{"id":71315,"date":"2021-08-16T07:40:29","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T07:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=71315"},"modified":"2021-08-16T07:41:21","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T07:41:21","slug":"perth-boy-rehan-somaweera-has-become-one-of-australias-youngest-authors-of-a-scientific-paper-by-evelyn-manfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/perth-boy-rehan-somaweera-has-become-one-of-australias-youngest-authors-of-a-scientific-paper-by-evelyn-manfield\/","title":{"rendered":"Perth boy Rehan Somaweera has become one of Australia’s youngest authors of a scientific paper By Evelyn Manfield"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perth boy Rehan Somaweera has become one of<\/span> Australia’s youngest authors of a scientific paper<\/span> By\u00a0Evelyn Manfield<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

\"Perth<\/p>\n

Source:-www.abc.net.au<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A father and son bonding over their love for snorkeling has lead to 10-year-old Rehan Somaweera becoming one of the youngest people in Australia to author a published scientific paper.<\/span><\/p>\n

Key points:<\/span><\/p>\n

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    \n
  • Rehan Somaweera\u00a0discovered an interesting unknown fact about the WA common octopus\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • He and his dad confirmed the discovery by recording what they saw across four different reefs<\/span><\/li>\n
  • His\u00a0findings were published in a CSIRO journal and he now dreams of being a scientist\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n

    Whenever the sun is shining, Rehan and his dad Ru put on their wetsuits and flippers and jump in the sparkling blue water at Perth’s Mettams Pool.<\/span><\/p>\n

    It was\u00a0on one of these underwater adventures that year five student Rehan fell hook, line and sinker for the West Australian common octopus because of its “weird skin” and eight tentacles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    “When I saw the octopus it hooked me in because it looked like a creature from a different planet,” he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

    With a now-piqued interest in the WA common octopus, Rehan noticed the species was often hanging out with the brown-spotted wrasse fish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    “I thought it could be by coincidence, but it wasn’t, it was actually following it,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Perth<\/span><\/p>\n

    His dad Ru, who studies animal behaviour for a living, did not believe the discovery at first.<\/span><\/p>\n

    A keen snorkler, Mr Somaweera said\u00a0he had never noticed those two creatures\u00a0together.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Perth<\/span><\/p>\n

    But his son\u00a0was right, so the pair spent the next year watching and recording what they saw across four different reefs in Perth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Unique marine discovery<\/span><\/h2>\n

    What they discovered is known as nuclear-follower behaviour, which itself is not new, but Mr Somaweera, a behavioural ecologist, said it was not known among these two creatures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Perth<\/span><\/p>\n

    Rehan discovered the\u00a0brown-spotted wrasse follows the\u00a0octopus around as it uses its tentacles to forage for food, making it easier for the fish to also score a feed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    “We know that certain animals that disturb the flow when they’re feeding, creates feeding opportunities for other animals,” Mr Somaweera said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    For example, that could be an octopus sticking its tentacle in a crevice and flushing out food for the fish to eat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    In the words of Rehan \u2014 it’s lazy but clever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    With all the data the pair were collecting on their snorkeling trips, they\u00a0wrote a scientific paper that has now been published in a CSIRO journal.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Perth<\/span><\/p>\n

    At just 10, Rehan is\u00a0one of the youngest Australians to have done so, behind at least one other \u2014\u00a0Brisbane girl Grace Fulton who researched owls\u00a0from the age of four and later published a paper.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n