Recent datasets

This dataset shows the geology of the Torres Strait region. The polygons in this dataset are a digital representation of the distribution or extent of geological units within the area. Polygons have a range of attributes including unit name, age, lithological description and an abbreviated symbol for use in labelling the polygons. These have been extracted from the Rock Units Table held in the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Merlin Database.

Benthic organisms were surveyed annually on fixed sites in one habitat on each of 47 selected core survey reefs from 1993 to 2005 in 6 regions throughout the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Surveys were undertaken at 3 sites per reef, with 5x50m transects surveyed per site.In 2004 a new zoning plan was implemented in the Great Barrier reef Marine Park and in 2006 the pattern of surveys was changed. The original set of reefs (47) are surveyed in odd years (e.g. 2007) and a different set (56 reefs) are surveyed in even years.

Data on the general appearance and condition of coral reefs which have been manta towed in the Long Term Monitoring Project (LTMP). The data from 4 reef zones - front (seaward) and back (leeward), and north and south (flanks 1 and 2) - are used to create a web page on each zone for each reef (http://apps.aims.gov.au/reef-monitoring/).

In 6 sectors of the Great Barrier Reef (Cooktown/Lizard island, Cairns, Townsville, Whitsunday, Swain and Capricorn Bunker) 49 of the key manta tow reefs are designated 'core' survey reefs and are also surveyed using the scuba search technique. Where possible, three or more reefs in each sector have been selected in each of three positions across the continental shelf: inshore, mid-shelf and outer shelf. Results of scuba searches for juvenile Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS), Acanthaster cf. solaris, and the mollusc Drupella.

64 'key' reefs in 11 sectors of the Great Barrier Reef (Cape Grenville, Princess Charlotte Bay, Cooktown/Lizard Island, Cairns, Innisfail, Townsville, Cape Upstart, Whitsunday, Pompey Complex, Swain and Capricorn Bunker) are annually surveyed for crown-of-thorns starfish using the manta tow technique. An additional 117 reefs from the sectors (excluding the Whitsunday, Swain and Capricorn-Bunker sectors) are scheduled for survey every third year ('cycle' reefs). The cycle manta tow reefs take second priority if surveys are unable to be completed because of bad weather and limited ship time.

This dataset shows the broad geology of the Wet Tropics of Queensland and surrounding areas from Ayr up to north of Cooktown. It is a combination of the "Geology of the Wet Tropics Bioregion (WTMA)" dataset (WtmaGeology) from the Vegetation mapping of the Wet Tropics and the state wide Regional Ecosystem mapping by the Queensland Government. Whilst the WtmaGeology dataset provided high resolution mapping of geology in the Wet Tropics Bioregion it only provided geology where there was remnant vegetation. As a result cleared and regrowth areas were not assigned a geology type.

The AIMS Long-term Monitoring Program (LTMP) is designed to detect changes in reef communities at a subregional scale. In this context, a subregion encompasses inshore, mid-shelf and outer shelf reefs across the continental shelf within one band of latitude (a sector).Reef surveys involve three approaches:1. broadscale manta tow surveys of crown-of-thorns starfish populations and reef-wide coral cover2. Intensive photographic surveys of stationary seafloor (benthic) organisms on fixed transects3.

Water Quality Data from the AIMS Long Term Monitoring Program. Water and sediments (another dataset) were sampled at the same sites adjacent to all 52 reefs where fish and benthic transects are conducted. Sampling occurs in open water within 500 metres of the reef, on both sides (north and south flanks) of the reef. Sampled reefs occur throughout the Great Barrier Reef, and the reefs of the North West coast of Australia. To track change.

As a sub-project of the now discontinued water quality component of the AIMS Long-term Monitoring Project, sediments were examined along cross-shelf transects commencing at the mouths of the Johnstone and Barron Rivers, which drain heavily cultivated areas. Results were compared with sediments from a transect commencing near the Pascoe River, which drains an uncultivated area of Cape York. Observations were made between November 1992 and April 1996. Sampling was conducted in alternate dry and wet seasons 1992-1993 but only in wet (summer) season 1994 and 1995.

This dataset consists of 31 monitoring sites in the Tully-Ingham area. Sites have various levels of rainforest invasion. Each site has a vegetation strata species list and counts of each species in each strata. Trees with stems > 10cm Diameter Breast Height (DBH) are identified and their DBH and height are measured. Date of survey May-July 2014. This dataset was originally designed to monitor the habitat of Mahogany Gliders and what effect fire had on different levels of rainforest invasion. Will a fire kill rainforest plants/seedlings?

This dataset consists of the home ranges and satellite tracks taken from eleven dugongs and ten green turtles. Methods: Fast-acquisition satellite telemetry was used to track eleven dugongs and ten green turtles at two geographically distinct foraging locations in Queensland, Australia to evaluate the inter- and intra-species spatial relationships and assess the efficacy of existing protection zones. Home-range analysis and bathymetric modeling were used to determine spatial use and compared with existing protection areas using GIS.

This dataset contains the voyage data from the crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) control program operated by the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators (AMPTO) from the Cairns to Lizard island region. It contains the data from two control vessels (MV Hero and MV Venus II) with a total of 64 voyages, each of 10 days.

The purpose of this study was to provide a large-scale documentation of the extent of bleaching, for comparison against SST and other bleaching events. The data record the large-scale bleaching event on the GBR in 1998, mapped by aerial survey method. Surveys were conducted at a flying height of 160 m and covered a total of 654 reefs. Data are estimated bleaching status of whole reefs, conducted by one experienced observer (RB).

This dataset consists of different possible land use configurations along the Great Barrier Reef coastal zone for the future (year 2035) under eight different scenarios (plausible futures). Scenarios are not predictions and do not intend to show what the coastal zone will look like (this is impossible as the future of coastal development I highly uncertain, even on a short term basis, let alone 25 years). Instead, scenarios are used to depict some plausible futures under certain circumstances so that managers can understand the system better and the various ways the future might unfold.

This dataset is the U-series data for Pelorus Island as described in Roff et al (2013) Palaeoecological evidence of a historical collapse of corals at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef, following European settlement. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 10.1098/rspb.2012.2100 Methods: We surveyed three leeward reef sites at Pelorus Island (figure 1). At each site, four belt transects (1 m width, 20 m length) were surveyed on SCUBA at 4–6 m depth.

This dataset consist of inputs and intermediate results from the coastal scenario modelling. It is an analysis of the bio-physical factors that best explain the changes in QLUMP land use change between 1999 and 2009 along the Queensland coastal region for the classifications used in the future coastal modelling. Methods: The input layers (variables etc) were produced using a range of sources as shown in Table 1. Source datasets were edited to produce raster dataset at 50m resolution and reclassified to suit the needs for the analysis.

This dataset consists of 43 thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) U-Th dates from living Porites spp. of known ages collected from the far northern, central and southern inshore regions of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) which were used to spatially constrain initial 230Th/232Th (230Th/232Th0) variability. Such information is essential in providing accurate chronologies used to pinpoint changes in coral community structure and the timing of mortality events in recent time (e.g. since European settlement of northern Australia in the 1850’s).

This dataset corresponds to a database of datasets that are relevant for the development of coastal development scenarios and impact assessments GBR. It corresponds to a list of all the datasets that were sourced as part of project 9.4. It contains basic information about each dataset along with the license that each dataset was obtained under and where the data can be sourced. This database is an excellent starting point for any others looking at obtaining data relevant for coastal management. Methods: Datasets were sourced from a large and various.

This dataset corresponds to the polygon digitisation of tourism sites and sugar mills. The locations of the tourism sites were obtained from a commercial database of tourism operators (Australian Tourism Warehouse). The location of sugar mills was obtained from information gathered on the internet and point locations were created for each mill. These datasets were developed to fill in missing source datasets for the scenario modelling used for the coastal development modelling. The tourism dataset was incorporated to the 2009 QLUMP to provide inclusion of tourism land use in this dataset.

This dataset contains the extent of the coastal zone for the Great Barrier Reef. This extent was identified as the most suitable area to be investigated on land and at sea as part of a conservation planning project looking at coastal development along the GBR coast.