Reef fish futures foretold
An international group of scientists is predicting markedly different outcomes for different species of coral reef fishes under climate change – and have made substantial progress on picking the ‘
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
The following contains educational material developed by or in collaboration with CoralCoE researchers.
A Tail of Two Sharks is an hour long webinar by Dr. Jodie Rummer about her research on sharks. The webinar is designed for children between the ages of 7-14. You can learn more about Dr. Rummer and her research on her website: PhysioShark.
Former CoralCoE researcher Mariana Fuentes wrote two children story books for Torres Strait Islands children. Click on the photos to download pdf versions.
Myrtle’s battle against climate change
Dhyum the Dugong
QLD Science Activity Book
A brief overview of the values of Traditional Owners, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples, and their role in the management of the Great Barrier Reef.
Fish and People is a 50-minute production divided into educational modules explaining the ‘stock-recruitment relationship’ in an easily accessible manner and with a carefully crafted portfolio of explanatory graphics and natural history photography. Fish and People has been scripted by marine biologists Simon Foale and Russell Kelley, and produced by The Eco Media Production Group. You can watch all modules (videos) below or directly on the CoralCoE Youtube channel. More information and downloads (videos, lesson plans, teacher’s guide) can be found here.
These booklets, designed by CoE researcher Simon Foale, are useful for Papua New Guinea students to help them understand the environmental impacts of mining using the Lihir Mine as a case study. The material contained in the booklets includes both simple explanations as well as more complex ones for each scientific principle that relates to the environmental issue in question.
Click on the images to download .pdf version.
1. The cloud cycle and acid rain
2. Smoke and steam
3. Acids and acid rock drainage
4. Gardening and soil fertility
Teacher’s Guide: Environmental Impacts of Mining on Lihir
The following links are good external resources to introduce young people to coral reefs in simple terms with lots of pictures and questions/answer sections.
Search for ‘coral’ education material designed for primary schools on the National Science Daily Digital Library. The National Science Digital Library provides high quality online educational resources for teaching and learning, with current emphasis on the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Great Barrier Reef & Coral facts (KidCyber). Kidcyber is a website established in 1999 for primary students and teachers.
Kids do Ecology. This site looks at the natural environment describing different habitats (called biomes), including one on Coral Reefs. This site also has information on marine mammals, and classroom activities. The Kids Do Ecology program from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) provides these scientists with an opportunity to volunteer in the Santa Barbara community by adopting local 5th grade classes.
The Coral Biome (Enchanted Learning). A terrific online resource founded in 1993 for educating children about coral reefs and their inhabitants. This site has coral reef animal printouts for colouring in or projects.
Coral Reefs and Oceans (Magic Porthole). Multimedia resources, online experiences and background information about coral reefs as well as links to other sources.
Microdocs (videos). The Short Attention Span Science Video Theatre offers 2-4 minute Microdocs, streaming on the web, that deliver science one idea at a time. Microdocs are written by leading scientists and are filmed on location across the world. The videos are eye-catching and full of the newest science.
Search for ‘coral’ education material designed for high schools on the National Science Daily Digital Library. The National Science Digital Library provides high quality online educational resources for teaching and learning, with current emphasis on the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Sydney Aquarium. The Sydney aquarium’s website has free downloads of a comprehensive range of curriculum-based educational kits for grades 3-12.
National Ocean Service Education. Education resources on ocean, coastal, and climate designed for students and educators.
NOAA Coral Reef Conservation program: Education and Outreach. Resources for educators, outreach resources, and resources on ocean acidification. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. It conducts environmental research. The mission of NOAA is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources.
Coral & Coral Reefs (SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment). Animal InfoBook. Dive in to the details about the diversity, complexity, and beauty of the ocean’s coral reefs. SeaWorld is a theme park and entertainment company.
Corals and reefs. The Marine Education Society of Australasia (MESA), provides a forum for the sharing of ideas to facilitate the development of leading environmental education and interpretation programs with a coastal and marine focus. MESA also promotes the sustainable use of marine and coastal environments through education.
About Coral and Coral Reefs. Educational material developed along the 2003 film Coral Reef Adventure (watch the trailer) by MacGillivray Freeman. As with all their other films, they developed an extensive Teacher’s Guide containing classroom activities you can participate in before or after seeing the film.
Ocean World. A joint venture between NASA/JPL and the Texas A&M Department of Oceanography, USA. It focuses on Oceanography but also has lots of good information on fish and reefs.
ProjectNET for schools. The Australia Institute for Marine Science (AIMS) is an Australian research institute. This webpage is designed for school project activities, to complement existing course work, and aid students undertaking marine science projects. Where appropriate, links for further reading and information are provided. The site contains covers a wide range of topics including biology of marine animals, algae, coral reefs, the history of the Great Barrier Reef, bleaching and much more.
Fishes. The Australian museum fish site. Identify a fish, fish movie clips and FAQ about fish.
A Students Guide to Global Climate Change. Sponsored by the United States Environment Protection Agency. It explains what climate change is and what we can do about it. This link has resources for teachers and also some games for young students (middle school level).
Climate change and Coral bleaching. Imagine you are on a beautiful tropical island on the Great Barrier Reef. You put on your mask, fins and snorkel and jump into the water. But instead of the famous brightly coloured coral, you see a drab underwater landscape dominated by blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) and seaweed, but no corals… Nova’s Science for curious minds provides jargon-free, accessible information on various science topics. It’s managed by the Australian Academy of Science, and was established in 1997 as one of the first science communication websites in Australia.
Coral bleaching. Article by Reef Teach, a Cairns-based education centre for The Great Barrier Reef.
An international group of scientists is predicting markedly different outcomes for different species of coral reef fishes under climate change – and have made substantial progress on picking the ‘
New research has found as climate change causes the world’s oceans to warm, baby sharks are born smaller, exhausted, undernourished and into environments that are already difficult for them to survi
A new study shows the coastal protection coral reefs currently provide will start eroding by the end of the century, as the world continues to warm and the oceans acidify. A team of researchers led
A team of scientists led by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) won one of the nation’s top science awards at tonight’s ‘Oscars of Australian science’, the Eureka P
Abstract: It is a little over a decade since research commenced into the effects of anthropogenic ocean acidification on marine fishes. In that time, we have learned that projected end-of-century
Abstract: Increased uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has caused the world’s ocean to become more acidic. Different marine habitats are known to have varying ranges of CO2 across mul
Abstract: The Allen Coral Atlas (http://allencoralatlas.org) partnership uses high-resolution satellite imagery, machine learning, and field data to map and monitor the world’s coral reefs at unp
Abstract: Climate change is causing the average surface temperature of the oceans to rise and increasing the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves. In addition, absorption of additional CO2
Abstract: Marine environments are a concealing medium, where observations of natural fish behavior are challenging. In particular, the geographic and depth distributions of migratory top predators ar
Abstract: Invasive species management can be the the subject of debate in many countries due to conflicting ecological, ethical, economic, and social reasons, especially when dealing with a species s
Abstract: Ocean acidification, the increase in seawater CO2 with all its associated consequences, is relatively well understood in open oceans. In shelf seas such as the Great Barrier Reef, processe
Abstract: The backdrop of legends and movies, the deep sea has always been unfathomable because we had no idea what existed there. Once thought to be barren of life, we now know this couldn’t be
Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au