Gradients in water column nutrients, sediment parameters, irradiance and coral reef development in the Whitsunday Region, central Great Barrier Reef

Cooper, Timothy F.; Uthicke, Sven; Humphrey, Craig; Fabricius, Katharina

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2007.05.020

Cited by 98 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The exponential fit found by Piniak and Brown (2008) agrees with our findings; however, no statistical analysis for their fit was given. ODY loggers have also been used in various studies to evaluate PAR (Roberts et al 2004;Cooper et al 2007;Toohey 2007;Nobes et al 2008), for example to examine microhabitats on coral reefs (Anthony and Hoegh-Guldberg 2003), but used a single point calibration (as recommended by the manufacturer). We found in our direct comparisons that an exponential fit provided a much better correlation for the ODY to the LICOR scalar sensor than when relying on the recommended linear fit.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison and correction of light intensity loggers to photosynthetically active radiation sensors

Long

Rheuban

Berg

et al. 2012

Limnology & Ocean Methods

108

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Accurate light measurements are important in the analysis of photosynthetic systems. Many commercial instruments are available to determine light; however, the comparison of light estimates between studies is difficult due to the differences in sensor types and their calibrations. The measurement of underwater irradiance is also complicated by the scattering and attenuation of light due to interactions with particulates, molecules, and the bottom. Here, three sensor types are compared to evaluate the calibration of light intensity loggers to estimate photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). We present a simple calibration of light intensity loggers that agree within 3.8% to factory-calibrated scalar PAR sensors under a wide range of environmental conditions. Under the same range of conditions, two identical factory-calibrated PAR sensors showed a similar difference of 3.7%. The light intensity loggers were calibrated to a high-quality PAR sensor using an exponential fit (r 2 = 0.983) that accounts for differences in sensor types with respect to the angle of incoming light, scattering, and attenuation. The light loggers are small, robust, and simple to operate and install, and thus well-suited for typical subsurface research. They are also useful for small-scale measurements, when broad spatial coverage is needed, or in research requiring multiple sensors. Many studies have used these simple light intensity sensors to estimate PAR, yet their limitations and advantages in mimicking PAR have not been well defined previously. We present these small and user-friendly loggers as an excellent alternative to more sophisticated scalar PAR sensors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison and correction of light intensity loggers to photosynthetically active radiation sensors

Long

Rheuban

Berg

et al. 2012

Limnology & Ocean Methods

108

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“…Coral growth and distribution is determined by available irradiance (Yentsch et al 2002), and the maximum depth of coral reef development can be defined as the zone of transition from zooxanthellate hard corals to azooxanthellate filter feeders along a depth gradient. On the Great Barrier Reef, the maximum depth of coral-reef development increased almost fivefold within a group of inshore islands along a gradient from low irradiance and elevated nutrients at nearshore locations, to high irradiance and low nutrients at outer locations (Cooper et al 2007; Table 2). The response time of changes in maximum depth of coral growth is most likely to be on a timescale of months to years.…”

Section: Maximum Depth Of Coral-reef Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Maximum depth of coral reef development increased from 5.0 m at coastal reefs to 25 m at offshore reefs in the Whitsunday Region of GBR (Cooper et al 2007) Coral Reefs (2009) 28:589-606 593 Table 3 Assessment framework for identifying bioindicators of the effects of changes in water quality on coral reefs Table 2). Other studies have investigated changes in the expression of large numbers of genes with DNA microarrays for stressors, such as changing seawater temperatures (Foret et al 2007), suggesting potential for similar applications to detect changes in water quality.…”

Section: Field Water Quality Gradientmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The maximum depth of seagrass distribution has been used as a bioindicator of estuarine health (Abal and Dennison 1996), and a similar approach has been used for coral communities to infer changes in water quality on coral reefs (Kleypas 1996;van Woesik et al 1999;Cooper et al 2007). Coral growth and distribution is determined by available irradiance (Yentsch et al 2002), and the maximum depth of coral reef development can be defined as the zone of transition from zooxanthellate hard corals to azooxanthellate filter feeders along a depth gradient.…”

Section: Maximum Depth Of Coral-reef Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioindicators of changes in water quality on coral reefs: review and recommendations for monitoring programmes

2009

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Effective environmental management requires monitoring programmes that provide specific links between changes in environmental conditions and ecosystem health. This article reviews the suitability of a range of bioindicators for use in monitoring programmes that link changes in water quality to changes in the condition of coral-reef ecosystems. From the literature, 21 candidate bioindicators were identified, whose responses to changes in water quality varied spatially and temporally; responses ranged from rapid (hours) changes within individual corals to long-term (years) changes in community composition. From this list, the most suitable bioindicators were identified by determining whether responses were (i) specific, (ii) monotonic, (iii) variable, (iv) practical and (v) ecologically relevant to management goals. For long-term monitoring programmes that aim to quantify the effects of chronic changes in water quality, 11 bioindicators were selected: symbiont photophysiology, colony brightness, tissue thickness and surface rugosity of massive corals, skeletal elemental and isotopic composition, abundance of macro-bioeroders, micro-and meiobenthic organisms such as foraminifera, coral recruitment, macroalgal cover, taxonomic richness of corals and the maximal depth of coralreef development. For short-term monitoring programmes, or environmental impact assessments that aim to quantify the effects of acute changes in water quality, a subset of seven of these bioindicators were selected, including partial mortality. Their choice will depend on the specific objectives and the timeframe available for each monitoring programme. An assessment framework is presented to assist in the selection of bioindicators to quantify the effects of changing water quality on coral-reef ecosystems.

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“…This is because the depth of water, physical factors such as clouds and tides (Anthony et al 2004), the autotrophic-heterotrophic balance of the coral feeding (Anthony and Fabricius 2000), the nature of the particulate material Weber et al 2006) and other factors all interact to cause adverse effects (Cooper et al 2007. Currently, the best estimate for a trigger value for total suspended solids (TSS) in coastal and inshore waters of the GBR is 1.5 mg L −1 , based on studies correlating reef condition with TSS concentrations (De'ath and Fabricius 2007;GBRMPA 2008).…”

Section: Target Setting For the Burdekin Basin For Suspended Sedimentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Target setting for pollutant discharge management of rivers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area

Brodie

Lewis

Bainbridge

et al. 2009

Mar. Freshwater Res.

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Abstract. Water Quality Improvement Plans (WQIPs) are being developed for individual river basins on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchment associated with the GBR Water Quality Protection Plan. Within each WQIP, marine ecosystem targets are linked to end-of-river pollutant (suspended sediments, nutrients and pesticides) load targets and to farm level management practice targets. The targets are linked through quantitative models; e.g. one model connects GBR chlorophyll concentrations (marine target) to end-of-river nitrate loads, a second connects the end-of-river nitrate loads to fertiliser management targets in the catchment, whereas a third model links fertiliser application to nitrate loss at the farm scale. The difficulties of applying these linked models to derive credible and practical management targets are great, given the high degree of uncertainty in each model. Our understanding of the generation of suspended sediments, nutrients and pesticides in catchments and the relationship to on-farm management, the transport of these materials to the ocean, their transport in coastal waters and their effects on marine ecosystems is incomplete. The challenge is to produce estimates from the models, with known levels of uncertainty, but robust enough for management purposes. Case studies from the Tully-Murray basin and the Burdekin basin in north Queensland are discussed.

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Gradients in water column nutrients, sediment parameters, irradiance and coral reef development in the Whitsunday Region, central Great Barrier Reef

Cited by 98 publications

References 38 publications

A comparison and correction of light intensity loggers to photosynthetically active radiation sensors

A comparison and correction of light intensity loggers to photosynthetically active radiation sensors

Bioindicators of changes in water quality on coral reefs: review and recommendations for monitoring programmes

Target setting for pollutant discharge management of rivers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area

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