The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area seagrasses: Managing this iconic Australian ecosystem resource for the future

Coles, Robert G.; Rasheed, Michael A.; McKenzie, Len J.; Grech, Alana; York, Paul H.; Sheaves, Marcus; McKenna, S.A.; Bryant, Catherine

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2014.07.020

Cited by 90 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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Section: Seagrass Species Distribution In 2011 and Comparison To Pattmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…However, a similar magnitude of decline in seagrass abundance was reported for reef platform seagrass communities at other sites in the GBR between 2004 and 2012 (Coles et al 2015). The losses reported by Coles et al (2015) were proposed to have been caused by a string of severe cyclones and floods on the Queensland coast. Decreases in seagrass distribution in the overall GBR region have been primarily attributed to anthropogenic activities such as agricultural, urban and industrial runoff, and urban and port developments, particularly in inshore areas (Grech et al 2011).…”

Section: Seagrass Species Distribution In 2011 and Comparison To Pattmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…In the GBRWHA, seagrasses may be found in four main environments, including estuarine, coastal, deep-water, or reef environments (Carruthers et al 2002). There has been considerably less focus on the soft sediment habitats of the GBRWHA than on the more charismatic coral reef environments, suggesting that there is a need to characterize the extent of existing seagrass meadows in the region (Coles et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the largest tropical seagrass ecosystems in the world exists in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA), in Queensland, Australia. In this region, shallow inter-reef and lagoonal areas including seagrass habitats extend across 58% of the 347,800 km 2 seabed area (Coles et al 2015). In the GBRWHA, seagrasses may be found in four main environments, including estuarine, coastal, deep-water, or reef environments (Carruthers et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial and temporal variability of seagrass at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef

Saunders¹,

Bayraktarov

Roelfsema

et al. 2015

Botanica Marina

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Increasing threats to natural ecosystems from local and global stressors are reinforcing the need for baseline data on the distribution and abundance of organisms. We quantified spatial and/or temporal patterns of seagrass distribution, shoot density, leaf area index, biomass, productivity, and sediment carbon content in shallow water (0-5 m) at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, in field surveys conducted in December 2011 and October 2012. Seagrass meadows were mapped using satellite imagery and field validation. A total of 18.3 ha of seagrass, composed primarily of Thalassia hemprichii and Halodule uninervis, was mapped in shallow water. This was 46% less than the area of seagrass in the same region reported in 1995, although variations in mapping methods may have influenced the magnitude of change detected. There was inter-annual variability in shoot density and length, with values for both higher in 2011 than in 2012.Seagrass properties and sediment carbon content were representative of shallow-water seagrass meadows on a mid-shelf Great Barrier Reef island. The data can be used to evaluate change, to parameterize models of the impact of anthropogenic or environmental variability on seagrass distribution and abundance, and to assess the success of management actions.

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Section: Seagrass Species Distribution In 2011 and Comparison To Pattmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Seagrass Species Distribution In 2011 and Comparison To Pattmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Spatial and temporal variability of seagrass at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef

Saunders¹,

Bayraktarov

Roelfsema

et al. 2015

Botanica Marina

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“…The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, covers over 247800km 2 , of which only 6% of the region is covered by coral reefs while the shallow inter-reef and lagoon areas cover 58% (Coles et al, 2015;Wachenfeld et al, 1998). As such they form the basis of the ecosystem analysis which follows.…”

Section: Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effectiveness of rehabilitation post catastrophic environmental events as a conservation strategy for marine turtles

Flint¹

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School of Veterinary Science 2In-water monitoring of the health and well-being of marine vertebrates is usually expensive and therefore may not be undertaken by management agencies with financial constraints.However, the use of stranding data can provide a cost-effective alternative estimation of disease and mortality. Strandings for marine turtles in Queensland are recorded in a web based database (StrandNet) managed by the Queensland Government's Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP). Data recorded in StrandNet for marine turtles stranded from the entire east coast of Queensland between 1996 and 2013 were investigated for patterns of stranding in an attempt to identify which factors, such as extreme weather events, may cause stranding of marine turtle species and, further, use these patterns to predict stranding and the required responses to mitigate the negative impact mass mortalities have on endangered species such as marine turtles.Significant stranding trends in Queensland between 1996-2013 were: (i) an increase in the number of animals reported stranded within the study site; (ii) a species (loggerhead and green marine turtles) prevalence for stranding; (iii) a seasonal effect on different age classes stranding with most overall strandings occurring between August and November; and (iv) stranding hotspots (Moreton Bay, Hervey Bay, Rockhampton region and Cleveland Bay) persisting throughout the study timeframe.One strategy to mitigate the negative effects of marine turtle stranding is to provide medical care to those that strand alive in the hopes they can return to the functional population. Rehabilitation of marine turtles in Queensland is multifaceted. It treats individual animals, serves to educate the public, and contributes to conservation. Of 13854 marine turtles reported as stranded during the 18-year period of investigation, 5022 of these turtles stranded alive with the remainder verified as dead or of unknown condition. A total of 2970 (59%) of these live strandings were transported to a rehabilitation facility.The original cause of stranding has an impact on the success of rehabilitation and this may influence where treatment efforts are directed. For example, of the turtles admitted to rehabilitation exhibiting signs of disease (natural cause of illness) (18% of all animals admitted to rehabilitation), 88% of them died either unassisted or by euthanasia. Sixty-six percent of turtles admitted for unknown causes of stranding died either unassisted or by 3 euthanasia. By contrast, all turtles recorded as having a buoyancy disorder with no other presenting problem or disorder recorded, were released alive.One hundred and one of the turtles released from rehabilitation were reencountered: 77 reported as restrandings (20 dead, 13 alive subsequently died, 11 alive subsequently euthanized, 33 alive) and 24 recaptured during normal marine turtle population monitoring or fishing activities. Considering the high mortality rate and low successful recapture rate, rehabilitation may not be...

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Habitat complexity influences the structure of food webs in Great Barrier Reef seagrass meadows

et al. 2019

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Structural habitat complexity is a fundamental attribute influencing ecological food webs. Simplification of complex habitats occurs due to both natural and anthropogenic pressures that can alter productivity of food webs. Relationships between food web structure and habitat complexity may be influenced by multiple mechanisms, and untangling these can be challenging. We investigated whether (1) size spectra vary across a gradient of habitat complexity in seagrass meadows and (2) structural complexity changes the importance of different primary producers supporting the food web (determined using stable isotope analysis) in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. We found that moderately complex meadows had much steeper size spectra slopes, caused by a higher abundance of smaller animals and fewer larger animals, while meadows on either end of the complexity scale (low and a single meadow with very high complexity) had shallower slopes, indicative of a more balanced distribution of animal sizes across the spectrum. We also found that the importance of epiphytic algae as a food source was high in most meadows, despite the increase in seagrass surface area on which epiphytes could grow. The consistent importance of epiphytic algae suggests that the changes in the availability of different potential food sources did not affect food web structure. Our findings indicate that food web structure may change with variations in structural complexity because of changes in the abundance of smaller and/or larger animals. Food web structure and food sources are important determinants of the dynamic stability of food webs. Size spectra analysis is already used as a monitoring tool for assessing populations of key fisheries species in commercial fishing operations, and thus, we recommend using size spectra as a proxy for assessing the structure of the food webs in different types of seagrass meadows. Size spectra may be a useful indicator of how different meadows provide for ecosystem services such as fisheries.

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The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area seagrasses: Managing this iconic Australian ecosystem resource for the future

Cited by 90 publications

References 82 publications

Spatial and temporal variability of seagrass at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef

Spatial and temporal variability of seagrass at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef

The effectiveness of rehabilitation post catastrophic environmental events as a conservation strategy for marine turtles

Habitat complexity influences the structure of food webs in Great Barrier Reef seagrass meadows

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