Recent datasets

Aesthetic condition and trend of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are critical to monitor for the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program (RIMReP), and World Heritage Area reporting. This research project designed and implemented an aesthetics long term monitoring program (ALTMP) for the GBR. It included a strong research component that identified how to convert a subjective measurement into an objective one.

The eAtlas is a free public website (http://eatlas.org.au) that brings together environmental research data and knowledge from multiple organizations and research programs into one place. It ensures that research data is discoverable, well documented, accessible and reusable now and into the future. In goal of this project was for the eAtlas team to work with National Environmental Science Program Tropical Water Quality (NESP TWQ) hub researchers to: - Assist and support them with data management.

The CoTS IPM program designed an ecologically informed control program that integrates knowledge of the spatial and temporal dynamics of CoTS outbreaks and the operations of onwater control to provide: 1. the most efficient strategies for investing management effort at all scales of management; 2. an operational framework for the control program, and, iii) to identify and fill key research gaps.

This project derived Ecologically Relevant Targets (ERTs) for sediment loads for the Burdekin basin and provided the seagrass desired state across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) by; 1. defining seagrass desired state for the GBR; 2. calculating light requirements; and 3. calculating ERTs for terrestrially sourced sediment loads, using Cleveland Bay as a case study. Historical and new data collections were compiled and used to derive ERTs via statistical models and eReefs Relocatable Coastal Model (RECOM), and the seagrass submodel in eReefs was used to test ERTs.

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Recent research has shown that only a portion of the fine sediment fraction delivered from rivers draining into the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon (GBRL) reaches coral reefs and seagrass meadows. The specific sources of this sediment, which affects the health of corals and seagrasses, are as yet unresolved. This project, for the first time, characterised and traced the origin(s), fate and nutrient bioavailability of this environmentally detrimental sediment using samples collected in flood plumes and during resuspension events.

The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan and Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan 2017-2022 have set ambitious targets for Great Barrier Reef (GBR) water quality improvement. Indeed, Water Quality Improvement Plans (WQIP) for most NRMs in the Great Barrier Reef catchments recognise that complete adoption of sugar cane best management practices will still not be sufficient to achieve the nitrogen load reductions required to meet the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Water Quality Guidelines.

Understanding cumulative impacts from multiple stressors will be critical for successful management of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) under the Reef2050 Plan. This project produced experimental analyses of concentration-response relationships for selected species under broad, controlled envelopes of local stressors at different climate scenarios. Results informed assessments of ecological risks, and management opportunities for a range of activities in the coastal zone and on the GBR.

This research project responded to the urgent need of understanding how ecological changes affect the aesthetic value and the user experience of the Great Barrier Reef, and how these are measured and monitored in a cost-effective way. The research capitalised on two major trends, namely peoples’ ability and willingness to share large amounts of information through various online platforms, and rapid development in computing technology to store, process and interpret these data.

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There is significant Government investment in water quality improvement focused on reducing gully erosion (~$50M), however, there is limited measured data to demonstrate the effectiveness of the remediation approaches. This project is collected land condition, terrain and water quality data from five gully remediation trial sites in the Burdekin catchment. The data demonstrated whether the on-ground investment programs are actually improving measured water quality, and quantified the cost-effectiveness of the various approaches.

This dataset contains records of sting events and specimen samples of jellyfish (Irukanji, Halo irukanji, Box jellyfish and Morbakka) from the Venomous Jellyfish Database. This dataset contains an extract of 1081 sting events (in CSV format) from along the north Queensland coast between December 1883 to March 2017. The full database contains approximately 3000 sting events from around Australia and includes records from sources that have not yet been cleared for release.

This dataset contains data from experiments testing the survival of fertilised Acropora millepora gametes before and after settlement in different climate and sediment treatment conditions. One datafile shows the development and survival until competency for settlement, which has been tested at the National Sea Simulator. A second file demonstrates the settlement success after development in these treatments. Successful recruitment is crucial for the survival and repopulation of coral reefs.

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.

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.

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.