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The status of the salt-water crocodile in the Glenelg, Prince Regent and Ord River Systems, Kimberley, Western Australia.
No full textMaintenance and Update Frequency: unknownStatement: Original record compiled for the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), Project 3.8, 2008. Originally sourced from DEWHA EPBC Referrals online (April, 2008). Metadata information generated from citations in referrals. Date range from citation date. Abstract derived from citation title only. Spatial extent derived from referral area of interest.<b>Credit</b><br/>A.A. Burbidge<b>Credit</b><br/>H. MesselThe status of the salt-water crocodile in the Glenelg, Prince Regent and Ord River Systems, Kimberley, Western Australia
A Preliminary Assessment of Fish and Coral Communities on Reefs of the Dampier Archipelago
No full textMaintenance and Update Frequency: notPlannedStatement: Original record compiled for the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), Project 3.8, 2008. Original records sourced from AIMS Data Centre export (May, 2008).<b>Credit</b><br/>Oxley<b>Credit</b><br/>Christie<b>Credit</b><br/>ThompsonDuring the initial AIMS survey of coral and fish communities within the Dampier Archipelago, 24 sites, chosen to be represenatative of the diverse range of habitats in the region, were visited. At each site, fish and coral communities were quantitatively sampled using standardised techniques used widely in the Great Barrier Reef and in the Ningaloo Reef survey. Visual surves at the sites indicate that many sites had been subjected to significant recent storm damage. Large massive coral colonies were overturned and previously luxuriant Acropora beds were reduced to rubble banks
Esperance Bay Seagrass Survey - FRDC (2001/060) 'Characterising the fish habitats of the Recherche Archipelago'
No full textMaintenance and Update Frequency: notPlannedStatement: Dive surveys were undertaken at 1,035 sites throughout Esperance Bay in April 2001.
The survey sites were located using differential GPS, and the coordinates were then used to create an ArcView shapefile seagrass_april_2001_sites.shp.
Seagrass and habitat data were collected at each site and entered into a spreadsheet. The standard Recherche classification scheme was then applied to the data, creating the final EsperBayGrndTruthApril_2001_addedclass.xls spreadsheet.
The habitat data spreadsheet was then joined to the survey sites shapefile, to create the final shapefile seagrass_april_2001_site_attributes.shp, representing 1,035 survey sites and the corresponding seagrass species and habitat present at each site.<b>Credit</b><br/>Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)Seagrass and habitat data collected from dive surveys undertaken in April 2001, showing habitat classifications at 1,035 survey site
Size-structures of populations of the mushroom coral Fungia fungites: the role of disturbance.
No full textMaintenance and Update Frequency: notPlannedStatement: -Study sites-
Study sites are located approximately 5km apart in the dampier Archipelago on the north-west coast of Western Australia (see large thumbnail) and their coral communities are located in similar depths of water (3-5 m) on a narrow reef lat with a slight slope and a small drop off to sandy substrata. Apart from these similarities, they differ in a number of physical attributes that reflect their contrasting exposure to disturbances.
The Mainland Reef (ML) is adjacent to the mainland, has a low profile, and consists primarily of skeletons of fungiid and massive corals with mush of its free substrata covered by fine sediment. The Mainland Reef is exposed to the predominately westerly and north-westerly winds and waves produced by summer storms, in addition to swell generated by cyclones that travel through Mermaid Sound. The modified effective fetch for the Mainland Reef is 20km and the reef is classified as semi-exposed. Because wind speeds and directions are correlated to wave heights and sedimentation, levels of acute and chronic sedimentation are very high at the Mainland Reef.
In contrast, the East Lewis Reef (EL) has the opposite aspect and is located in a bay on the leeward side of East Lewis Island. Much of its coral growth occurs on top of thick (1m) stands of dead or partially dead Pavona decussata that elevate the corals approximately 1m above a sandy bottom (5-7 m depth). The East Lewis Reef is sheltered from the winds and waves resulting from storms and cyclones in summer and is buffered from the weaker winds that blow off the mainland in winter. There is little sediment accumulation at this reef because of its rates of sedimentation are comparatively low.
-Sampling regime-
In a random sample of over 50 free-living polyps from around the study area at each reef (see large thumbnail), ranging in diameter from 3cm to 21cm (mean = 10cm), all were identified taxonomically as F. fungites. Additionally, electrophoretic analysis of a random sample of 120 polyps from the same area at each reef, which excluded sexual recruits and asexual buds, indicated they were all F. fungites.
Along the narrow reef flat at each study site a permanent transect (150m) was established parallel to the shore in 3 - 5m depth, where F. fungites were distributed. A single large transect was used, rather than smaller replicate transects, because it sampled the majority of each population along a homogenous area within which there were no difference in the size-structure of polyps. A quadrat (50x50cm) was laid every 2m on alternate sides of the permanent transect (n = 75) at each reef. There was no evidence of migration by polyps off the reef flat at either study site, with most free-living polyps that had been tagged (>80%, n=67) moving < 30cm during this study, even following cyclones. Therefore, it can be assumed that the same population was censused through time. Within each quadrat, the maximum diameter and life history stage of F. fungites polyps > 0.3cm was recorded.
For parent polyps, the maximum diameter of the skeleton was recorded. Polyps were divided among the following life history stages: sexual recruits that were attached to the substrata via a stalk; free-living polyps that were not attached; parent polyps that had no live tissue other than one or more asexual buds; and asexual recruits that were attached to a parent polyp. Injury to polyps was also recorded, but it was not possible to accurately quantify the number of dead polyps because much of the reef matrix consisted of skeletons of polyps that had died over many years.<b>Credit</b><br/>K. Smith: Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM)<b>Credit</b><br/>A. Grieco: Department of Environmental Protection<b>Credit</b><br/>Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)<b>Credit</b><br/>Hamersley Iron<b>Credit</b><br/>Sigma Xi<b>Credit</b><br/>The University of Western Australia (UWA)Changes in the size-structure of populations of the mushroom coral Fungia fungites were quantified at two reefs in the Dampier Archipelago during four annual surveys from April 1998 to April 2001. Exposure to disturbance was predicted to affect the size and frequency of life history stages of polyps at each reef and their variability through time
Historical winter sea-ice concentration data estimates utilising a diatom proxy for marine sediment core SO136-111
No full textMaintenance and Update Frequency: unknownStatement: Gravity core SO136-111 (56°40'S, 160°14'E, water depth 3912 m) was retrieved from the Emerald Basin, in the East Indian sector of the Southern Ocean south of the modern Antarctic Polar Front.
For information on the models used to generate the data see Ferry et. al. 2015.<b>Credit</b><br/>The research was made possible by the receipt of an Australian Post graduate award to Alexander ferry.<b>Credit</b><br/>Access to the diatom training database of Crosta et al. (2004) was granted by Xavier Crosta.<b>Credit</b><br/>Principal PhD supervision by Leanne Armand (now deceased)The purpose of this study was to re-evaluate the paleo sea-ice record for marine sediment core SO136-111. We applied a generalized additive model, and compared the estimates from GAM with those estimates derived from weighted averaging partial least squares, the Imbrie and Kipp Transfer function and the Modern Analogue Technique.<br/>We provide the first record of paleo winter sea-ice concentration data for core SO136-111, based on a diatom proxy. Core SO136-111 provides a record for winter sea-ice concentrations over the last 220 kyr BP.<br/><br/>Gravity core SO136-111 (56°40'S, 160°14'E, water depth 3912 m) was retrieved from the Emerald Basin, in the East Indian sector of the Southern Ocean south of the modern Antarctic Polar Front. The core was retrieved in 1998 during the TASQWA cruise on board the FS SONNE
ROV exploration of deep-water coral habitats of southwest Australian submarine canyons – water column chemistry data, 2020
No full textStatement: Using CTD and Niskin samplers, seawater parameters (temperature, salinity, O2, nutrients, and carbonate system) were collected to define the physico–chemical dynamics controlling the regional ecology, food sources, skeletal growth rates, and to provide essential calibrations for our geochemical proxy records. On-board measurements of carbonate parameters (alkalinity, DIC, pH etc) were analyzed onboard Falkor, utilising existing mobile instrumentation (spectrophotometry, DIC analyser) proivded by UWA.<b>Credit</b><br/>Schmidt Ocean Institute<b>Credit</b><br/>Australian Research Council awards (FT160100259, DP21012896)<b>Credit</b><br/>University of Western Australia (UWA) Fellowship Support GrantCruise FK200126 was the first ROV exploration of the Bremer canyon systems, Mount Gabi seamount, and nearby continental margins located in the all-important yet poorly studied Southern Ocean offshore SW Australia, and revisited the Perth Canyon in the SE Indian Ocean which represents only the second ROV exploration of that area. The cruise focused on the collection of deep-water corals for post-cruise geochemical studies to reconstruct long-term environmental changes in this region, together with comprehensive characterisation of their present-day environments including physical and chemical oceanography, canyon geomorphology and geology, bathymetric mapping, faunal descriptions, and the first high resolution video imaging of these previously unexplored deep-water habitats.<br/><br/>The NetCDF file contains CTD data and seawater carbonate parameters measured from seawater samples collected on board the SOI Falkor between 2020-01-26T09:18:56 and 2020-02-20T21:32:29, by 12-L Niskin bottles. Temperature and Salinity were measured using a SBE-911plus CTD, Dissolved Oxygen using a SBE-43 DO sensor and Fluorescence by a Wet Labs ECO-FLNTU; Total Alkalinity was measured using a Mettler-Toledo T50 with Rondolino autosampler; DIC was measured using an Apollo SciTech Dissolved Inorganic Carbon analyser; pH, aragonite and calcite saturation states were calculated using version 1.1 of CO2SYS for MATLAB’
2021 State of the Environment Report Marine Chapter – Expert Assessment – Management Effectiveness – Marine plastics and debris
No full textStatement: QUALITY OF DATA USED IN THE ASSESSMENT
High to variable.<b>Credit</b><br/>Peer reviews of this assessment were provided by:
Karen Raubenheimer (University of Wollongong)
Marcus Hayward (IMAS, UTAS)The Marine chapter of the 2021 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Management Effectiveness of Marine plastics and debris". <br/>***A PDF of the full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided) is downloadable in the "On-line Resources" section of this record as "EXPERT ASSESSMENT 2021 - Management Effectiveness – Marine plastics and debris"***<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>DESCRIPTION OF THE APPROACH TO MANAGING THE PRESSURE<br/>Marine debris, often called or associated with plastic pollution, was identified as a key threatening process to vertebrate marine life under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) due to the potential for ‘injury and fatality … caused by ingestion of, or entanglement in, harmful marine debris’. The 2003 Threat Abatement Plan (TAP) identified sources and types of harmful marine debris, including land-based waste that leaks to the environment, as well as fishing gear lost from both recreational and commercial activities and vessel-based losses of anthropogenic materials that persist in the marine and coastal environment. Revised in 2018, the TAP incorporated information on knowledge and knowledge gaps, as well as identifying actions needed to abate the potential risks to vertebrate taxa from harmful marine debris. The TAP obliges the Commonwealth and its affiliated agencies “to respond to the impact of marine debris on vertebrate marine life, and identifies the research, management and other actions needed to reduce the impacts of marine debris on affected species”. <br/><br/>More than two-thirds of the debris found on Australia’s coastline is comprised of plastic, and waste leakage to the environment typically occurs locally, hence, the role of waste management by local jurisdictions is critical to achieve a reduction in harm to Australia’s vertebrate coastal and marine fauna. There are a series of local, state-based and national activities and legislative levers that have been enacted to reduce waste losses to the environment. Some of these include container deposit legislation for beverages, plastic bag bans and levies, single use plastic bans (SUPs), drink refill stations, and separation of waste at the household level (e.g. Schuyler et al. 2018; Willis et al. 2017, 2019, 2021).<br/><br/>DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT<br/>CSIRO, CUA, KAB data (national/subnational); at-sea surface trawl data (national/international).<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>2021 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details]<br/><br/>• Approach •<br/>Assessment grade: Partially effective<br/>Assessment trend: Improving<br/>Confidence grade: Somewhat adequate<br/>Confidence trend: Somewhat adequate<br/>Comparability with 2016: Comparable<br/>• Outputs •<br/>Assessment grade: Partially effective<br/>Assessment trend: Improving<br/>Confidence grade: Limited<br/>Confidence trend: Improving<br/>Comparability with 2016: Somewhat comparable<br/>• Outcomes •<br/>Assessment grade: Partially effective<br/>Assessment trend: Deteriorating<br/>Confidence grade: Limited<br/>Confidence trend: Improving<br/>Comparability with 2016: Somewhat comparable<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>CHANGES SINCE 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT<br/>In 2016, there were six sub-assessments for management effectiveness, for understanding (partially effective, improving), planning (ineffective, deteriorating), input (ineffective, deteriorating), processes (ineffective, deteriorating), outputs (ineffective, deteriorating), and outcomes (ineffective, deteriorating). For 2021 the number of sub-assessments was reduced to three – approach (encompassing understanding, planning, input and processes; partially effective, improving), outputs (partially effective, improving) and outcomes (partially effective, deteriorating). The improvements in assessed grade for approach (from ineffective and deteriorating for planning, input, processes to partially effective and improving overall), outputs (from ineffective and deteriorating to partially effective and improving) and outcomes (from ineffective and deteriorating to partially effective and deteriorating) reflects the strengthening of legislation and regulation relating to marine plastics and debris over the past 5 years, which, while substantial has not yet been sufficient to reverse the pressure of marine plastics and debris on Australia’s marine environment
2021 State of the Environment Report Marine Chapter – Expert Assessment – State and Trend – Algal beds
No full textStatement: QUALITY OF DATA USED IN THE ASSESSMENT
Data quality is high, based on multiple studies of cover and trends at local to national scales, as indicated in references and the quantitative analysis for Rocky Reefs.<b>Credit</b><br/>Peer reviews of this assessment were provided by:
Scott Ling (IMAS, UTAS)The Marine chapter of the 2021 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "State and Trend of Algal Beds". <br/>***A PDF of the full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided) is downloadable in the "On-line Resources" section of this record as "EXPERT ASSESSMENT 2021 - State and Trend – Algal Beds"***<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES/HABITAT/COMMUNITY FOR EXPERT ASSESSMENT<br/>Algal beds are generally thought of as algae associated with hard substratum such as rocky reefs that provides a strong point of attachment for algae to grow and maintain position. The majority of Australia’s algal beds are found in temperate waters and are in many cases replaced as the major habitat-forming benthic organisms by corals in more tropical environments where intense grazing by herbivorous fishes contains algal biomass, particularly in clear offshore waters. The changeover from temperate algal covered reefs to coral dominated reefs is a gradual transition, but, as a broad generalisation, is considered to be in the vicinity of the Abrohlos Islands in Western Australia and Brisbane in Queensland, and is driven by the northern limit of the canopy forming kelp, Ecklonia radiata. Throughout this range, algal beds are found from the intertidal zone down to approximately 30 m depth where light availability limits growth. Despite this, lower limits may be much reduced in turbid or coloured water, or substantially exceed this in clear offshore water. Algal beds are composed of many constituent species with more than 1500 species of red, brown and green algae known from temperate and tropical Australia. Despite this, the overall canopy forming species are dominated by a far smaller subset of species, including Ecklonia radiata (the common kelp) which tends to be the dominant habitat-former and the most conspicuous species on temperate reefs, particularly on moderate to high energy coasts where it can form an extensive monospecific canopy above other algae. Given this ecological dominance which is consistent at continental scales, the overall health and extent of Ecklonia is considered to be a suitable indicator of the state of algal beds in general. Despite this, Ecklonia is typically replaced as a dominant species by Sargassum and Cystophora species in sheltered waters such as the Tasmanian north coast and upper reaches of South Australian gulfs, and may replace other species that are under stress (such as Macrocystis pyrifera - the “giant kelp” in Tasmania, or Scytothalia dorycarpa in Western Australia). Hence understanding the condition of algal beds can often require a region-specific knowledge of trends in key species in addition to Ecklonia. <br/><br/>DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT<br/>Data used is outlined in reports/papers in the reference section, coupled with quantitative analysis of kelp cover undertaken as part of the SoE Rocky Reef assessment (Stuart-Smith et al.).<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>2021 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details]<br/><br/>• 2021 •<br/>Assessment grade: Good<br/>Assessment trend: Stable to deteriorating<br/>Confidence grade: Adequate high-quality evidence and high-quality consensus<br/>Confidence trend: Adequate high-quality evidence and high-quality consensus<br/>Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2016 assessment.<br/>• 2016 •<br/>Assessment grade: Good<br/>Assessment trend: Stable to deteriorating<br/>Confidence grade: Adequate high-quality evidence and high-quality consensus<br/>Confidence trend: Adequate high-quality evidence and high-quality consensus<br/>Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2011 assessment.<br/>• 2011 •<br/>Assessment grade: Very good<br/>Assessment trend: Stable<br/>Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence and high quality consensus<br/>Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus <br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>CHANGES SINCE 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT<br/>No change in overall categories, but noting ongoing decline in the SE due to interaction between Centrostephanus urchin range expansion due to warming and loss of top predators due to removal of top predators by fishing. Also noting that while there had been some recovery in WA following the 2011 heatwave (detailed in the Rocky reef SOE assessment) these systems are vulnerable to predicted increasing frequencies of heatwaves
2021 State of the Environment Report Marine Chapter – Expert Assessment – Management Effectiveness – Marine pollution
No full textStatement: QUALITY OF DATA USED IN THE ASSESSMENT
Peer-reviewed literature
Government and Industry reports<b>Credit</b><br/>Peer reviews of this assessment were provided by:
Tim Stephens (University of Sydney)The Marine chapter of the 2021 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Effectiveness of Management – Marine pollution". <br/>***A PDF of the full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided) is downloadable in the "On-line Resources" section of this record as "EXPERT ASSESSMENT 2021 - Effectiveness of Management – Marine Pollution"***<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>DESCRIPTION OF THE APPROACH TO MANAGING THE PRESSURE<br/>The most significant pollution threats to Australia’s marine environment include sediment and nutrient inputs jeopardising the ecological integrity of coral reefs, and pollution by hydrocarbons. Australia has legislation at Commonwealth and State/Territory levels which seeks to protect the marine environment from these risks, consistent with international law. <br/>Carbon emissions and resulting ocean acidification can also be considered as an overarching pollution threat, and acidification is a pressure that has a high impact on the Australian marine environment (see acidification pressure assessment). Pollution by plastic debris is a rising concern and is addressed in details as a separate assessment (see marine debris assessment). Currently, however, acidification is not subject to a management framework under Commonwealth or State/Territory law. <br/>Coral reefs represent a significant resource for Australia. Recent estimates of the economic value generated by the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) exceed 6.4billion a year, supporting 64,000 jobs. Record sea temperatures as a result of global climate change have driven multiple coral bleaching events in recent years. The GBR Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) Reef 2050 Plan aims at improving the overall health and resilience of the GBR. A revised Plan is due for release in 2021. <br/>Australia’s offshore oil and gas industry is economically valuable, with an estimated gross value of 33b in 2018. However, oil spills have the potential to cause adverse impacts to the marine environment. Existing legislation regulates industry and substantially mitigates risks. Offshore petroleum activities in Commonwealth waters are regulated by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), providing leadership and consistency in monitoring, compliance and enforcement. <br/>Australia continues to regulate shipping through the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), ensuring compliance with International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards. AMSA implemented the IMO Global Sulphur Cap in 2020, reducing sulphur content of marine fuel oils. Sulphur emissions from shipping contribute to ocean acidification. <br/><br/>DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT<br/>Peer-reviewed literature (2015-2020) <br/>Government and Industry reports (2015-2020)<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>2021 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details]<br/><br/>• Approach •<br/>Assessment grade: Partially effective<br/>Assessment trend: Improving<br/>Confidence grade: Somewhat adequate<br/>Confidence trend: Somewhat adequate<br/>Comparability with 2016: Somewhat comparable<br/>• Outputs •<br/>Assessment grade: Partially effective<br/>Assessment trend: Improving<br/>Confidence grade: Limited<br/>Confidence trend: Improving<br/>Comparability with 2016: Somewhat comparable<br/>• Outcomes •<br/>Assessment grade: Partially effective<br/>Assessment trend: Improving<br/>Confidence grade: Limited<br/>Confidence trend: Limited<br/>Comparability with 2016: Somewhat comparable<br/><br/>----------------------------------------<br/><br/>CHANGES SINCE 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT<br/>New legislations have been implemented
Spencer Gulf Trophodynamic modelling
No full textMaintenance and Update Frequency: unknownStatement: Data processing and conversion steps: Most data are syntheses of other data sets. Area modelled.
Temporal extent: Some time series extend back to 1990 up to 2012.
For further information: refer to technical reports describing data collection and analysis (available with the permission of SARDI Aquatic Sciences).<b>Credit</b><br/>South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) Aquatic SciencesEstimate of food web relations based on dietary studies, estimates of production, biomass and productire per biomass and ecotrophic efficiency, time series of fisheries catch, effort and landings data, time series of abundance and biomass data for some taxa, environmental time series (eg. SST, wind stress). Data ranging from 1990-2012 for the Spencer Gulf, South Australia