Research
plan 1997-2000
Revised
for 1999-2000
Sustaining
Coral Reefs
Project
Leader: Terry Done
The preservation of the
Great Barrier Reef requires an understanding of which changes
are ‘natural’ and which are the result of human activity.
AIMS
has long been a leading provider of ecological concepts and
information to underpin the management of coral reefs. Studies
of spatial variability and temporal change in coral reefs
provides the means of distinguishing ‘normal’ change
(reflecting geographic differences in evolutionary history,
biogeographic processes, environmental settings and climate)
from changes that are attributable to human impacts. Research
results are disseminated through books, journals and
electronic databases in such a way that they can readily be
used by management organisations both within Australia and
overseas.
Australia has adopted
principles of ecologically sustainable development for use of
its natural resources (including its coral reefs) and is a
signatory to international conventions on the maintenance of
biodiversity. Under the Law of the Sea, Australia must
demonstrate actions to ensure the sustainable utilisation of
renewable resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone. This
project is designed to build national capacity to meet these
obligations.
Goals
- to develop protocols for
evaluating reef status and making risk-assessments to
support policy development and regulatory decision-making
in Australia;
- to investigate symptoms of
reef degradation;
- to provide information on
past environmental variation and perturbations;
- to investigate the
biochemistry of reef organisms along environmental
gradients and to develop bioindicators of anthropogenic
stress;
- to document global
biodiversity in reef-building corals in an electronic
database CoralBase;
- to establish a global
monitoring network for coral reefs.
Sub-projects
 Change in coral reef ecosystems: assessment, evaluation and management implications (Leader: Terry Done)
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Indices
of ‘reef health’, ecological value and conservation
value, are being derived from long-term and broad-scale
surveys and monitoring information. Ecological
consequences of extreme environmental events, such as
cyclones, flood plumes, sediment resuspension and
crown-of-thorns starfish are being determined. |
Coral reef resilience in natural and stressed environments (Leader: Andrew Heyward)
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Geographic
variability in the seasonality and strength of natural
replenishment of coral populations, their competitors
and predators is being linked to recently developed
instrumental and remote sensing technologies for the
monitoring of coral reef biota. Much of this work is
done on reefs in Western Australia, where massive coral
bleaching was observed on Scott Reef during 1998. Recent
developments have included trials with methods for
reseeding coral reefs affected by massive declines in
the local spawning stock. |
Role and significance of soft corals on coral reefs (Leader: Katharina Fabricius)
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The usefulness of soft corals
as indicators of degradation is being determined. This
involves determining the nutritional requirements of soft
corals and other filter- feeders, their response to
disturbance, and the ecological interactions that determine
local abundance. This study is funded by the CRC for the Great
Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. |
Algae as indicators of reef degradation (Leader: Laurence McCook)
|
Variation in patterns of algal
distributions and determination of the control of these
patterns is being used to determine the extent of natural and
human perturbations on the Great Barrier Reef. This study is
funded by the CRC for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage
Area. |
Chemical signatures of sub-lethal stress and reef health in coral reef biota (Leader: Wickramasinghe Bandaranayake)
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Biochemical signatures,
including toxic deterrence of grazers and predators and
anti-fouling agents, are being studied in biota along
environmental gradients and from locations of known human
induced stress. |
Geographic variability in coral reef environments (Leader: Janice Lough)
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Marine climates of the past
several centuries are being reconstructed from studies of
coral growth bands and from instrumental records. |
Global coral reef monitoring network (Leader: Clive Wilkinson)
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A network of nodes is being
established to coordinate coral reef monitoring around the
world. This study is funded by the US State Department through
the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and
International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM). |
The global coral biodiversity project (Leader: John Veron)
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This study will produce a
compendium of the corals of the world and an electronic
database for the use of coral reef scientists and managers. It
is funded by the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. |
Links with other AIMS projects
Human Impacts on Coastal Marine
Ecology
- to quantify nearshore
nutrient fluxes on coastal coral reefs;
- to identify trophic links
between pelagic and coral reef communities.
Monitoring Change in Tropical
Marine Biota
- to document patterns and
change in coral reefs at large spatial scales;
- to verify and refine
methods for sampling coral reef organisms;
- to provide demographic data
on key coral reef groups.
Predicting the Coastal Marine
Environment
- to provide quantitative
models of water circulation, waves, and mixing processes on
coral reefs;
- to provide risk analyses
for coral reefs from physical impacts such as tropical
cyclones, river floods and changing sea levels.
Links with other organisations
James Cook University, Southern
Cross University, Australian National University, CSIRO Marine
and CSIRO Atmospheric Research, as well as with ten overseas
universities and research organisations from within the
Philippines, United Kingdom, United States, Monaco and the
Netherlands.
Links with strategic directions
1998/99 funding base
Total budget $1,858,000 (60%
appropriation; 40% external)
Major external sources:
CRC for the Great Barrier Reef
World Heritage Area
United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission (IOC)
Queensland Department of
Natural Resources (DNR)
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority (GBRMPA)
MacArthur Foundation
World Bank
Scientific staff
Research scientists:
Wickramasinghe Bandaranayake, David Barnes, Terry Done,
Katharina Fabricius (80%), Andrew Heyward (60%), Janice Lough
(60%), Laurence McCook, John Veron, Clive Wilkinson.
Scientific support: Laura
Carolan, Monty Devereux, Max Rees, Luke Smith (60%).
Postgraduates: Carolina
Bastidas, Guillermo Diaz, Jamaluddin Jompa.
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