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Science Network Western Australia

16 August 2013

CLIMATE change will threaten the survival of marine mammals according to researchers investigating the impact of rising air and sea surface temperatures on Australia’s ocean dwelling mammals.

The Conversation

20 May 2014

Why are our oceans important to us? How is our health, the health of the environment, the strength of our economy and indeed, our future, dependent on the seas? How can marine science help us, collectively, to sustainably develop our marine-based industries and at the same time protect our unique marine ecosystems so that they can be appreciated and enjoyed by future generations? Read more

 

Near shore coral reefs are at the intersection of multiple environmental changes. Some of the changes are driven by human activities at a local scale, while others are driven by human activities at a global scale. Understanding how the local changes modify the impact of the global changes will help guide management designed to mitigate their impacts, and restore coastal ecosystems.

Local stressors, such as eutrophication, habitat modification and destruction, overfishing and pollutant runoff have a substantial cumulative environmental effect in their own right. However, when these overlay increasing global stressors, such as warming of surface waters and ocean acidification, near shore ecosystems can be stressed beyond critical thresholds.

Tropical Ecosystems Hub researchers from Project 5.2 ‘Experimental and Field Investigations of Combined Water Quality and Climate Effects on Corals and other Organisms’ are investigating individual and synergistic effects of water quality and global change on reproduction, larval development and settlement of key coral reef invertebrates, including corals, bryozoa, molluscs and crustose coralline algae.

Experiments undertaken include investigating the effects of light reduction and ocean acidification on seagrass species; the influence of ocean acidification on the thermal bleaching susceptibility of corals; and the effect of sedimentation, temperature and organic nutrient enrichment on the early life history stages of coral species.

Results from these studies will have direct implications for determining environmental thresholds in coastal waters and will inform prioritisation of investment in remediation works. Results may also have direct implications for the management conditions that apply, for example, to dredging operations on the Great Barrier Reef coast.

The findings of the project team endorse those from other projects, including Project 4.1, Project 4.2 and Project 5.3, that improving light availability in coastal marine habitats by reducing the turbidity associated with land-runoff will provide more resilience to future climate change. The project also has strong linkages to, and collaboration with, the Reef Marine Monitoring Program.

Contact Dr. Sven Uthicke (s.uthicke@aims.gov.au) for more information.

Tropical Ecosystems Hub researchers from the Great Barrier Reef water quality program came together recently with managers and people from industry who are working specifically on pesticide (including herbicide) research, monitoring and management in the Great Barrier Reef for the third meeting of the Pesticides Working Group.

Organisations in attendance included Sugar Research Australia, CANEGROWERS, Davco Farming, Burdekin Productivity Services, Terrain Natural Resource Management, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, QLD Dept. Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry, QLD Dept. Environment & Heritage Protection, James Cook University, Australian Institute of Marine Science, University of Queensland, University of Technology Sydney, CSIRO and WWF.

The Pesticides Working Group is a forum for participants to outline and update the latest information from various projects. The scope is not limited to outputs of the NERP and includes other programs such as Reef Rescue R&D, the Paddock to Reef Program and the Reef Protection Package Science Program and the associated policy initiatives.

The expected outcomes of the third meeting were to inform a wide audience on recent activities and changes in managing, monitoring and regulating pesticides; update stakeholders on recent research and knowledge gaps; and determine what we need to know about emerging pesticides for risk assessments.

The meeting of the group heard presentations on current management strategies, including perspectives from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority; and updates from the Marine Monitoring Program and reforms to chemical reviews from Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.

Other presentations related to recent research outcomes, including chronic and acute effects of Photosystem II herbicides on seagrass; persistence of herbicides in tropical waters; an update on the load monitoring program; the main outcomes of the integrated Reef Rescue research program; and emerging herbicides.

The working group heard that existing Water Quality Guidelines contained trigger values for toxicants that assisted management but that the management was constrained by an absence of predictability. Emphasis was given to gaining a clear picture of what type of pesticides are in use, where they are coming from, how much is being used and by whom. Workshop attendees were eager to see this type of usage data incorporated into the pesticide registration process, which would help ongoing research and monitoring activity.

It was noted that there is still much to learn about the environmental behavior of pesticides. However, the Pesticides Working Group and ongoing research assimilation and integration will be key activities to facilitate a coherent discussion on the role of pesticides in the condition of the Great Barrier Reef.

Contact Dr Michelle Devlin (m.devlin@c2o.net.au) or Andrew Negri (a.negri@aims.gov.au) for more information.