The Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) is a

research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

focused on

marine science Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia. It is a partnership among four Sydney universities:

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

, the

University of NSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

(UNSW), the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, and the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a Institute of technology, ...

(UTS).

History

The Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) was founded in 2005. Renowned marine scientist and conservationist

Frank Talbot Frank Hamilton Talbot, (3 January 1930 – 15 October 2024) was a South-African-born Australian ichthyologist and marine biologist. He was director of the Australian Museum and the only Australian to have become director of the Smithsonian Nat ...

, former director of the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...

and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum was instrumental in its establishment, and was appointed as the founding chair in February 2006. He worked full-time in this position until his retirement on 31 December 2009, just before his 80th birthday, but continued as a board member. Peter Steinberg was the first director and CEO of SIMS. From around 2010 to 2012, funded by the Commonwealth and

NSW Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

s as well as private donors to the tune of about A$20 million, a significant upgrade to the facilities was undertaken including offices, laboratories and aquaria. In 2012,

Emma Johnston Emma Letitia Johnston is an Australian marine ecologist and academic. In February 2025, she became the Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne. She was also the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney, as well as ...

was director of the Sydney Harbour Research Program, a flagship research project for SIMS. In that year, she was named NSW Scientist of the Year for Excellence in Biological Sciences (Plant, Agriculture and Environment) in the NSW Science and Engineering Awards.

Description

SIMS is a collaborative research and training institute based on a partnership among its four founding Sydney universities: Macquarie, UNSW, Sydney University, and UTS, and now includes additional partner universities, the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

and

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus public research university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university in its current form was founde ...

, as well as collaborations with several state and

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

departments, along with the Australian Museum. More than 100 scientists and graduate students are associated with the institute. The institute is located near the

Sydney Heads The Sydney Heads (also simply known as the Heads) are a series of headlands that form the wide entrance to Sydney Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north; South Head and Dunbar Head are to ...

, at Chowder Bay and Georges Heights,

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

, in historic buildings leased from the

Sydney Harbour Federation Trust The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust ("Harbour Trust") is an Australian Government agency established in 2001 to preserve and rehabilitate a number of defence and other Commonwealth lands in and around Sydney Harbour. The Trust has been focused o ...

. It includes a seawater

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

used for research purposes, with sophisticated capabilities. The aims of SIMS include "developing, activating and communicating the science we need, for the oceans we want, throughout the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030), and beyond.

Governance

SIMS is a not-for-profit, unlisted company, overseen by a board of directors and a director/CEO. Its Scientific Advisory Committee guides its research. In early 2021, Martina Doblin, professor of

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...

at UTS, was appointed director and CEO of SIMS. she remains in the positione.

Funding

Initial funding came from both state and federal governments, and the Ian Potter Foundation and Thyne Reid Foundation provided additional support to create the facilities. The SIMS Foundation is responsible for raising funds from charitable organisations, grants, and private donors.

Research

SIMS' fields of research include: *

, including functioning as the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

node for the Commonwealth-funded Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) *

climate change science Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events, whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more ...

, with particular reference to changes in the characteristics of the

East Australian Current The East Australian Current (EAC) is a warm, southward, western boundary current that is formed from the South Equatorial Current (SEC) crossing the Coral Sea and reaching the eastern coast of Australia. At around 15° S near the Australian co ...

* coastal geomorphology * marine

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

* impacts of

urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

Major projects

Sydney Harbour Research Program

The Sydney Harbour Research Program was a major project for SIMS, led by director

. It aimed for high-quality cross-disciplinary research that included an effective

community outreach A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geog ...

program.

Project Restore and its predecessors

Project Restore was created to combine existing UNSW and SIMS restoration programs, including Operation Crayweed, Operation Poisodonia, Living Seawalls, and Fish Habitat enhancement. The project is led by SIMS, in a collaboration with UNSW Sydney, Macquarie, and Sydney University. The Living Seawalls project, which was launched in 2018, aims to help many of the marine species in the harbour to flourish, thus enhancing its

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

, by modifying the design of its

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation, ...

s. It entails covering parts of the seawalls with specially designed tiles that mimic natural

microhabitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s - with crevices and other features that more closely resemble natural rocks. In September 2021, the Living Seawalls project was announced as a finalist for the international environment award the Earthshot Prize. In 2022 the NSW Government committed A$4.5 million to Project Restore. The project is said to be unique in that it is a large-scale project that aims to restore different habitat types at the same time, to restore seascapes in Sydney Harbour. The four projects had operated independently before, but the holistic approach could be used as a template for other restorations in Australia and around the world. The project also has a strong focus on

science communication Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities that connect science and society. Common goals of science communication include informing non-experts about scientific findings, raising the Public awareness of science, public awar ...

and

community engagement Community engagement is involvement and participation in an organization for the welfare of the community. Defining characteristics Volunteering, which involves giving personal time to projects in humanitarian NGOs or religious groups, are ...

. Traditionally, restoration of environments have been focused on a specific habitat.

Role in other studies and projects

In 2022 SIMS became a partner in the "Seabirds to Seascapes" project, led by the NSW

Department of Planning and Environment The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) was a department of the New South Wales Government, responsible for effective and sustainable planning to support the growth in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It made pl ...

, along with the Taronga Conservation Society and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The project includes replanting of

seagrass meadow A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...

s and

kelp forest Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on E ...

s in nine or more locations in Sydney Harbour, in a bid to boost

and improve

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

in the harbour. SIMS provided habitat support for a study conducted by researchers from the University of Sydney about the behaviour of juvenile

crown-of-thorns starfish The crown-of-thorns starfish (frequently abbreviated to COTS), ''Acanthaster planci'', is a large starfish that preys upon hard, or stony, coral polyps (Scleractinia). The crown-of-thorns starfish receives its name from venomous thornlike spines ...

, which are a major threat to coral reefs. The report was published in May 2024.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{authority control 2005 establishments in Australia Research institutes in Australia Oceanographic organizations Research institutes established in 2005