Around 200 turtles are reported dead, injured or sick in Moreton Bay each year due to human-related impacts. They are struck by motorboats, consume plastics and become entangled in marine debris. This green sea turtle was found entangled in a discarded crab trap on a shallow sand flat.
Moreton Bay, Queensland
Nikon D810, Sigma 15mm, 1/125, f/18, ISO 320, 2x Ikelite DS161 strobes and Nauticam housing
Photo Credit: Justin Gilligan, New South Wales
INCIDENTAL ART
A photograph taken from above the tailing ponds, located in Worsley, from a Cessna 182. Earthmovers can be seen raking the ponds’ surface, attempting
to disperse the toxic slurry and aid the evaporation process. All the while, stained red wastewaters continue to seep to the surface.
Worsley, Western Australia
Nikon D7100, Sigma Art 24–105mm, 1/2000, f/5, ISO 250, handheld from Cessna 182 aircraft
Photo Credit: Jarrad Parker, Western Australia
INJURED SEA LION
AUSTRALIAN SEA LION, Neophoca cinerea
While diving on a temporary seal colony off Port Kembla, I noticed this badly injured male, most likely struck by a boat propeller. The glance he gave me was heartbreaking, as if to say, “Do you see what your peers have
done to me?”
Port Kembla, New South Wales
Nikon D500, Tokina 10–17mm fisheye, 1/200, f/8, ISO 200,
2x Inon Z240 Type 4 strobes
Photo Credit: Nicolas Remy, New South Wales
A HUNTER IN THE SHADOWS
CAT Felis catus
A single domesticated cat allowed to roam freely is estimated to kill 75 animals annually. Although they may be affectionate pets, outdoors they are sly and efficient predators. I set up my camera, flashes and a motion sensor to capture the cats I discovered roaming around my unit.
Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Canon 700D, Tamron 10–24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II VC, 1/200, f/8,
ISO 400, 3x Nikon SB-28 flashes, Zomei M3 tripod, Camtraptions PIR Motion Sensor v2, Custom DSLR Housing, flash colour filter, Camtraptions transmitter and receivers
Photo Credit: Ethan Mann, Queensland
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK FOR ME
COMMON BRUSHTAIL POSSUM Trichosurus vulpecula
This female brushtail possum – most likely killed by a car and
moved to the side of the road – was later discovered to have
a live joey in her pouch. Taken to a vet, the joey survived, but this shows the importance of always checking a dead marsupial’s pouch.
Daniel Thomas from Massey University necropsies kororā from the 2017–18 die-off event, in which hundreds of birds washed up in the north of New Zealand. Most had succumbed to
starvation. Such wrecks are not a new phenomenon — in 1974 almost 4000 penguins were found on Northland beaches. Some scientists are concerned wrecks will become more common as seas warm.
Massey University, Auckland
Canon EOS 1D X MkII, Canon 16–35mm 2.8L II at 27
mm, 1/125, f/10, ISO 800
Photo Credit: Richard Robinson, New Zealand
ONE MAN’S RUBBISH IS ANOTHER CRITTER’S CASTLE
PEACOCK MANTIS SHRIMP, Odontodactylus scyllarus
Rubbish lying on the bottom of the ocean is not always a bad thing – it can make good habitat for marine life. Here, a tiny peacock mantis shrimp has made its home in a discarded soft drink can.
Lembeh Strait, North East Sulawesi, Indonesia
Canon EOS 7D MkII, Sigma 150mm f2.8 EX DG OS HSM APO macro, 1/250, f18, ISO
200, 2x Inon Z240 strobe flashes, handheld
Photo Credit: Ross Gudgeon, Western Australia
FIELD OF WHITE
This photo of bleaching coral was taken on the Great Barrier Reef
during a period of high water temperatures. I returned to this reef every day for weeks, finding it paler with each visit. Following the event, scientists determined 50 per cent of corals across the Great Barrier Reef were lost in just two years.
Photo Credit: Brett Monroe Garner, Western Australia
THE PEEKING POSSUM
COMMON BRUSHTAIL POSSUM Trichosurus vulpecula
Many caravan parks around Australia are in country areas that holiday makers visit to relax and unwind. Wildlife is often very interested in the visitors to their area. Here, a brushtail possum looks down with interest on a family’s caravan that has been set up under the tree that it lives in.
Yallingup, Western Australia
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16–35mm f/4, 1/30, f/16, ISO 1600,
2x Nikon SB-700 flashes with Godox TTL wireless flash trigger,
Gitzo tripod, Sirui ball head and remote release cable
Photo Credit: Gary Meredith, Western Australia
MONOGAMOUS
SHINGLEBACK SKINK Tiliqua rugosa
A male shingleback skink defends its long-dead partner from oncoming traffic on the busy Eyre Peninsula highway. Shingleback skinks are one of
the only known monogamous reptile species on the planet and will often stay by their partner’s side for several days after death.
AG Nature Photographer of the Year 2020: Our impact shortlist
By AG STAFF•26 June 2020
FIELD OF WHITE. This photo of bleaching coral was taken on the Great Barrier Reef during a period of high water temperatures. I returned to this reef every day for weeks, finding it paler with each visit. Following the event, scientists determined 50 per cent of corals across the Great Barrier Reef were lost in just two yearsImage credit: Brett Monroe Garner, Western Australia
These photographs reveal the human impact on nature – be it terrestrial, marine or atmospheric. The impact could be either positive or negative. These photos will be exhibited at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide from Friday 28 August until Sunday 15 November 2020.