ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6167-1356
Current Organisation
University of Tasmania
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Ecological Applications | Adaptive Agents and Intelligent Robotics | Environmental Science and Management | Environmental Impact Assessment | Conservation and Biodiversity | Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing | Pattern Recognition and Data Mining | Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified | Image Processing
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Australia (excl. Social Impacts) | Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scales |
Related Links
Publications
Broad-scale impacts of salmon farms on temperate macroalgal assemblages on rocky reefs
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2015.06.049
Abstract: Intensive fish culture in open sea pens delivers large amounts of nutrients to coastal environments. Relative to particulate waste impacts, the ecological impacts of dissolved wastes are poorly known despite their potential to substantially affect nutrient-assimilating components of surrounding ecosystems. Broad-scale enrichment effects of salmonid farms on Tasmanian reef communities were assessed by comparing macroalgal cover at four fixed distances from active fish farm leases across 44 sites. Macroalgal assemblages differed significantly between sites immediately adjacent (100m) to fish farms and reference sites at 5km distance, while sites at 400m and 1km exhibited intermediate characteristics. Epiphyte cover varied consistently with fish farm impacts in both sheltered and exposed locations. The green algae Chaetomorpha spp. predominated near fish farms at swell-exposed sites, whereas filamentous green algae showed elevated densities near sheltered farms. Cover of canopy-forming perennial algae appeared unaffected by fish farm impacts.
Choosing between strategies for designing surveys: autonomous underwater vehicles
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-01-2014
THE USE OF TELESCOPING SPATIAL SCALES TO CAPTURE INSHORE TO SLOPE DYNAMICS IN MARINE ECOSYSTEM MODELING
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2011
Quantifying fish assemblages in large, offshore marine protected areas: an Australian case study
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 31-10-2014
Impact of the Iron Baron Oil Spill on Subtidal Reef Assemblages in Tasmania
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2000
Endemic Handfish Species Threatened With Extinction
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2022
WILDERNESS CRUISING: TURBULENCE, CRUISE SHIPS, AND BENTHIC COMMUNITIES
Publisher: Cognizant, LLC
Date: 2005
Efficacy of baited remote underwater video systems and bait type in the cool-temperature zone for monitoring `no-take? marine reserves
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/MF15165
Abstract: Cool-temperate reef fish assemblages are often poorly described below 20m because of depth limitations of conventional er-based visual census. The recent development of baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) provide an alternative quantitative s ling method. Despite being used in warmer temperate and tropical waters and cool-temperate waters in Victoria, initial trials of vertical BRUVs in Tasmania, Australia, provided poor results. Our study explored possible reasons for this, including using horizontal BRUVs and various baits across a depth gradient. We examined the fish fauna in, and adjacent to, a small, but long-established, no-take marine reserve to assess the potential for BRUVs to enhance monitoring programs in exposed coastal environments. Significant differences in the fish assemblage were described relating to location, depth and bait type, with pilchards being an effective bait type. Fish abundance and species richness increased with depth. The research validated BRUVs for monitoring deep-reef systems in Tasmania, reinforced the importance of depth in structuring fish assemblages and identified the range of observable species in this region that may not be fully captured with er-based surveys alone. Power analyses were conducted using the data generated here to inform the amount of replication needed to detect biologically meaningful differences in targeted fish assemblages in subsequent studies examining the response of no-take marine reserves to protection. This facilitates future assessments of the effectiveness of Tasmanian no-take reserves and allows for more broad-scale studies that can address a range of ecological and conservation questions.
Spatial patterns in impacts of fishing on temperate rocky reefs: Are fish abundance and mean size related to proximity to fisher access points?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2008
Sample-size requirements for accurate length-frequency distributions of mesophotic reef fishes from baited remote underwater stereo video
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Large-scale geographic variation in distribution and abundance of Australian deep-water kelp forests
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 18-02-2015
Differential vulnerability to climate change yields novel deep-reef communities
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-09-2018
A field and video annotation guide for baited remote underwater stereo-video surveys of demersal fish assemblages
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-09-2020
The BRUVs workshop – An Australia-wide synthesis of baited remote underwater video data to answer broad-scale ecological questions about fish, sharks and rays
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2021
Long-term trends in invertebrate–habitat relationships under protected and fished conditions
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-05-2014
Temporal and spatial variability in the cover of deep reef species: Implications for monitoring
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2017
Seascape habitat patchiness and hydrodynamics explain genetic structuring of kelp populations
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 25-01-2018
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS12447
Food Availability is not a Limiting Factor in the Growth of Three Australian Temperate Reef Fishes
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-1999
Spatially balanced designs that incorporate legacy sites
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-05-2017
Understanding community-habitat associations of temperate reef fishes using fine-resolution bathymetric measures of physical structure
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 23-06-2014
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS10788
Image subsampling and point scoring approaches for large-scale marine benthic monitoring programs
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2016
Shallow phylogeographic histories of key species in a biodiversity hotspot
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-2015
DOI: 10.2216/15-24.1
Species traits and climate velocity explain geographic range shifts in an ocean warming hotspot
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-07-2015
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.12474
Abstract: Species' ranges are shifting globally in response to climate warming, with substantial variability among taxa, even within regions. Relationships between range dynamics and intrinsic species traits may be particularly apparent in the ocean, where temperature more directly shapes species' distributions. Here, we test for a role of species traits and climate velocity in driving range extensions in the ocean-warming hotspot of southeast Australia. Climate velocity explained some variation in range shifts, however, including species traits more than doubled the variation explained. Swimming ability, omnivory and latitudinal range size all had positive relationships with range extension rate, supporting hypotheses that increased dispersal capacity and ecological generalism promote extensions. We find independent support for the hypothesis that species with narrow latitudinal ranges are limited by factors other than climate. Our findings suggest that small-ranging species are in double jeopardy, with limited ability to escape warming and greater intrinsic vulnerability to stochastic disturbances.
Assessing size, abundance and habitat preferences of the Ocean Perch Helicolenus percoides using a AUV-borne stereo camera system
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2012
AUV Benthic Habitat Mapping in South Eastern Tasmania
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Date: 2010
Reef Life Survey: Establishing the ecological basis for conservation of shallow marine life
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2020
Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-02-2014
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE13022
Abstract: In line with global targets agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) is increasing rapidly, yet socio-economic benefits generated by MPAs remain difficult to predict and under debate. MPAs often fail to reach their full potential as a consequence of factors such as illegal harvesting, regulations that legally allow detrimental harvesting, or emigration of animals outside boundaries because of continuous habitat or inadequate size of reserve. Here we show that the conservation benefits of 87 MPAs investigated worldwide increase exponentially with the accumulation of five key features: no take, well enforced, old (>10 years), large (>100 km(2)), and isolated by deep water or sand. Using effective MPAs with four or five key features as an unfished standard, comparisons of underwater survey data from effective MPAs with predictions based on survey data from fished coasts indicate that total fish biomass has declined about two-thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing. Effective MPAs also had twice as many large (>250 mm total length) fish species per transect, five times more large fish biomass, and fourteen times more shark biomass than fished areas. Most (59%) of the MPAs studied had only one or two key features and were not ecologically distinguishable from fished sites. Our results show that global conservation targets based on area alone will not optimize protection of marine bio ersity. More emphasis is needed on better MPA design, durable management and compliance to ensure that MPAs achieve their desired conservation value.
Assessing National Biodiversity Trends for Rocky and Coral Reefs through the Integration of Citizen Science and Scientific Monitoring Programs
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-2017
The conservation significance of estuaries: a classification of Tasmanian estuaries using ecological, physical and demographic attributes as a case study
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2000
Benthic macrofauna in Tasmanian estuaries: scales of distribution and relationships with environmental variables
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2002
Relationships between mobile macroinvertebrates and reef structure in a temperate marine reserve
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 04-09-2009
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS08210
Monitoring the resilience of a no take marine reserve to a range extending species using benthic imagery
Publisher: Authorea, Inc.
Date: 27-05-2020
New records of Staurozoa from Australian coastal waters, with a description of a new species ofLucernariopsisUchida, 1929 (Cnidaria, Staurozoa, Stauromedusae) and a key to Australian Stauromedu
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-2011
Seabed habitat mapping in the Kent Group of islands and its role in Marine protected area planning
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2005
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.657
From Tasmania to the world: long and strong traditions in seaweed use, research, and development
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Date: 25-01-2023
Abstract: Tasmania is an island state in south-eastern Australia that has a long and rich history of seaweed use, research, and development. It is a cool-temperate system with 750 macroalgal species currently described. Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples have lived on this land for at least 40,000 years utilising seaweed as food, shelter, water carriers and medicine, as well as for ceremonial reasons. Modern taxonomic investigations began with French naturalist Jacques-Julien Houtou de La Billardière in 1791, and there are 184 type specimens of seaweeds originating from Tasmania. Ecological and physiological studies of seaweed in Tasmania have focussed on the dominant large brown seaweeds (Laminariales and Fucales) and have contributed significantly to the global understanding of these systems, particularly related to community resilience, seaweed-urchin interactions, their habitat-forming role for other species, responses to global change, and restoration of lost habitat. Ocean warming and changing oceanography have caused a 95% decline in surface canopy cover of Macrocystis pyrifera in eastern Tasmania since the 1950s and led to a focus on restoring these lost forests. Tasmanian seaweed communities have a uniquely high proportion (up to ∼90%) of seaweeds that rely solely on CO 2 for photosynthesis, which has implications for responses to ocean acidification. Tasmania has industries that use brown seaweeds for fucoidan extraction and beach-cast harvest for alginates, fertilisers, and feeds for agriculture. New aquaculture initiatives include integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, offshore kelp mariculture and Asparagopsis cultivation for bioactive products to reduce methane emissions in ruminants, as and the development of unexploited species including Caulerpa spp. for food.
Reef Fishes at All Trophic Levels Respond Positively to Effective Marine Protected Areas
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 13-10-2015
Changes in deep reef benthic community composition across a latitudinal and environmental gradient in temperate Eastern Australia
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 17-02-2017
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS11989
Rapid assessment of an ocean warming hotspot reveals “high” confidence in potential species’ range extensions
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2015
Biological interactions both facilitate and resist climate-related functional change in temperate reef communities
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-06-2017
Abstract: Shifts in the abundance and location of species are restructuring life on the Earth, presenting the need to build resilience into our natural systems. Here, we tested if protection from fishing promotes community resilience in temperate reef communities undergoing rapid warming in Tasmania. Regardless of protection status, we detected a signature of warming in the brown macroalgae, invertebrates and fishes, through increases in the local richness and abundance of warm-affinity species. Even so, responses in protected communities erged from exploited communities. At the local scale, the number of cool-affinity fishes and canopy-forming algal species increased following protection, even though the observation window fell within a period of warming. At the same time, exploited communities gained turf algal and sessile invertebrate species. We further found that the recovery of predator populations following protection leads to marked declines in mobile invertebrates—this trend could be incorrectly attributed to warming without contextual data quantifying community change across trophic levels. By comparing long-term change in exploited and protected reefs, we empirically demonstrate the role of biological interactions in both facilitating and resisting climate-related bio ersity change. We further highlight the potential for trophic interactions to alter the progression of both range expansions and contractions.
Short term monitoring of biotic change in Tasmanian marine reserves
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-1997
Latitude and protection affect decadal trends in reef trophic structure over a continental scale
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-06-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.6347
Correction: Local densities and habitat preference of the critically endangered spotted handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus): Large scale field trial of GPS parameterised underwater visual census and d
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 26-09-2018
The distribution of macroinvertebrates and fishes in Tasmanian estuaries
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-1999
Exploited reefs protected from fishing transform over decades into conservation features otherwise absent from seascapes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2009
DOI: 10.1890/09-0610.1
Abstract: Tasmanian reef communities within "no-take" marine protected areas (MPAs) exhibited direct and indirect ecological changes that increasingly manifested over 16 years, eventually transforming into communities not otherwise present in the regional seascape. Data from 14 temperate and subtropical Australian MPAs further demonstrated that ecological changes continue to develop in MPAs over at least two decades, probably much longer. The continent-scale study additionally showed recently established MPAs to be consistently located at sites with low resource value relative to adjacent fished reference areas. This outcome was presumably generated by sociopolitical pressures and planning processes that aim to systematically avoid locations with valuable resources, potentially compromising bio ersity conservation goals. Locations that were formerly highly fished are needed within MPA networks if the networks are to achieve conservation aims associated with (1) safeguarding all regional habitat types, (2) protecting threatened habitats and species, and (3) providing appropriate reference benchmarks for assessing impacts of fishing. Because of long time lags, the ubiquity of fishing impacts, and the relatively recent establishment of MPAs, the full impact of fishing on coastal reefs has yet to be empirically assessed.
Tracking widespread climate-driven change on temperate and tropical reefs
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2022.07.067
Abstract: Warming seas, marine heatwaves, and habitat degradation are increasingly widespread phenomena affecting marine bio ersity, yet our understanding of their broader impacts is largely derived from collective insights from independent localized studies. Insufficient systematic broadscale monitoring limits our understanding of the true extent of these impacts and our capacity to track these at scales relevant to national policies and international agreements. Using an extensive time series of co-located reef fish community structure and habitat data spanning 12 years and the entire Australian continent, we found that reef fish community responses to changing temperatures and habitats are dynamic and widespread but regionally patchy. Shifts in composition and abundance of the fish community often occurred within 2 years of environmental or habitat change, although the relative importance of these two mechanisms of climate impact tended to differ between tropical and temperate zones. The clearest of these changes on temperate and subtropical reefs were temperature related, with responses measured by the reef fish thermal index indicating reshuffling according to the thermal affinities of species present. On low latitude coral reefs, the community generalization index indicated shifting dominance of habitat generalist fishes through time, concurrent with changing coral cover. Our results emphasize the importance of maintaining local ecological detail when scaling up datasets to inform national policies and global bio ersity targets. Scaled-up ecological monitoring is needed to discriminate among increasingly erse drivers of large-scale bio ersity change and better connect presently disjointed systems of bio ersity observation, indicator research, and governance.
The conservation-related benefits of a systematic marine biological sampling programme: The Tasmanian reef bioregionalisation as a case study
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-1997
Shallow-reef species around Australia are declining with warming seas
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-03-2023
Regional estimates of a range‐extending ecosystem engineer using stereo‐imagery from ROV transects collected with an efficient, spatially balanced design
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-07-2021
DOI: 10.1002/RSE2.230
Abstract: The redistribution of marine ecosystem engineers in response to changing climate is restructuring endemic benthic communities globally. Therefore, developing and implementing efficient monitoring programs across the complete depth range of these marine ecosystem engineers is often an urgent management priority. Traditionally, many monitoring programs have been based on a systematically selected set of survey locations that, while able to track trends at those sites through time, lack inference for the overall region being monitored. This study trialled a probabilistic s ling design to address this need, taking advantage of an important prerequisite for such designs, extensive multibeam echosounder (MBES) mapping, to inform a spatially balanced s le selection. Here, we allocated 170 remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) transects based on a spatially balanced probabilistic s ling design across three locations with extensive mapping. Generalized additive models were used to estimate the density and associated barren cover of the range‐expanding ecosystem engineer, the long spined urchin ( Centrostephanus rodgersii ). Estimates were generated at a reef‐wide scale across three locations on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia, representing the leading edge of the species recent range extension. Model‐based estimates of urchin density and barren cover incorporated seabed structure attributes, such as depth and ruggedness, with differences in these modelled relationships being identified between locations. Estimates ranged from 0.000065 in iduals m −2 and 0.018% barren cover in the Tasman Peninsula to 0.167 in iduals m −2 and 2.10% barren cover at Governor Island Marine Reserve, reflecting a north to south distributional gradient. This study highlights the value of combining probabilistic s ling designs, ROV transects, stereo video, and MBES mapping to generate reliable and robust estimates of important ecosystem species needed to protect reef‐based fishery and conservation values via adaptive and informed management.
An evaluation of the error and uncertainty in epibenthos cover estimates from AUV images collected with an efficient, spatially-balanced design
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 18-09-2018
Bleaching in sponges on temperate mesophotic reefs observed following marine heatwave events
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
Fish body sizes change with temperature but not all species shrink with warming
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-04-2020
Warming signals in temperate reef communities following more than a decade of ecological stability
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 14-12-2022
Abstract: Ecosystem structure and function are increasingly threatened by changing climate, with profound effects observed globally in recent decades. Based on standardized visual censuses of reef bio ersity, we describe 27 years of community-level change for fishes, mobile macroinvertebrates and macroalgae in the Tasmanian ocean-warming hotspot. Significant ecological change was observed across 94 reef sites (5–10 m depth range) spanning four coastal regions between three periods (1992–95, 2006–07, 2017–19), which occurred against a background of pronounced sea temperature rise (+0.80°C on average). Overall, fish biomass increased, macroinvertebrate species richness and abundance decreased and macroalgal cover decreased, particularly during the most recent decade. While reef communities were relatively stable and warming was slight between the 1990s and mid-2000s (+0.12°C mean temperature rise), increased abundances of warm affinity fishes and invertebrates accompanied warming during the most recent decade (+0.68°C rise). However, significant rises in the community temperature index (CTI) were only found for fishes, invertebrates and macroalgae in some regions. Coastal warming was associated with increased fish biomass of non-targeted species in fished zones but had little effect on reef communities within marine reserves. Higher abundances of larger fishes and lobsters inside reserves appeared to negate impacts of ‘thermophilization’.
Species Extinction in the Marine Environment: Tasmania as a Regional Example of Overlooked Losses in Biodiversity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-06-2005
Spatial properties of sessile benthic organisms and the design of repeat visual survey transects
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-09-2019
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.2960
Coral Communities on Marginal High-Latitude Reefs in West Australian Marine Parks
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 30-10-2021
DOI: 10.3390/D13110554
Abstract: Many temperate reefs are experiencing a shift towards a greater abundance of tropical species in response to marine heatwaves and long-term ocean warming worldwide. Baseline data for coral communities growing in high-latitude reefs is required to better understand ecosystem changes over time. In this study, we explore spatial and temporal trends in the distribution of coral communities from 1999 to 2019 at 118 reef sites within the five marine parks located in the south-west of Western Australia (WA) between 30° to 35° S. Our estimates of coral cover were generally low ( %), except for a few sites in Jurien Bay Marine Park and Rottnest Island Marine Reserve where coral cover was 10% to 30%. Interannual changes in genera assemblages were detected but were not consistent over time, whereas significant temporal increases in coral cover estimates were found at the lowest latitude site in Jurien Bay. Coral assemblages were primarily distinguished by Turbinaria spp. at Marmion Marine Park and Ngari Capes Marine Park, and Pocillopora spp. and Dipsastraea spp. at Rottnest Island and Jurien Bay. Our findings suggest that conditions in south-west WA are favorable to the ongoing survival of existing genera and there were minimal signs of expansion in coral cover at most study sites. Coral cover and composition on these reefs may, however, change with ongoing ocean warming and increased occurrence of marine heatwaves. This study provides a valuable benchmark for assessing future changes in coral assemblages and highlights the need for targeted hard-coral surveys to quantify subtle changes in high-latitude coral community assemblages.
Assessing the multiple benefits of partially protected marine protected areas in Australia: A systematic review protocol
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 20-04-2023
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0284711
Abstract: There is global pressure to protect more of the world’s oceans, primarily to protect bio ersity, and to fulfill the “30 by 30” goal set by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that has recently been ratified under the Kunming-Montreal Global Bio ersity Framework at the fifteenth Conference of Parties (COP-15). Fully protected marine protected areas (MPAs) provide the highest level of protection for bio ersity from destructive or extractive practices and may limit access to the area itself. Fully protected MPAs (also commonly referred to as ‘no-take MPAs’) ban all fishing activities, thereby removing the realisation of direct economic and social benefits from resource extraction within these areas. However, fully protected MPAs can still act as source of productivity to surrounding areas, while also providing an important scientific reference role for off-reserve management thereby providing indirect economic and social outcomes, as well as bio ersity benefits. Sustainable marine resource management strives to achieve ‘triple-bottom line’ benefits, where economic, social, and bio ersity benefits are maximised in managed areas of the ocean. Implementing ‘partially protected’ areas (PPAs) in areas of high bio ersity value (i.e., inshore, productive areas of the ocean) that allow for some extractive activities, may allow us to supplement fully MPAs to meet IUCN conservation goals, while maximising social and economic benefits. However, our current understanding lacks explicit quantitative assessments of whether and how PPAs can benefit (or otherwise) bio ersity, while also providing economic and social benefits. This study provides a method to systematically review the scientific and legislative literature to understand how PPAs may contribute to conserving bio ersity while also providing social and economic benefits to Australia. The implementation of partially protected areas (PPAs) requires careful consideration of many potentially competing factors, and an understanding of the types of partial protection already in place in a region. We have developed a systematic literature review protocol focussing on the primary research question: “What is the current state of partially protected area (PPA) implementation across Australian marine areas?”. The aim of the review is to provide marine resource managers with a comprehensive overview of PPAs in Australia, including associated goals and stated management strategies to achieve these goals, and a methodological approach that may be utilised globally. The review protocol was designed by the research team for a Fisheries Resource and Development Corporation (FRDC) strategic research grant and will seek input from a project steering committee for the project on aggregation of the initial results. The steering committee is made up of stakeholders from a wide range of backgrounds and interests, covering marine conservation, fisheries management, Indigenous values, and academic research in Australia. Multiple academic databases, alongside Australian Federal, State, and Territory legislation and related policies will be reviewed using Boolean keyword search strings for both academic databases and relevant grey literature. Results from eligible documents will be compiled and insights from the review collated to provide information on the status of PPA implementation in Australia.
Modern estuarine siliceous spiculites, Tasmania, Australia: A non-polar link to Phanerozoic spiculitic cherts
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1130/G24333A.1
Implications of macroalgal isolation by distance for networks of marine protected areas
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-12-2013
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12203
Abstract: The global extent of macroalgal forests is declining, greatly affecting marine bio ersity at broad scales through the effects macroalgae have on ecosystem processes, habitat provision, and food web support. Networks of marine protected areas comprise one potential tool that may safeguard gene flow among macroalgal populations in the face of increasing population fragmentation caused by pollution, habitat modification, climate change, algal harvesting, trophic cascades, and other anthropogenic stressors. Optimal design of protected area networks requires knowledge of effective dispersal distances for a range of macroalgae. We conducted a global meta-analysis based on data in the published literature to determine the generality of relation between genetic differentiation and geographic distance among macroalgal populations. We also examined whether spatial genetic variation differed significantly with respect to higher taxon, life history, and habitat characteristics. We found clear evidence of population isolation by distance across a multitude of macroalgal species. Genetic and geographic distance were positively correlated across 49 studies a modal distance of 50-100 km maintained F(ST) < 0.2. This relation was consistent for all algal isions, life cycles, habitats, and molecular marker classes investigated. Incorporating knowledge of the spatial scales of gene flow into the design of marine protected area networks will help moderate anthropogenic increases in population isolation and inbreeding and contribute to the resilience of macroalgal forests.
Spatially balanced designs for transect‐based surveys
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-11-2019
Assessment of conservations actions for the critically endangered spotted handfish (Brachionichthyidae), following curation of data collected by multiple investigators into a long-term time-series
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2022
Filling the gaps: Predicting the distribution of temperate reef biota using high resolution biological and acoustic data
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2014
Climate change cascades: Shifts in oceanography, species' ranges and subtidal marine community dynamics in eastern Tasmania
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2011
Conservation of natural wilderness values in the Port Davey marine and estuarine protected area, south-western Tasmania
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2010
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.1079
Climate resilience in marine protected areas and the ‘Protection Paradox’
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2019
Effects of human footprint and biophysical factors on the body-size structure of fished marine species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-07-2022
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13807
Abstract: Marine fisheries in coastal ecosystems in many areas of the world have historically removed large‐bodied in iduals, potentially impairing ecosystem functioning and the long‐term sustainability of fish populations. Reporting on size‐based indicators that link to food‐web structure can contribute to ecosystem‐based management, but the application of these indicators over large (cross‐ecosystem) geographical scales has been limited to either fisheries‐dependent catch data or er‐based methods restricted to shallow waters ( m) that can misrepresent the abundance of large‐bodied fished species. We obtained data on the body‐size structure of 82 recreationally or commercially targeted marine demersal teleosts from 2904 deployments of baited remote underwater stereo‐video (stereo‐BRUV). S ling was at up to 50 m depth and covered approximately 10,000 km of the continental shelf of Australia. Seascape relief, water depth, and human gravity (i.e., a proxy of human impacts) were the strongest predictors of the probability of occurrence of large fishes and the abundance of fishes above the minimum legal size of capture. No‐take marine reserves had a positive effect on the abundance of fishes above legal size, although the effect varied across species groups. In contrast, sublegal fishes were best predicted by gradients in sea surface temperature (mean and variance). In areas of low human impact, large fishes were about three times more likely to be encountered and fishes of legal size were approximately five times more abundant. For conspicuous species groups with contrasting habitat, environmental, and biogeographic affinities, abundance of legal‐size fishes typically declined as human impact increased. Our large‐scale quantitative analyses highlight the combined importance of seascape complexity, regions with low human footprint, and no‐take marine reserves in protecting large‐bodied fishes across a broad range of species and ecosystem configurations.
Gigapixel big data movies provide cost‐effective seascape scale direct measurements of open‐access coastal human use such as recreational fisheries
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-08-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.4301
Do marine substrates ‘look’ and ‘sound’ the same? Supervised classification of multibeam acoustic data using autonomous underwater vehicle images
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2013
Stability in temperate reef communities over a decadal time scale despite concurrent ocean warming
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-12-2009
Corrigendum: Assessing National Biodiversity Trends for Rocky and Coral Reefs through the Integration of Citizen Science and Scientific Monitoring Programs
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 13-07-2017
Image-based continental shelf habitat mapping using novel automated data extraction techniques
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2012
Local densities and habitat preference of the critically endangered spotted handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus): Large scale field trial of GPS parameterised underwater visual census and diver attache
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 13-08-2018
Barriers to documenting not-for-resuscitation orders
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2010
Biology and ecology of Zearaja maugeana, an Endangered skate restricted to two south-western Tasmanian estuaries
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1071/MF15478
Abstract: The Endangered Maugean skate Zearaja maugeana is a relic species restricted to two isolated estuaries, Bathurst Harbour and Macquarie Harbour, in south-western Tasmania, Australia. Over a 1-year period, e, tagging and net surveys provided information on the biology and ecology of this species. In all, 96 Maugean skates were caught during five trips to Macquarie Harbour, with four additional in iduals observed underwater however, no animals were located in the single trip to Bathurst Harbour. Morphometrics and the sex of the animals were recorded for 95 in iduals. Crustaceans dominated the diet, with the majority of animals feeding on the crab Paragrapus gaimardii. Recapture rates were very low, with only one of 82 pit-tagged skates recaptured, and that occurred on the day of release. One acoustically tagged male skate was tracked for 5km along the harbour margin for 24h, whereas a female skate tracked for 46.5h showed high site fidelity, suggesting that multiple factors potentially influence habitat utilisation. Although Macquarie Harbour represents the stronghold for this species, this estuary is also experiencing major environmental disturbance and change. Conservation management of this Endangered skate requires specific consideration of aquaculture, recreational fishing and mine drainage effects, as well as ongoing monitoring.
Increased connectivity and depth improve the effectiveness of marine reserves
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-05-2021
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.15635
Abstract: Marine reserves are a key tool for the conservation of marine bio ersity, yet only ~2.5% of the world's oceans are protected. The integration of marine reserves into connected networks representing all habitats has been encouraged by international agreements, yet the benefits of this design has not been tested empirically. Australia has one of the largest systems of marine reserves, providing a rare opportunity to assess how connectivity influences conservation success. An Australia‐wide dataset was collected using baited remote underwater video systems deployed across a depth range from 0 to 100 m to assess the effectiveness of marine reserves for protecting teleosts subject to commercial and recreational fishing. A meta‐analytical comparison of 73 fished species within 91 marine reserves found that, on average, marine reserves had 28% greater abundance and 53% greater biomass of fished species compared to adjacent areas open to fishing. However, benefits of protection were not observed across all reserves (heterogeneity), so full subsets generalized additive modelling was used to consider factors that influence marine reserve effectiveness, including distance‐based and ecological metrics of connectivity among reserves. Our results suggest that increased connectivity and depth improve the aforementioned marine reserve benefits and that these factors should be considered to optimize such benefits over time. We provide important guidance on factors to consider when implementing marine reserves for the purpose of increasing the abundance and size of fished species, given the expected increase in coverage globally. We show that marine reserves that are highly protected (no‐take) and designed to optimize connectivity, size and depth range can provide an effective conservation strategy for fished species in temperate and tropical waters within an overarching marine bio ersity conservation framework.
Resilience and signatures of tropicalization in protected reef fish communities
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2014
DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE2062
Predictions of beta diversity for reef macroalgae across southeastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2011
DOI: 10.1890/ES11-00089.1
Using an autonomous underwater vehicle to inform management of biodiversity in shelf waters.
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 05-2010
Short- and long-term movement patterns of six temperate reef fishes (Families Labridae and Monacanthidae)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1995
DOI: 10.1071/MF9950853
Abstract: Movement patterns were studied on a 1-ha isolated reef surrounding Arch Rock in southern Tasmania. Short-term movements were identified from er observations, and interpretation of long-term movements involved multiple recaptures of tagged in iduals. Visual observations indicated that the sex-changing labrids Notolabrus tetricus, Pictilabrus laticlavius and Pseudolabrus psittaculus were all site-attached, with females having overlapping home ranges and males being territorial. In the non-sex-changing labrid Notolabrus fucicola and in the monacanthids Penicipelta vittiger and Meuschenia australis, there was no evidence of territorial behaviour and 1-h movements were in excess of the scale of the study. The long-term results indicated that all species were permanent reef residents, with most in iduals of all species except M. australis always being recaptured within a home range of 100 m × 25 m or less. Only 15% of in iduals of M. australis were always recaptured within this range category. The natural habitat boundary of open sand between the Arch Rock reef and adjacent reefs appeared to be an effective deterrent to emigration. The use of natural boundaries should be an important consideration in the design of marine reserves where the aim is to minimize the loss of protected species to adjacent fished areas.
Conservation of the critically endangered Eastern Australian Population of the Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus) through cross-jurisdictional management of a network of marine-protected areas
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-11-2013
DOI: 10.1007/S00267-013-0174-X
Abstract: Between 2001 and 2009, 26 marine-protected areas (MPA) were established on the east Australian seaboard, at least in part, to manage human interactions with a critically endangered population of grey nurse shark, Carcharias taurus. This network is spread across six MPA systems and includes all 19 sites outlined in the National Recovery Plan for C. taurus, though five sites remain open to some forms of fishing. The reserve network has complex cross-jurisdictional management, as the sharks occur in waters controlled by the Australian states of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, as well as by the Commonwealth (Federal) government. Jurisdiction is further complicated by fisheries and conservation departments both engaging in management activities within each state. This has resulted in protected area types that include IUCN category II equivalent zones in NSW, Queensland, and Commonwealth marine parks that either overlay or complement another large scaled network of protected sites called critical habitats. Across the network, seven and eight rule permutations for ing and fishing, respectively, are applied to this population of sharks. Besides sites identified by the recovery plan, additional sites have been protected as part of the general development of MPA networks. A case study at one of these sites, which historically was known to be occupied by C. taurus but had been abandoned, appears to shows re-establishment of an aggregation of juvenile and sub-adult sharks. Concurrent with the re-establishment of the aggregation, a local e operator increased seasonal e visitation rates at the site fourfold. As a precautionary measure, protection of abandoned sites, which includes nursery and gestating female habitats are options that may assist recovery of the east coast population of C. taurus.
A Systematic Review of Remotely Operated Vehicle Surveys for Visually Assessing Fish Assemblages
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 03-04-2019
Distribution of benthic communities in the fjord-like Bathurst Channel ecosystem, south-western Tasmania, a globally anomalous estuarine protected area
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-12-2009
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.1085
A standardised vocabulary for identifying benthic biota and substrata from underwater imagery: the CATAMI Classification Scheme
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 28-10-2015
Prioritising conservation actions for extremely data-poor species: A risk assessment for one of the world's rarest marine fishes
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2022
Effects of Catchment Activities on Macrofaunal Assemblages in Tasmanian Estuaries
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2000
Biotic affinities of rocky reef fishes, invertebrates and macroalgae in different zones of the Port Davey marine protected area, south-western Tasmania
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2010
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.1082
Do communities exist? Complex patterns of overlapping marine species distributions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2014
DOI: 10.1890/13-0789.1
Abstract: Understanding the way in which species are associated in communities is a fundamental question in ecology. Yet there remains a tension between communities as highly structured units or as coincidental collections of in idualistic species. We explored these ideas using a new statistical approach that clusters species based on their environmental response: a species archetype, rather than clustering sites based on their species composition. We found groups of species that are consistently highly correlated, but that these groups are not unique to any set of locations and overlap spatially. The species present at a single site are a realization of species from the (multiple) archetype groups that are likely to be present at that location based on their response to the environment.
Changes in benthic and pelagic production interact with warming to drive responses to climate change in a temperate coastal ecosystem
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 22-06-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.06.20.496925
Abstract: Changing sea temperatures and primary productivity are rapidly altering marine ecosystems, but with considerable uncertainty in our understanding of the relative importance of these drivers and how their interactions may affect fisheries yield through complex food webs. Such outcomes are more difficult to predict for shallow coastal ecosystems than those in pelagic and shelf habitats, because coastal food webs are fuelled by a combination of separate pelagic and benthic energy pathways. Using long-term, empirical field data, we developed a novel multispecies size spectrum model for shallow coastal reefs. We include size-structured benthic and pelagic resources and trophic structures, allowing us to explore potential climate change scenarios that involve varying combinations of warming with changes in benthic and pelagic resources. Our model predicts that changes in resource levels will have much stronger impacts on fish biomass and yields than changes driven by physiological responses to temperature. Under increased plankton abundance, species in all trophic groups were predicted to increase in biomass, average size and yields. By contrast, changes in benthic resource produced variable responses across coastal trophic groups. Increased benthic resource led to increasing benthivorous and piscivorous fish biomass, yields and mean body sizes, but decreases in herbivores and planktivores. When resource changes were combined with warming seas, physiological responses generally decreased species’ biomass and yields. Our results suggest that the source, size and abundance of primary and secondary producers are critical to understanding impacts of warming seas on coastal fish communities. Understanding changes in benthic production and its implications for coastal fisheries requires urgent attention. Our modified size spectrum model provides a framework for further study of benthic and pelagic energy pathways that can be easily adapted to other ecosystems.
Effects of algal canopy clearance on plant, fish and macroinvertebrate communities on eastern Tasmanian reefs
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2004
Effects of the declaration of marine reserves on Tasmanian reef fishes, invertebrates and plants
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-1999
Australian sea-floor survey data, with images and expert annotations
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-10-2015
Abstract: This Australian benthic data set (BENTHOZ-2015) consists of an expert-annotated set of georeferenced benthic images and associated sensor data, captured by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) around Australia. This type of data is of interest to marine scientists studying benthic habitats and organisms. AUVs collect georeferenced images over an area with consistent illumination and altitude, and make it possible to generate broad scale, photo-realistic 3D maps. Marine scientists then typically spend several minutes on each of thousands of images, labeling substratum type and biota at a subset of points. Labels from four Australian research groups were combined using the CATAMI classification scheme, a hierarchical classification scheme based on taxonomy and morphology for scoring marine imagery. This data set consists of 407,968 expert labeled points from around the Australian coast, with associated images, geolocation and other sensor data. The robotic surveys that collected this data form part of Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) ongoing benthic monitoring program. There is reuse potential in marine science, robotics, and computer vision research.
Facilitation of Australia’s southernmost reef-building coral by sea urchin herbivory
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-09-2018
Statistical solutions for error and bias in global citizen science datasets
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2014
Corrigendum: Australian sea-floor survey data, with images and expert annotations (Scientific Data (2015) 2 (150057) DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2015.57)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-12-2016
Abstract: Scientific Data 2:150057 doi:10.1038/sdata.2015.57 (2015) Published 27 Oct 2015 Updated 20 Dec 2016 The authors regret that Ezequiel Marzinelli was omitted in error from the author list of the original version of this Data Descriptor. This omission has now been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of this Data Descriptor.
Using eDNA and SCUBA surveys for detection and monitoring of a threatened marine cryptic fish
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-04-2023
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.3944
Abstract: Quantification of species’ spatial distributions and population trends is crucial for successful conservation efforts. Obtaining sufficient population data, however, is often difficult in the marine environment, especially for rare fish and invertebrate species that are small, cryptic and very difficult to detect. This study sought to understand the effort required to search for undiscovered populations of small, cryptic, marine species in shallow vegetated coastal habitats and track population numbers, using the Critically Endangered red handfish ( Thymichthys politus ) as a representative species. A s ling strategy was designed using a combination of environmental DNA (eDNA) and structured underwater scuba surveys of life‐like 3D‐printed ‘handfish replicas’ to estimate detectability and ultimately determine whether current population monitoring is adequately covering the remaining habitat occupied by the species. Tested over scales of hundreds of metres to kilometres, the eDNA assays performed relatively poorly in situ , detecting red handfish presence in only ~13% of s les collected from the centre of a known, yet low‐density, red handfish site. In contrast, underwater searches for independently placed handfish replicas by scuba ers indicated that mean detection probabilities at finer scales (~100 m) ranged from 57 to 97%. Near certain (95% probability) detection of an adult handfish was achievable with only one to three surveys (300 m 2 belt transects), depending on the habitat complexity. While other species will vary in detectability using eDNA and underwater searches, these findings give insight into the general effort required for the detection of small, rare species inhabiting vegetated coastal environments. Such knowledge not only helps to refine monitoring and conservation efforts for known threatened species, but may also assist in identifying other inconspicuous species whose population declines may otherwise go unnoticed.
Comparing large‐scale bioregions and fine‐scale community‐level biodiversity predictions from subtidal rocky reefs across south‐eastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-06-2012
Outcropping reef ledges drive patterns of epibenthic assemblage diversity on cross-shelf habitats
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-02-2016
An assessment of population responses of common inshore fishes and invertebrates following declaration of five Australian marine protected areas
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 06-07-2012
DOI: 10.1017/S0376892912000185
Abstract: In order to better understand community-level effects of fishing on temperate reefs at continental scales, changes in densities of common species in five Australian marine protected areas (MPAs) were estimated from prior to establishment to three years after enforcement of fishing prohibitions. A before-after-control-impact survey design was used, with 5–14 replicated sites distributed within both sanctuary and fishing zones associated with each MPA. On the basis of published meta-analyses, exploited species were generally expected to show increased densities. By contrast, only two of the 11 exploited fish species (the red morwong Cheilodactylus fuscus and latrid trumpeter Latridopsis forsteri ), and none of seven exploited invertebrate species, showed significant signs of population recovery within sanctuary zones. Four fish species increased in biomass between survey periods. When variation in abundance data was partitioned by PERMANOVA independently for the five MPAs, the ‘zone × year’ interaction component consistently contributed only c. 4% of total variation, compared to site ( c. 35%), zone ( c. 8%), year ( c. 8%) and residual error ( c. 45%) components. Given that longer-term Australian studies show clear community-wide responses following MPA protection, the discrepancy between weak observed recovery and a priori expectations is probably due, at least in part, to the three-year period studied being insufficient to generate clear trends, to relatively low fishing pressure on some temperate Australian reefs, and to meta-analyses overestimating the likelihood of significant short-term population responses.
Quantifying wave exposure in shallow temperate reef systems: applicability of fetch models for predicting algal biodiversity
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 04-11-2010
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS08815
Developing indicators and a baseline for monitoring demersal fish in data-poor, offshore Marine Parks using probabilistic sampling
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
Altered niche of an ecologically significant urchin species, Centrostephanus rodgersii, in its extended range revealed using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2015
Decadal trends in marine reserves reveal differential rates of change in direct and indirect effects
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 22-02-2010
Abstract: Decadal-scale observations of marine reserves suggest that indirect effects on taxa that occur through cascading trophic interactions take longer to develop than direct effects on target species. Combining and analyzing a unique set of long-term time series of ecologic data in and out of fisheries closures from disparate regions, we found that the time to initial detection of direct effects on target species (±SE) was 5.13 ± 1.9 years, whereas initial detection of indirect effects on other taxa, which were often trait mediated, took significantly longer (13.1 ± 2.0 years). Most target species showed initial direct effects, but their trajectories over time were highly variable. Many target species continued to increase, some leveled off, and others decreased. Decreases were due to natural fluctuations, fishing impacts from outside reserves, or indirect effects from target species at higher trophic levels. The average duration of stable periods for direct effects was 6.2 ± 1.2 years, even in studies of more than 15 years. For indirect effects, stable periods averaged 9.1 ± 1.6 years, although this was not significantly different from direct effects. Populations of directly targeted species were more stable in reserves than in fished areas, suggesting increased ecologic resilience. This is an important benefit of marine reserves with respect to their function as a tool for conservation and restoration.
Designing Monitoring Programs for Marine Protected Areas Within an Evidence Based Decision Making Paradigm
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 29-11-2019
The annotation approach used for marine imagery impacts the detection of temporal trends in seafloor biota
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
Patterns of Fish Movement on Eastern Tasmanian Rocky Reefs
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2004
Depth and benthic habitat influence shallow and mesophotic predatory fishes on a remote, high-latitude coral reef
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 24-03-2022
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0265067
Abstract: Predatory fishes on coral reefs continue to decline globally despite playing key roles in ecosystem functioning. Remote atolls and platform reefs provide potential refugia for predator populations, but quantitative information on their spatial distribution is required to establish accurate baselines for ongoing monitoring and conservation management. Current knowledge of predatory fish populations has been derived from targeted shallow er-based surveys ( m). However, the spatial distribution and extent of predatory fishes on outer mesophotic shelf environments has remained under described. Middleton Reef is a remote, high-latitude, oceanic platform reef that is located within a no-take area in the Lord Howe Marine Park off eastern Australia. Here we used baited remote underwater stereo video to s le predatory fishes across lagoon and outer shelf habitats from depths 0–100 m, extending knowledge on use of mesophotic depths and habitats. Many predatory fish demonstrated clear depth and habitat associations over this depth range. Carcharhinid sharks and Carangid fishes were the most abundant predators s led on Middleton Reef, with five predatory fishes accounting for over 90% of the predator fish biomass. Notably, Galapagos shark ( Carcharhinus galapagensis ) and the protected black rockcod ( Epinephelus daemelii ) dominated the predator fish assemblage. A higher richness of predator fish species was s led on reef areas north and south of the lagoon. The more exposed southern aspect of the reef supported a different suite of predator fish across mesophotic habitats relative to the assemblage recorded in the north and lagoonal habitats, a pattern potentially driven by differences in hard coral cover. Biomass of predatory fishes in the more sheltered north habitats was twice that of other areas, predominantly driven by high abundances of Galapagos shark. This work adds to the growing body of literature highlighting the conservation value of isolated oceanic reefs and the need to ensure that lagoon, shallow and mesophotic habitats in these systems are adequately protected, as they support vulnerable ecologically and economically important predator fish assemblages.
Loss of native rocky reef biodiversity in Australian metropolitan embayments
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2015.03.023
Abstract: Urbanisation of the coastal zone represents a key threat to marine bio ersity, including rocky reef communities which often possess disproportionate ecological, recreational and commercial importance. The nature and magnitude of local urban impacts on reef bio ersity near three Australian capital cities were quantified using visual census methods. The most impacted reefs in urbanised embayments were consistently characterised by smaller, faster growing species, reduced fish biomass and richness, and reduced mobile invertebrate abundance and richness. Reef faunal distribution varied significantly with heavy metals, local population density, and proximity to city ports, while native fish and invertebrate communities were most depauperate in locations where invasive species were abundant. Our study adds impetus for improved urban planning and pollution management practises, while also highlighting the potential for skilled volunteers to improve the tracking of changes in marine bio ersity values and the effectiveness of management intervention.
Distinguishing geographical range shifts from artefacts of detectability and sampling effort
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2015
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12263
Biases associated with the use of underwater visual census techniques to quantify the density and size-structure of fish populations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2004
Translating local benthic community structure to national biogenic reef habitat types
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-09-2017
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12620
Field manuals for marine sampling to monitor Australian waters
Publisher: National Environmental Science Programme, Marine Biodiversity Hub
Date: 2018
Mapping Habitats and Developing Baselines in Offshore Marine Reserves with Little Prior Knowledge: A Critical Evaluation of a New Approach
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 23-10-2015
The Derwent River seastar: re-evaluation of a critically endangered marine invertebrate
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 14-09-2018
Characterization of Shallow Inshore Coastal Reefs on the Tasman Peninsula, Southeastern Tasmania, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2012
A seafloor habitat map for the Australian continental shelf
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-07-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-019-0126-2
Abstract: Here we outline the genesis of Seamap Australia, which integrates spatial data of the seabed of Australia’s continental shelf (0–200 m depth) from multiple sources to provide a single national map layer of marine habitat. It is underpinned by a hierarchical classification scheme with registered vocabulary, enabling presentation of nationally consistent information at the highest resolution available for any point in space. The Seamap Australia website enables users to delineate particular areas of interest, overlay habitat maps with many other marine data layers, and to directly access the data and metadata underlying the maps they produce. This unique resource represents a step-change in capacity to access and integrate large and erse marine data holdings and to readily derive information and products to underpin decision making around marine spatial planning and conservation prioritisation, state-of-environment reporting, and research. It is a world first fully integrated national-scale marine mapping and data service.
Developing an ocean best practice
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 11-04-2023
DOI: 10.3389/FMARS.2023.1173075
Abstract: Since 2012, there has been a surge in the numbers of marine science publications that use the term ‘best practice’, yet the term is not often defined, nor is the process behind the best practice development described. Importantly a ‘best practice’ is more than a documented practice that an in idual or institution uses and considers good. This article describes a rigorous process to develop an ocean best practice using ex les from a case study from Australia in which a suite of nine standard operating procedures were released in 2018 and have since become national best practices. The process to develop a best practice includes three phases 1) scope and recruit, 2) develop and release, 3) revise and ratify. Each phase includes 2-3 steps and associated actions that are supported by the Ocean Best Practices System ( www.oceanbestpractices.org ). The Australian case study differs from many other practices, which only use the second phase (develop and release). In this article, we emphasize the value of the other phases to ensure a practice is truly a ‘best practice’. These phases also have other benefits, including higher uptake of a practice stemming from a sense of shared ownership (from scope and recruit phase) and currency and accuracy (from revise and ratify phase). Although the process described in this paper may be challenging and time-consuming, it optimizes the chance to develop a true best practice that is a) fit-for-purpose with clearly defined scope b) representative and inclusive of potential users c) accurate and effective, reflecting emerging technologies and programs and d) supported and adopted by users.
Conservation challenges for the most threatened family of marine bony fishes (handfishes: Brachionichthyidae)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2020
Making the First National Seafloor Habitat Map
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 11-03-2019
DOI: 10.1029/2019EO116965
Abstract: Seamap Australia integrates seafloor maps with information on plant and animal habitats, environmental stressors, and resource management to create a first-of-its-kind resource.
Continent-wide declines in shallow reef life over a decade of ocean warming
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-03-2023
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