Environmental conditions in Macquarie Harbour have declined over the past decade and new research from IMAS has highlighted the vulnerability of endangered Maugean skate to the changed conditions in what may be its only remaining habitat.

The innovative study examined egg development and survival, physiological tolerances to varying oxygen and salinity conditions and, using sensors attached to adult skate, the links between dissolved oxygen conditions and the skate’s behaviour in the wild.

The results show the skate adapt their behaviour in response to environmental changes in the remote harbour, which experiences wide fluctuations in dissolved oxygen, temperature and salinity.

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