Minimising dolphin-induced bait depredation in a bather protection shark management program Dolphins can interfere with shark fishing equipment used in bather protection programs by removing bait, which increases program costs and reduces effectiv

A lot of thanks must go to the contracting team who did the vast majority of physical work on this study, as well as the wonderful tech staff at NSW DPIRD. Open-access paper here: connectsci.au/wr/article/5...

Minimising dolphin-induced bait depredation in a bather protection shark management program Dolphins can interfere with shark fishing equipment used in bather protection programs by removing bait, which increases program costs and reduces effectiv

Dolphins were stealing bait from SMART drumlines at one site. We tried adding acoustic deterrents but that didn’t seem to stop them.

However, switching the bait to elasmobranch tissue significantly reduced bait depredation: there were no observations of dolphins stealing bait in 3 years. (2/3)

Minimising dolphin-induced bait depredation in a bather protection shark management program Dolphins can interfere with shark fishing equipment used in bather protection programs by removing bait, which increases program costs and reduces effectiv

How do you stop dolphins stealing bait from drumlines? We looked at data from the NSW Shark Management Program.

❌ acoustic pingers
✅ change bait type

(1/3)
connectsci.au/wr/article/5...

"Improving citizen science: Co-creating recommendations with researchers and the public"

A pre-print about an exciting project with Science for All, supported by the Australian Citizen Science Association & the Australian Academy of Science

doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#citizenscience #public #science

(2/2) The tool can provide rapid, scalable data to fill gaps in detailed long-term monitoring to optimise decision making for resilience-based management. The novel inclusion of online volunteers presents an opportunity for mass engagement of new audiences in conservation.

Broadscale reconnaissance of coral reefs from citizen science and deep learning - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Coral reef managers require various forms of data. While monitoring is typically the preserve of scientists, there is an increasing need to collect larger scale, up-to-date data to prioritise limited ...

(1/2) New paper: broadscale image collection and analysis by citizen science and AI can estimate cover of key coral groups with ~99% accuracy, with some variation depending on coral cover level.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Giants in the cold: Morphological evidence for vascular heat retention in the viscera but not the skeletal muscle of the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) Fewer than 50 of the over 30,000 extant species of fishes have developed anatomical specializations facilitating endothermy in specific body regions. The plankton-feeding basking shark (Cetorhinus ma...

How did I miss this?!? Basking sharks are likely to be partial endotherms: they are able to warm up some of their body higher than the surrounding water. This means they can maintain a more active lifestyle in otherwise very cold waters.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Would you like to play a part in helping the Great Barrier Reef?

You can become a virtual volunteer for the Great Reef Census, delivering valuable data and driving real-world impact on coral reefs.

Analyse a photo now at greatreefcensus.org/science

Fast & Fair peer review A new initiative offering high-quality peer review within 7 working days of submission Biology Open

We are excited to be launching the next phase of our Fast & Fair peer review initiative: offering high-quality peer review within 7 working days. #fastandfairpeerreview
Read the Editorial by EiC Daniel Gorelick @danielgorelick.bsky.social at: bit.ly/4kYD1mL

credit: Liam Lachs

📢New Paper Alert📢

on corals and climate change in Science

Adaptation via natural selection could determine whether Acropora corals persist under expected levels of global warming

Hyperlinks & explainer thread below ⬇️

(1/12)

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) hunt, kill and consume the largest fish on Earth, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). 🦑🐟🦈🌿🧪🌎 www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

Amazing thank you ☺️ oh yes please!

I knew someone would have started this! Can I be added please? 😄🦈

Can I also be added please 😄

Meeee too please 🙋