Dr David Hocking
@DPHocking
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Curator of Vert. Zoo & Palaeo at @tasmuseum | Adjunct Researcher @MonashBiol & @EvansEvoMorph | Views my own | he/him | Ask me about #Seals #Whales & #Fossils!
Hobart, lutruwita Tasmania
Joined October 2012
#NaturalHistory collections are a vital resource that allow the public to connect with our rarest and most #EndangeredSpecies. By digitising collections, we can create educational resources that give our objects a new life outside of the museum.
There's just over a week left to make a tax-deductible gift to our Annual Appeal for 2022! Help us ignite a lifetime of curiosity and enrichment. Donate here: https://t.co/eHbzF1juIN
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🚨 Some quoll-ity research for your Friday! 🚨 Devil declines caused by facial tumours are having a knock-on effect on spotted-tailed quolls, with quolls moving around & dispersing much less from areas with lower devil densities Nice summary here - https://t.co/eXX2yQ5khD
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Devastating to consider the possibility of avian influenza spreading throughout sub-Antarctic elephant & Antarctic fur seal populations in addition to seabirds. Thanks to all the expert teams characterising the disease & trying to mitigate the spread.
APHA scientists testing for #BirdFlu on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia have detected the virus in fur and elephant seals for the first time in the region. Results will be shared with partners to help tackle the disease globally. Read more: https://t.co/8vu7RXeuHw
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What an interesting study, revealing yet another environmental cost of the colonial project: DNA research shows that a rare UK bat declined 330-550 yrs ago, coinciding with when old-growth trees it nested in were being felled for empire-builiding ships: https://t.co/y2KUCEWrbW
theguardian.com
Rife deforestation 500 years ago aligns with western barbastelle slump, finds study of bat DNA
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The latest Australian Threatened Bird Index (TBX) was released today at the Australasian Ornithological Conference and reveals that threatened birds in Australia declined by an average of 60% between 1985 and 2020. Read more here: https://t.co/9pqsjnTJd9
#AOC2023
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Just heard that Ewan Fordyce passed, what a huge loss for our field…. Ewan kept high expectations, kept us all on our toes, and was a gentleman about it all. I only wish I’d had more time with him. (Wish I had a better picture of him..)
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Devastating news
UPDATE: Lab results confirm massive recent mortality event in elephant seal colonies in Argentina is from avian influenza. @wcsargentina is working to prevent the spread of the disease, minimize the impact on animals, and avoid potential spillover infection of people. #OneHealth
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“The (Bird Is.Antarctic fur seal) pop’n has recovered very impressively throughout the 20th century when seal hunting was banned. But 21st century changes to the abundance of krill in the Southern Ocean are now threatening these iconic animals all over again.” @JaumeForcada
Fur seal numbers have been declining at Bird Island since 2009. 🦐 80% of their diet is Antarctic krill 🌡️ Krill are sensitive to temperature change 📉 Climate trends correlate with the changing population Here's the full story 🦭 https://t.co/KGwNqmikfL
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A new continental bathymetry dataset for Australia, replacing the existing 250 m layer from way back in 2009! 🎉🤯 Lots of amazing improvements - including improved coastal bathymetry from our #DigitalEarthAU's Intertidal Elevation models! Download here: https://t.co/gt4y9CujEc
Check out our latest seabed data! The new release shows Australia’s marine environment in 250m resolution as a continuous whole, showing a continental-scale picture of our marine environment available for everyone. Find out more 👉 https://t.co/xIqAlKudB7
@jcu @Sydney_Uni
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- White-faced heron - Black-faced cormorant - Great cormorant - Galah - Long-billed Corella - Yellow-tailed black cockatoo - Black currawong - Turbo chook - Green rosella - Noisy miner - Ducks* (*assorted) - Kookaburra - Starling - Blackbird - Goldfinch - Sparrow
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- Fan-tailed cuckoo (call only) - Black-faced cuckooshrike - Brush Bronzewing - Superb fairy wren - Welcome swallows - Forest Raven - Grey fantail - Grey shrikethrush - Striated pardalote - Magpie - Masked lapwing - Female Robin (scarlet?) - Wedge-tailed eagle - Black swans
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2023 Spring school holidays #BirdTally: - Crested tern - Pacific gull - Kelp gull - Silver gull - Sooty oystercatcher - Pied oystercatcher - Tasmanian thornbill - Yellow wattlebird - Yellow throated honeyeater - New Holland honeyeater - Pallid Cuckoo (call only)
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2023 Spring school holiday #MammalTally: - Aussie fur seals - Bottlenose dolphins - Platypus - Echidna - Forester Roo - Bennett’s wallaby - Pademelon - Long-nosed potoroo
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Killer whales that once cooperatively hunted #whales with whalers may be extinct! Our latest research used aDNA methods and Indigenous knowledge to provide new insights into the origin and fate of the legendary #killerwhales of Eden 🇦🇺. See here https://t.co/VSmA8HDDPi (1/6)
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A pleasure to collaborate with @bellaa_reeves and the whole team on this special mahi - a great example of how powerful #IndigenousKnowledge and #aDNA can be - @NatSciMassey, @MasseyUni - graphic but the amazing @emmaluck22
Killer whales that once cooperatively hunted #whales with whalers may be extinct! Our latest research used aDNA methods and Indigenous knowledge to provide new insights into the origin and fate of the legendary #killerwhales of Eden 🇦🇺. See here https://t.co/VSmA8HDDPi (1/6)
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Our paper on the fossil record and geology of the Triassic Fremouw Formation of Antarctica came out today. w/J McIntosh, B Hammer, N. Smith, P. Makovicky, N Tabor @_megwhit_ @paleo_hank @DrFossilhunter @Koskinonodon Free reprints here: https://t.co/HvvoAEgIG6
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Remarkable engineering to deploy suction tags onto blue and fin whales from hexacopters, 21 of 29 whales successfully tagged, with average flight time of just 2 min 45 sec, and much less disruption and threat of danger to the whale and the people. https://t.co/c7QBxjvkFs
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New paper on morphological disparity and enamel ultrastructure in odontocetes, from @MaryViglino work in NZ a few years back #womeninSTEM #LatinasinSTEM #oralbiology #dentistry
https://t.co/ThRfyWaKnB
nature.com
Scientific Reports - The better to eat you with: morphological disparity and enamel ultrastructure in odontocetes
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Like #roadkill, #vesselstrike is very much a global problem for large creatures like #whales. #Science provides an opportunity to understand #whale movements so that we can better protect them in Australian waters. Ongoing research is critical.
abc.net.au
Authorities say a 4-metre humpback whale is unlikely to survive after being struck in the head by a boat propeller off the state's north-west coast.
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Fantastic presentation on #thylacine #skullmorphology by @WeisbeckerLab 💀🐺 @DSRovinsky @AxelHNewton @AJ_Pask
#skull #morphology #marsupial #carnivore @AusMammals #ams2023
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Thrilled and incredibly grateful to have received a 2024 #ChurchillFellowship! I'll visit Wildlife BioBanks in Europe & US using cryopreservation in conservation. We must conserve native habitat, but we need solid back-up plans too. @museumsvictoria
https://t.co/kPXPo6O9wf
churchilltrust.com.au
To investigate best practice techniques for cryopreservation of Australia's unique wildlife - Professions — Sciences and humanities - chemistry, geology, archaeology, history
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