Sea Urchin attempting to devour a premature kelp plant.
I recently had the pleasure to speak with Andy Muirhead and Jo Spargo on ABC radio about worldwide conservation projects, particularly for Whalesharks and what our local dive clubs are doing to support ecosystems closer to home.
Check out my spiel on Whaleshark research by navigating through the archives on the right, as there are a number of great volunteer programs to consume you. Our local Tasmanian University Dive Club is becoming increasingly involved in conservation and research around our little island and our main focus this year is Sea Urchin research to help study the seemingly natural migration of the East Australian Sea Urchin which is eating away at our coastal reef and marine ecosystems. From initial investigations it appears that the Sea Urchins are able to spawn further south on the Australian mainland and the eastern currents are carrying these spawning young across the Bass Strait to land in the protected and by the barrens they are leaving, more tasty habitats of Tasmania.
Our work in inline with around 5 other local dive clubs in an attempt to run transects at strategic points around the coast, mapping out their mass, estimated growth rate, and penetration further south. Urchins have been found as far as Reserche Bay and on the southern most tip of Tasmania.
Other projects in the pipeline for our divers is Spotted Handfish research, Introduced Species research, and Whaleshark tagging in Africa late next year. You can find out further information on our efforts with the Sea Urchin project at www.otsweb.net/divesurveys.
What is left after a group of Sea Urchins decimate what was once a habitat for other fishes.
The image to the right is the effect of urchins on mass totally destroying a once thriving ecosystem. Once a barren is created, it only takes a fraction of the original urchin population to maintain its decimation.
Current experiments include the introduction of deep sea Southern Rock Lobsters (those over 2 kilograms) in an attempt to monitor their feeding habits and whether urchins are a favourite on their diet. A research area has been created at St Helens on the east coast of Tasmania which is now a no take zone for Southern Rock Lobster while the research is being conducted.
The TUDC will be completing transects further south at Wedge Island as soon as the weather eases up and the water becomes a little warmer.
