This is the third in our series of Friends floor talks: we hope you can join us.
A team of specialists recently completed an old-style ‘voyage of discovery’ on the RV Investigator, sampling animals living in the abyssal depths off the continental shelf on the east coast of Australia. Very little is known about the fauna from these depths (2500–4000m) and what is known is based on very old, patchy records from surveys a century ago.
Dr Kirrily Moore, TMAG Collection Manager (Invertebrate Zoology), was one of the expeditioners, and she will speak about her experiences at this fascinating Friends Free Floor Talk. She has described her talk, Sampling the Abyss, as ‘a festival of weird fish, taxonomists, blogs and mud’:
‘We experienced the highs of successful collection of samples from un-described species and very rarely collected species, viewing footage of live animals is an extreme environment and linking with live schools and researchers to spread news of our discoveries as they happened. We also experienced the lows of broken and lost gear, 2 am start times, bad weather and a LOT of mud!’
Kirrily will present photos and footage taken on the voyage, talk about the initial findings, and reflect on the wonder of the deep sea and what we are still to find.
Following the talk we will adjourn to the members’ lounge where Kirrily will be very happy to answer any questions and discuss her presentation. You are welcome to purchase a drink at the TMAG Café and bring it into the lounge — remember that your Friends membership entitles you to a 10% discount on food and drinks.
Meet in the Royal Society Room (enter through TMAG’s administration door on Davey Street) for a 10.30am start.
Above: Giant Benth octopus (Asher Flatt)
