Benthic and coral reef community field data for Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2002–2018

AbstractThis paper describes benthic coral reef community composition point-based field data sets derived from georeferenced photoquadrats using machine learning. Annually over a 17 year period (2002–2018), data were collected using downward-looking photoquadrats that capture an approximately 1 m2 footprint along 100 m–1500 m transect surveys distributed along the reef slope and across the reef flat of Heron Reef (28 km2), Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Benthic community composition for the photoquadrats was automatically interpreted through deep learning, following initial manual calibration of the algorithm. The resulting data sets support understanding of coral reef biology, ecology, mapping and dynamics. Similar methods to derive the benthic data have been published for seagrass habitats, however here we have adapted the methods for application to coral reef habitats, with the integration of automatic photoquadrat analysis. The approach presented is globally applicable for various submerged and benthic community ecological applications, and provides the basis for further studies at this site, regional to global comparative studies, and for the design of similar monitoring programs elsewhere.

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Coral Reef Community Composition in the Context of Disturbance History on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0101204 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. e101204 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Nicholas A. J. Graham ◽

Karen M. Chong-Seng ◽

Cindy Huchery ◽

Fraser A. Januchowski-Hartley ◽

Kirsty L. Nash

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Community Composition ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Disturbance History ◽

Coral Reef Community ◽

Reef Community

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Occurrence of aggressive mechanisms during interactions between soft corals (Octocorallia : Alcyoniidae) and other corals on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf96086 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 129 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

J. K. Griffith

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Soft Coral ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Soft Corals ◽

Acanthaster Planci ◽

Coral Reef Community ◽

Reef Community ◽

Coral Colony ◽

Factors Influencing

This study found that on two reefs of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, most coral colonies within 10 cm of a soft coral colony were interacting to the detriment of one or both colonies. Soft corals were more likely to interact with neighbouring hard corals than with other soft corals. The relative infrequency of ties indicated that two coral colonies were rarely equal competitively. Allelopathy and simple overgrowth were the major aggressive mechanisms of alcyoniids. Soft corals tended to simply overgrow neighbouring hard corals but used allelochemicals more frequently when the neighbour was another soft coral. Other factors influencing the type of aggressive mechanism used included the size of the neighbouring colony. The importance of this to a coral reef community after events such as Acanthaster planci infestations is discussed.

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Benthic community composition on submerged reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef

Coral Reefs ◽

10.1007/s00338-015-1261-7 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 569-580 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

T. E. Roberts ◽

J. M. Moloney ◽

H. P. A. Sweatman ◽

T. C. L. Bridge

Keyword(s):

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Community Composition ◽

Benthic Community ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Submerged Reefs

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Emergent fauna from hard surfaces on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf12284 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 64 (8) ◽

pp. 687 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

M. J. Kramer ◽

D. R. Bellwood ◽

O. Bellwood

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Community Composition ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Trophic Link ◽

Harpacticoid Copepods ◽

Emergence Traps ◽

Epilithic Algal Matrix

The community composition of a coral reef emergent fauna was quantified on Orpheus Island, Great Barrier Reef. Emergence traps deployed over hard surfaces revealed a wide diversity of organisms, spanning eight different phyla, of which Crustacea were particularly abundant. Within the Crustacea, harpacticoid copepods were the most common (24 ± 2 ind. 100 cm–2, mean ± s.e.). The composition of the emergent fauna differed markedly from previous descriptions of the cryptofauna in the epilithic algal matrix. Furthermore, the emergent fauna was two orders of magnitude less abundant than their benthic counterparts. Our results point to a limited trophic link between the benthos and the overlying nocturnal plankton assemblage.

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Management of Water Quality in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1989.0024 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 31-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Simon Woodley

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Coral Reef ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Management Issue ◽

Reef System ◽

Marine Park ◽

World Heritage List ◽

The World ◽

Coral Reef System

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is recognised and appreciated worldwide as a unique environment and for this reason has been inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Reef is economically-important to Queensland and Australia, supporting substantial tourism and fishing industries. Management of the Great Barrier Reef to ensure conservation of its natural qualities in perpetuity is achieved through the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The maintenance of water quality to protect the reef and the industries which depend on it is becoming an increasingly important management issue requiring better knowledge and possibly new standards of treatment and discharge.

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