NESP TWQ Round 1 - Project 2.1 - Assessing the cumulative impacts of climatic disturbances on inshore GBR coral reefs, identifying key refuges and testing the viability of manipulative reef restoration
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The Keppel Islands, southern GBR, suffered successive climatic disturbance events (coral bleaching, flood plumes) between 2006 and 2013. Long-term monitoring at 26 sites revealed significant declines in coral cover and fish abundance on both no-take reserve (green zone) and fished reefs. In February 2015, Cyclone Marcia (Category 5) hit the Keppel Islands. We propose to re-survey all 26 monitoring sites to quantify cyclone damage and to identify remaining refuge areas that can support reef recovery and long-term resilience. We also propose to conduct a pilot-scale experiment on degraded reefs in the Keppel Islands to assess the viability of active reef restoration.