The yearly gathering of thousands of Spider Crabs in Port Phillip Bay's shallow waters is one of Victoria's most spectacular natural phenomena. But we know surprisingly little about how many crabs there are and what triggers them to migrate. To help find the answers, scientists are asking the community to get involved in Spider Crab Watch and report any time they see Spider Crabs in Victoria. We speak to Elodie Camprasse from Deakin University to find out more. Get involved in Spider Crab Watch on the Faceook page and iNaturalist.
Burning fossil fuels and releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere isn't just heating the planet - it's also making the oceans more acidic. That's bad news for many ocean creatures, but new research has looked at what it means for some of the ocean's smallest and most important inhabitants - phytoplankton. We spoke to Lennart Bach from the University of Tasmania to find out about these worrying findings and how scientists study these microscopic organisms. Read more about the research here.
Andrew & James.