Australasian fishes's Journal

Journal archives for February 2023

February 8, 2023

Port Maquarie's first marine BioBlitz, May 2023

Save the dates!
Friday 12th to Saturday 13th of May 2023, the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie will be hosting Port Macquarie's first Marine Bioblitz. Visit the Project page.
Where and What?
The Bioblitz will target an area bounded by South West Rocks to the North and Port Macquarie to the south. Structured surveys will include:
  • 2 Pelagic surveys, departing from South West Rocks
  • 2-4 Dive surveys based along Port Macquarie coast (location and frequency dependent on conditions)
  • 2 Intertidal rock pool and beach combing surveys along Shelly Beach Port Macquarie
  • 2 Intertidal netting and beach combing surveys along Shelly Beach Port Macquarie
Who? We are seeking both participants and team leaders
Rotary are seeking members of the Australasian Fishes Project to participate in surveys, particularly dive or intertidal surveys, and shoreline netting at high tide- as a blitzer or a leader. Rotary have received interest from several schools and are also seeking experienced naturalists to lead or assist in surveys, to help with student engagement and identification. Rotary can assist attendees needing to travel through arranged billeting. Please contact Ted to discuss. Depending on demand, preference will be given to people able to lead or support community and school intertidal sessions.
Aim
The primary aim of the Bioblitz is for Rotary to lead environmental projects and to document marine and intertidal diversity by uploading observations of all plants and animals observed along the coastal zone, including the pelagic and intertidal.
The second aim is to engage with and build community. To this end we encourage everyone to participate. We already have enthusiastic responses from several schools, dive shops and higher education institutes.
Details and registration
Participants in the pelagic and dive surveys will, for the purposes of insurance and coordination, need to pre-register no later than 48 hours prior to the event. A nominal fee may be included to cover fuel costs to the pelagic zone. Divers will need to be certified open water and led by representatives from the local dive school.
Further Information
The Bioblitz is being coordinated by Dr Ted Giblin, @tedgiblin. He can be contacted on 0487690439 and tedgiblin@hotmail.com.
Posted on February 8, 2023 02:29 AM by markmcg markmcg | 0 comments | Leave a comment

February 15, 2023

Black Blenny - a new record for Norfolk Island

This small fish in the image above was photographed by Susan Prior (@susanprior) in Slaughter Bay, Norfolk Island. Susan couldn't identify the fish so she uploaded the observation identified simply as a 'Ray-finned Fish' to the Australasian Fishes Project.
Francois Libert (@francoislibert) subsequently correctly identified it to family, then Malcolm Francis (@francism) tentatively identified it as a Black Blenny, Enchelyurus ater. Malcolm tagged me for my input, so I referred the observation to Australian Museum Senior Fellow, Doug Hoese who confirmed Malcolm's tentative identification.
Malcolm was particularly interested in Susan's observation because for some years he has maintained a checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk and Kermadec Islands. Malcolm noted that the Black Blenny had not previously been recorded from Norfolk Island.
This observation highlights the power of citizen scientists working with professional ichthyologists to achieve important outcomes. It also illustrates the fact that users shouldn't be afraid to upload observations of fishes that they can't identify. Most of the time someone will step up to the plate with an identification.
Thanks to everyone involved in bringing this new record to light.
Posted on February 15, 2023 02:16 AM by markmcg markmcg | 2 comments | Leave a comment