Save our Giant Australian Cuttlefish & Little Penguins

Get involved in key research that aims to save the plight of our Giant Australian Cuttlefish or Little Penguins.

Giant Australian cuttlefish can change the colour and texture of their skin. David Wiltshire, Author provided

Giant Australian Cuttlefish

Australia is home to the world’s only known site where cuttlefish gather to mate en masse.

From May to August, if you head into the water around Point Lowly, South Australia, you’ll be able to observe what look like aliens – hundreds, even thousands of tentacled organisms with their unusual distinctive W-shaped eye pupils, and pulsating colours moving across their body. Intent on mating, the cuttlefish will be totally oblivious to your presence.

But this population of cuttlefish dropped in abundance from an estimated 150,000 animals in the late 1990s to only 13,492 in 2013.

Why we're watching cuttlefish

 

Little Penguins

There are various threats to Little Penguins, including incidental bycatch by fishers; marine litter such as discarded nets which can entangle marine life; and overfishing of certain fish species.

 

Earth and Environmental Science Professor Sean Connell

Supervisor

Professor Sean Connell

Research area: Save our oceans - wildlife & restoration ecology

Recommended honours enrolment: Honours in Ecology and Environmental Science

Tagged in Honours projects - Ecology and environmental science, Honours projects - Animal science, Honours projects - Sean Connell