Fishy role ends with retirement
Thursday, 11 October 2018 7:43pm
The Manager of the University of Otago’s New Zealand Marine Studies Centre (NZMSC) Tessa Mills will tomorrow hang up her “trusty blue polar fleece” for the last time when she retires after 13 years at the helm.
Rare video captured of ‘white’ southern right whales as researchers examine the resurgent species
Tuesday, 2 October 2018 9:03am
A University of Otago research team led by Professor Steve Dawson and Dr Will Rayment, have recently returned from a month-long expedition to the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands where they have been collecting data on a recovering population of southern right whales.
Missing ‘Saildrone’ recovered by University of Otago team
Tuesday, 28 August 2018 10:09am
While in the Auckland Islands studying the recovering population of southern right whales, a University of Otago team led by Professor Steve Dawson and Dr Will Rayment was given an unusual task by the Department of Conservation (DOC) – to recover a drone that had become stranded on Sandy Bay, on Enderby Island.
Bottle caps turned into artwork
Thursday, 9 August 2018 2:27pm
One thousand plastic bottle caps donated by staff and students from across the University’s Dunedin campus have been turned into a beautiful piece of art aimed at educating people about the impact of plastics on the creatures that live in the ocean.
Art-science interactions push the boundaries
Thursday, 26 July 2018 11:55am
Two of the Otago scientists involved in the new Art + Oceans exhibition currently on display at Otago Museum’s HD Skinner Annex rolled up their sleeves and took a more hands-on role in the creative process.
International Antarctic role for Otago Professor
Wednesday, 27 June 2018 10:03am
University of Otago Marine scientist Professor Gary Wilson has been elected Vice-President of a major international group coordinating research in Antarctica.
Colossal Squid Dissection
Next week our student Tyler Northern will be helping to dissect a Colossal squid with NIWA at Te Papa (the second specimen ever found intact!),
The dissection will take place at 11am on Tuesday the 16th of September and will be streamed live on this link :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yz_57uadUQ
Te Papa also have a blog with more details on the dissection : http://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2014/09/05/colossal-squid-live/
International Progammes
Invasive Bryozoan and Ascidian Recruitment and Growth Experiment – iBARGE
Otago researchers join international study examining the fouling communities of ports and harbours.
Department of Marine Science researchers have joined iBARGE, the Invasive Bryozoan and Ascidian Recruitment and Growth Experiment. iBARGE aims to examine the richness and growth rates of fouling communities, groups of marine organisms that grow on the undersides of boats, docks, and aquaculture equipment. In many locations, fouling communities are dominated by invasive species which can overgrow native species including commercially important organisms like oysters and mussels. The iBARGE program compares the growth rates of invasive species between locations on three different continents (the east and west coasts of North America, the UK, and NZ), using photographs taken on a weekly basis. Settlement panels – PVC squares – have been deployed in the northern hemisphere’s spring and summer and were deployed this week in Otago Harbour for the austral spring and summer. Analysis of the data collected will allow scientists to understand how growth rates vary with water temperature and location.
Read more and see examples of the fouling community at http://ibargeprogram.wordpress.com/
