The Flatback Turtle, Chelonia depressa, in Queensland: Post-Nesting Migration and Feeling Ground Distribution

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Limpus ◽  
CJ Parmenter ◽  
V Baker ◽  
A Fleay
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Inshore Water ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Nesting Beaches ◽  
Feeding Grounds

Between 1968 and 1981, a total of 813 adult female flatback turtles were tagged while nesting on Queensland beaches. Eight have been recovered at a distance, 216-1300 km north of their respective nesting beaches, in waters between the mainland and the Great Barrier Reef. The species' principal feeding grounds seem to be in turbid, shallow inshore water off north-eastern Australia and in the Gulf of Carpentaria; there are no records beyond the continental shelf.

scholarly journals Analysis of the mixture toxicity burden in 17 rivers in north eastern Australia – implications for the Great Barrier Reef.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Spilsbury ◽  
Michael St.J Warne ◽  
Thomas Backhaus
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Mixture Toxicity ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Combined Toxicity ◽  
Guideline Values ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
The Individual

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a protected ecosystem, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981. It runs for approximately 3000km along the coastline in north-eastern Australia. A total of thirty-five major river basins discharge to the GBR and many transport large loads of pesticides, suspended sediment, nutrients from agricultural land. Over the past 6 years an extensive program has been conducted by the Queensland Government to monitor concentrations of 51 pesticides and their breakdown products in 17 rivers that discharge to the GBR. To explore the potential impact that the pesticides pose to the riverine environments and to the GBR we analysed the risk posed by the individual pesticides and their mixtures. Australia currently does not have water quality guidelines for 17 of the 38 pesticides detected. For those, we calculated ecotoxicity thresholds using a simplified version of the Australian methodology for determining water quality guideline values, based on species-sensitivity distributions. In all rivers, multiple pesticides were routinely detected at concentrations greater than their level of reporting. All rivers had at least one sample where the combined toxicity was greater than 1 toxic unit (TU), i.e. exposure situations where the total pesticide concentration exceeded acceptable levels. In a number of rivers more than 50% of samples had a combined toxicity greater than 1 TU. Average TU’s per river ranged from 13.47 to 0.10, with substantial fluctuations over the seasons but without clear trends between years. The patterns indicate that specific events such as severity of wet/dry seasons and cyclone events impact the combined toxicity found. We also found land use patterns affected the combined toxicity in the river ecosystems. In each of the rivers, 90% of the expected mixture toxicity was caused by only between 2 and 6 pesticides, although the individual pesticides that dominated the combined toxicity differed between rivers.

The hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, in Queensland: population structure within a southern Great Barrier Reef feeding ground.

1992 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 489 ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Limpus
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Carapace Length ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Growth Data ◽  
Eretmochelys Imbricata ◽  
Nesting Beaches ◽  
Hawksbill Turtles ◽  
Feeding Grounds

Hawksbill turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata, live at low density on coral reefs in the southern Great Barrier Reef. The biomass of the species on Heron Reef was estimated at 0.82 kg ha-1. This is equivalent to 3.34 turtles km-1. The nesting beaches used by these E. imbricata are unknown. However, within the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea region, no regular nesting by the species occurs within 1200 km of these reefal feeding grounds. E. imbricata take up long-term residence in these feeding grounds at a minimum curved carapace length of 35.0cm. The E. imbricata feeding over these reefs ranged in size from these small immatures up to adults with curved carapace length of 87.5cm, but the maturity ratio was very strongly biased toward immatures (maturity ratio=0.01 adults). The sex ratio of all size classes was significantly skewed in favour of females (2.57 : 1 females : male overall) while 2% of the turtles were identified as intersex. Growth data from these turtles indicate that they will be decades old at first breeding. A key for sexing and assessing reproductive maturity of E. imbricata is provided. Regression equations for converting between curved carapace length and other standard measures including straight carapace measures, weight, head length and width and plastron length are described.

scholarly journals Analysis of the mixture toxicity burden in 17 rivers in north eastern Australia – implications for the Great Barrier Reef.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Spilsbury ◽  
Michael St.J Warne ◽  
Thomas Backhaus
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Mixture Toxicity ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Combined Toxicity ◽  
Guideline Values ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
The Individual

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a protected ecosystem, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1981. It runs for approximately 3000km along the coastline in north-eastern Australia. A total of thirty-five major river basins discharge to the GBR and many transport large loads of pesticides, suspended sediment, nutrients from agricultural land. Over the past 6 years an extensive program has been conducted by the Queensland Government to monitor concentrations of 51 pesticides and their breakdown products in 17 rivers that discharge to the GBR. To explore the potential impact that the pesticides pose to the riverine environments and to the GBR we analysed the risk posed by the individual pesticides and their mixtures. Australia currently does not have water quality guidelines for 17 of the 38 pesticides detected. For those, we calculated ecotoxicity thresholds using a simplified version of the Australian methodology for determining water quality guideline values, based on species-sensitivity distributions. In all rivers, multiple pesticides were routinely detected at concentrations greater than their level of reporting. All rivers had at least one sample where the combined toxicity was greater than 1 toxic unit (TU), i.e. exposure situations where the total pesticide concentration exceeded acceptable levels. In a number of rivers more than 50% of samples had a combined toxicity greater than 1 TU. Average TU’s per river ranged from 13.47 to 0.10, with substantial fluctuations over the seasons but without clear trends between years. The patterns indicate that specific events such as severity of wet/dry seasons and cyclone events impact the combined toxicity found. We also found land use patterns affected the combined toxicity in the river ecosystems. In each of the rivers, 90% of the expected mixture toxicity was caused by only between 2 and 6 pesticides, although the individual pesticides that dominated the combined toxicity differed between rivers.

scholarly journals SIMULATION OF TIDES AND STORM SURGES IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF REGION

1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (19) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
K.P. Stark ◽  
L. Bode ◽  
L.B. Mason
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Coastal Engineering ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Detailed Understanding ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Tidal Amplification

The Great Barrier Reef Region which constitutes the north-eastern continental shelf waters of Australia, is an area that is subject to both large astronomical tides and the passage of tropical cyclones (hurricanes). One section of this area, centred on Mackay, is characterised by particularly high tides, with a springs range of order 10 metres. Numerical hydrodynamic modelling is used in the present study to: (a) simulate the M tide to investigate possible effects of the reef barrier on tidal amplification; (b) simulate the passage of a tropical cyclone across the continental shelf; (c) investigate the effect and consequences of non-linear surge/tide interactions. The recent discovery of a major shipping route through the reef in this area and the continuing development of natural resources makes a much more detailed understanding of the region's hydrodynamics essential for coastal engineering.

scholarly journals Gloria Knolls Slide: A prominent submarine landslide complex on the Great Barrier Reef margin of north-eastern Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 385 ◽  
pp. 68-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ángel Puga-Bernabéu ◽  
Robin J. Beaman ◽  
Jody M. Webster ◽  
Alex L. Thomas ◽  
Geraldine Jacobsen
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Submarine Landslide ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern

Variation in canyon morphology on the Great Barrier Reef margin, north-eastern Australia: The influence of slope and barrier reefs

Geomorphology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 35-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ángel Puga-Bernabéu ◽  
Jody M. Webster ◽  
Robin J. Beaman ◽  
Vincent Guilbaud
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Barrier Reefs
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