A cluster of Cauliflower Coral (Dendronephthya australis) credit David Harasti.
The gardens of purple, cauliflower-like corals that have long-delighted divers in Port Stephens waters are in significant decline, a Southern Cross University study has found.
Sand movement (sediment mobilisation) along with boat anchoring and moorings are the likely causes. Recent flooding has exacerbated the destruction of this soft coral which was recently listed as Endangered.
The study found the Port Stephens’ clusters of Dendronephthya australis, mapped by the research team in 2019, had declined by almost 70% in just eight years.
More recently, researchers were shocked to find high levels of run-off in the Karuah River catchment during the March 2021 floods has caused even further devastation of this population. Port Stephens, north of Newcastle, is the only known location where this species is found in large, habitat-forming clusters (aggregations).
Happy Days at Twin Towns
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M luru: Srinivas University conducts conference on Emerging Trends in Computer Science & Technology
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Michael McDonald Locals fought long and hard against Club Med in Byron Bay and eventually won through the courts. Photo Jeff Dawson.
The art of the peaceful protest has been a staple of Byron Shire life since the ‘new settlers’ arrived in the 1970s, searching for that rainbow at the end of conformity. It has taken on elements of theatre and of humour, often expressed through costume, dance, music and that ubiquitous medium, face-painting.
In 1991, as well as protests against indiscriminate government logging mentioned in Archive #2, some 400 people took to the streets of Byron Bay in January to protest against ‘the current crisis in the Persian Gulf’. Various luminaries addressed the rally at Main Beach, backed by a large banner, ’No Bloody War’.