified the Head of Bight as the primary calving ground for southern right whales in Australia and supported the establishment of the Great Australian Bight Marine Park. Thank you to Steve for your immense dedication to this project over the last 30 years and for the opportunity to continue the legacy of a world-class research project. Whilst you may not be standing on the cliffs and observing the whales as much as you may like, the Nullarbor dirt and Southern Ocean air is surely still under your skin. Pictured above is Andy Burnell, Claire Charlton, and Steve Burnell at the fence line track on the Bunda Cliffs 2018. Andy has been heavily involved with GAB right whales, particularly in the early 1990s. Andy currently works for the Department of Environment and Water. Thanks Andy for your support over the years! Steve Burnell @andy Burnell #southernrightwhales #marinebiologist #research #whaleresearch #legend #southaustralia #endangered #marinemammals #HeadofBight #marinebiology #30yearsofresearch #gab30years #ecology #marineparks #Nullarbor #wildlife #rightwhales #marinemammals #godfather #ig_discoveraustralia #ig_wildlife #insta_nature #droneshot #sciencedrone Image taken under permit M26085-8

01.01.2022 World Marine Mammal Conference 2023 in Perth. See you all!

01.01.2022 We have arrived at Exmouth field site to continue working in collaboration with our friends and colleagues at CETREC WA on the killer whale population off Ninga...loo. Our first day was a success with a sighting of orca family group Pec, Wisp, Willo, Fin and Fluke. It was great to see both offspring of Pec- Fin and Fluke- doing well. We came at the tail-end of a successful humpback calf kill and Pec and co. continued to feed on the calf at depth. The mother humpback and escort remained in the area, with continuous interactions with the killer whale group. We are grateful to everybody that alerted us to this sighting and happy to have gotten out, despite the windy conditions. On our way home from a long day, we came across some other remains on the reef- an intestine floating on the surface! Samples were taken, and with the vegetative contents inside this large intestine, we suspect a possible deceased dugong. Images collected under permit whilst conducting research with our colleagues from CETREC WA. #projectorca #killerwhaleresearchaustralia #killerwhalesaustralia #killerwhales

01.01.2022 Webinar on killer whales. Well done, Bec from Project ORCA - Orca Research & Conservation Australia and John from Cetrec WA !!

01.01.2022 "Understanding primary productivity and its link to residency patterns of migratory whales in the Perth Canyon, WA." Is this PhD for you? Scholarship applications close 1 Sep. https://scholarships.curtin.edu.au/Scholarship/?id=4523 https://scholarshipsapp.curtin.edu.au//ExportScholars/4523