Great Southern Reef Foundation

01/10/2026

A new open-access article written for young learners in Frontiers for Young Minds explains the importance of kelp forests, the marine life and communities they support, and the growing pressures they face.

Lead author Dr Chanelle Webster admits she did not initially feel equipped to write for children. Feedback on the first version was blunt: it was “boring”.

That response pushed her to rethink the article, get creative and communicate the science in a way young readers could follow. Graphic illustrator Tori Gorham worked with Chanelle to turn the concepts into colourful visual stories.

The article brings together collaborators from GSRF and the Great Southern Reef Research Partnership. It also reflects a growing national focus on ocean literacy, identified as a key enabler in work informing Australia’s National Marine Science Strategy for 2026–36. It shows why scientists need to communicate beyond academic audiences and help young people understand the marine environments around them.

29/09/2026

New research led by Sheena Chung at Southern Cross University has analysed 43 years of sea surface temperature data across 60 coastal marine regions. More than 95% experienced longer heatwaves between 1982 and 2024.

Along the Great Southern Reef, the heat history varies. Some regions have experienced exceptional events, while others have faced repeated marine heatwaves of lower intensity.

Mapping these patterns can help target long-term monitoring and prepare regional responses. Surveys before, during and after heatwaves help track how kelp forests, seagrass and marine animals respond.

The study measured surface temperatures. Observations at depth are also needed to understand heat exposure below the surface.

Read the full story on the news page on our website.

27/09/2026

Public submissions are open on the Australian Government’s proposal to prepare six new management plans covering 44 Commonwealth marine parks, closing at 4 pm AEST this Wednesday.

For the Great Southern Reef, the review offers an opportunity to strengthen representative and connected protection across Australia’s temperate reef system.

A strong outcome should protect a range of habitats, fund repeated monitoring and public reporting, coordinate management where ecological connections cross park boundaries, and support direct, paid participation by Traditional Owners.

24/09/2026

When H5 bird flu reached Bial-bial on the Limestone Coast, the deaths of Tanitjari, Greater Crested Terns (Thalasseus bergii), carried a warning far beyond disease.

“I celebrate the Tanitjari and the messages they bring to guide our lives; this is while I grieve their threatened loss.” - Professor Irene Watson.

In a new article, Professor Irene Watson reflects on the relationship between Meintangk Bunganditj Peoples, Greater Crested Terns and ngamath, and what their threatened loss would mean for Country, culture and future generations.

https://greatsouthernreef.com/tanitjari-greater-crested-terns-h5-bird-flu

Image of Irene:
Tern Images: .

22/09/2026

12 endangered Australian sea lions have been found dead on North and South Page islands, east of Kangaroo Island. South Australian Environment Minister Emily Bourke said three adults and one pup tested positive for H5 bird flu.

Two further sea lions found dead at Liguanea Island, off southern Eyre Peninsula, tested negative. Across all 14 animals, four tested positive, six tested negative and four were too decomposed to sample.

Bourke also said around 900 greater crested terns had been found dead at the Pages. The South Australian Government says these deaths form part of a previously confirmed H5 bird flu event.

Australian sea lions are already endangered. Fewer than 12,000 are thought to remain, with about 85 per cent found in South Australia.

The species has an unusually slow reproductive cycle. Females produce a single pup roughly every 18 months, and some do not produce a pup in every breeding season. Females also usually return to their birth colony to breed, leaving individual colonies highly isolated and particularly vulnerable to localised mortality.

Images: Dani Spreitzer

16/09/2026

Associate Professor Neville Barrett shares the remarkable ecology of Tasmania’s Bathurst Channel, one of the marine environments he has studied throughout his career.

This week marks the retirement of Nev from IMAS after more than three decades studying and documenting Australia’s temperate marine ecosystems.

A member of the Great Southern Reef Research Partnership, Nev has made an immense contribution to reef monitoring, marine park science and our understanding of the Great Southern Reef.

We thank Nev for his leadership, generosity and lasting contribution to the Great Southern Reef, and wish him all the best for this next chapter.

15/09/2026

A new Dragon Search South Australia report has documented the loss of almost 1,700 seadragons during the state’s prolonged harmful algal bloom, alongside hundreds of pipefish and seahorses.

Led by marine ecologist and citizen science project manager Janine Baker, the report draws on records from 253 citizen scientists between January 2025 and May 2026.

Although the recorded seadragon deaths capture only part of the large-scale loss, those reports are substantial over space and time.

Seadragons are light, laterally flattened (hence float ashore easily when dead), and they died early in the bloom cycle in each location. As such, they were one of the “sentinel species” of the HAB.

Since spring 2025, citizen science divers in at least 7 areas of SA have been documenting records of live seadragons (including previously identified individual leafy seadragons) in nearshore areas monitored by Dragon Search SA during the past 15 years. Juvenile weedy seadragons in small aggregations have also been recorded by divers.

“There is no doubt that leafy seadragon numbers are lower than pre-bloom in those inshore habitats, but offshore numbers away from dived locations remain undocumented,” explained Janine Baker.

State-planned broader-scale spatial assessments are progressing.

Continued and expanded monitoring of surviving populations and key habitats, will help assess remaining population and new, post-bloom cohorts, and guide population and habitat recovery efforts.

15/09/2026

As spring returns across the Great Southern Reef, this issue reflects on the changes seen across southern waters and what they may mean for the months ahead. With summer approaching, we look back at recent losses and lessons while considering how research, protection and public awareness can help prepare for another testing season.

September’s Great Southern Reef news: seadragon losses, giant cuttlefish protection, marine heatwaves, Sea Country perspectives and kelp forest education.

09/09/2026

Why do some golden kelp grow faster than others?

New research from Western Australia suggests part of the answer may lie in their DNA.

Researchers monitored 52 adult golden kelp across three sites on Marmion Reef over 79 days during spring, when growth is highest in this population.

To measure growth underwater, they punched a small hole five centimetres from the growth region of each kelp’s main blade. They later measured how far the hole had moved as the blade elongated.

Blade elongation rates varied almost fourfold.

The researchers identified 18 genetic markers associated with growth rate across at least two analytical methods. Together, these markers predicted about half of the variation recorded in the study.

The authors describe this as the first evidence of a genetic component underlying a key physiological trait in a natural kelp population.

Importantly, the study does not show that these markers directly cause faster growth. It examined 52 kelp from one small geographic area during a single season. Larger studies and controlled experiments are needed to confirm the relationship.

With further research, the findings could inform selective breeding for kelp aquaculture and the selection of donor kelp for restoration and assisted adaptation.

Paper title: Evidence of a genomic basis for growth rate variation in a natural kelp population

Lead Author: Samuel Starko

07/09/2026

Microscopic stages of giant kelp may be present in an unexpected place: within red seaweeds growing on Tasmanian reefs.

Using a genetic test designed specifically to detect giant kelp, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies-led researchers found its DNA in samples from eight of the 13 red seaweed species tested across four reefs.

Researchers compared cleaned and uncleaned red seaweed samples. Cleaning did not reduce giant kelp DNA detections, providing evidence consistent with microscopic kelp gametophytes occurring within the tissue rather than only on the surface.

Earlier studies in other kelp species have shown that kelp spores can settle on red seaweeds and develop into microscopic gametophytes within their tissue.

The branching red seaweed Ballia callitricha recorded the highest detection rate, with giant kelp DNA detected in eight of the 12 samples tested.

Researchers also detected giant kelp DNA at Bicheno, where giant kelp forests have been absent for over 30 years. Spores released by drifting kelp may provide one explanation.

These red seaweeds may act as a propagule bank, similar to a seed bank on land, potentially sheltering microscopic kelp stages until conditions support reproduction and growth. Further research must test if these gametophytes are alive, how long they persist and if they can reproduce to form new kelp.