The Marine Sciences section at Museum Victoria consists of research scientists, specialist collection managers, postdoctoral research fellows, postgraduate students, honorary associates, research assistants and volunteers.
Staff in this section undertake marine biology research into the animals of Australian waters, with expertise extending into the faunas of many other regions of the world.
The scope of research undertaken by the Marine Sciences section includes:
- Animal identification and classification (taxonomy);
- Origins and evolution (systematics and phylogeny);
- Animal biodiversity and distributions (biogeography and bioregionalisation);
- Marine ecology (life history, reproductive biology, behaviour, toxicity and chemical evolution); and
- Conservation and resource management (human impacts including climate change, marine protected areas, fisheries resources and introduced species).
The activities of the Marine Sciences section include:
- Primary field surveys: ship-based, diving and intertidal;
- Revisions of the taxonomy and evolution of specific faunal groups;
- Production of new species descriptions, taxonomic identification keys, regional and faunal checklists, technical and layperson field guides, and biogeographic and ecological papers;
- Provision of taxonomic advice to research, government and non-government groups;
- Maintenance and development of the substantial and historically important marine reference collections;
- Development and support of data registration projects improving data accessibility (i.e. web projects);
- Supervision of postgraduate marine biology students and mentoring of undergraduate science students;
- Collaborations with scientific, government and non-government organisations (NGO’s), both nationally and internationally;
- Promotion of the unique marine fauna of southern Australia, particularly through projects such as the ’Museum Victoria Guides to Marine Life’ series; and
- Contribution and development of marine content for use in Museum Victoria exhibitions and public programs.