News Vol. 14 | April 2026 | Global Ocean Accounts Partnership Ocean accounting from around the world delivered to your inbox.

1/2 🗞️ 2026 will be a pivotal year for #SustainableOceanDevelopment - learn more in GOAP's latest newsletter!

Highlights: #OceanAccounting in action around the world + opportunities to join GOAP Secretariat team & Social Accounts Working Group!

🔗 www.oceanaccounts.org/insights/new...

How hidden contributions power modern research The people who work behind the scenes to keep research moving say that there should be more recognition for their roles.

The wonderful Frank Hemmings, our Technical Laboratory Manager and Herbarium curator, featured in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The underwater forests coming back to life off the Sydney coast This seaweed is to southern Australia what coral is to the tropical north. Sewage pollution made it locally extinct between Palm Beach and Cronulla in the 1980s.

www.smh.com.au/environment/...

iNaturalist project

Help us explore and record biodiversity across campus!
Join us in taking photos of all of the wonderful living things on campus and upload them to our iNaturalist project during the 24hr BioBlitz challenge. Whether you’re into birding or love the smallest critters, every observation counts!

We have an open postdoc position at @ccrc.bsky.social. This postdoc will work with @jasonpevans.bsky.social, Fiona Johnson, and me, together with partner organisations NSW DCEEW and @nswses.bsky.social, on rainfall extremes and flooding. external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/53...

Coo-ee! Scientists tap into the inner workings of long-distance animal calls UNSW Sydney researchers have traced the evolution of over 100 animal calls – including from lions, koalas and whales – to learn more about how mammals communicate over distances.

news.unsw.edu.au/en/coo-ee-sc...

Emma Johnston (1973–2025) - Nature Ecology & Evolution Innovative marine ecologist, passionate science communicator and visionary leader in higher education.

Our tribute to colleague Emma Johnston - published in Nature Ecology and Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Live stratosphere special: Totally Cooked podcast Join the Totally Cooked team and guest experts to explore the stratosphere, ozone, and jet stream—and how they shape our weather and climate.

I got to explain the stratosphere in the Totally Cooked podcast together with @juliearblaster.bsky.social and the @21stcenturyweather.bsky.social. So much fun to discuss real (and not so real) science! 🧪 21centuryweather.org.au/engage/total...

Animals can talk over huge distances – but humans might be changing their range Animals on land and sea use sound for different purposes – and alterations in their environment can change the effect it has

theconversation.com/animals-can-...

UNSW academics recognised in prestigious national teaching awards Three teachers from the Business, Science and Arts Design and Architecture faculties were awarded citations for outstanding contributions to student learning.

Well done to Terry Ord who just received a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning at the 2025 Australian Awards for University Teaching www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/new...

What lies beneath: tapping into Australia’s hidden waters It runs from our taps, keeps crops alive and rivers flowing – yet no one knows exactly how much groundwater we have, or how often it’s renewed. UNSW researchers are venturing underground to find out.

news.unsw.edu.au/en/what-lies...

The blind spot that’s making our beaches less safe The presence of lifeguards and lifesavers on our beaches is not keeping pace with increasing visitation numbers.

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

Biologists and boaties team up to save Sydney's seagrass A centuries-old nautical technique is being redesigned within a small Sydney cove in a bid to save a tiny remnant population of a dying species.

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Boats wreak hidden havoc on the harbour. Now the damage is being undone In “a major success for the city”, seagrass has been replanted for the first time underneath new environmentally friendly boat moorings.

Our work with @sims-australia.bsky.social to restore Sydney Harbour www.smh.com.au/environment/...

Light pollution and the marine world YouTube video by UNSW Science

Light pollution is an underappreciated and growing threat to marine #biodiversity. It already affects ~22% of global coastlines and can reach the seafloor.

This video, made with #UNSW, #ADSA, and #DCCEEW, highlights why marine #lightpollution matters 🌊🌐🧪

#ALAN 💡

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtd7...

Yes, feral cats and foxes really have driven many Australian mammals to extinction Decades of evidence link foxes and feral cats with extinctions of Australian mammals. Claims these introduced predators aren’t responsible don’t stack up.

theconversation.com/yes-feral-ca...

Teaching animal behaviour? Curious about the animal world? BEES' own Terry Ord has a new graphic text to explain the weird and wonderful behaviour of animals all around us. Get your copy at www.amazon.com.au/Understandin...

No longer extinct, just critically endangered Citizen science platforms including iNaturalist are leading to major new discoveries and are becoming crucial to the work of scientists. How do we make them even better?

"Engaging landholders with science and the natural world and getting them more passionate about diversity makes them far more likely to be invested in protecting that diversity," said @thebeachcomber.bsky.social, lead author of paper.

Via @unswbees.bsky.social:
www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/new...

No longer extinct, just critically endangered Citizen science platforms including iNaturalist are leading to major new discoveries and are becoming crucial to the work of scientists. How do we make them even better?

www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/new...

Diversity, history and overlooked beauty: The fight to revive Sydney’s forgotten second harbour Despite the ravages of industry and urban development, Botany Bay has retained pockets of surprising beauty with biodiversity to rival Sydney Harbour. Now a revival is under way, as an Indigenous-led ...

www.smh.com.au/interactive/...

Meteorology and Climate of the Southern Hemisphere | Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Exciting news 🎉 Our CCRC scientist Andréa Taschetto and team have just released “Meteorology and Climate of the Southern Hemisphere” book, an updated edition of David Karoly’s 1998 monograph, published by Cambridge University Press. +
Available at lnkd.in/g4SFsM9k

www.cambridge.org/au/universit...

We’ve partnered with DP World to create port infrastructure that benefits both people and nature. Living Ports @JebelAli has 1,000+ panels, the largest Living Seawall in the world!

Study shows droughts lasting longer across Australia UNSW research shows droughts are lasting longer in Australia, particularly in regions where most people live.

If you're interested in drought and AI, our PhD student Matt Grant and researcher Dr Sanaa Hobeichi have been featured in this UNSW Newsroom! It shows Australian droughts are lasting longer (especially SE & SW), with AI ++

www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/new...

#Drought #ClimateChange #AI #UNSWResearch

Parenthood vs longevity: lives of zoo animals reveal inner workings of ageing Drawing on data from more than 100 mammal species, an international team of researchers examined the trade-off between living a long life and having babies.

www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/new...

Eminent Ecologist 2025: Angela Moles | Lessons in starting out as an ecologist British Ecological Society · Episode

🌱Angela also sat down with our Executive Editor Richard Bardgett to talk about how she went from seed science to applied ecology, and falling into a career in academia

🎧Listen to the podcast here: buff.ly/2augoKE

🏆We are pleased to announce that our Eminent Ecologist for 2025 is Angela Moles!

✨Angela has collected a few of her favourite Journal of Ecology papers together here: buff.ly/86uQ6v5

Driving discovery: UNSW receives $70m for two Centres of Excellence Two new national research centres will unite leading experts to tackle challenges in ocean sustainability and quantum computing – areas critical to Australia’s future prosperity.

Excited to be the new home for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Our Future Oceans, led by @profmattengland.bsky.social here at UNSW Science www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/new...

When Does Rainfall Become Recharge? - Eos Counting drips in caves is helping to reveal how much precipitation is needed to start refilling underground aquifers.

Measuring rainfall recharge thresholds allows researchers to assess how much rainfall is needed to recharge groundwater and when this recharge occurs, write @andy-baker.bsky.social + colleagues at CSIRO, UNSW, @flindersuniversity.bsky.social, & @deakinuniversity.bsky.social

eos.org/science-upda...

Repetition and order of exposure to salinization and nutrient enrichment drive freshwater microbial community responses Biological systems face multiple stressors that impact biodiversity and ecosystem functions, with complex interactions that vary spatially and temporally leading to unpredictable outcomes. In freshwa...

New paper alert!! Repetition and order of exposure to salinization and nutrient enrichment drive freshwater microbial community responses, led by PhD student Rose Fuggle with supervisors Mariana Mayer Pinto, Miguel Matias and Ziggy Marzinelli. 🧪🌐🦠

Read here: doi.org/10.1002/ecy....

#microbes

'Unusually active': Ten giant hail warnings for SEQ this storm season The region has been hit by another round of storms which brought large and even giant hailstones. Is this the new normal?

Queensland’s had a rough run of storms with giant hail recently - I talked with ABC news about them. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...