scholarly journals Mangrove lagoons of the Great Barrier Reef support coral populations persisting under extreme environmental conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 625 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
EF Camp ◽  
J Edmondson ◽  
A Doheny ◽  
J Rumney ◽  
AJ Grima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Barrier Reef

scholarly journals Spatial and Temporal Variation in Fecundity of Acropora spp. in the Northern Great Barrier Reef

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan S. Pratchett ◽  
Andrew S. Hoey ◽  
Chun-Hong Tan ◽  
Chao-Yang Kuo ◽  
Andrew G. Bauman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Coral Species ◽  
Outer Shelf ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Inner Shelf ◽  
Near Shore

The amount of energy invested in sexual reproduction by scleractinian corals depends on their life history strategies (i.e., allocation of energy between growth, reproduction, and maintenance). However, energy allocated to reproduction will also be affected by the amount of energy acquired and prevailing environmental conditions. Coral fecundity is therefore likely to vary spatially, especially along marked gradients in environmental conditions. One of the foremost gradients in reef structure and environmental conditions occurs with distance from the coast, whereby inner-shelf or near shore reefs are generally subject to higher levels of nutrients, sediments and pollutants, which often adversely affect reef-building corals. This study quantified fecundity (oocytes per polyp) for three species, Acropora nasuta, A. spathulata, and A. hyacinthus, at six locations in the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR), encompassing inner-, mid- and outer-shelf reefs. Replicate colonies were sampled at each location prior to the predicted date of spawning in 2013 and 2014. Both shelf position and year were important factors explaining variation in fecundity for each of the three coral species. Most notably, there were clear and consistent declines in the number of oocytes between 2013 and 2014, coinciding with the incidence of category 4 Cylone Ita in early 2014. Contrary to expectations, polyp-level fecundity was no lower (and in some cases substantially higher) on inner-shelf reefs, compared to conspecifics growing on mid-shelf or outer-shelf reefs. The observed patterns are much more complicated than anticipated, necessitating further research to understand differential population dynamics of corals on inner-shelf versus mid- and outer-shelf reefs.

Management of Water Quality in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Woodley
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Management Issue ◽  
Reef System ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
World Heritage List ◽  
The World ◽  
Coral Reef System

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is recognised and appreciated worldwide as a unique environment and for this reason has been inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Reef is economically-important to Queensland and Australia, supporting substantial tourism and fishing industries. Management of the Great Barrier Reef to ensure conservation of its natural qualities in perpetuity is achieved through the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The maintenance of water quality to protect the reef and the industries which depend on it is becoming an increasingly important management issue requiring better knowledge and possibly new standards of treatment and discharge.

Circulation and water mass characteristics of the southern Great Barrier Reef

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
JH Middleton ◽  
P Coutis ◽  
DA Griffin ◽  
A Macks ◽  
A McTaggart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Geostrophic Balance ◽  
Shelf Slope ◽  
High Nutrient ◽  
Slope Currents ◽  
North And South ◽  
Upper Slope

Data acquired during a winter (May) cruise of the RV Franklin to the southern Great Barrier Reef indicate that the dynamics of the shelf/slope region are governed by the tides, the poleward-flowing East Australian Current (EAC), and the complex topography. Over the Marion Plateau in water deeper than - 100 m, the EAC appears to drive a slow clockwise circulation. Tides appear to be primarily responsible for shelf/slope currents in the upper layers, with evidence of nutrient uplift from the upper slope to the outer shelf proper in the Capricorn Channel. Elsewhere, the bottom Ekrnan flux of the strongly poleward-flowing EAC enhances the sloping isotherms associated with the longshore geostrophic balance, pumping nutrient-rich waters from depth to the upper continental slope. Generally, shelf waters are cooler than oceanic waters as a consequence of surface heat loss by radiation. A combination of heat loss and evaporation from waters flowing in the shallows of the Great Sandy Strait appears to result in denser 'winter mangrove waters' exporting low-oxygen, high-nutrient waters onto the shelf both north and south of Fraser Island; these subsequently mix with shelf waters and finally flow offshore at - 100 m depth, just above the salinity-maximum layer, causing anomalous nutrient values in the region of Fraser Island.

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