Hub funding contributes to world-class study
New research from the Tropical Water Quality Hub on the effects of suspended sediments – such as those generated by natural processes, dredging or coastal runoff – on coral reproduction and recruitment has recently been published in the prestigious international journal Nature Scientific Reports. TWQ funding through Projects 3.1.5 and 2.3.1 contributed to the study, entitled ‘Cumulative effects of suspended sediments, organic nutrients and temperature stress on early life history stages of the coral Acropora tenuis.’ The study found that combinations of environmentally-relevant levels of suspended sediments and temperature had the greatest impacts, affecting more processes than the combined impacts of sediments and nutrients. The authors suggested that management strategies that aim to maintain suspended sediments at low levels during coral spawning seasons would be beneficial to coral recruitment, especially in a warming climate. The paper is available online.