scholarly journals Effects of trawling on sessile megabenthos in the Great Barrier Reef and evaluation of the efficacy of management strategies

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. i115-i126 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Roland Pitcher ◽  
Nick Ellis ◽  
William N. Venables ◽  
Ted J. Wassenberg ◽  
Charis Y. Burridge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Dynamic Modelling ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Management Interventions

Abstract A series of related research studies over 15 years assessed the effects of prawn trawling on sessile megabenthos in the Great Barrier Reef, to support management for sustainable use in the World Heritage Area. These large-scale studies estimated impacts on benthos (particularly removal rates per trawl pass), monitored subsequent recovery rates, measured natural dynamics of tagged megabenthos, mapped the regional distribution of seabed habitats and benthic species, and integrated these results in a dynamic modelling framework together with spatio-temporal fishery effort data and simulated management. Typical impact rates were between 5 and 25% per trawl, recovery times ranged from several years to several decades, and most sessile megabenthos were naturally distributed in areas where little or no trawling occurred and so had low exposure to trawling. The model simulated trawl impact and recovery on the mapped species distributions, and estimated the regional scale cumulative changes due to trawling as a time series of status for megabenthos species. The regional status of these taxa at time of greatest depletion ranged from ∼77% relative to pre-trawl abundance for the worst case species, having slow recovery with moderate exposure to trawling, to ∼97% for the least affected taxon. The model also evaluated the expected outcomes for sessile megabenthos in response to major management interventions implemented between 1999 and 2006, including closures, effort reductions, and protected areas. As a result of these interventions, all taxa were predicted to recover (by 2–14% at 2025); the most affected species having relatively greater recovery. Effort reductions made the biggest positive contributions to benthos status for all taxa, with closures making smaller contributions for some taxa. The results demonstrated that management actions have arrested and reversed previous unsustainable trends for all taxa assessed, and have led to a prawn trawl fishery with improved environmental sustainability.

Cross-shelf exchanges between the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef lagoon determined from a regional-scale numerical model

2015 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 150-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Schiller ◽  
Mike Herzfeld ◽  
Richard Brinkman ◽  
Farhan Rizwi ◽  
John Andrewartha
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Reef Lagoon ◽  
Coral Sea

Larval dispersal simulations: correlation with the crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks database

1992 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 569 ◽  
Author(s):  
MK James ◽  
JP Scandol
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Larval Dispersal ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Central Hypothesis ◽  
Scale Population

The work reported in this paper is a further development of results from a research programme whose principal objective is to achieve an understanding of the large-scale population dynamics of Acanthaster planci. The research is based on the development and use of numerical models of hydrodynamics and resulting larval dispersal throughout a large portion of the Great Barrier Reef. It is chiefly concerned with the large-scale statistical patterns of larval dispersal, the central hypothesis being that passive hydrodynamic dispersal plays an important role in the recruitment process. The present aim is to examine more closely than has been done before the consistencies between the modelling results and the database of recorded observations of crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks. Reefs in the Cairns and Central Sections of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park that were recorded as carrying active outbreaks during the period 1979-89 were used as sources in a programme of intensive simulations of Acanthaster larval dispersal under forcing by the wind, tidal action and the East Australian Current. The resulting broad-scale patterns of larval dispersal were found to be in strong qualitative agreement with the observed spatial and temporal distribution of adult Acanthaster populations. Statistical analysis of the results revealed a strong positive correlation between potential recruitment on surveyed reefs, as estimated by the dispersal simulations, and the observed presence of outbreak populations on those reefs. The correlation was particularly strong when different cross-shelf zones were considered separately.

A Bayesian network model linking nutrient management actions in the Tully catchment (northern Queensland) with Great Barrier Reef condition

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Shenton ◽  
Barry T. Hart ◽  
Jon Brodie
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Network ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Phytoplankton Biomass ◽  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Nitrogen Management ◽  
Catchment Management ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Nitrogen Fertiliser ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Reef Condition

Correlating catchment management actions with improvements in the ecological condition of downstream coastal regions is challenging. We describe a Bayesian network (BN) model that predicts the effects of nitrogen-fertiliser management strategies in the Tully River catchment (northern Queensland) on the condition of inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The model consists of three linked submodels that relate sugarcane nitrogen management with runoff into the Tully River and nitrate concentration in the GBR lagoon, predicts phytoplankton biomass in the GBR lagoon from the nitrate inputs, and links the phytoplankton biomass with three marine influences to predict the probability of the reefs being dominated by coral (good) or macro-algae (bad). Four scenarios were modelled – current and the ‘six easy steps’ nitrogen management, and active and depleted algal grazing (herbivory) of the reef. The model predicts an increased probability of the reef being coral-dominated with current fertiliser practice and with active reef herbivory, with increased algal-dominance if reef herbivory is decreased. Introduction of a better nitrogen-fertiliser management with active herbivory resulted in an increased probability of coral dominance. This comparative-scenario analysis highlights the importance of both agricultural nutrient management practices and marine processes in predicting reef condition.

scholarly journals The contribution of coral reef-derived dimethyl sulfide to aerosol burden over the Great Barrier Reef: a modelling study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya Fiddes ◽  
Matthew Woodhouse ◽  
Steve Utembe ◽  
Robyn Schofield ◽  
Joel Alroe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reef ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Dimethyl Sulfide ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosol ◽  
Daily Time

Abstract. Coral reefs have been found to produce the sulfur compound dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a climatically relevant aerosol precursor predominantly associated with phytoplankton. Until recently, the role of coral reef-derived DMS within the climate system had not been quantified. A study preceding the present work found that DMS produced by corals had negligible long-term climatic forcing at the global-regional scale. However, at sub-daily time scales more typically associated with aerosol and cloud formation, the influence of coral reef-derived DMS on local aerosol radiative effects remains unquantified. The Weather Research and Forecasting – chemistry model (WRF-Chem) has been used in this work to study the role of coral reef-derived DMS at sub-daily time scales for the first time. WRF-Chem was run to coincide with an October 2016 field campaign over the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, against which the model was evaluated. After updating the DMS surface water climatology, the model reproduced DMS and sulfur concentrations well. The inclusion of coral reef-derived DMS resulted in no significant change in sulfate aerosol mass or total aerosol number. Subsequently, no direct or indirect aerosol effects were detected. The results suggest that the co-location of the Great Barrier Reef with significant anthropogenic aerosol sources along the Queensland coast prevents coral reef derived-aerosol from having a modulating influence on local aerosol burdens in the current climate.

NEW FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 673
Author(s):  
R.A. Kenchington ◽  
P. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Multiple Use Management ◽  
Environment And Development ◽  
Management Approaches

Historically much of the debate about the environment and development has been conducted as a series of tactical adversarial encounters from which the champions of environment or development emerge as winners or losers.The concept of sustainable development calls for a different approach in which sectors which have traditionally treated each other as opponents work together to achieve mutually acceptable and enduring outcomes. A wide range of societal goals can be met by integrating social and environmental systems through regional scale multiple use planning.This paper discusses the broad applicability of multiple use management approaches through internationally accepted models and by the example of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.The paper outlines the complementary responsibilities of the Australian Nature Conservation Agency (ANCA), the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and other Commonwealth agencies and the scope for them to work with the Petroleum and other industries to develop sustainable multiple use solutions to complex resource use and conservation issues.

Excess seawater nutrients, enlarged algal symbiont densities and bleaching sensitive reef locations: 2. A regional-scale predictive model for the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 343-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Wooldridge ◽  
Scott F. Heron ◽  
Jon E. Brodie ◽  
Terence J. Done ◽  
Itsara Masiri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Predictive Model ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Algal Symbiont

Spatio-temporal variability in surface Chlorophyll distribution in the Central Great Barrier Reef as derived from CZCS imagery

1990 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Gabric ◽  
P Hoffenberg ◽  
W Boughton
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Phytoplankton Abundance ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Chlorophyll Distribution ◽  
Consistent Feature ◽  
Spatio Temporal

A series of Coastal Zone Colour Scanner (CZCS) images has been used to compare the surface phytoplankton variation in the central Great Barrier Reef waters over the period 1979-81. Near- concurrent field data have been obtained for all the scenes so that approximate chlorophyll concentrations have been applied in the image classification. A consistent feature in the dry-season chlorophyll distribution is a cross shelf gradient with high chlorophyll levels inshore and lower levels in the mid-lagoonal waters increasing to higher concentrations in the reef matrix. The effects of higher nutrient loads in the wet season are also evident, although correlation between riverine discharge and phytoplankton abundance in the lagoon is problematic. In fact, a large scale 'bloom' event occurs before the start of the 1980-81 wet season and may be related to wind resuspension of sedimentary nutrients.

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