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Project 1.1.2 - Condition and trend of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem: Indicators, thresholds of potential concern, and ecological influence of the Great Barrier Reef Zoning Plan on mid and outer shelf reefs

Project Leader:  Dr Hugh Sweatman, Australian Institute of Marine Science 

Project 1.1.2 will deliver regular reports on the broad-scale status and relative health of coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef, including information about regional and global resilience to natural disturbances (e.g. cyclones, crown-of-thorns starfish, coral disease and coral bleaching).  These reports of condition and response will be linked with research in other MTSRF Programs, notably those for water quality and climate change, and will feed into the Integrated Report Card (see Theme 5).  The Project will develop an early warning system for crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) to allow the industry to prepare tactical responses.  The Project will also measure the influence of the Great Barrier Reef Zoning Plan (2003) upon reef biodiversity and support community-based monitoring of tourism intensive sites in order to foster the concept of local environmental stewardship.

Key objectives of the Project include:

  • Broad-scale surveys of coral reef health including development of indicators and thresholds of concern for reef health and COTs Alert – early warning of a fourth wave of starfish outbreaks;

  • Impact of the Great Barrier Reef Zoning Plan (2003) upon coral reef biodiversity; and

  • Community monitoring of coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef.

Project 1.1.2 Downloads

Project 1.1.2 AIMS Sweatman, H. (2007) Coral reef health indicators and thresholds of concern
Report from the Australian Institute of Marine Science which looks at components and measures of ecosystem health and practicalities of applying the approach to marine systems and to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in particular, with reference to incorporating measures of reef health into the MTSRF Integrated Report Card. [pdf 190.7 kb]


Project 1.1.2 RCA Newsletter May 2007
[pdf 144.9 kb]


Project 1.1.2 RCA Newsletter February 2007
[pdf 360.8 kb]


Project 1.1.2 AIMS Doherty, P. (2007) Reef Check Australia Dive Operators' Workshop - Feedback
Reef Check Australia trains volunteers to coordinate community monitoring and reporting of the status and trends of 25 key reef tourism sites. Through regular visitation, Reef Check is able to resolve seasonal patterns and more closely observe phenomena such as outbreaks of pests and disease. Outputs from this community monitoring feeds into MTSRF Project 1.1.2. This document provides a report on several workshops convened by Reef Check in January and February of 2007 to gain dive operators' feedback on Reef Check activities and to review the current monitoring sites in light of operator knowledge. [pdf 128.7 kb]


All Content © Reef & Rainforest Research Centre 2006