SIMS

SIMS research covers many aspects of marine science. The following examples give an idea of the scope of this research. Click here for information on specific research projects.

• Keeping the Harbour water clean. The Harbour and other estuaries are kept clean and functioning by the abundant plant, animal and microbial life that is both in the water and on or in the sediments and rocks that line the Harbour. Developing a basic understanding of these organisms and the Harbour ecosystem, and monitoring and predicting changes and threats to the system, is an important role of SIMS.


• Climate change. The effects of climate change are of increasing importance along our coast and in our protected waters. The oceans are warming and becoming more acidic. These changes will have substantial impact on marine life. Higher sea water levels and bigger storm surges also threaten coastal settlements. SIMS works with government agencies to understand and predict the effects of climate change, so as to inform future coastal development.


• Sharks. How many sharks are there in summer in the Harbour? Where do they feed and what are their movements? The NSW Department of Industry and Investment and SIMS are marking sharks and other fishes with sound emitting acoustic tags. These tags "ping" acoustic receivers deployed on the bottom of the ocean every time a tagged fish or shark swims by, giving us valuable information about the basic biology and movement of these species.


• Restoring our fish populations. Fishing has significantly reduced the abundance of prime fish species like the mulloway and kingfish. SIMS scientists are working to restock these species by adding pond reared juveniles to local estuaries. But how many do we add? Adding too many juveniles can cause unexpected and deleterious changes to these estuarine systems. Too few and the populations continue to dwindle. Research by SIMS' scientists is striving to get this balance right.


• Measuring pollution. By combining the tools of environmental science with modern molecular biology, new and clever techniques are being developed at SIMS to measure pollution using living organisms (oysters). Oysters placed in the water for only a few days respond to pollutants by changes in gene expression and production of certain proteins. Pollutants in surface mud are also being studied and mapped, including the sources of present pollutants entering the Harbour and their possible prevention.


• Marine microbes by the billion. The diversity of microbes in marine and coastal ecosystems is largely unknown, but they are a fundamental part of the functioning and dynamics of marine systems. SIMS is building a special clean and protected laboratory to enable the study of the millions of marine microbes found in every bucket of Harbour water. The laboratory will also enable research into marine pathogens (disease causing organisms).


• Nemo is swimming south. Warming sea surface temperatures in the Tasman Sea are causing movement south of tropical species. Will this impact on our local fish species? Will it bring marine diseases from further north? Is it affecting marine plants like our kelp that form shelter for local marine life?


• Forecasting weather and sea conditions. The great southward flowing East Australian Current (EAC) seems to be speeding up with global warming. It is forcing more warm water southward and has recently been measured at speeds up to 6 knots by SIMS scientists. Changes in this current may also be affecting our coastal weather by affecting the atmospheric conditions known as East Coast Lows, which can cause violent storms in winter. The Pasha Bulker was driven ashore by such a storm in 2007.