To view information on each workshop at AMSA2018 – click on the links below. You can register for workshops through the conference registration portal.
Workshops are offered only to conference attendees (note: some workshops incur an additional third-party fee and some have limited spaces available)
Sunday 1st July
Marine Biosecurity
Marine Citizen Science: sharing successes and lessons for improved outcomes
3D Modelling for Ecology: Getting photogrammetry right in difficult environments
Marine Biosecurity
Organisers: Dr Richard Stafford-Bell, Dr Craig Sherman
Responsibility for marine biosecurity is shared across government, industry, researchers and the community.
Up to date knowledge and efficient information flow between sectors is essential to permit response if required and effective management or assessment of impacts. The aim of this workshop will be to identify key knowledge gaps in marine pest research that need to be addressed to provide a more coordinated approach to marine pest management.The workshop will incorporate an overview session followed by smaller break out group discussions where participants will identify knowledge gaps and science priority needs. The output of these discussions will be incorporated into a submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
Marine Citizen Science: sharing successes and lessons for improved outcomes
Organisers: Jacqui Pocklington
Citizen science has taken off as a way for scientists to increase sampling effort while increasing science…
literacy and engagement of the public. There are however challenges to making it work for everyone. Practitioners and participants of marine citizen science projects/programs are invited to discuss successes, limitations, and lessons learned in order to: 1. learn from one another to work towards best practice models for different types of marine citizen science projects; and 2. develop guidance/frameworks for marine researchers interested in utilizing citizen science to answer research questions. Representation from a variety of projects/programs would be ideal
3D Modelling for Ecology: Getting photogrammetry right in difficult environments
Organisers: Gus Porter, Marine Lechene and Tom Taylor
This workshop aims to:
- Introduce Photogrammetry (strengths and constraints)
- Develop hands-on experience with building 3D models, including the use of:
- Software
- Image capture
- Building models
- Trouble-shooting
- Tips and tricks to optimize the process for different environments
- Help participants brainstorm and refine application to their work
Workshop structure:
Introduction
Concepts behind photogrammetry. How to “think like an image-set”, what to expect of a model, and some common pitfalls to avoid. Model-building steps, explaining what happens in each. Guidance on image capture.
Hands-on model building
Participants capture their own images of provided objects (smart phone cameras will do). Build models as per instructions provided. Trouble-shoot! Resulting models will certainly not be perfect. Provide insight on what went wrong, and how to fix it. Participants can re-run models with updated photo-sets to look for improvement.
Optimizing for different environments
Photogrammetry is flexible, but needs to be optimized for different applications. Cover camera, lighting, and software settings for each of: Small objects (eg. Corals), large transects (eg. 1,000 m2), terrestrial, drones, micro-scale.
Open discussion
Monday 2nd July 2018
Marine science and indigenous research collaborations workshop
Marine science and indigenous research collaborations workshop.
Improving bi-cultural research development workshop
For the past two years a workshop focused on Indigenous Engagement has been held at the annual Australian Marine Sciences Association Conference. These workshops are aimed at promoting Indigenous engagement in marine science by sharing information on successes and identifying what can be done to advance meaningful collaboration. This is the third workshop of the series and will focus on Indigenous knowledge systems and nation research priorities. The key objective of the workshop is to provide information that will help form better relationships between researchers and Indigenous communities and facilitate bi-cultural research development. Focussing on temperate Australia, this workshop also aims to raise awareness among researchers, funding agencies and policy makers about the value and importance of including Indigenous knowledge and communities in marine science.
Tuesday 3rd July
**FULL | National Seabed Mapping Coordination Workshop
WORKSHOP FULL – National Seabed Mapping Coordination Workshop
Organisers: Kim Picard, Nathan Quadros, Daniel Ierodiaconou
The National Seabed Mapping Coordination working group is an open group of governments, universities and industry representatives (experts and non-experts) seeking to better coordinate seabed mapping data acquisition and submission (initially focusing on bathymetry, backscatter), in Australian waters. Since 2016, multiple initiatives have been identified that will help coordinate data acquisitions to encourage collaborations, data sharing and reuse of data. These include the development of a government priority map, a National Multibeam Acquisition Guideline, a dedicated website hosting various resources, planning and data management tools and a data portal. This workshop will introduce the initiatives and provide a progress update. We will work actively on initiatives, such as website content, a new in-development tool “QA4Bathy” which aim to simplify, standardise and automate the QA process for multibeam data, and we will discuss how Australia might best contribute to international initiatives such as Seabed 2030. We welcome to this workshop (and working group) all types of users of seabed mapping data as we seek active feedback and define future actions for the working group.
Wednesday 4th July
Challenges and solutions to measuring and demonstrating connectivity in Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks
CBiCS – Road-testing a new marine ecological classification scheme
Prepare high quality applications for sea time on the Marine National Facility Research Vessel Investigator
Challenges and solutions to measuring and demonstrating connectivity in Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks
Organisers: Dr Alice Jones, Alison Wright, Dr Simon Bryars, Dr Thomas Prowse
MPA networks are a widely used tool for protecting marine biodiversity. These networks are expected to support spatial and functional connectivity within and between individual MPAs – making networks more effective than single MPAs. The connectivity of an MPA network is critical to its ability to effectively protect the marine species, communities and ecosystems within it. However, the level of connectivity across an MPA network can be hard to measure, and the associated ecological benefits are difficult to demonstrate. We invite relevant experts, including scientists; researchers; stakeholders; policy makers; and, marine managers to join us in this workshop, where we will:
- Identify the main challenges and barriers to measuring connectivity across MPA networks.
- Highlight existing comprehensive and successful methods for understanding and quantifying connectivity within MPA networks.
- Generate a set of recommendations for solutions to the challenges of measuring and demonstrating connectivity for the purposes of assessing MPA network effectiveness.
As This workshop is related to the panel discussions coming out of a symposium (S11) being chaired by Alison Wright and Simon Bryars titled ‘Marine biodiversity conservation – what’s effective?’ We aim to produce a collaborative review/perspectives paper from the outputs of this workshop.
CBiCS – Road-testing a new marine ecological classification scheme
Organisers: Dr Adrian Flynn, Dr Matt Edmunds
Marine ecological classification and ‘habitat mapping’ is required to enter a new phase of sophistication and standardisation to provide adequate metrics for decision support and to deal with the volumes of data generated by new sensing technologies. This workshop will introduce CBiCS, a new marine ecological classification scheme developed for the state of Victoria and rolling out across several Australian and International jurisdictions. The workshop will seek to ‘road-test’ the classification scheme. We will actively seek feedback by prospective end-users in the areas of research, natural resource management, NGOs and community. We will establish an objective testing and feedback-capture process to report on workshop results. For the $10.00 entry fee, each participant will receive a USB drive with instructional training materials.
Prepare high quality applications for sea time on the Marine National Facility Research Vessel Investigator
Organisers: Ben Rae, Carolyn Seelen
The introduction of the multidisciplinary research vessel Investigator has attracted an increase in demand for the limited time available on the ship. Applications for sea time are assessed by the National Benefit Assessment Panel (NBAP) and the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) against specific criteria. This workshop will provide the scientific community the opportunity to hear from a panel of members of the SAC, NBAP, MNF Steering Committee members and previously successful Chief Scientists who will convey what constitutes a high quality application; provide a greater understanding of the evaluation criteria; describe how applications are assessed; and, share examples of successful proposals.
Friday 6th July
**CANCELLED**Marine National Facility Data Management Policy – Consultation Workshop
Paper accepted! Now what? Find your way to real impact using animation video and graphics
Fishing in Commonwealth waters
How to access and use IMOS data for your research
**CANCELLED**Prepare high quality applications for sea time on the Marine National Facility Research Vessel Investigator
**CANCELLED**Marine National Facility Data Management Policy – Consultation Workshop
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO LOW NUMBERS.
Organisers: Ben Rae, Carolyn Seelen
The new research vessel Investigator has brought with it an enhanced suite of fixed and modular equipment and an improved capacity to integrate user supplied equipment. As a result, the diversity and volume of data being collected on-board has increased substantially. The MNF has identified the opportunity to review the current MNF Data Policy to better reflect the new operating paradigm, and this consultation workshop will seek input and identify opportunities to improve the relevance and applicability of this policy for our key stakeholders. A Draft Revised MNF Data Policy will be released for comment prior to the conference.
Paper accepted! Now what? Find your way to real impact using animation video and graphics
Organisers: Dr Tullio Rossi
After attending this workshops, you’ll possess all the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to turn your research into a simple and beautiful animation video. In addition to learning how to use animation software, you’ll also benefit by learning the key principles of storytelling and communication through graphics. This workshop is sure to inspire and empower you to positively impact the world with your science
- This workshop is built around the case study of the three-time award-winning video “Lost at Sea.”
- Learn how to turn your science into a simple story that connects with your audience.
- Learn an easy-to-use and affordable animation software.
- No graphic design skills? No problem! You’ll create your masterpiece with a user-friendly and affordable animation software.
Fishing in Commonwealth waters
Organisers: Dr Tim Lynch, Carlie Devine
How to access and use IMOS data for your research
Organisers: Craig Steinberg
**CANCELLED** Prepare high quality applications for sea time on the Marine National Facility Research Vessel Investigator
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO LOW NUMBERS.
Organisers: Ben Rae, Carolyn Seelen
The introduction of the multidisciplinary research vessel Investigator has attracted an increase in demand for the limited time available on the ship. Applications for sea time are assessed by the National Benefit Assessment Panel (NBAP) and the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) against specific criteria. This workshop will provide the scientific community the opportunity to hear from a panel of members of the SAC, NBAP, MNF Steering Committee members and previously successful Chief Scientists who will convey what constitutes a high quality application; provide a greater understanding of the evaluation criteria; describe how applications are assessed; and, share examples of successful proposals.
Follow us #AMSA18