News and Events Archive

Historical news and events information is stored here.  Brief articles can be accessed below.  Longer articles and event summaries can be accessed via the links above.

(December 2007) The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority invites applications from students for the Science for Management Awards 2008, closing date for applications is 31 January 2008.

The Science for Management Awards are intended to assist the research projects of students working towards a Doctorate or Masters degree, which make a contribution to the management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

For more information please visit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority website here.

(16 October 2007) The Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Chairman, Richard Ireland, today announced Sheriden Morris as the Centre’s new Managing Director. Sheriden is a North Queenslander with a background in local agriculture with extensive experience of scientific research and management in marine and coastal systems. She will guide the Centre’s management of a $20m per year tropical environmental research program called the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF). This program is an initiative of the Australian Government, designed to support both conservation and sustainable use of the reef and rainforest in North Queensland. 

Download the Media Release.

(3 October 2007) The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Malcolm Turnbull announced on 3 October the appointment of Dr Russell Reichelt as the Chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority effective from November 2007.  Dr Reichelt has been the Managing Director of the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre since 2006 and was previously Chief Executive Officer of both the CRC Reef Research Centre and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Access the Minister's Media Release (link to external website).

(25 September 2007) The Townsville office of the RRRC has relocated to the James Cook University campus in Douglas, Townsville.  Visitors to the Townsville office can obtain directions to the office from the University Gatehouse on Angus Smith Drive (CSR Building, Building 61).  Townsville staff may be contacted on (07) 4781 6311.

(September 2007) Representatives of Queensland's major environmental research and government agencies gathered in Townsville in September to consider how components of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Monitoring Program can be better integrated to enable an assessment of overall marine ecosystem health in relation to water quality characteristics.  Coordinated by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Marine Monitoring Program will help assess the long-term effectiveness of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan in reversing the decline in water quality runoff originating from Queensland's reef catchments.

Forty participants met over three days to consider the key aspects of the Monitoring Program as well as a number of projects currently funded by the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility and other initiatives that are developing a composite system of water quality specific indicators for inshore coral reefs and seagrass meadows.  The desired outcome will be a fully integrated program of data sharing and coordination that contributes to the marine and catchment reporting mechanisms currently in place in Queensland.

Download the Workshop Background Document

(3 September 2007) James Cook University researcher and MTSRF Project Leader, Dr Steve Williams, was presented with the Principal Investigator of the Year Recognition Award by Earthwatch Australia at its annual dinner in August.

The Award recognises Dr Williams' contribution to the Earthwatch community volunteer program, involving up to fifty volunteers in annual fieldwork trips to collect data on rainforest animals.  Williams is shown here with North Queensland Field Conservation Director Ms Suzanne Jenkins at the Award Dinner.

 
Above:  Steve Williams and Suzanne Jenkins at the annual Award Dinner in Melbourne.

(21 August 2007) James Cook University and MTSRF researcher, Professor Terry Hughes, was awarded the 2007 Sherman Eureka Prize for Environmental Research in August.

Regarded by some as the world's leading coral reef scientist, Hughes was awarded the prestigious prize for his life's work on coral reef ecology.  Hughes heads the Australian Research Council's Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, based at James Cook University's Townsville campus.  The Centre is a partnership of James Cook University, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, The Australian National University, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and The University of Queensland. 

(September 2007) A new partnership involving BHP Billiton, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and the Australian Institute of Marine Science will allow three Australian reef sites to be studied as part of CReefs, a global research initiative to document and assess the diversity of coral reef ecosystems.  A $3.4 million project will run over four years and will enable marine scientists and taxonomists to collect and identify samples during a series of field trips to the Great Barrier Reef's Heron and Lizard Islands and Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.  The partnership is delivering urgently needed private funding into the reef research sector. 

Launched in late 2005, CReefs is the coral reef component of the Census of Marine Life, a global network of researchers in more than eighty nations engaged in a ten-year initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine life in oceans - past, present and future.

(August 2007) Reef Check is the United Nations' official community-based coral reef monitoring program.  Reef Check Australia (RCA) is a part of this global network of volunteers who regularly monitor and report on reef health.  RCA is seeking volunteer coral reef surveyors to undertake regular monitoring of sites within the Great Barrier Reef.  As a RCA volunteer, you will join a community of coral reef surveyors, learn how to monitor coral reef health, improve your underwater knowledge and skills, build your diving experience and have the opportunity to participate in free survey expeditions on the Great Barrier Reef.

Two part-time training courses are on offer:

• Townsville:  3-30 September 2007; and

• Cairns:  12-28 October 2007.

In addition, a full-time training course will be held in Townsville in early 2008.

For further information, contact Reef Check Australia on (07) 4724 3950 or email support@reefcheckaustralia.org.

(3 August 2007) Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Malcolm Turnbull, officially launched the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility in Cairns on Friday 3 August 2007.  Mr Turnbull announced more than $7.6 million in research funding for the North Queensland region for the Facility's second year of operation.  Some of Australia's leading research organisations will match the Australian Government's funding with up to $10 million in-kind resources.  Download the Ministerial Media Release.

 
Above left and right:  Minister Turnbull with staff of the Cairns Rainforest Dome.

Above:  Minister Turnbull officially launches the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility with RRRC Managing Director Dr Russell Reichelt (right).

(July 2007) Impacts of Cyclones on Terrestrial Tropical Ecosystems: Insights from Severe Cyclones Larry and Monica

To be held in Cairns in September 2007, this two day seminar will showcase the findings of scientific research undertaken in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Larry, which hit North Queensland in March 2006, and Tropical Cyclone Monica, which passed over Cape York and Arnhem Land one month later. The seminar will inform environmental scientists, tropical land managers and other interested members of the community about:

• The short and long term impacts of the cyclones on birds, mammals and other wildlife;

• The extent, distribution and severity of damage to vegetation;

• The spread of invasive weeds since the cyclones;

• A review of international knowledge on the ecological role and impacts of cyclones; and

• Living with cyclones - lessons for land managers.

Attendance is free of change however numbers are limited. To register, contact Trish O'Reilly, James Cook University on (07) 4042 1246 or download and fax the registration form.  Download Program (31 August 2007).

(June 2007) The Torres Strait Marine Research Repository contains marine related research reports, papers, metadata (with available data) and other intellectual property (IP) lodged by stakeholders committed to sustaining the marine resources of the Torres Strait.

The repository was initially established to disseminate reports and data resulting from activities of the CRC Torres Strait . Repository holdings are permanently maintained by the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (CMAR) Data Centre.

(9 May 2007) RRRC Managing Director and Chairman of the IMarEST North Queensland Branch, Russell Reichelt, received the ANZSPAC Division President's Award from the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) on 9 May for exceptional work in the field of and contribution to marine science within the Australian New Zealand and South Pacific region. Russell is shown here (right) with Greg Hellesy, President of IMarEST Australia.

Above:  Dr Russell Reichelt receives the President's Award.

(May 2007) The MTSRF has been listed on the 2007 Australian Competitive Grants Register for funding receiving in 2006. The Register lists qualifying, nationally competitive research schemes in Australia. Click here for further information.