New tools for managing ecosystem responses to climate change on the southern Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) underpins over $4 billions of economic activity each year. Recent evidence suggests that reefs like the GBR are vulnerable to climate change, which manifests itself at both local and global scales. Providing the tools for tracking and understanding these changes is vitally important to effective reef management strategies. This project will provide a major advance in o ....New tools for managing ecosystem responses to climate change on the southern Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) underpins over $4 billions of economic activity each year. Recent evidence suggests that reefs like the GBR are vulnerable to climate change, which manifests itself at both local and global scales. Providing the tools for tracking and understanding these changes is vitally important to effective reef management strategies. This project will provide a major advance in our understanding and the tools available to manage the impacts of climate change. In doing so, it will also produce the first comprehensive and multidisciplinary look at how environmental variability impacts coral reef organisms from corals to seabird populations.Read moreRead less
Ocean-reef interactions as drivers of continental shelf productivity in a changing climate. Poor coastal management results in the irreparable destruction of reef systems' function and biodiversity, nationally and globally. To manage marine resources effectively we must implement sustainable practices, including forward planning in the context of climate change. A critical limitation in determining appropriate actions is a poor understanding of mechanisms driving productivity. Our project will p ....Ocean-reef interactions as drivers of continental shelf productivity in a changing climate. Poor coastal management results in the irreparable destruction of reef systems' function and biodiversity, nationally and globally. To manage marine resources effectively we must implement sustainable practices, including forward planning in the context of climate change. A critical limitation in determining appropriate actions is a poor understanding of mechanisms driving productivity. Our project will provide key information on the oceanographic mechanisms supporting Australia's coastal systems, linking nutrient supply, physical drivers and climate. By linking all these factors we will both assist in determining appropriate ecosystem management, and provide a knowledge base to support adaptation to future changes in Australia's climate.Read moreRead less
Assessing the risk of ocean acidification for the Great Barrier Reef. The increase in greenhouse gases such as CO2 represents a challenge for coral reefs such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR). While the impact of greenhouse warming on coral reefs has been partially explored, the potentially serious implications of a decrease in ocean pH due have not been properly assessed. Detecting and understanding changes to carbonate concentrations and reef calcification are of great importance if ....Assessing the risk of ocean acidification for the Great Barrier Reef. The increase in greenhouse gases such as CO2 represents a challenge for coral reefs such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR). While the impact of greenhouse warming on coral reefs has been partially explored, the potentially serious implications of a decrease in ocean pH due have not been properly assessed. Detecting and understanding changes to carbonate concentrations and reef calcification are of great importance if managers are to respond strategically to potential ecological changes. This project directly addresses National Research Priority 1 of achieving 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' by addressing the priority goal of 'Responding to climate change and variability'.Read moreRead less
Climate change and ocean acidification: will southern ocean coccolithophorids be winners or losers? Implications for the global carbon pump. This proposal brings skills on morphotaxonomy, microalgal culturing, physiology and biogeochemistry into the flurry of international activity focusing on consequences of ocean acidification. Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is predicted to reduce calcification in the phytoplankton Emiliania huxleyi, notably in the Southern Ocean. In contrast, hi ....Climate change and ocean acidification: will southern ocean coccolithophorids be winners or losers? Implications for the global carbon pump. This proposal brings skills on morphotaxonomy, microalgal culturing, physiology and biogeochemistry into the flurry of international activity focusing on consequences of ocean acidification. Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is predicted to reduce calcification in the phytoplankton Emiliania huxleyi, notably in the Southern Ocean. In contrast, higher CO2 may stimulate photosynthesis and enhanced stratification may also select for E. huxleyi. These changes will affect foodwebs and the ability of the ocean to absorb CO2. Predicting the future success of this key organism is vital to understand the consequences of global change in Australian and Southern Ocean waters and to set targets for carbon emissions.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the developme ....A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the development of groundwater resources, the relative dependency of ecosystems on groundwater versus soil and surface water, and an assessment of the likely impacts of altered hydrology, especially dewatering and salinisation, on ecosystems. In addition, they will also be used to extend our knowledge of climate variability in the recent past and increase understanding of critical marine resources.Read moreRead less
DEEP SEA CORALS AS HIGH RESOLUTION RECORDERS OF SOUTHERN OCEAN NUTRIENT CHEMISTRY AND CIRCULATION. There is compelling evidence that the Earth has been warming dramatically since the end of the 19th century as a consequence of increasing atmospheric CO2. This study aims to understand the long-term role of the Southern Ocean as a 'store-house' for CO2, and its significance in controlling changes in the Earth's climate. We will use coral skeletons from the deep oceans as archives of ocean circu ....DEEP SEA CORALS AS HIGH RESOLUTION RECORDERS OF SOUTHERN OCEAN NUTRIENT CHEMISTRY AND CIRCULATION. There is compelling evidence that the Earth has been warming dramatically since the end of the 19th century as a consequence of increasing atmospheric CO2. This study aims to understand the long-term role of the Southern Ocean as a 'store-house' for CO2, and its significance in controlling changes in the Earth's climate. We will use coral skeletons from the deep oceans as archives of ocean circulation and nutrient levels. This information will help unravel how biological activity in the Southern Ocean has responded during previous episodes of climate change, and how this has controlled the levels of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere. This will provide a better understanding of greenhouse warming and its effect on our future climate.Read moreRead less
Atmospheric CO2, global temperature, and surface ocean acidity response to fossil carbon burning - insights from an ancient analogue. Sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 emissions by the oceans and the impacts of resulting ocean acidification and greenhouse warming upon marine ecosystems are vital to understanding the course of future environmental change. This research will improve knowledge of the biological and chemical responses in the ocean to past changes in atmospheric CO2 levels and incre ....Atmospheric CO2, global temperature, and surface ocean acidity response to fossil carbon burning - insights from an ancient analogue. Sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 emissions by the oceans and the impacts of resulting ocean acidification and greenhouse warming upon marine ecosystems are vital to understanding the course of future environmental change. This research will improve knowledge of the biological and chemical responses in the ocean to past changes in atmospheric CO2 levels and increased ocean acidity. This will assist in predicting the consequences of different fossil fuel burning scenarios for climate and marine life, especially the future viability of organisms like corals, molluscs, and calcareous plankton that underpin key tourism and marine production systems.Read moreRead less
Southern Ocean productivity and carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange under current and future climate regimes. This project will contribute to Australian ocean science expertise in key areas of data synthesis, satellite oceanography and the understanding of marine ecosystems' response to climate change. Collaborations will be developed and strengthened among Australian research institutions, and between Australia and the United States. The focus of the research is the Southern Ocean, which impacts glob ....Southern Ocean productivity and carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange under current and future climate regimes. This project will contribute to Australian ocean science expertise in key areas of data synthesis, satellite oceanography and the understanding of marine ecosystems' response to climate change. Collaborations will be developed and strengthened among Australian research institutions, and between Australia and the United States. The focus of the research is the Southern Ocean, which impacts global climate, and on which Australia's southern coastal ecosystems depend. The expertise and techniques developed will have application to other Australian regional seas.Read moreRead less
Towards a predictive model for coastal marine microbial assemblages. Coastal regions are overwhelmingly the most intense point of interaction between human activity and oceanic provinces. At this interface, the marine biological ecosystem provides critical services that are required to maintain industrial, economic and social well-being. Our work will identify how these marine systems respond to anthropogenic and climatic variability, National Research Priority 1, and in turn, how this response ....Towards a predictive model for coastal marine microbial assemblages. Coastal regions are overwhelmingly the most intense point of interaction between human activity and oceanic provinces. At this interface, the marine biological ecosystem provides critical services that are required to maintain industrial, economic and social well-being. Our work will identify how these marine systems respond to anthropogenic and climatic variability, National Research Priority 1, and in turn, how this response affects ocean services. This knowledge will inform management efforts in resource and biodiversity conservation, and identify novel areas for future resource exploration.Read moreRead less
Coral Reef Fishes And The Global Decline In Reef Health: Is Biodiversity At Risk Or Resilient? Successful management and protection of marine species depends on understanding the processes that control the biodiversity of marine communities at both local and regional scales. This study will develop a general model to predict the response of reef fish communities to declining habitat structure and diversity across the tropical Pacific Ocean. Using expertise and ecological tools developed in Austr ....Coral Reef Fishes And The Global Decline In Reef Health: Is Biodiversity At Risk Or Resilient? Successful management and protection of marine species depends on understanding the processes that control the biodiversity of marine communities at both local and regional scales. This study will develop a general model to predict the response of reef fish communities to declining habitat structure and diversity across the tropical Pacific Ocean. Using expertise and ecological tools developed in Australia, and in collaboration with scientists working on the other side of the Pacific, this project will develop a broad-scale understanding of the threats to coral reefs and play a leading role in the development of marine-biodiversity management plans for Australia and neighbouring regions.Read moreRead less