Curator of Vert. Zoo & Palaeo at @tasmuseum | Adjunct Researcher @MonashBiol & @EvansEvoMorph | Views my own | he/him | Ask me about #Seals #Whales & #Fossils!
Hobart, lutruwita Tasmania
Joined October 2012
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Dr David Hocking retweeted
🚨 Some quoll-ity research for your Friday! 🚨
Devil declines caused by facial tumours are having a knock-on effect on spotted-tailed quolls, with quolls moving around & dispersing much less from areas with lower devil densities
Nice summary here -
nature.com/articles/d41586-0…
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Devastating to consider the possibility of avian influenza spreading throughout sub-Antarctic elephant & Antarctic fur seal populations in addition to seabirds. Thanks to all the expert teams characterising the disease & trying to mitigate the spread.
APHA scientists testing for #BirdFlu on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia have detected the virus in fur and elephant seals for the first time in the region.
Results will be shared with partners to help tackle the disease globally. Read more: gov.uk/government/news/bird-…
ALT Dr Marco Falchieri from APHA's Influenza and Avian Virology team sampling a seal on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia
Dr David Hocking retweeted
What an interesting study, revealing yet another environmental cost of the colonial project:
DNA research shows that a rare UK bat declined 330-550 yrs ago, coinciding with when old-growth trees it nested in were being felled for empire-builiding ships:
theguardian.com/environment/…
Dr David Hocking retweeted
The latest Australian Threatened Bird Index (TBX) was released today at the Australasian Ornithological Conference and reveals that threatened birds in Australia declined by an average of 60% between 1985 and 2020.
Read more here: brnw.ch/21wET6s
#AOC2023
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Just heard that Ewan Fordyce passed, what a huge loss for our field…. Ewan kept high expectations, kept us all on our toes, and was a gentleman about it all. I only wish I’d had more time with him.
(Wish I had a better picture of him..)
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Devastating news
UPDATE: Lab results confirm massive recent mortality event in elephant seal colonies in Argentina is from avian influenza. @wcsargentina is working to prevent the spread of the disease, minimize the impact on animals, and avoid potential spillover infection of people. #OneHealth
Dr David Hocking retweeted
“The (Bird Is.Antarctic fur seal) pop’n has recovered very impressively throughout the 20th century when seal hunting was banned. But 21st century changes to the abundance of krill in the Southern Ocean are now threatening these iconic animals all over again.” @JaumeForcada – at Hobart, Tasmania
Fur seal numbers have been declining at Bird Island since 2009.
🦐 80% of their diet is Antarctic krill
🌡️ Krill are sensitive to temperature change
📉 Climate trends correlate with the changing population
Here's the full story 🦭
ow.ly/HbqW50PWZ3H
Dr David Hocking retweeted
A new continental bathymetry dataset for Australia, replacing the existing 250 m layer from way back in 2009! 🎉🤯
Lots of amazing improvements - including improved coastal bathymetry from our #DigitalEarthAU's Intertidal Elevation models!
Download here:
ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/sr…
Check out our latest seabed data! The new release shows Australia’s marine environment in 250m resolution as a continuous whole, showing a continental-scale picture of our marine environment available for everyone. Find out more 👉 bit.ly/3RYdIVK
@jcu @Sydney_Uni
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Killer whales that once cooperatively hunted #whales with whalers may be extinct!
Our latest research used aDNA methods and Indigenous knowledge to provide new insights into the origin and fate of the legendary #killerwhales of Eden 🇦🇺.
See here shorturl.at/asFS1 (1/6)
Dr David Hocking retweeted
A pleasure to collaborate with @bellaa_reeves and the whole team on this special mahi - a great example of how powerful #IndigenousKnowledge and #aDNA can be - @NatSciMassey, @MasseyUni - graphic but the amazing @emmaluck22
Killer whales that once cooperatively hunted #whales with whalers may be extinct!
Our latest research used aDNA methods and Indigenous knowledge to provide new insights into the origin and fate of the legendary #killerwhales of Eden 🇦🇺.
See here shorturl.at/asFS1 (1/6)
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Our paper on the fossil record and geology of the Triassic Fremouw Formation of Antarctica came out today. w/J McIntosh, B Hammer, N. Smith, P. Makovicky, N Tabor @_megwhit_ @paleo_hank @DrFossilhunter @Koskinonodon
Free reprints here: authors.elsevier.com/a/1hvwJ…
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Remarkable engineering to deploy suction tags onto blue and fin whales from hexacopters, 21 of 29 whales successfully tagged, with average flight time of just 2 min 45 sec, and much less disruption and threat of danger to the whale and the people.
royalsocietypublishing.org/d…
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Like #roadkill, #vesselstrike is very much a global problem for large creatures like #whales.
#Science provides an opportunity to understand #whale movements so that we can better protect them in Australian waters. Ongoing research is critical. abc.net.au/news/2023-09-19/w…
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Fantastic presentation on #thylacine #skullmorphology by @WeisbeckerLab 💀🐺
@DSRovinsky @AxelHNewton @AJ_Pask
#skull #morphology #marsupial #carnivore @AusMammals #ams2023 – at Adelaide, South Australia
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Thrilled and incredibly grateful to have received a 2024 #ChurchillFellowship! I'll visit Wildlife BioBanks in Europe & US using cryopreservation in conservation. We must conserve native habitat, but we need solid back-up plans too. @museumsvictoria
churchilltrust.com.au/fellow…
Dr David Hocking retweeted
87 years ago today, the last known #thylacine died at #Hobart's zoo, marking the #extinction of the largest marsupial carnivore of modern times.
#Museums are their only remaining habitat: the tragic reality of extinction is crystallised into their specimens. #ThreatenedSpeciesDay
Dr David Hocking retweeted
It's Theatened Species Day in Australia again!
This day each year (Sept 7th) marks the extinction of the Thylacine in 1936.
And each year we make promises to do better for our threatened species. Why? Because extinction matters.
But it's also the day for...
1/6
Dr David Hocking retweeted
New paper by my colleagues and I on the reproductive anatomy of a leopard seal 🦭
Leopard seal reproduction is mostly unknown. This note from a @MonashUni dissection discusses the importance of morphology in providing some clues.
Open access paper here: doi.org/10.1111/mms.13067
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Looking forward to talking about everything seals this afternoon for @NHM_London's Nature Live 🦭 – at Kensington, London
Dr David Hocking retweeted
Applications for Holsworth grants (Round 2, 2023) are now open!
ecolsoc.org.au/awards/holswo…
Applications for this round close 30 September, with funds expected to be distributed in January 2024.
📷: @ColinTheotime
#Holsworth #EcolSocAus #EcologyAus
