NERP TE Project 5.2 Experimental and field investigations of combined water quality and climate effects on corals and other reef organisms (AIMS)
- Between 01/07/2011 - 00:00 and 31/12/2014 - 00:00
The objective of this project is to assess how management of local stressors such as land runoff can help improve the resilience of coral reefs to global stressors (climate change) which are more difficult to manage. Complementary laboratory and field experiments will investigate the combined impacts of declining water quality (increased nutrients and sediments, and reduced light and salinity), increased sea temperature and ocean acidification on key reef species groups such as corals, foraminifera, crown-of-thorns starfish and rock-boring sea urchins.
1. To experimentally quantify changes in the thresholds for global change stressors (temperature increase, ocean acidification) due to elevated local stressors,(increased nutrients, increased turbidity, decreased salinity) on key coral reef organisms.
2. Investigating individual and synergistic effects of water quality and global change on reproduction, larval development and settlement of key coral reef invertebrates (e.g. corals, echinoderms).
3. Predicting the future performance of reef organisms, by experimentally testing hypotheses about differences in the vulnerability of coral species to ocean acidification, as derived from our studies of natural CO2 seeps.
4. Using inshore reefs as a model system to investigate the performance of calcifying organisms at low or variable carbonate saturation state.
Increasing sea temperatures, ocean acidification and reduced water quality from terrestrial run-off are likely to significantly alter marine and coastal ecosystems over the next few decades. To date, research investigating the impacts of these threats has considered each threat individually, but their interactions and cumulative impacts are as yet poorly understood and potentially more damaging than each threat in isolation.
- Uthicke, Sven, Dr
Research Scientist in the Water Quality and Ecosystem Health Team studying the use of foraminifera and biofilms
Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
s.uthicke@aims.gov.au
- Photosynthetic and growth responses in three tropical seagrass species to pCO2 enrichment (440, 700, 890, 1204 µatm) (NERP TE 5.2, AIMS)
- Interactive effects of near-future temperature increase (28/31°C) and ocean acidification (7.8/8.1 pH) on physiology and gonad development in adult Pacific sea urchin, Echinometra sp. A (NERP TE 5.2, AIMS)
- Effects of ocean acidification (pHtotal~7.8) on calcification, photosynthesis, carbon and nitrogen contents and carbon isotopic signatures on Halimeda opuntia grown at tropical carbon dioxide seeps (NERP TE 5.2, AIMS)
- Cumulative Effects of Nutrient Enrichment and Elevated Temperature Compromise the Early Life History Stages of the Coral Acropora tenuis (NERP TE 5.2 and NESP TWQ 2.1.6, AIMS and JCU)
- Combined Effects of near-future temperature increase and ocean acidification on coral reef foraminifera Marginopora vertebralis and Heterostegina depressa. (NERP TE 5.2, AIMS and MARUM)
- Carbon chemistry on inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef 2011 - 2012 (NERP TE 5.2, AIMS)
- Additive effects of ocean acidification (7.8/ 8.1 pH) and reduced light availability (35/ 150 PAR) on growth, photosynthesis, calcification and pigment content of stony coral Acropora millepora (NERP 5.2, AIMS)
- marine