Glimpse of the future of the south from last summer’s heatwave
Tuesday, 29 January 2019 8:51am
Fish normally seen in sub-tropical waters arrived; the kelp that provides habitat for other fish and marine species died off; farmed salmon failed to thrive – even surfers could wear board shorts instead of wetsuits.
Division of Sciences presents 2018 awards
Tuesday, 11 December 2018 10:39pm
The Division of Sciences recently celebrated its annual awards recognising the breadth of work undertaken across many areas of University life including research, teaching, community engagement, technical and administrative support.
Otago researcher to explore new Antarctic frontiers
Monday, 5 November 2018 3:41pm
Otago Geophysicist Professor Gary Wilson will join a team of New Zealand scientists in exploring new frontiers in Antarctica this season when they travel across the Ross Ice Shelf to collect information that helps identify the conditions that lead to the retreat of glaciers and sea level rise.
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/
