Coral record of increased sediment flux to the inner Great Barrier Reef since European settlement

Nature ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 421 (6924) ◽  
pp. 727-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm McCulloch ◽  
Stewart Fallon ◽  
Timothy Wyndham ◽  
Erica Hendy ◽  
Janice Lough ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
European Settlement

scholarly journals Palaeoecological evidence of a historical collapse of corals at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef, following European settlement

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1750) ◽  
pp. 20122100 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Roff ◽  
Tara R. Clark ◽  
Claire E. Reymond ◽  
Jian-xin Zhao ◽  
Yuexing Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Nutrient Loading ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Ultimate Cause ◽  
Current Monitoring

The inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have undergone significant declines in water quality following European settlement (approx. 1870 AD). However, direct evidence of impacts on coral assemblages is limited by a lack of historical baselines prior to the onset of modern monitoring programmes in the early 1980s. Through palaeoecological reconstructions, we report a previously undocumented historical collapse of Acropora assemblages at Pelorus Island (central GBR). High-precision U-series dating of dead Acropora fragments indicates that this collapse occurred between 1920 and 1955, with few dates obtained after 1980. Prior to this event, our results indicate remarkable long-term stability in coral community structure over centennial scales. We suggest that chronic increases in sediment flux and nutrient loading following European settlement acted as the ultimate cause for the lack of recovery of Acropora assemblages following a series of acute disturbance events (SST anomalies, cyclones and flood events). Evidence for major degradation in reef condition owing to human impacts prior to modern ecological surveys indicates that current monitoring of inshore reefs on the GBR may be predicated on a significantly shifted baseline.

Distribution of coastal freshwater wetlands and riparian forests in the Herbert River catchment and implications for management of catchments adjacent the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.K.L. JOHNSON ◽  
S.P. EBERT ◽  
A.E. MURRAY
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Riparian Forests ◽  
Freshwater Wetlands ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Management Reform ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
International Trends ◽  
River Catchments

Because coral reefs are sensitive to land derived inputs of nutrient and sediment, there is concern worldwide for the effects of anthropogenic change in river catchments on reefs. Thirty-one river catchments drain directly into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, NE Australia. This case study was undertaken on the floodplain of the Herbert River catchment in north Queensland, utilizing remote sensing and GIS to assess both spatial and temporal changes in freshwater wetlands and riparian forests. We demonstrate that there has been a very large reduction in the area of these ecosystems since European settlement in the mid nineteenth century, with an 80% decline in their extent since 1943. We provide a range of quantitative measures to show that the landscape diversity of these ecosystems has also declined. These changes are of importance in terms of regional, national and international trends. We argue that policy, planning and management reform is required if the remaining ecological, economic and social values of these systems and the adjacent Great Barrier Reef Marine Park are to be maintained.

Sediment flux across the Great Barrier Reef Shelf to the Queensland Trough over the last 300ky

2000 ◽  
Vol 133 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 49-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.B. Dunbar ◽  
G.R. Dickens ◽  
R.M. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Barrier Reef

Management of Water Quality in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Woodley
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Management Issue ◽  
Reef System ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
World Heritage List ◽  
The World ◽  
Coral Reef System

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is recognised and appreciated worldwide as a unique environment and for this reason has been inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Reef is economically-important to Queensland and Australia, supporting substantial tourism and fishing industries. Management of the Great Barrier Reef to ensure conservation of its natural qualities in perpetuity is achieved through the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The maintenance of water quality to protect the reef and the industries which depend on it is becoming an increasingly important management issue requiring better knowledge and possibly new standards of treatment and discharge.

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