Project Leader and Host
Organisation:
Dr Katharina Fabricius, Australian Institute of Marine
Science
Project Description and Objectives
For detailed descriptions of the outputs for
this project for Year 4 (2009/2010) of the MTSRF Research
Programme, see the Annual Research
Plan.
This project aims to improve our
understanding of the effects of terrestrial runoff on the health
and condition of inshore marine and estuarine ecosystems, and to
develop, test and apply a system of indicators to monitor changes
in water quality and resulting ecosystem health.
Years 1 to 3 (see Annual Research
Plans) were used to complete a series of field studies and
reviews to prioritise potential marine and estuarine indicators,
and to determine dose-response relationships and thresholds of
potential concern in selected bioindicators to pollutant exposure.
The research has resulted so far in eight submissions for journal
publication and five postgraduate student theses.
In Year 4 we will complete the study and
develop and road-test practical methods instructions for inclusion
into monitoring programs. The biofilm and coral components will
complete finetuning benthic measures as water quality indicators by
experimental work, and by testing the validity of the priority
indicators on the Reef Rescue Marine
Monitoring Program inshore study sites, validated by their
environmental data. We will publish and distribute electronically,
(1) an manual for non-specialists, and (2) a Standard Operational
Procedures Report of how to use biofilm- and coral-based indicators
to monitor inshore ecosystems exposed to changing water quality.
These will be targeted at groups such as the Reef Check groups and
internationally the GCRMN groups. We will also complete our
field work, analyses and identification of useful ecological
indicators of the condition of North Queensland's
estuaries.
The key objectives of
Project 3.7.1 are to:
-
Complete the development of a practical composite bioindicator
system based on biofilms for improved monitoring of water quality
and for hindcasting past water quality conditions;
-
Complete the development of a practical composite bioindicator
system based on coral reef organisms and physiological changes to
indicate changes in water quality and ecosystem condition;
-
Contribute to research on seagrass communities and their
responses to changing environmental conditions along the Queensland
coast; and
-
Complete the identification of useful ecological indicators of
the condition of North Queensland's estuaries.
