Ocean mysteries & elephant tales

Box jellyfish are among the most dangerous animals in the ocean, yet spotting them before someone gets stung is almost impossible. But what if we didn’t need to see them at all? In this talk, Scott reveals how scientists can detect deadly box jellyfish using tiny traces of DNA they leave behind in seawater. Just like forensic investigators at a crime scene, researchers can collect water samples and analyse the invisible genetic clues drifting through the ocean to determine whether box jellyfish are present. Discover how this technique, environmental DNA, may transform how we monitor marine life and help improve safety in tropical waters.

ustralia is home to dozens of stingray species, most inhabiting shallow coastal waters and beaches. While most of us know to do the "stingray shuffle," there is a surprising amount even scientists don't know about these remarkable "flat sharks." Three questions that kept me busy throughout my PhD at James Cook University: what do stingrays eat, why does it matter, and how do you study the diet of an animal that feeds on hidden creatures in the sediment? To find out, I used aerial drones to track fine-scale feeding behaviours and movements, which I then paired this with gastric lavage (essentially a "vomit pump") to sample what rays have recently eaten. The result? Even species living side by side can have surprisingly different diets, driven by distinct habitat use and foraging strategies. Studying stingray vomit might sound a bit bizarre—but it’s helping us understand the functions of these animals and which resources are critical for supporting vulnerable species in Australian waters.

The Akagera Elephant Project, Rwanda, was established in 2018 to help understand Akagera National Park's elephant population.  Today 75% of the population is identified in Rwanda's first elephant identification database.