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.

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

1200 year paleoecological record of coral community development from the terrigenous inner shelf of the Great Barrier Reef

Geology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 691 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.T. Perry ◽  
S.G. Smithers ◽  
S.E. Palmer ◽  
P. Larcombe ◽  
K.G. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Inner Shelf

scholarly journals Coral community responses to declining water quality: Whitsunday Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Coral Reefs ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 923-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus Thompson ◽  
Thomas Schroeder ◽  
Vittorio E. Brando ◽  
Britta Schaffelke
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Community Responses

The last marine wilderness: spearfishing for trophy fishes in the Coral Sea

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATTHEW A. L. YOUNG ◽  
SIMON FOALE ◽  
DAVID R. BELLWOOD
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Pelagic Species ◽  
Coral Sea ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

SUMMARYIsolation can provide marine ecosystems with a refuge from human impacts. However, information on the biodiversity, ecology and fisheries of remote regions is often sparse. The proposed Coral Sea Marine Reserve could create one of the world's largest and most remote marine parks, yet little information is available to inform discussions. Fish captures from the Coral Sea and adjacent Great Barrier Reef (GBR) were assessed from reports contained in a chronology of spearfishing publications from 1953 to 2009, and reveal for the first time the history of recreational spearfishing in the Coral Sea. Although the area is perceived as relatively untouched, the data indicate that spearfishers have frequented Coral Sea reefs for at least 43 years and reported captures have increased exponentially. Post-1993 trophy captures in the Coral Sea (mean 23 kg) were larger than the adjacent GBR (9 kg). Reef species characterize the GBR catch, while large pelagic species characterize the Coral Sea catch. Provided that functionally important fishes are not targeted, the relatively small scale of recreational spearfishing and the focus on pelagic species suggests that spearfishing currently exerts limited pressure on the ecology of Coral Sea reefs.

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.

scholarly journals U-Th dating reveals regional-scale decline of branching Acropora corals on the Great Barrier Reef over the past century

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (39) ◽  
pp. 10350-10355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara R. Clark ◽  
George Roff ◽  
Jian-xin Zhao ◽  
Yue-xing Feng ◽  
Terence J. Done ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Coral Community ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
The Past ◽  
Hard Coral Cover ◽  
Term Monitoring

Hard coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is on a trajectory of decline. However, little is known about past coral mortality before the advent of long-term monitoring (circa 1980s). Using paleoecological analysis and high-precision uranium-thorium (U-Th) dating, we reveal an extensive loss of branching Acropora corals and changes in coral community structure in the Palm Islands region of the central GBR over the past century. In 2008, dead coral assemblages were dominated by large, branching Acropora and living coral assemblages by genera typically found in turbid inshore environments. The timing of Acropora mortality was found to be occasionally synchronous among reefs and frequently linked to discrete disturbance events, occurring in the 1920s to 1960s and again in the 1980s to 1990s. Surveys conducted in 2014 revealed low Acropora cover (<5%) across all sites, with very little evidence of change for up to 60 y at some sites. Collectively, our results suggest a loss of resilience of this formerly dominant key framework builder at a regional scale, with recovery severely lagging behind predictions. Our study implies that the management of these reefs may be predicated on a shifted baseline.

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