Join Reef Check Australia and friends on the second Tuesday night of each month in your lounge room/office/comfy chair, for an evening of discovery, inspiration and appreciation of our local marine, coastal and catchment environments.

This month we will hear from Louise Tosetto, PhD Candidate at Macquarie University

Lou has a passion for all things marine with a particular focus on the ecology and dynamics of coastal ecosystems. Lou completed her Masters of Research (MRes) at Macquarie University in 2015. She has published her work in international journals, written for the Conversation and collaborated on a range of projects from remote sensing, to fish behaviour.

During her PhD, Lou has been working to establish if bluelined goatfish (Upeneichthys lineatus) use rapid colour change as a communication tool. Her work encompasses visual ecology, behavioural ecology, neuroscience and community dynamics. Lou’s research is important in furthering our understanding of how vision and colour signals in fishes may have co-evolved and furthers our understanding of communications systems in the marine environment

About the Talk: A fish can change its stripes – why do goatfish change colour?

Many animals can rapidly change their colour and pattern – octopus and chameleons are an excellent example of this. While many animals use rapid colour change for camouflage, we are increasing learning that animals can also use this awesome tool to communicate important information to their friends and foes.

Bluelined goatfish can be found along most of the NSW coast and they have amazing capacity to change colour and pattern in seconds. I have been working to understand why they do this, and whether it could be a signal to other fish. You may not have heard about goatfish before this talk but hopefully I can inspire you to find them next time you’re out.

Virtual doors (zoom) opens at 6.25pm for a 6:30 pm start.

Stay after the event for networking and nibbles (BYO obviously!) - get your burning questions answered and continue your thoughts, ideas and sea-minded discussions with your local community, all from the comfort of your couch!

Bring a mate and share in the discovery!

At Reef Check Australia we’re all about inspiring our mates and we love to read your thoughts! So, share your favourite parts about the night and tag us! Reef Check Australia #coasttocoral

This initiative is hosted by Reef Check Australia, and proudly supported by oh so many groups including the City of Gold Coast, Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd, Sunshine Coast Council's Environment Levy partnerships grant, The June Canavan Foundation and Townsville City Council.

Future talks take place on the second Tuesday night of each month, with a new, interesting and engaging speaker.

For more information contact seqevents@reefcheckaustralia