Recent datasets

This dataset consists of two data files (spreadsheets) from a 15 days experiment simulating the combined effects of climate change (manipulated temperature and pCO2 from present days and predicted for 2050 and 2100) and diuron contamination. Photosynthetic parameters were used to evaluate the physiological responses of Halimeda opuntia. Endpoints related to photosynthesis have high ecological relevance, once this physiological process is pivotal for algae health and survival.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the herbicide diuron and climate change on the Photosystem II activity of the seagrass Halophila ovalis. The 3 climate conditions were: ambient (28.5 °C, 398 µatm), 2050 (29.5 °C, 682 µatm) and 2100 (30.5 °C, 873 µatm). This dataset consists of one data file (spreadsheet) from a 2-week experiment, containing 5 diuron concentrations and 3 climate change scenarios. Each tab contains photosynthetic yield data at each time point: 0 d, 2 d, 7 d and 14 d under each of the diuron and climate change treatments.

The dataset represents the code base developed for the generation of water quality metrics from various data sources (eReefs Biogeochemical models, MODIS Satellite imaging and AIMS in situ sampling). The water quality metric used underpinning previous Report Cards (until 2015) presented a number of significant shortcomings: - It was solely based on remote sensing-derived data.

The analysis of existing bleaching observations and data resulted in three key outcomes: identification of key bleaching patterns, analysis of contributing factors, and recommendations for future monitoring and mitigation strategies. This desktop analysis of existing bleaching observations and data delivered three key outcomes: 1. a quantitative assessment of the spatial variability of severe coral bleaching and mortality throughout the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) on regional and within individual reef scales, 2.

This dataset summarises benthic surveys of seagrass for Dugong and Turtle habitats at Orman Reefs, Torres Strait. The site data describes seagrass coverage estimations at 279 intertidal sites; while the meadow data groups sites into six (6) individual meadows. Data captured includes information on visual estimates for seagrass species, substrate, biomass, diversity, percent cover for benthic macro-invertebrates and algae.

This dataset corresponds to the zoning of Commonwealth Marine Parks managed by Parks Australia. This metadata is a non-authoritative extract maintained for the eAtlas. See links for the original and full metadata. Consistent with the Australian Government's commitment to develop a National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas, networks of marine parks have been proclaimed for Commonwealth waters across the North, North-west, South-west, Temperate East and Coral Sea Marine Regions.

This project supports the implementation of the NESP Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Integrated Pest Management Project’s management and research strategy by; i) describing ecological parameters key to parameterizing the tools underpinning the management strategy; ii) analysing existing data sets to assess management performance and describe the interaction between CoTS and bleaching; and iii) scoping new technologies and surveillance strategies for detecting and monitoring primary and secondary outbreaks.

In early 2016, extensive dieback of mangrove forests was recorded along the southern and western Gulf of Carpentaria coastline. Landsat analysis suggests that 7,400 hectares of mangrove forest suffered dieback over a relatively short and synchronous time period around November 2015, along a >1,000km wide front from Karumba in the east to Limmen River in the west. Recent field visits to a limited range of affected sites suggest that a relatively low percentage of trees have recovered and most are dying/dead.

Government (e.g. Major Integrated Projects, MIPs) and private investors (e.g. Kilter Rural Group, WWF, and Greening Australia) are increasingly interested in nitrogen reduction projects, particularly via conversion of land to wetlands. Investing in such projects requires understanding the environmental benefits to be accrued and cost-effectiveness. The best way to provide these data is to evaluate already constructed land-wetland conversion sites that resemble what future projects might look like.

This project aims to develop methodologies for assessing cost-effectiveness and identifying key drivers of variation in cost-effectiveness in challenging data situations. It will use these methods to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of various completed programs aimed at reducing nitrogen runoff from cane production in Reef catchments. Additionally, the project will identify key barriers and enablers of engagement and lasting behavioral change within recent and current programs.

Landholder concerns surrounding the credibility of broad-scale water quality monitoring and modelling initiatives in the GBR catchment area is emerging as one of the key cane industry engagement challenges for promoting significant farming practice change, and delivering water quality improvements. Based around small, sub-catchment scale water quality monitoring in a key cane growing region of the GBR catchment, Project 25 utilises a bottom-up approach to integrated sub-catchment monitoring and intervention to identify ‘hot spot’ sub-catchments through localised water quality monitoring.

As coral cover in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) continues to degrade, pressure is growing for direct interventions to assist the recovery of corals at important sites. A range of coral restoration and assisted recovery techniques have been trialled overseas and in Australia, however there has not been an evaluation of what will work best in GBR conditions. This project will: - Summarise and evaluate the success of coral restoration and assisted recovery techniques worldwide and identify the techniques most likely to help the GBR. - Experimentally test the most promising techniques.

Organic carbon has traditionally been poorly studied in marine systems, but recent studies suggest that GBR microalgae can utilise organic matter, and that eroded soil carbon parameters can ameliorate marine algal responses to catchment nutrients. This suggests that organic carbon may play a more important role in marine ecosystems than previously thought. Additionally, GBR organic carbon concentrations are increasing, but the mechanisms are unclear.

In this project we will compile a database of gullies from across Queensland as a tool for communicating the diversity of gullies that exist in the landscape, but also the sommon elements from within this diversity, where they exist. Using this database we will develop a gully classification system to ensure that there is a common language used by researchers, land holders, land managers and practioners when identifying gullies for management intervention. This will also form the basis for subsequent automated gully mapping according to gully type.

This project seeks to understand how local, regional and global oceanographic and meteorological processes influence the severity and spatial variability of thermally driven coral bleaching for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and Torres Strait. All available relevant environmental observations of the recent bleaching events will be gathered to be more easily discoverable to researchers and managers via a gateway/summary webpage.

The Great Barrier Reef is experiencing increased environmental stress which threatens its functioning. Yet a subset of species are often disproportionately important in maintaining a functioning ecosystem. This project harnesses Queensland’s breadth of reef expertise to deliver timely recommendations on what can be done to strengthen and protect key supportive species. Specifically we ask which species – or functional groups of species – drive processes that maintain a healthy reef.

The past two years have seen unprecedented coral bleaching on the GBR but the consequences on biodiversity and genetic diversity are not yet known. This project will address the following questions: 1) Has bleaching resulted in a loss of genetic diversity in three coral species? 2) Do surviving populations contain genetic signatures of adaptation to bleaching temperatures? 3) What is the prevalence of heat tolerant photo-symbionts within surviving corals and in the environmental pool?

Reefs vary in their risk of damage, recoverability, and responsiveness to management. Deciding where to prioritise action to maximise reef health is complex. This project delivers a guidance system to implement Resilience-Based Management and demonstrates its application in the Whitsunday and Cairns regions. The guidance system will constitute a desktop software that enables users to prioritise which reefs to manage, and potentially restore, in order to maximise ecological and socio-economic outcomes.

70 selected reefs throughout the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are sampled in the AIMS Long-term Monitoring Project (LTMP). Underwater visual census is used to survey reef fishes on fixed transects (3 sites per reef, 5 x 50 m transects per site). The abundance and length of all diurnally active, non-cryptic fishes are recorded. A full list of species observed each year can be obtained on request. The overarching goal of LTMP fish surveys are to detect changes in reef fish communities over time at a regional scale, but also to examine the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas.

A later version of this dataset exists published 2019-01-18, accessible through the data links on this page. This dataset contains records of sting events and specimen samples of jellyfish (Irukandji) along the north Queensland coast from December 1998 to March 2017. This dataset contains an extract (265 records in CSV format) of the publicly available data contained in the Venomous Jellyfish Database. The full database contains approximately 3000 sting events from around Australia and includes records from sources that have not yet been cleared for release.