Naked Oceans, from the Naked Scientists

In a special edition of Naked Oceans we celebrate the world's first Census of Marine Life as it draws to a climax this month after ten years of amazing ocean discoveries. Recorded at the Census conference at the Royal Institution in London on October 4th 2010, we meet many of the people behind the census, find out how the whole grand project got going, and pick out some of the census highlights. We also hear some musical inspiration from the census and chat with distinguished oceans explorer, Sylvia Earle.

This month we submerge ourselves in the science of tracking sharks. How do we follow them, where do they go, and what do they get up to when we're not watching? We catch up with Ecocean's Brad Norman to find out how he was inspired by the stars to help track the biggest fish in the seas. Mahmood Shivji from the Guy Harvey Research Institute tells us about how cutting edge genetic tools are helping to track the trade in sharks fins. And Boris Worm chooses our Critter of the Month.

The bid to create the world's largest marine reserve, diseases threatening corals in the Caribbean, what is the best way to conserve coral reefs in Fiji, and why fish microbes matter too. Plus news of DNA sequences extracted from a 400,000 human ancestor in Spain, contraceptive pills for men, pain-free injection patches and the brain basis of dyslexia...

Why is it sometimes such a big deal when species end up in the wrong places? On Naked Oceans this month we explore marine invasions and find out how people shift species around the oceans, what problems this causes, and what can be done to stop them. We visit the Caribbean to get the lowdown on a notorious ocean alien, the lionfish, and find out how the best policy could be Eat 'em to beat 'em. Janet Voight tells us about her recent report that warns deepsea explorers to be very careful not to pick up any unwanted hitchhikers. And in Critter of the Month we ask Miriam Goldstein to tell us if she were a marine species, which would she be and why.

Naked Oceans takes to the skies this month to explore the world of seabirds. They may not have gills, and only some of them have flippers, but there are plenty of our feathered friends that spend some or all of their time at sea. We look into the threats they face today and find out about a new network of conservation zones, called Important Bird Areas, that are being set up to protect seabirds around the world. And we find out how scientists study the bird with the largest wings on the planet - the incredible wandering albatross. As always, we have a run down of some of the latest marine science and conservation news headlines. And in Critter of the Month, we meet a colourful denizen of the deep that has trouble keeping its emotions hidden.