Impacts of terrestrial run-off on coastal reef communities (C2.2)

Task leader: Dr Katharina Fabricius, Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Task associates:
Dr David Haynes, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Mr Vern Veitch, Sunfish Queensland.

The objective of this task is to determine whether the exposure to sediments, nutrients and contaminants in terrestrial run-off from human-influenced catchments bordering the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) affect the coral reefs along the Queensland seashore. It is also aimed to identify organisms or ecological features that can serve as bioindicators for the early detection of run-off related stress in key organisms on nearshore reefs.

The strategy is to describe in detail reef communities, ecological and physiological processes, and environmental factors on the nearshore reefs off the wet tropical coast south of Cairns, and to compare all with nearshore reefs north of Princess Charlotte Bay and other regions remote from coastal agriculture. Surveys will provide reef managers and users with timely and appropriate information to assist them in the management and conservation of nearshore reef systems.