Do people really know where to find Nemo?

If you ask most Australians about the Great Barrier Reef, they'll probably light up with pride. After all, it's our own natural wonder, the world's largest coral reef system, sprawling over 344,000 square kilometers off Queensland's coast. It's so vast it can be seen from space, and it's one of the planet's most biodiverse ecosystems. Although, while we treasure the Reef, many of us don't actually know very much about the species that call it home, or the threats it faces.

That's the conclusion of a new study published in Marine and Freshwater Research by a team from the University of South Australia. Led by Jarrah Taylor and Carla Litchfield (both from UniSA's Justice and Society division) alongside Brianna Le Busque (from UniSA's STEM unit and the Centre for Marine Socioecology in Tasmania), the research asked a simple question.

What do everyday Australians know about the Reef's creatures and challenges?

Before diving into the findings, let's remind ourselves why the Great Barrier Reef matters. It's home to over 6,000 species, including dazzling corals, tropical fish, sharks, sea turtles, dugongs, seabirds, and marine mammals. Economically, it pumps billions into Australia's economy through tourism and supports over 64,000 jobs. Culturally, it's iconic, not just for Australians, but globally. However, its future is shaky. Rising sea temperatures, coral bleaching, pollution, and unsustainable practices are eating away at its health. Scientists have been sounding alarms for decades, and while Australians often hear “save the Reef” messages, how much of that information actually sticks?

The research team recruited 113 Australians, aged 18 to 84, through social media. Participants answered a short online survey with open-ended questions. Unlike multiple-choice tests, where recognition can guide answers, open questions reveal what people can recall from memory, essentially, what's really lodged in their minds.

They were asked four simple things: where is the Reef located, why is it important to Australia, what species live there, and what threats is it facing? It sounds straightforward, but the answers tell us a lot about how Australians perceive one of their most cherished natural treasures.

So, where's the Reef?

Almost 87% of participants correctly identified the Reef as being in Queensland, with many specifying northern or northeastern Queensland. A handful even named towns like Cairns or Townsville. About 6% either didn't know or guessed incorrectly. A couple of people even thought it was in South Australia. So, even iconic landmarks can be fuzzy in the public imagination.

When asked why the Reef is important, participants gave two broad types of answers. One type was for environmental reasons. Nearly half said it's crucial as a habitat for countless species. Others mentioned its role as an ecosystem and a natural wonder. The second answer was for socio-cultural reasons. 44% highlighted tourism and some mentioned its economic value and scientific research potential. Australians understand both the environmental and economic stakes, though tourism looms larger in many minds than biodiversity.

Which species live there?

Most participants listed broad categories, fish, corals, reptiles, rather than specific species. When pressed, the most common named species was the clownfish, which is a popular answer because of Pixar's Finding Nemo. Sea turtles and sharks also popped up frequently, but many other iconic or threatened species were barely mentioned. Few recognized seabirds, despite the Reef hosting 20 breeding species. Only three endangered or critically endangered species (green turtles, staghorn coral, and great hammerhead sharks) appeared at all.

It seems that popular culture, more than scientific knowledge, drives which species Australians can name. Nemo may be cute, but he represents a gap in our collective understanding of the Reef's biodiversity.

What threatens the reef?

Australians did better when it came to identifying threats. The top answers were runoff, pollution, plastics (36%), coral bleaching (34%), climate change (33%), and warming oceans (24%). Less commonly, people mentioned crown-of-thorns starfish, cyclones, or other natural pressures. Australians know that most of the Reef's threats come from us, not from nature.

While Australians recognize the importance of the Reef, their knowledge of its species is surprisingly shallow. That matters because conservation campaigns often depend on public awareness. If people can't name or recognize endangered species, they may not support efforts to protect them. This is about how people connect emotionally with nature. Clownfish became conservation “celebrities” thanks to Finding Nemo, but what about less glamorous creatures like the potato cod, the giant clam, or the Māori wrasse? They're just as crucial to the Reef's health, yet they're almost invisible in public consciousness.

It's important to highlight that this was a small study of 113 people who were recruited online, so it can't claim to represent the entire nation. However, as a snapshot, it highlights important gaps. The researchers suggest future work should scale up, with larger samples and tools like multiple-choice surveys to measure recognition as well as recall.

Even this small dataset tells us something vital. If we want Australians to champion the Reef, we need to do more than show them pretty pictures of clownfish and coral.

Also, this study gives us the opportunity to talk about the Great Barrier Reef, an Australian and a global treasure. Yet, as this new research shows, our knowledge of it is patchy. We know where it is (mostly), we know it's important (environmentally and economically), and we know it's under threat. But when it comes to the incredible diversity of species that call it home, our understanding often stops at Nemo.

That's both a challenge and an opportunity. If movies can make us care about a clownfish, then creative storytelling, education, and outreach can help us care about the green turtle, the hammerhead shark, or even the humble seabird. Conservation is a matter of protecting ecosystems, but it's also about connecting people to them. So, we need to broaden the narrative, including all Reef residents, even the endangered ones.

If you want to learn more, read the original article titled "Australians' perceptions of species diversity of, and threats to, the Great Barrier Reef" on Marine and Freshwater Research at http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MF24109.