Sydney Harbour Marine Education and Research (MER) Activity

Dr Joseph DiBattista

Join us for an exciting evening of presentations and Q &amp; A to support NSW Marine Scientists in "Understanding Our Biodiversity"

North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club

WhatBy joining us in this activity you will directly support ongoing research projects led by our next generation of NSW Marine Biology Researchers, who will deliver 3 x 15-20 minute PowerPoint presentations, along with Q &amp; A. This relaunched "Understanding our Biodiversity" activity is now funded by <a href="https://www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/Environment" title="https://www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/Environment" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Woollahra Council</a> Community and Cultural Grants Program, as well as supported by the <a href="https://npansw.org.au/" title="https://npansw.org.au/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">National Parks Association of NSW</a> and <a href="https://www.blueworld.net.au/" title="https://www.blueworld.net.au/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Blue World</a>. Although the recommended age for presentation and Q &amp; A listeners is 15 and above, we will have an arts and crafts table set up to host accompanying children during the event. Continue to follow updates on this and future MER events (as well as other nature news in Sydney Harbour) on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/marine_education_research_/" title="https://www.instagram.com/marine_education_research_/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@marine_education_research_</a> and participate in the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/marine-biodiversity-of-southern-sydney-harbour" title="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/marine-biodiversity-of-southern-sydney-harbour" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Marine Biodiversity of Southern Sydney Harbour Project</a> on iNaturalist. When6:00 PM to 7:30 PM on Thursday January 23, 2025 Where<a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/wy9b3AAWddwViEUX7" title="https://maps.app.goo.gl/wy9b3AAWddwViEUX7" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club (Ross Parker Room), Cnr Ramsgate Ave &amp;, Campbell Parade, North Bondi NSW 2026</a> Why"The ocean is the mother of all life on earth" - Valerie Taylor AM, Knight of the Order of the Golden Ark. And so learning more about marine life in our own backyards from local experts is our privilege.Do join us to support the next generation of researchers in Australia and to better "Understand our Biodiversity" in Sydney Harbour as well as NSW more broadly.*Note that you will also be provided with e-guides to fish and marine invertebrates known from Parsley Bay and surrounds after the event to help you better explore and appreciate the biodiversity living alongside us in Southern Sydney Harbour. Featured MER TalksZuhairah Dindar (<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zuhairah-zee-dindar-921b08175/?originalSubdomain=au" title="https://www.linkedin.com/in/zuhairah-zee-dindar-921b08175/?originalSubdomain=au" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">PhD Candidate, University of New South Wales</a>): The Great Southern Reef is on our doorstep, dominated by lush kelp forests. Zuhairah will talk about how climate change is reducing dominant habitats like kelp on our temperate reefs, and some of the implications that this can have on our ecosystems. Her work focuses on the increase of a marine animal which has become more abundant where kelp has been declining on reefs that are rapidly warming. Further, these animals can produce the greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, via their microbiome. Nitrous oxide is the third most important greenhouse gas contributing to climate change, therefore understanding how ecosystems are changing with warming, as well as their greenhouse gas production, can be informative for future greenhouse gas reduction plans.Dr Shaun Wilkinson (<a href="https://www.wilderlab.co.nz/" title="https://www.wilderlab.co.nz/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Founder and CEO of Wilderlab</a>): Environmental DNA (or eDNA) employs molecular sequencing technology to ‘barcode scan’ the biodiversity signals within as little as a single cup of water, to reveal the multitude of life forms inhabiting the surrounding environment. Dr Wilkinson from Wilderlab, one of the innovators in eDNA commercial and community services, will highlight recent eDNA surveys along the NSW coastline, which have unveiled a treasure chest of hidden biodiversity in estuaries. These samples were collected with community involvement as part of a <a href="https://www.blueworld.net.au/" title="https://www.blueworld.net.au/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Blue World</a> funded "Marine Biodiversity in Southern Sydney Harbour" project led by Dr Joseph DiBattista and <a href="https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/dpi/fishing/estuary-asset-protection-program#:~:text=DPIRD%20Fisheries%20Program&text=It%20includes%20a%20mix%20of,to%20other%20State%20Government%20priorities." title="https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/dpi/fishing/estuary-asset-protection-program#:~:text=DPIRD%20Fisheries%20Program&text=It%20includes%20a%20mix%20of,to%20other%20State%20Government%20priorities." target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">DPIRD's NSW Estuary Asset Protection program</a> led by Dr Maarten De Brauwer with State &amp; Commonwealth Disaster Recovery Funding. The extraordinary results are also publicly available on an interactive map at <a href="http://wilderlab.co.nz/explore" title="http://wilderlab.co.nz/explore" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">wilderlab.co.nz/explore</a>.Dr Joseph DiBattista (<a href="https://experts.griffith.edu.au/44243-joseph-di-battista" title="https://experts.griffith.edu.au/44243-joseph-di-battista" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Senior Lecturer at Griffith University</a> and <a href="https://australian.museum/get-involved/staff-profiles/joseph-dibattista/" title="https://australian.museum/get-involved/staff-profiles/joseph-dibattista/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Research Associate at Australian Museum</a>) will talk about how genetic tools can help better understand, track, and conserve our shark populations. He will highlight case studies of a model population of lemon sharks that he studied during his PhD in the Bahamas, insights into advances and areas of concern for NSW shark populations, and a sneek peek at a soon to be published book highlighting everyday citizens contributions to our understanding of fishes (including sharks!!) in Sydney Harbour. Speaker BiosZuhairah Dindar is a marine scientist and artist finishing her PhD at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Her multidisciplinary research is focused on the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, which aims to better understand its coastal production via microbes like bacteria that live inside marine invertebrates, how this will change under future climate conditions, as well as the social impact of how nitrous oxide is represented in the media. Zuhairah also has a fine arts degree and utilises this to create art about the ocean and climate change as well as better visualising complex scientific processes and methods for other researchers. She is keenly interested in science communication and blending science, art, and climate justice to provide a better future for our ecosystems; not only the organisms that we study but the people that live with them. X: <a href="https://x.com/zeeandthesea" title="https://x.com/zeeandthesea" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@zeeandthesea</a> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/zuhairahisartsy/" title="https://www.instagram.com/zuhairahisartsy/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@zuhairahisartsy</a>Dr Shaun Wilkinson is the Founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.wilderlab.co.nz/" title="https://www.wilderlab.co.nz/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Wilderlab</a>, an award-winning environmental DNA (eDNA) lab operating in Wellington and Sydney. After graduating with a PhD in molecular ecology from the Victoria University of Wellington in 2015, Shaun was awarded a Rutherford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship to develop eDNA methods for marine biodiversity assessments in Timor Leste, and statistical algorithms for identifying species from eDNA data with limited DNA reference information. Since launching Wilderlab in 2019, Shaun has grown an impressive team of talented scientists who have helped catalyse an exponential uptake of eDNA monitoring across Australasia. Shaun has a strong interest in helping communities connect with and improve their local environment through eDNA technology. X: <a href="https://x.com/wilkinshau" title="https://x.com/wilkinshau" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@wilkinshau</a> &amp; <a href="https://x.com/wilderlabnz" title="https://x.com/wilderlabnz" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@wilderlabnz</a> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wilderlabnz/" title="https://www.instagram.com/wilderlabnz/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@wilderlabnz</a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wilderlab" title="https://www.facebook.com/wilderlab" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Wilderlab</a>Dr Joseph DiBattista (MER activity coordinator) most recently served as NSW Senior Research Scientist and Curator in the Ichthyology Section at the Australian Museum (2018-2023), where he maintains Research Associate status and continues to coordinate legacy fish genetic projects between the museum, CSIRO, and the Minderoo Foundation. His current research at Griffith University is focused on exploring new ways to track and monitor environmental shifts in our coastal and marine ecosystems with environmental DNA (eDNA). He is also co-founder of the Sydney Harbour MER events and actively managing an <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/marine-biodiversity-of-southern-sydney-harbour" title="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/marine-biodiversity-of-southern-sydney-harbour" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">iNaturalist citizen science project</a> that aims to increase available marine biodiversity records from Southern Sydney Harbour. X: <a href="https://x.com/joey_squishfish" title="https://x.com/joey_squishfish" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@joey_squishfish</a>

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