New species, the Ruby Seadragon, discovered
February 2015 – While researching the two known species of seadragons as part of an effort to understand and protect the exotic and delicate fish, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego made a startling discovery: A third species of seadragon.
Using DNA and anatomical research tools, Scripps graduatestudent Josefin Stiller and marine biologists Nerida Wilson of the Western Australia Museum (WAM) and Greg Rouse of Scripps Oceanography found evidence for the new species while analyzing tissue samples supplied by WAM. The researchers then requested the full specimen as well as photographs taken just after it was retrieved from the wild in 2007. They were further surprised by the appearance of the newly identified animal. The color was a bright shade of red and vastly different from the orange tint in Leafy Seadragons and the yellow and purple hues of Common Seadragons.
Stiller, Wilson, and Rouse gave their new discovery the scientific name Phyllopteryx dewysea, also referred to as the "Ruby Seadragon," and details are published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
"We're now in a golden age of taxonomy and these powerful DNA tools are making it possible for more new species than ever to be discovered," said Rouse, curator of the Scripps Benthic Invertebrate Collection. "That such large charismatic marine species are still being found is evidence that there is still much to be done. This latest finding provides further proof of the value of scientific collections and museum holdings."
Stiller identified the original Ruby Seadragon, a male carrying several dozen babies, as part of her graduate research on population genetics of the two known seadragons across the Australian coast (seadragons are found exclusively off southern Australia). She studies migration patterns and genetic diversity to help bolster seadragon conservation efforts.
"A CT (computer tomography) scan gave us 5,000 X-ray slices that we were able to assemble into a rotating 3-D model of the new seadragon," said Stiller. "We could then see several features of the skeleton that were distinct from the other two species, corroborating the genetic evidence."
The team believes the animal's coloring suggests it inhabits deeper waters than the Leafy and Common Seadragons, as the red shading would be absorbed at depth and effectively serve as camouflage.
Following the initial finding, Wilson combed through the collections at WAM and found a second Ruby Seadragon specimen that had washed up on a Perth beach nearly a hundred years ago, and Stiller tracked down two others archived in the Australian National Fish Collection.
"This new seadragon first entered the Western Australia Museum's collection in 1919, and lay unidentified for almost a century," said Wilson. "Recognizing this new species demonstrates how museum collections underpin biodiversity discovery."
The authors now hope to put together a search expedition for Ruby Seadragons and witness them alive in the wild.
"It has been 150 years since the last seadragon was described and all this time we thought that there were only two species," said Wilson. "Suddenly, there is a third species! If we can overlook such a charismatic new species for so long, we definitely have many more exciting discoveries awaiting us in the oceans."
"I've always been fascinated with marine life, especially seadragons, so this is an amazing discovery," said Mary "Dewy" White, cofounder of the Lowe Family Foundation, which supported the research. "People always talk about going to outer space but they forget about the ocean we have here on our own planet. For me ocean conservation and research is paramount, and we need to do what we can to encourage and nurture ocean exploration."
Josefin Stiller , Nerida G. Wilson , Greg W. Rouse. A spectacular new species of seadragon (Syngnathidae). Royal Society Open Science, February 2015 DOI:10.1098/rsos.140458
Top: A 3-D scan of the newly discovered Ruby Seadragon. Image courtesy of University of California, San Diego
Australian artists' archives revealed for the 40th anniversary of International Women's Day
25 February 2015
A moving archive of contemporary art, film and social history projects that reflect on past experiences of Australian women opens at Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) on 5 March to commemorate the 40th anniversary of International Women's Day.
From the tales of women institutionalised in Sydney in past centuries, the pioneering Australian filmmakers of the 1970s, to a 2005 time capsule of 100 Sydney artists' interviews and, more recently, the creatively-motivated relationships of four daughters and mothers - the stories and works are as intriguing as they are diverse.
Future Feminist Archive is an exhibition and research initiative led by the University of Sydney's contemporary art school. It comprises four projects inspired by different archives that amplify the experiences of Australian women from contrasting times and backgrounds.
Heading the research is SCA's Associate Dean, Dr Jacqueline Millner. She said: "In recent years we have seen a groundswell of interest in feminism's role in contemporary art and culture.
"One significant landmark is this year's 40th anniversary of International Women's Day, which is also the 20th anniversary of The National Women's Art Exhibition held in over 150 venues across Australia and organised by the late feminist art historian Joan Kerr.
"Future Feminist Archive will mark the anniversaries by hosting a series of exhibitions and events that look at how the past is always with us. Archives can be understood as official records but they also present an opportunity to interpret the past differently. This inspires many artists, who go searching for what history has overlooked to bring us new stories and perspectives," said Dr Jacqueline Millner.
The exhibition includes a film produced by the Parramatta Female Factory Precinct Memory Projectthat shares the revelations of former residents of three historic Sydney institutions:- the Parramatta Female Factory (1821-1847); the Roman Catholic Orphan School (1844-1886); and the Parramatta Girls Home (1887-1974). Launched in 2013, the project is run by a voluntary group, Parragirls, headed by Bonney Djuric. It aims to create a historical record of the places, experiences and impact on the lives of the women who lived in these institutions.
Daughters Mothers, a centrepiece of the exhibition, brings to light the creative connections of four mid-career artists and their mothers. Judy and Joyce Watson, Sue and Peggy Pedley, Alison and Joan Clouston, and Toni Warburton and the late Enid (Soot) Warburton, all weave their family stories together with broader cultural history, and reflect on the inter-generational passing of knowledge.
Twenty-four hours of video of 100 Sydney artists interviewed by Anne Kay and Jane Polkinghorne in 2005 features in Artist Archive. The interviews capture the thoughts of each artist on what it means to be an artist, and the social and political issues that shaped their art. Ten years on, Artist Archive is a fascinating time capsule of Australian contemporary art and culture. The exhibition will include the reflections of some artists looking back on their earlier selves.
The exhibition also screens several ground-breaking films by Australian feminist filmmakers The films, which were made during the second wave of feminism in the '70s, have helped shape contemporary experimental film in Australia. They include rarely-seen works such as Maidens (1978) screened in Cannes in '78, We Aim to Please (1976), My Survival as an Aboriginal (1978), Size 10 (1978) and For love or Money (1983). Women's Gaze and the Feminist Film Archive is curated by Margot Nash, Jeni Thornley and Loma Bridge, and coordinated by Sarah Attfield.
Future Feminist Archive will be launched with a talk by prominent Australian artist and SCA's artist-in-residence Tracey Moffatt who will be discussing her recent work on 4 March (6pm).
Artists and filmmakers in the Feminist Film Archive will speak at a symposium on 6 March (10am-3.30pm) at the Art Gallery of NSW. The artists in Daughters Mothers will talk about their work at SCA Galleries on 7 March (11am-1pm).
Event Details: Future Feminist Archive
When: 5-28 March 2015 (official opening: Wednesday, 4 March at 6pm)
Where: Sydney College of the Arts, The University of Sydney, Kirkbride Way, Rozelle
Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-5pm; Sat 11am-4pm. Closed Sun.
Cost: Free
Website:sydney.edu.au/sca/galleries-events/future-feminist-archive.shtml
Restoring Coastal Headland Ecosystems Grant events
As part of the NSW Environmental Trust ‘Restoring Coastal Headland Ecosystems’ grant, a number of community events are being planned.
Pittwater Council would like to welcome and encourage any residents who have not attended these events before and all those who have in the past.
Come along, get to know your neighbours and enjoy the satisfaction of helping your local area!
Free Native Plant Giveaway – Warriewood Beach – Saturday 18 April from 8am to 12pm. To be held opposite the Warriewood Beach cafés and shops on Narrabeen Park Parade. The free plants will be for local residents at Warriewood and Turimetta. Come along and select some local native plants designed to your coastal conditions.
Community Planting Event – Turimetta Beach – Sunday 26 April from 9am to 12pm. Meet at the main beach track and grass area above Turimetta Beach (opposite 58 Narrabeen Park Parade). Tools, equipment, morning tea and training provided by Council. Come along, wear comfortable clothing, closed shoes and give us a hand!
Warriewood Beach Bushcare Group - please call the Bushcare Officer for dates to be scheduled.
NEW Mona Vale Basin Bushcare Group - first meeting scheduled for Saturday 7 March from 8am to 11am. Meet in the reserve on the corner of Surfview and Bassett St East.
Mona Vale Dunes Bushcare Group meets regularly on the 2nd Saturday and 3rd Thursday of each month from 8:30 to 11:30am. Meet at the end of Golf Avenue, Mona Vale.
For further details regarding the Bushcare groups or events please contact the Bushcare Officer on 9970 1367 or for information regarding the grant project please call the Bushland Management Officers on 9970 1363 or 9970 1390.
Clean Up Australia Day 2015
SHOROC councils would like to thank all the volunteers who have helped clean up our local area over the last 25 years. This year is the 25th Clean Up Australia Day so join in and you help clean up our local beaches, lagoons, parks, bushland and sportsfields. Already almost 100 clean up sites have been registered in the Manly, Mosman, Pittwater and Warringah council areas showing how keen and green our local residents are.
Last year an estimated 572,400 volunteers removed 15,700 tonnes of rubbish at 7,140 sites right across the country. You can join in:
Clean Up Australia Day – Sunday 1 March
Get involved by registering your own clean up site or volunteer at a site near you.
Are you prepared for coastal storms?
Michael Hall from The Climate Institute will be presenting his photographic work at the Avalon Beach Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) in the lead up to Earth Hour with a focus on coastal storm impacts. ‘The Story of Our Planet Unfolds’ is a pictorial display on how climate change is already impacting our planet.
The severity of no action on climate change was highlighted in the Climate Council’s report released last year called Counting the Costs: Climate Change and Coastal Flooding, which found more than $226 billion worth of asset exposure along the Australian coastline for the 2100 climate change projections. An additonal report called The Impact of Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change on Surf Life Saving Services (2011) highlighted the specific vulnerability of SLSCs to climate change with the majority of Australia’s club houses located on sandy beaches which are particularly exposed to extreme weather events and sea level rise.
Find out from the SES how you can prepare for the impacts of climate change on our coasts from increasing storm events.
When: Tuesday 17 March, 7:30 – 9:30pm
Where: Avalon Beach SLSC – Club Room
RSVP by Friday 13 March to floodplain@pittwater.nsw.gov.au
Getting bottles and cans out of our streets, beaches and waterways
22nd February 2015 – Media release
NSW Premier Mike Baird has announced a re-elected Baird Government will introduce reverse vending machines across the state as part of a cost-effective container deposit scheme for the recycling of drink containers.
Mr Baird and Environment Minister Rob Stokes today announced the decision at Coogee beach and said the government will engage in comprehensive community consultation on the design of the scheme and the incentive structure for communities to participate.
By 1 July 2017, communities will be rewarded for their recycling efforts through the use of reverse vending machines at popular beaches, parks, and public spaces across NSW.
The Baird Government’s preferred model is a cost-effective scheme in which consumers, or a charity of their choice, receive a small financial reward for depositing a drink container in a reverse vending machine; but we are open to better alternatives.
“We want to help communities look after their local environment by being better equipped to tackle litter and increase recycling,” Mr Baird said.
“We estimate that at least 800 reverse vending machines will be installed across NSW – offering communities the opportunity to be rewarded for contributing to positive environmental outcomes in the places where they are most needed.”
Mr Stokes said the government has decided that a state-based scheme, using reverse vending machines and targeting containers that are predominantly consumed away-from-home, will be both cost efficient and effective.
“Beverage containers currently account for one in every three pieces of litter, polluting our beaches, parks and waterways,” Mr Stokes said.
“Our container deposit scheme will complement, rather than compete with, our existing kerbside recycling system and help the government achievement our ambitious litter reduction and recycling targets.
“Over the next 12 months we will consult with the community and industry on how we will implement a scheme, which will be underpinned by a comprehensive cost benefit analysis.
“The final design of the container deposit scheme will be announced in 2016, and will include the use of reverse vending machines and an incentive for the community to participate.”
The consultation with the community and industry will focus on:
The location of reverse vending machines;
The incentive for community participation;
The scope of containers to be redeemable under the scheme; and
The involvement of local government and the recycling industry in the scheme.
Member for Coogee Bruce Notley-Smith said this announcement was a great day for communities across NSW who have campaigned for a container deposit scheme.
“The cost to the community of littering goes beyond visual pollution. Greater respect for neighbourhoods by disposing of rubbish properly helps to protect our local natural environment and limits health impacts for people and sea life,” Mr Notley-Smith said.
“I’m proud to be part of a government that has listened to strong community concerns about litter and will introduce a container deposit scheme in just over two years.
“Under Mike Baird’s leadership we have the ambitious goal of having the lowest litter rate in the nation and a container deposit scheme will be a crucial element in achieving that goal.”
