OCTOBER 1996 NEWSLETTER

NEW CENTRE RESEARCH PROJECTS

The Reef CRC Board has recently approved (in principle) the following new tasks:

The second phase of the development of cost effective COTS control strategies, to build on field assessments at Lizard Island in 1995/96. The work will move to Green Island and as well as completing the trials, will provide close opportunity to transfer the methodologies to tourism operators ($30 000).

Application of a Reef site selection model. The revolutionary site evaluation and selection model developed last year by AIMS principle scientist Terry Done will be applied to field sites to test its veracity for management and tourist operators in selecting pontoon and other mooring and diving sites. If successful, this will be a first in global terms, and of great use to the GBR ($20 000).

A coastal seagrass monitoring program is being further developed by DPI to map seagrass distribution which will be integrated with outcomes from the Centre's existing seagrass research ($30 000).

A study of the Reef's bio-economics, identified as a priority for research early in the Centres life will begin, to complement existing socioeconomic tasks. A Research Fellow will be appointed to develop a targeted research task in collaboration with the stakeholders and peer experts.

Further research into macroalgal responses to nutrients. Some people believe that algal invasion of reefs is a response to elevated nutrients but existing Centre research has questioned this view. This work will provide the physiological evidence to assess how reef-algal balance responds, if at all, to the climate of nutrient "spikes" which characterise the central GBR tract from river discharge, and the outer reefs from upwelling ($82 000).

Several initiatives being taken by various agencies to help train staff in the Reef tourist industry. Phase one of a tourism industry training needs analysis, to be completed this year by Reef Tourism 2005 and the Maritime College of Australia, will ask operators in the Cairns-Port Douglas region to identify their training requirements. The second phase will communicate the outcomes as a discussion document to other regions, seeking agreement or modifications that reflect the regional demands of the industry ($5 000).

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