This a night presented by Reef Watchers for Reef Watchers. Come and find out what other Reef Watchers have discovered at their favourite reefs around the bay and along the coast.   We will also hear from John Gaskell co-author of a great new guide to snorkelling around Port Phillip Bay and the amazing marine life you can sea without scuba gear. The photography is beautiful and this book is sure to be one you will want for your collection. There will be new monitoring  kits.

Gelatinous zooplankton range from tiny sea-butterflies to giant jellyfish up to 2 m across. Many of these jellyfish have symbiotic relationships with other animals from copepods to fishes and even octopus! In this presentation, PhD student Jo Browne will talk about these relationships, some of the jellies that many Reefwatchers will have seen in Port Phillip Bay, and whether jellyfish are going to take over the world!

Ever wondered what lurks beyond your diving playground? July's seminar will delve into the darkness of the deep sea. How and why are we exploring the deep and what new discoveries are being made? See how your favourite creatures from the shallows have evolved for a life in the cold and the dark. Contrary to what you may imagine there lies below a world of colour and diversity. Two members of the the Marine Invertebrate group at Museum Victoria will discuss their research.

One of the problems facing marine researchers is how to best survey the underwater environment. University of Melbourne PhD candidate Madhavi Colton will share her comparison of two methods (baited remote underwater video and visual surveys using SCUBA) in surveying rocky reef fish assemblages along Victoria’s open coast. Her presentation will include fascinating video footage from Wilsons Promontory, Apollo Bay, Gabo Island and Barwon Heads.

Bob Burn is our very own local expert on the taxonomy of Nudibranchs and their relatives. He is an Honorary Associate at Museum Victoria and has an international reputation for his research on this group.These spectacular creatures are a favourite amongst divers and underwater photographers, yet they are surprisingly poorly known. Reef Watch volunteers have assisted Bob and Museum Victoria in building a comprehensive photographic database, which is already becoming a vital tool for the appreciation and conservation of shallow-water marine environments in southeastern Australia.

The most prized beachcomber’s find is surely the “paper nautilus” or Argonaut. Despite familiarity with this beautiful brittle shell, there is far less known of the live animal, it’s biology and behaviour. For instance, only the female has a shell, the male is a tiny dwarf octopus. Dr Mark Norman having just returned from filming octopuses in Indonesia will give a seminar on the amazing lives of these beautiful open ocean octopuses and their relatives.

Hydroids are among some of the most common marine invertebrates seen by divers in our southern waters. They are often mistaken for seaweeds and even early biologists were confused by their identity, calling them "Zoophytes". There are about 200 species of hydroids growing in Port Phillip and outside the Heads and new species are being described all the time. Although relatively simple animals, hydroids often grow complex structures resembling feathers and flowers. Some hydroids are microscopic in size while others grow large colonies up to a metre tall. Hydroids are often photographed by divers and this talk aims to provide an appreciation of these remarkable and beautiful invertebrates.

Moss animals or Bryozoans are one of the important groups of marine animals, with their skeletons forming a major part of the sea floor sediments of Australia. However due to their size most people never seen them in the wild, you are more likely to see them in the sandstone structures around Melbourne’s CBD! This talk will take you through the ‘where, what, how and why’ of the Bryozoan world.

Australia has lacked a sea anemone (Actiniaria) expert for many years, with all specimens having to be sent overseas for identification and description. This means that there is a lot of work to be done in Australia and many anemones to be discovered. Learn how you can contribute to the sea anemone knowledge of Australia while updating your reef watching skills or just find out about that sea anemone you can’t put a name to. Learn to identify the common Sea Anemones found in Port Phillip Bay and the identification pitfalls to watch out for!! Lastly get a glimpse into the intriguing world of sea anemone reproduction and find out how such an ancient species has survived through flexibility with their reproduction methods.

For Reef Watchers who love to ‘capture’ marine life with a camera, this will be a must. David Bryant has been diving and photographing Victoria’s marine life for many years and has exhibited his photographs around the state. Bring your best photograph to share, learn how to improve your skills and find out how your photo just might help scientists discover new species to Victoria.

There is a litany of evidence across the globe that persistence of abalone populations becomes tenuous when subjected to pressure from human exploitation. Although focus has mostly been on over-fishing as a root cause, other factors such as disease, pollution and adverse environmental changes are clearly implicated in widespread abalone fishery collapses afflicting the Northern Hemisphere. Changes in climate that induce warming of near costal waters will inevitably become an increasing stressor on organisms that depend on cool temperate water for their productivity. In the Northern Hemisphere the challenge for marine resource managers has shifted from stock recovery to population restoration and prevention of extinction. If we do not adopt risk-averse strategies for protecting abalone resources and attempt to mitigate the effects of environmental change then there is little doubt that abalone fisheries in the Southern Hemisphere will travel the same path as the rest of the globe.

What is the current status of reef fish populations in the bay? There is a body of anecdotal evidence amongst the diving community that the number of reef fish communities and the populations of several species have declined in the Port Phillip Bay region over the past 30 years. There is also evidence that the pressures to reef fish are increasing from over fishing, degradation of habitat and the introduction of marine pests.

This project will investigate current diversity, abundance and location of Port Phillip Bay reef fish on reefs at different locations and depths and will aim to determine the effects of human activities from natural environmental processes in order to understand and potentially manage impacts to reef fish communities.

Christian Jung is currently undertaking this study and is keen to find out from experienced divers about their perceptions on changes to the Bays reef fish populations. He will also provide us with scientific ‘hints’ on how best to survey our reef systems.

What would our marine world look like if it was 2-5 degrees warmer? We can look to the past for clues as our continent has experienced many climate shifts since the age of dinosaurs. This talk will show how and why the climate changes and how marine animals have reacted to the various changes in sea water temperature. In particular it will focus on what changes we may observe in the future as temperatures rise.

Tim O'Hara is Senior Curator of Marine Invertebrates at Museum Victoria. He is a world authority on echinoderms, especially brittle stars, and is currently leading projects aiming to detect human impacts on rocky shores, and studying the biodiversity of seamounts.

The oceans harbour a vast diversity of life. Complex life first evolved in the sea, and more different kinds of invertebrate life can be found in the marine environment than anywhere else. Many live nowhere else. This richness and diversity of marine creatures is both a thrill and a challenge to new divers, ReefWatchers and marine naturalists. A typical pier pylon contains a dozen or more animal Phyla, but even though these are fundamentally different life forms, telling one from another is not always easy. Coral-like growths are not all true corals. Shrimps are different from prawns, and ghost shrimps and mantis shrimps are different again. And a host of very different creatures are all vaguely "worm-like". Robin will provide practical hints and tips to help identify this bewildering diversity of marine life. But this talk will also be an overview of recent scientific discoveries and how these are changing our understanding of how marine life evolved and how life should be classified.

Robin Wilson is Senior Curator of Marine Invertebrates at Museum Victoria. He has spent most of his career studying so-called "lower" marine invertebrates, especially polychaete worms, and helping ecologists identify these highly abundant and ecologically important creatures.

Dr Martin Gomon is Senior Curator of Ichthyology and Dianne Bray is Senior Collections Manager, Ichthyology & Herpetology at Museum Victoria . Both are authors and editors of the soon-to-be published Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast and Di is an author and editor of the ABRS Catalogue of Australian Fishes which is currently in press.

Be the first to discover what's new and then tour the aquarium to view the aquariums temperate fish species.

Mark O'Loughlin is a world authority on the classification and reproduction of Echinoderms (specialising in sea stars and sea cucumbers).

Mark has been responsible for naming 10 new sea cucumber species and 6 sea star species found on the Victorian coast. He has also discovered unique breeding behaviours that will amaze you. Come along and gain a new appreciation for these fascinating creatures.

Enchanting and mystical, Seadragons, Seahorses and Pipefish have captured our imaginations for centuries. Perhaps it's because they look like little 'horses', engage in synchronised courtship dances or that the male carries the eggs to maturity and gives birth?

Alison Edmunds is fortunate to study the reproductive biology and behaviour of both seadragons and seahorses. Using unique footage of seadragons courting in the wild, Alison will provide us with an insight into their world.

Come and discover the amazing diversity of Sygnathids that live close to our shores and then explore the aquarium to observe these fascinating creatures.

There are over 100 species of Batoid (rays and skates) in Australia , around 15 of which are found in Victorian coastal waters. Like sharks, rays and skates are vulnerable to fishing (by-catch) pressures.

David will cover the taxonomy of Batoid species and present the current research methods being used to study their reproduction, growth, ageing and ecology. This research will provide rapid assessment of the ecological risk from the affects of fishing.

He will also demonstrate the latest equipment being used to track daily movements and seasonal migration patterns.

Come along and find out how you can assist scientists by recording specific data on ray and shark species.

Dr Boxshall manages the research programs for our Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries. There are a number of different components to Parks Victoria's environmental research and monitoring programs for the new Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries. From baseline biological monitoring to detailed habitat mapping to community monitoring projects to research partnerships with universities and all in between, Parks Victoria is approaching environmental research and monitoring in the marine environment from a number of different directions.