Key Objectives:

Resilience of coral assemblages to climate change:

• Estimate genetic connectivity among GBR populations of coral and their algal endosymbionts to determine their potential for replenishment following disturbances associated with climate change.

• Identify mechanisms of adaptation available to local coral populations to understand their potential for adaptation to climate change.

• Identify links between thermal anomalies and coral disease dynamics to predict the response of coral assemblages to ocean warming associated with climate change.

Resilience of fish assemblages to climate change:

• Quantify current levels of herbivory by reef fishes on the GBR and evaluate the extent to which reefs across the GBR shelf are vulnerable to ecosystem phase-shifts and domination by macroalgae as a result of climate change.

• Identify critical thresholds in macro-algal phase shifts and evaluate alternate management strategies in order to limit the impacts of climate change on the ability of fish assemblages to prevent ecosystem phase-shifts on coral reefs.

• Evaluate the long term recovery and resilience of reef fish communities to climate change induced habitat degradation.