Byron Hope Spot Marine Bioblitz

Byron’s ocean lovers became citizen scientists with over 1700 observations logged in the inaugural Marine Bioblitz!

Despite wild weather and raging seas, Byron’s ocean loving community came out in force to document the plants, animals and fungi that inhabit our coastline. From March 8^th -17^th, hundreds of people explored the rock pools, beaches, headlands and estuaries from Brunswick Heads to Ballina in a quest to document as many species as possible. This 10-day community driven survey of marine life along our coastal waterways provides a valuable snapshot of our local biodiversity within the Byron Bay and Ballina region, particularly relevant in the face of changing climate and warming seas.

Over 67 observers made 1700 submissions to iNaturalist, an online citizen science database for flora and fauna. 647 species were identified from the marine bioblitz including 22 threatened species. Incredibly, critically endangered beach stone curlew were seen in two separate locations. Endangered species such as the hawksbill turtle, koala, day waterlily and sooty oystercatcher were also documented. There were also some incredible sightings of unique and fascinating creatures like the blue dragon nudibranch (or sea swallow), fiddler rays, bubble snails, octopus and pineapple fish.

“It was incredible to see the community getting behind this initiative and getting out there to discover different species in our salty backyard,” said Alice Forrest, Byron Bay Hope Spot Coordinator at Dolphin Research Australia, who organised the event.

“This marine bioblitz is the first of its kind here in Northern NSW and provides a much-needed open-access record of marine and coastal biodiversity in our region, the data will help to inform conservation and management decisions into the future,” said Alice.

Citizen science participant, Karin Taylor documented hundreds of sightings and said, “It was wonderful to take part and I’ve learned so much. I think that the highlight of my 10 days must be seeing so many migratory birds resting on our shores who come from faraway places like the Arctic and Shetland, Scotland… We truly must protect our precious wildlife that is under threat and create as much awareness about them as possible.”

Community events involving local organisations and businesses were held as part of the bioblitz and included presentations about local citizen science programs and networking opportunities, dolphin watching, bird watching, and a mangrove walk.

The community can continue to get involved as citizen scientists and record observations of marine life throughout the year via the Byron Bay Hope Spot project on iNaturalist.

The marine bioblitz is the first in a series of workshops running throughout the year as part of the Byron Bay Hope Spot Ocean Champions program organised by Dolphin Research Australia supported by a grant from Patagonia’s 1% for the Planet program. The workshops will each address key threats facing our marine wildlife and grass-roots actions to promote positive change and improved protection.

The Bioblitz was just the beginning, and anyone can be involved in citizen science in the future through the ongoing iNaturalist group Byron Bay Hope Spot. If you’d like to be part of documenting our local marine species and helping us to understand more about our incredible coastal wildlife then just sign up to iNaturalist and join the group to add your submissions!