Free mobile field guide ready for budding summer holiday scientists

Media contact: Emily Gurr egurr@museum.vic.gov.au

Lazy days for families along the south Gippsland coast will never be quite the same with the release of a new free mobile app allowing instant access to high quality information on more than 300 species of marine and coastal animals and plants.

Focused on the Bunurong Marine National Park near Wonthaggi, the new mobile field guide is available free for iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad mini, iPad) and for Android smartphones, and was jointly produced by Museum Victoria and Parks Victoria.

"If your child spots a crab or seastar along the coast, you can you can flip through high quality images on your phone to identify it. You'll also find details of where the animal lives and information about its biology," said the app's project manager, Blair Patullo from Museum Victoria.

"The Bunurong park is popular for rock-pooling, and its extensive underwater rocky reefs, seaweed beds and seagrass meadows are excellent for diving and snorkelling. People exploring the nearby coastline can also use the app, as many of the species covered are seen in holiday areas such as San Remo, Cape Paterson, Andersons Inlet, Waratah Bay and Wilsons Promontory."

Covering more than 2,000 hectares and extending along six kilometres of coastline, Bunurong Marine National Park is home to a rich variety of fauna, including seastars, featherstars, crabs, snails, Port Jackson Sharks and more than 50 species of fish. Humpback Whales, Southern Right Whales and Australian Fur Seals also frequent its waters.

Bunurong is part of a system of parks, sanctuaries and reserves managed by Parks Victoria that protect nearly 12 per cent of Victoria's coastal waters – the first of which was declared 10 years ago, in 2002.

Museum Victoria Public Relations contact:
Emily Gurr, 9392 4865 / 0400 130 675  egurr@museum.vic.gov.au

For all general public enquiries, contact the museum's Discovery Centre