Navigating the Great Barrier Reef: The Inner and Outer Routes, 1815-1860

This article examines naval surveying voyages undertaken between 1815 and 1860 by Phillip Parker King, Francis Price Blackwood, Owen Stanley and Henry Mangles Denham to discuss the improvements to the navigation of the Inner and Outer shipping routes along the Great Barrier Reef. The Inner Route lay between Australia’s east coast and the western edge of the reefs while the Outer Route was situated in open sea beyond the eastern edge of the reefs. These were some of the most dangerous waters for ships in the Pacific off Australia’s east coast. The article analyses the improvements to both routes resulting from the surveying of the naval commanders referred to above; it explains why the choice between the Inner and Outer routes was difficult to make; and it shows that the Outer Route was increasingly favoured by merchant vessels.

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Coral Luminescence Identifies the Pacific Decadal Oscillation as a Primary Driver of River Runoff Variability Impacting the Southern Great Barrier Reef

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0084305 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. e84305 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Alberto Rodriguez-Ramirez ◽

Craig A. Grove ◽

Jens Zinke ◽

John M. Pandolfi ◽

Jian-xin Zhao

Keyword(s):

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Pacific Decadal Oscillation ◽

River Runoff ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

The Pacific ◽

Primary Driver ◽

Runoff Variability

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Torres Strait and the Inner Route

Journal of Navigation ◽

10.1017/s0373463300043599 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 21-27

Author(s):

J. H. S. Osborn

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

East Coast ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Outer Limit ◽

North East ◽

The North ◽

Torres Strait ◽

Alternative Routes ◽

Coral Reef System

The north-east coast of Australia is fronted by the world's longest coral reef system, which stretches in a north/south direction between latitudes 9° and 24° South. Although its outer limit is at distances of between 20 and 120 miles from the coast the enclosed waters are relatively shallow and contain many islands, detached reefs and shoals. The shipping lane between the coast and the Great Barrier Reef is known as the Inner Route. Torres Strait, its northern entrance, although extensive is shallow throughout and encumbered by reefs and islands to such an extent that only one route through it has been lit. The alternative routes are shallow or tortuous.

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First record of the genus Umimayanthus from Palau and Micronesia

Marine Biodiversity Records ◽

10.1017/s1755267215001177 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Javier Montenegro ◽

Julien Lorion ◽

James Davis Reimer

Keyword(s):

Molecular Markers ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Red Sea ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

New Caledonia ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

First Record ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

The Pacific ◽

The Family

Until recently, the only sponge-associated genera in the order Zoantharia wereParazoanthus(family Parazoanthidae),EpizoanthusandThoracactis(family Epizoanthidae), both within the suborder Macrocnemina. The taxonomy of the genusParazoanthus,as originally described, has been undergoing revision since 2010, with several species, genera and even families described. In 2015, multiple molecular markers were used in combination with morphological characteristics to erect the genusUmimayanthusinside the family Parazoanthidae. It included three species described from southern Japan, with other records for some of the species from the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia and the Red Sea. However, little is known of its distribution in the Pacific Islands. Here we report on the finding ofUmimayanthusspecimens in Palau, Micronesia, representing the first records for this region. A total of 32 specimens ofUmimayanthuswere collected from seven different locations; eight of the specimens were identified asUmimayanthus chanpuru,while the remaining 24 colonies were only identified to genus level.

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Critical Review and Conceptual and Quantitative Models for the Transfer and Depuration of Ciguatoxins in Fishes

Toxins ◽

10.3390/toxins13080515 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 515

Author(s):

Michael J. Holmes ◽

Bill Venables ◽

Richard J. Lewis

Keyword(s):

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Conceptual Models ◽

East Coast ◽

Food Chains ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Spanish Mackerel ◽

Turf Algae ◽

Benthic Dinoflagellates ◽

Scomberomorus Commerson ◽

Marine Food

We review and develop conceptual models for the bio-transfer of ciguatoxins in food chains for Platypus Bay and the Great Barrier Reef on the east coast of Australia. Platypus Bay is unique in repeatedly producing ciguateric fishes in Australia, with ciguatoxins produced by benthic dinoflagellates (Gambierdiscus spp.) growing epiphytically on free-living, benthic macroalgae. The Gambierdiscus are consumed by invertebrates living within the macroalgae, which are preyed upon by small carnivorous fishes, which are then preyed upon by Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson). We hypothesise that Gambierdiscus and/or Fukuyoa species growing on turf algae are the main source of ciguatoxins entering marine food chains to cause ciguatera on the Great Barrier Reef. The abundance of surgeonfish that feed on turf algae may act as a feedback mechanism controlling the flow of ciguatoxins through this marine food chain. If this hypothesis is broadly applicable, then a reduction in herbivory from overharvesting of herbivores could lead to increases in ciguatera by concentrating ciguatoxins through the remaining, smaller population of herbivores. Modelling the dilution of ciguatoxins by somatic growth in Spanish mackerel and coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus) revealed that growth could not significantly reduce the toxicity of fish flesh, except in young fast-growing fishes or legal-sized fishes contaminated with low levels of ciguatoxins. If Spanish mackerel along the east coast of Australia can depurate ciguatoxins, it is most likely with a half-life of ≤1-year. Our review and conceptual models can aid management and research of ciguatera in Australia, and globally.

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East Australian current adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf9870671 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 38 (6) ◽

pp. 671 ◽

Cited By ~ 78

Author(s):

JA Church

Keyword(s):

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Bifurcation Point ◽

Monsoon Season ◽

Surface Flow ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Surface Shear ◽

Near Surface ◽

Indonesian Archipelago ◽

The Pacific ◽

The Indian Ocean

Hydrographic data from a series of cruises during 1980-1981 are used to determine the circulation in the western Coral Sea region immediately adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef. The data show flow westward towards the Great Barrier Reef, bifurcating just north of 18�S. During the monsoon season (December to February), the bifurcation point moves north to at least 14�s. The geostrophic westward flow has a subsurface maximum at a depth of about 150 m. South of the bifurcation point, the flow is south-eastward on the upper continental slope and north-eastward offshore. North of the bifurcation point, the surface flow and transport (relative to 900 dbar) are northward. However, there is sometimes a south-eastwards near-surface shear. Near the bifurcation point, the surface currents are weak and variable. All of these features of the surface flow are reflected in the paths followed by satellite-tracked drifters. Although the drifters were fixed infrequently, the drifter data indicate the possible presence of small cyclonic eddies in the region of the bifurcation. All of the satellite-tracked drifters went aground in the Great Barrier Reef within 30 days of entering the region offshore from the Reef. The data are consistent with recent models of the wind-driven circulation in the South Pacific that propose that the westward flow bifurcates at about 20�S., with 17 x 106 m3 s-1 flowing through the Indonesian Archipelago from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

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