Suzanne Long: Reef Havens: an in-situ research platform for effective science-based GBR intervention скачать в хорошем качестве

Suzanne Long: Reef Havens: an in-situ research platform for effective science-based GBR intervention

Suzanne Long and Sheriden Morris Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, 4870 In terrestrial ecosystems, active short-term intervention and management of refuges is considered warranted if it enables valued ecological communities to persist while more complicated longer-term and larger-scale solutions are enacted (Morelli et al. 2016). Unfortunately, on the Great Barrier Reef, we have limited knowledge of science-based tools and methods that could be used to actively manage refuges for persistence and/or better enable adaptation of complex coral communities to climate change, even at small scales. The Reef Havens Research Project is helping address this significant gap in Australia’s coral reef science and management capability. This research collaboration between the marine tourism industry, scientists and engineers has established an in-situ research platform at Moore Reef near Cairns that will be used to increase mechanistic understanding of patterns in local-scale coral bleaching and recovery, and evaluate the effectiveness of possible interventions with scientific rigour. The Reef Havens Research Project has an independent scientific Steering Group and all data will be publicly available. The first of the interventions to be tested will investigate whether restoring “normal” water movement during summer doldrum days can reduce coral stress, reduce the severity of bleaching and/or improve recovery outcomes at the scale of a reef tourism site. Installation of the sensor network has commenced and the research platform is expected to be operational before the next coral bleaching season. [email protected]