Understanding the secret life of marine creatures
The real-life underwater stories of South Australia’s Great Southern Reef beats the tales of Dory searching the Californian seas and Nemo lost in a Sydney dentist aquarium.
But how can we watch SA’s marine stories? With BRUVs, which stands for Baited Remote Underwater Video systems.
SA marine park scientists are using internationally recognised BRUVs technology to reveal nature’s secrets and measure fish communities.
As Mr Ray, the blue-and-white spotted eagle ray schoolteacher from Finding Nemo and Dory, would say: Hold on, here we go! Next stop, knowledge!’
BRUVs are used in SA marine parks to measure marine life abundance.
The baited cameras are lowered to the seafloor and capture the unique and surprising underwater world.
Many surprises pop up on the BRUVs footage. One bombshell was a crab riding a Port Jackson shark! That’s right, riding. Another Walt Disney Pixar movie goldmine is waiting to be told… Finding Jackson anyone?
Watch the video below to learn more about BRUVs and why they’re so useful to marine research – and keep your eye out at the 1 minute 30 second mark for that cheeky crab hitching a ride. Show your kids and connect with the secret adventures of our own marine backyard.
Hopefully you’re feeling inspired to head out to your nearest marine park to uncover South Australia’s sea world. And what better time than now – during National SeaWeek. For details of what’s in store, visit our marine parks website.
This story was originally posted in August 2016.
