In this episode of Ocean Pod, Dr Nina Wootton and Professor Bronwyn Gillanders dive into the world of marine protected areas—parts of the ocean where human activities are carefully managed to protect marine life, habitats, and cultural values.

They’re joined by Dr Shelley Paull, marine coordinator at the South Australian Department for Environment and Water (DEW), who shares her experience managing South Australia’s marine park network. From community engagement to climate change and cultural heritage, Shelley unpacks the vital role MPAs play in ocean conservation.

In this episode we talk about Experiencing Marine Sanctuaries, you can find out more about this at https://www.emsau.org.

Follow us on Instagram: @oceanpod

Get in touch: nina.wootton@adelaide.edu.au

In this episode of Ocean Pod, Dr Nina Wootton and Professor Bronwyn Gillanders uncover the secrets hidden in the bones of the sea. From fish ear bones to shells and other hard structures, they explore how these natural time capsules reveal where marine animals have been, how old they are, and the stories of their lives. With insights from Bronwyn’s decades of work in the field, this episode dives deep into the science of life history reconstruction in the ocean.

In this episode Nina's tide talk was about how the ocean is getting darker, you can read the paper here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.70227.

Bronwyn spoke about the avian flu approaching SA and how our government is preparing, more can be found here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-31/concerns-for-sa-sealions-and-birds-as-bird-flu-approaches/105102764.

Follow us on Instagram: @oceanpod

Get in touch: nina.wootton@adelaide.edu.au

In this episode of Ocean Pod, Dr Nina Wootton and Professor Bronwyn Gillanders chat with Sam Gaylard, Principal Marine Scientist at the South Australian Environment Protection Authority. Sam shares insights from his fascinating career at the EPA and breaks down the science behind one of the state's most talked-about marine events: the recent harmful algal bloom. From monitoring water quality to responding to environmental change, Sam offers a unique perspective on how we protect our coastal and marine environments.

During the episode we talk about how the public can play a role in monitoring marine health during the algal bloom. If you spot any dead marine animals along South Australia's coast, you can upload photos and details to iNaturalist to help track marine mortality events. Contribute here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/sa-marine-mortality-events-2025

Any large scale fish kills contact the PIRSA fishwatch hotline - https://pir.sa.gov.au/recreational_fishing/reporting

Follow us on Instagram: @oceanpod

Get in touch: nina.wootton@adelaide.edu.au