Peri Coleman
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pericoleman.bsky.social
Peri Coleman
@pericoleman.bsky.social
Botanist, Quaker, grandmother, friend of dogs, and lover of all things saltmarsh & salt lake.
Finally, the definitive paper on the composition of the South Australian HAB has hit the preprint servers. It’s already been formally peer-reviewed. Sit down with a cuppa and have a solid read of this sobering paper.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 4, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Latest counts of Karenia in sheltered areas of the northern Yorke Peninsula are depressing. The HAB continues to growl along. 4,778 cells/mL (4.8 million cells per litre) at the Wills Creek boat ramp at Price.
August 31, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Peri Coleman
Unfortunately, Bluesky is unavailable in Mississippi right now, due to a new state law that requires age verification for all users.

While intended for child safety, we think this law poses broader challenges & creates significant barriers that limit free speech & harm smaller platforms like ours.
August 22, 2025 at 7:54 PM
“Sea-sick” is a superb 20 minute documentary made by Surfers 4 Climate, about the HAB (harmful algal bloom) affecting 4.500 square kilometers of South Australia’s coastal waters.

surfersforclimate.org.au/pages/sea-si...
Sea Sick
South Australia’s coastline is experiencing a crisis in slow-motion. A massive algal bloom has choked the ocean, silenced surf breaks, and left fishing boats tied to the dock. Sea creatures - from sti...
surfersforclimate.org.au
July 26, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Grab a cuppa, sit down with this report, and get up to speed with South Australia’s marine Harmful Algal Bloom
www.croakey.org/health-exper...
Experts sound health alarm on algal bloom crisis, calling for climate action and comprehensive responses
The algal bloom crisis across South Australia should be treated as a disaster for health and a clear warning about
www.croakey.org
July 26, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Are you following the toxic algal bloom disaster afflicting South Australia? Locals with microscopes are starting to pop up records of marine life mortalities and plankton records onto iNaturalist. check out the plankton records at inaturalist.ala.org.au/projects/phy...
Phytoplankton of South Australia
Collect data on phytoplankton in South Australia, especially with regard to the 2025 algal bloom. However, it will be beneficial to have a local resource for all our phytoplankton going into the futur...
inaturalist.ala.org.au
July 20, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by Peri Coleman
Here is an updated graphic showing the 365-day running mean for the global surface temperature anomaly over the 1850-1900 IPCC pre-industrial baseline from 1941 to July 8, 2025.

I've highlighted a few key moments in the planet's recent history.
July 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Plankton samples settling. Recent counts have included the coast from Ardrossan to Price on the Yorke Peninsula, West Lakes and Garden Island in northern Adelaide, and the Onkaparinga estuary. That Karenia mikimotoi sure gets around.
July 10, 2025 at 1:28 PM
There is a new, downloadable leaflet on what photographs will make your iNaturalist observations of Shrubby samphire even more valuable. You can download the leaflet from the 'Shrubby samphire and climate change' project on iNaturalist, at
www.inaturalist.org/projects/shr...
New, downloadable leaflet on photographing Shrubby samphires for iNaturalist!
The citizen science database iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org) has an increasing number of observations of the Shrubby samphire. Where these records include both a habitat photograph and detailed phot...
www.inaturalist.org
June 9, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Sheaoak Flat has a fascinating soup of organisms in the near shore at the moment - in between the mass of organic debris partially dissolved in the water post-storm that blew some of the bloom away… Here is a cure copepod to brighten up your day
June 8, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Yesterday Jo from the ABC rang to talk about my being added to the Conservation SA ‘Hall of Fame’ but we rapidly diverted into a chat about mangroves and saltmarshes - as you do!
The chat starts early in the show, at 7:35 minutes in, and runs to 15:58 minutes.
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Afternoons - ABC listen
An intriguing blend of local news, entertainment and fun, Afternoons delights.
www.abc.net.au
June 7, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Reposted by Peri Coleman
“We are all going to die.”

True.

But not an advantageous approach to life…

and is almost always used instead of the true intended statement which is…

“You are going to die, and I can’t be bothered to save you.”
June 1, 2025 at 12:49 AM
It’s the name. It makes me smile. This is a tintinnid. A type of protozoan that gallops around in a wine glass. Normally not yellow - fell in a puddle of iodine stain on my microscope slide.
May 25, 2025 at 2:13 PM
If you’ve wondered why I’ve been a bit quiet, it has been because plankton counts are the best way to warn folk when “the bloom” is about to hit their little stretch of the coast… so I’ve been counting.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=2os3...
An ecological disaster has been unfolding on Australia's coast I ABC NEWS
YouTube video by ABC News (Australia)
m.youtube.com
May 24, 2025 at 2:32 PM
@climatecasino.net you may be able to cast some illumination on this southern summer-autumn’s marine heatwaves in Australia. Do any interesting stats on magnitude or frequency or longevity pop out of the data? I’m drowning in plankton counts of blooming toxic microalgae here
May 13, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Messing about with live plankton samples from Stansbury on the Yorke Peninsula. This part of Oyster Bay was currently free of the large Karenia mikimotoi bloom, but had some other cute microplankton to chase around under the microscope
May 11, 2025 at 10:45 AM
For those following the SA algal bloom, news from Faith today about a potential species flip:
“It is good to see that a bloom species swap is occurring at Middleton Beach, with the Karenia mikimotoi cell count dropping and numbers of Asterionellopsis diatoms taking their place in my sample today.”
April 27, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Well you’ve heard me banging on that heat is energy and a warmer climate is a more energetic climate. This new paper on hot-cold weather ‘flips’ quantifies that. It’s not a pretty picture. rdcu.be/eiVL1
Rapid flips between warm and cold extremes in a warming world
Nature Communications - Rapid temperature flips between hot and cold extremes will become more frequent, more intense, and more rapid globally by the end of the twenty-first century, which is...
rdcu.be
April 23, 2025 at 1:21 PM
British Quakers have been warning about the loss of the right to protest for the last few years, as more and more legislation has been passed, restricting that right.

www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...
Quakers call for rights to be restored after police raid on Westminster Meeting House
The police raid on Westminster Quaker meeting house last Thursday was a massively disproportionate response to the legitimate concerns of UK citizens.
www.quaker.org.uk
April 4, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Reposted by Peri Coleman
15/ We remember Rosalind Franklin not just as the “woman behind Photo 51”—
But as a brilliant, independent scientist who changed biology forever.
Her story is science.
And justice.
And courage.

#WomenInSTEM #HistoryOfScience #RosalindFranklin
March 27, 2025 at 8:54 AM
About the Fleurieau Peninsula bloom - it looks like Karenia mikimotoi. As always, remember the old adage about not swimming in turbid or coloured waters. If you do get wet, rinse in cool freshwater. If the aerosols irritate your lungs, vacate the area or mask (n95).
March 25, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Reposted by Peri Coleman
“The idea that ‘natural immunity’ is better sounds great—until you remember that ‘natural selection’ isn’t exactly a prize you want to win.”
March 11, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This…
When someone becomes disabled or chronically ill, people will twist themselves into knots finding a way to blame them. They need to find fault so they don’t have to face the randomness of life.

The truth is, anyone can become disabled at any time.

Good health is not a guarantee.
March 11, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Tawni and Mark have been counting the leaves of baby mangroves again. The numbers go up and down with the weather, but that smile on Tawni's face tells the tale! The slow upward overall trend continues 🙂
March 10, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Reposted by Peri Coleman
"...regularly visiting plants & animals in your yard, a nearby park, or abandoned field down the street... [can] reorient your heart & mind in a way that other efforts cannot. This small step may be the most important one you can take, for yourself & the planet."

Bravo @theresacrimmins.bsky.social!
March 8, 2025 at 3:03 PM