This project is looking at how dive sites have changed through time based on information captured in the photographs and videos of divers.
To capture the diversity of marine life, we need photos and videos from a DIVErsity of divers
To contribute photos to this project visit the In Bygone Dives iNaturalist page, sign up to iNaturalist and upload your photos. Click here for instructions on how to contribute to iNaturalist.
If you would like to contribute to the project, but are unable to add your content to iNaturalist due to having pre-digital photos, videos or for any other reason. Contact us to discuss the alternative ways to contribute your observations to this project.
Research Focus
We are currently focusing on two study regions, Sydney and the NSW North Coast, and may expand to include more regions at a later stage.
Old Wife at Shiprock in 1998. Photo by Erik Schlogl. Licence: CC BY-NC
Sydney
Sydney is a large city that stretches along an amazing coastline. However, as the population continues to grow, so do the pressures on the marine environment.
At the same time, some positive changes have occurred such as improved water quality and the introduction marine protected areas.
We are using old diving photos and videos to see whether the marine life of Sydney dive sites has also changed over this time.
To study these changes we are requesting that divers (like you) find and contribute old diving photos or videos
Weedy Seadragon being photographed in Sydney. Photo by Erik Schlogl. Licence: CC BY-NC
We are looking for photos or videos from these Sydney dive sites:
Shelly Beach & Fairy Bower
Camp Cove
Fairlight
Clifton Gardens
Gordons Bay, Clovelly Pool & Shark Point
Bare Island
Kurnell
Ship Rock
Even if you are new to diving, your photographs can help this research as we also need recent photographs to compare to.
Kelp Forest (Ecklonia radiata) by John Turnbull. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA
NSW North Coast
Coffs Harbour to Tweed Heads
Although coral bleaching gets the most media coverage, warming ocean temperatures are also impacting many temperate marine species. Most visible is the loss of some of our amazing underwater forests such as Kelp (Ecklonia radiata), which has disappeared from much of the NSW north coast.
We are investigating the use recreational diving photographs and videos to track the timing and location of the kelp loss from the NSW north coast
We also hope to understand the southward range extension of tropical herbivorous fish, which may have contributed to the Kelp loss.
Stills showing the long-term loss of kelp from Northern NSW reefs (Source: Vergés et al. 2016, PNAS)
To capture these changes we are looking for photos, both old and recent, from Byron Bay to Tweed Heads
Thank you for the photos or videos you contribute
to this research