Latest News
Uncovering the ocean floor of the Great Barrier Reef in greater detail than ever before
A highly detailed 3D map of the Great Barrier Reef seafloor produced under the Tropical Water Quality (TWQ) Hub is being widely used by the marine science community. Working with the TWQ Hub... Read More
Project Leaders workshop to emphasise synthesis and engagement with stakeholders
Now in its fourth year, the Tropical Water Quality (TWQ) Hub is at a critical stage for the synthesis and delivery of its world-class innovative research into practical solutions for catchment-to-reef water quality... Read More
eAtlas: All the data at your fingertips
The eAtlas is an online repository for information on northern Australia’s tropical and marine environments. The eAtlas, which is currently supported by the Tropical Water Quality (TWQ) Hub, hosts over 900GB of data... Read More
Wetlands: Values and opportunities
A journal article on wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef catchments has shown that the value of these aquatic systems extends far beyond just their role in water quality. The article, published recently... Read More
The human dimension of improving Reef water quality: a baseline of landholder attitudes
Tropical Water Quality Hub research on the attitudes of farmers and other landholders has been used by the Queensland government to help managers of the Great Barrier Reef track progress toward meeting water... Read More
Investigating Burdekin flood plume on Great Barrier Reef
After heavy rains in northern Queensland during February, the Burdekin River released a large plume of sediment-laden floodwater out to the midshelf Great Barrier Reef, an event which received major media coverage. In... 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
