Latest News
Innovative technology is saving water and helping to protect the Great Barrier Reef
By applying the right amount of water, at the right time, in the right crop, to match that crop’s requirements, sugar growers can save water and deliver significant benefits to the Great Barrier... Read More
How to maintain a functioning Great Barrier Reef
Some species or species groups may be more important than others in helping the Great Barrier Reef function and continue to provide its ecosystem services. Identifying these species is a crucial component of maintaining... Read More
400 tonnes of coral bommies returned to the Reef after a cyclone
When Cyclone Debbie hit the Whitsunday Islands in 2017, it dislodged the massive Porites boulder corals that dot the popular dive site Manta Ray Bay, moving them up into the intertidal zone and... Read More
Collaboration is sweet
An interactive map recently released by Australian sugar cane industry peak body Canegrowers shows over a decade of collaboration between the industry and Great Barrier Reef research, including multiple Tropical Water Quality (TWQ) Hub... Read More
New paper shows nutrients play vital roles in coral bleaching
Key Points Coral bleaching involves the break-up of symbiosis between corals and their algal partners and has resulted in rapid and severe reductions to coral cover and recruitment on the Great Barrier Reef... Read More
‘Reef grief’ highlights need for renewed effort to protect and heal Great Barrier Reef
Research delivered through NERP Tropical Ecosystems Hub (the predecessor to NESP TWQ) has illustrated the role played by emotive media coverage of the mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016... Read More
Project Spotlight
Project 4.3
Led by Dr Ian McLeod, JCU
Best practice coral restoration for the Great Barrier Reef
As the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) continues to degrade through repeated mass bleaching events, crown-of-thorns starfish and major disease outbreaks, and the impacts of intense cyclones, pressure is growing for direct intervention to assist the recovery of reef-building corals. Decreasing coral cover on the GBR and other Australian reefs has been recognised as a serious problem relatively recently in Australia but follows a global trend, with many overseas reefs now highly degraded. Various types of coral restoration, rehabilitation and assisted recovery projects have been trialled overseas for decades and it makes sense to look at what has and hasn’t worked overseas to determine a range of options that may suit GBR conditions. Some direct interventions to assist coral recovery have been trialled in Australia such as transplanting corals, algae removal to promote coral recovery and larval enhancement promoting direct coral recruitment. In addition, after physical damage from cyclones, ship strikes or dragged anchors, local dive operators and dive clubs (permitted or unpermitted) often attempt to assist the recovery of corals by tipping over flipped tabular corals and reattaching broken branching corals or sea fans. These latter assisted recovery techniques are rarely underpinned by scientific data on coral recovery. A lack of best practice guidelines for these actions limits the chance of success and increases the health and safety risks of these activities. Read more
Project Leaders
