Saving Shark Bay (Gathaagudu) Seagrass from Climate Change

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Two ground-breaking seagrass projects have been awarded Commonwealth funding through the Australian Research Council (ARC) to test the ecosystem resilience of the UNESCO World Heritage site, Shark Bay (Gathaagudu), under a changing ocean climate.

Scientists throughout WA and the world have been rallying to raise the alarm about the demise of this unique environment and popular tourist destination (800 kilometres north of Perth), which has been experiencing environmental changes more rapidly since a marine heatwave in 2011.

A project led by the University of Western Australia (UWA) Professor Gary Kendrick has been awarded $517,000 over three years to continue research to test whether seagrass ecosystems can be safeguarded from climate change impacts by improving genetic connectivity in heatwave affected areas using innovative genetic rescue approaches.

“The project will generate new knowledge on how seagrasses can adapt and survive in situ,” Professor Kendrick said. “We expect to be able to improve conservation, management and restoration practices for seagrass meadows. This should provide significant benefits for long-term resilience of this economically and culturally significant ecosystem.”

Another ARC funded project will test the ecosystem resilience of the Shark Bay World Heritage Site to projected climate change. The research, led by UWA Dr Matthew Fraser, received a $324,000 ARC Linkage grant in addition to $90,000 in cash and $359,400 in-kind from partner organisations: Bush Heritage Australia; and Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions.

“This project will generate new knowledge for marine conservation through analyses of habitat loss on nutrient budgets and productivity in seagrass and stromatolite ecosystems,” Dr Fraser said. “This research will improve our understanding of climate-driven shifts on ecosystem processes in Shark Bay, incorporating science-based evidence for better conservation and management. This will contribute to future-proofing Shark Bay’s World Heritage values, and more broadly demonstrate the consequences of the continued tropicalisation of Australia’s coastline.

Both projects will feed into a comprehensive plan to respond to environmental pressures facing the Shark Bay World Heritage site led by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution.

Gaarragoon Guardians – Bardi Jawi Sea Country

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This short documentary film tells the story of two-way learning between scientists and the Bardi Jawi Rangers who have been monitoring the fish and coral reef to manage the health of sea country on the Dampier Peninsula.

This two-way learning started 10 years ago with the Western Australian Marine Science Institution’s (WAMSI) Kimberley Marine Research Program (2012-2018) to develop an understanding of how fish, coral and seagrasses sustain the health of the Kimberley marine ecosystem.

When researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science returned to Country with some of the results, they found the rangers had a few questions of their own that they wanted answered.

A monitoring program was developed and what we have filmed is a field trip for the Bardi Jawi/ Bardi Jawi Oorany rangers and the Australian Institute of Marine Science monitoring partnership in August 2020.

The Rangers tell their story of working with scientists to monitor the health of their sea country.

This is a Western Australian Marine Science Institution and Australian Institute of Marine Science production in collaboration with the Bardi Jawi, Bardi Jawi Oorany rangers and the Kimberley Land Council.

Filmed and edited by Sam Frederick

Category:

Kimberley Marine Research Program

70 Years of Marine Research in Shark Bay: Ecological, Social and Economic

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A new report launched by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution brings together the last seven decades of marine research on Shark Bay to create a valuable resource that describes what has been learned to date about one of the world’s most unique and vulnerable marine environments.

A Snapshot of Marine Research in Shark Bay (Gathaagudu): Literature Review and Metadata Collation (1949-2020) was released at a virtual launch between Perth and Shark Bay.

At the launch in Perth, Western Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Peter Klinken was joined by co-authors WAMSI Research Director Dr Jenny Shaw and Dr Alicia Sutton along with representatives from the Department Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (Parks and Wildlife) and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Fisheries).

 

WA Chief Scientist Professor Peter Klinken addresses attendees at the virtual launch 

 

The event crossed to Denham where Professor Gary Kendrick from The University of Western Australia handed the report to Malgana Traditional Owners and Malgana rangers in the spirit of returning western science knowledge to Country.

(L-R) Shark Bay Shire CEO Paul Anderson listens in as UWA Professor Gary Kendrick hands the Report over to Malgana Traditional Owner Bobby Hoult and Malgana rangers Alex Dodd, Richard Cross, Klaas Liezenga and Sean McNeair in Denham.

 

In total, 775 pieces of literature and more than 960 metadata entries are listed in the publication. It will inform a Science Plan being developed by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) as well as contribute to a better understanding of the Shark Bay marine environment.

The review reveals that the opportunity to study unique indicators of environmental health and impacts from change has attracted a worldwide focus on Shark Bay over the years, according to co-author WAMSI Research Director Dr Jenny Shaw.

“Shark Bay is special for many reasons but the fact that it is in the transition zone between temperate and tropical zones means it’s like the ’canary in the coalmine’,” Dr Shaw said. “It’s an environment that we know from the past 70 years of research is undergoing massive changes as a result of the warming seas and extreme climate events, but it’s also an ecosystem that could help us to solve some of the world’s great environmental challenges.”

A hotspot for fisheries and tourism, Shark Bay is renowned for having one of the largest and most diverse seagrass meadows in the world, with a massive potential to store carbon. It also boasts the ancient stromatolites of the hypersaline Hamelin Pool, the largest resident dugong population in the world and a diverse array of marine life including sharks, rays, turtles and a famous population of bottlenose dolphins.

The report found the majority of the research has focused on the bottlenose dolphins (21%) and commercial fisheries (15%). Stromatolites, seagrass communities, marine turtles and sharks were also popular fields of study.

Co-author and WAMSI Research Director Dr Jenny Shaw talks about the 70 years of western science in Shark Bay (Gathaagudu) 

 

The research shows most visitors planned activities related to the marine or coastal environment, with Monkey Mia, Shell Beach, Denham and Hamelin Pool stromatolites being among the most popular places to visit. More than 90 per cent of visitors view or interact with the Monkey Mia dolphins.

In 2011 however, a marine heatwave caused widespread losses to the Shark Bay seagrass meadows, which had flow-on affects through the food chain and for species that relied on the meadows for shelter and nurseries.

“The 2011 marine heatwave had a devastating effect on Shark Bay,” Dr Shaw said. “We know that more of these extreme events are likely to happen in the future and so this Snapshot of Shark Bay Research will help to identify the gaps in western science knowledge for us to determine the most important areas for future research.”

The report and metadata collation can be downloaded HERE

New projects benefit from free access to environmental data

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The Index of Marine Surveys for Assessments (IMSA) portal was launched by the Western Australian Minister for Water, Forestry, Innovation and Science, the Hon. Dave Kelly MLA in March to provide the first free access to the vast amounts of environmental impact assessment data that would otherwise be locked away.

IMSA facilitates the exchange and sharing of data sets and knowledge amongst industry, government and the community providing access to marine survey reports, metadata and map layers as well as the processed data products and raw data packages, which are stored at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre.

Developed by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) and the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), IMSA also provides a repository for environmental monitoring data collected for strategic government projects such as the recently announced WA Port and Environs Strategy (WestPort).

“IMSA is already showing great promise with valuable oceanographic data captured from completed assessments being re-used in the design and development phase of new coastal infrastructure projects as well as informing other regulatory assessment processes,” DWER Senior Environmental Officer Gordon Motherwell said.

(L-R) Minister for Science Hon. Dave Kelly MLA, WAMSI CEO Luke Twomey, Executive Director DWER Nygarie Goyal, EPA Chair Tom Hatton, Executive Director Pawsey Supercomputing Centre  Mark Stickells and WAMSI Chair Paul Vogel at the launch of IMSA (March 2020)

 

In the longer term, the partnership will look to value-add by curating, analysing and re-interpreting the database to produce outputs and tools that will enable cumulative impact assessment, validate and improve environmental modelling and improve the accuracy of impact predictions.

“Our expectation is that, as IMSA evolves, more companies, agencies and research groups will see the benefits and become regular contributors,” Mr Motherwell said.

 

Related Links:

Launch of Western Australia’s largest marine environmental information database

Index of Marine Surveys for Assessments (IMSA) portal

 

Our Knowledge Our Way Indigenous-led guidelines

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The ‘Our Knowledge Our Way in caring for Country – Best Practice Guidelines from Australian experiences’ is based on 23 case studies from across Australia, including the Western Australian Marine Science Institution’s Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science Project.

The North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance Ltd (NAILSMA), CSIRO, and the Australian Committee for IUCN facilitated the guidelines as part of NESP Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub research that is supporting Traditional Owners by enabling the sharing of their knowledge the ‘right way’ in land and sea management and environmental research.

“These guidelines better value and strengthen Indigenous knowledge holders and the systems that need to be in place to protect Traditional knowledge, in a platform that can be readily accessed by the researchers and the broader community,” said Ricky Archer, CEO of NAILSMA and Djungan man from the Western Tablelands of north Queensland. “One of the best examples that mixes cultural knowledge systems and Western knowledge frameworks is Savanna Burning Projects, a cultural burning practice that’s been put through an academic framework to measure things like carbon.”

Through the Indigenous-led guidelines, the authors share what is seen as best practice when working with Indigenous knowledge in land and sea management, research and enterprise development.

Weaving Indigenous knowledge and science:
the KISSP approach. Case Study 3 -9

Figure 3.6. The concept of weaving knowledge systems (above)
and the Multiple Evidence Base approach (below).

The guidelines highlight how Indigenous knowledge is kept strong through access to Country and Indigenous cultural governance of knowledge. The key guiding principle is that Indigenous people must decide what is best practice in working with Indigenous knowledge. The guidelines cut across four themes: strengthening Indigenous knowledge; strong partnerships; sharing and weaving knowledge; and Indigenous land and sea networks.

“We need to take the time to listen and show respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ knowledge, culture and Country, and be led by their knowledge,” said Dr Emma Woodward, research scientist at Australia’s national science agency CSIRO. “We have much to learn from Indigenous Peoples and so much more to achieve by working together.”

Executive member of the Australian Committee for IUCN and IUCN Regional Councillor Peter Cochran said: “The Committee’s support for this publication reflects our acknowledgement and respect for Australia’s long and rich history of land and sea management by Indigenous Peoples, and their deep knowledge and expertise about a vast and changing continent.”

The guidelines identify ways that partners can support good knowledge practice, for example, through strong partnership agreements, support for cultural governance arrangements, and protocols.

The case study “Yanama budyari gumada: walking with good spirit at Yarramundi, western Sydney” shows how partnerships work where there is trust founded on mutual respect. The Darug custodians explain how they are facilitating important connections with other people who connect with Yarramundi, helping them to “sign-in” to Country. They show visitors how to crush up white ochre and blow it out of their mouths to put a handprint on the casuarina trees.

The Indigenous-majority project Steering Group hope the guidelines prove useful to assist sharing and learning between Indigenous land and sea managers, to educate current and future partners, and to realise good outcomes for people and Country.

The guidelines and a film showcasing the work can be found at Our Knowledge Our Way.

This article was originally published by CSIRO. Read the original article.csiro

Category:

Kimberley Marine Research Program

Temperature ‘switch point’ that determines the sex of marine turtles

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Scientists from The University of Western Australia and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions have examined how temperature determines the sex of baby turtles. The research will be published in the Journal of Functional Ecology.

Sea turtles nest on sandy beaches over a large geographic range, with some beaches being warmer than others. When temperatures are warmer more female sea turtles are produced, and when the temperatures are cooler more male sea turtles are produced. 

Although it is widely known that temperature affects reproduction in sea turtles, the pivotal temperature at which there is an equal probability of a male or female turtle produced, varies between species and is not well understood.

The researchers examined the range of temperatures and impact on the sex of turtles, and embryonic development rates between two species of sea turtles found in Western Australia – three populations of Flatback turtles (Natator depressus) and two populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas).

Lead researcher Dr Blair Bentley from the UWA School of Biological Sciences said the Western Australian Marine Science Institution project incubated eggs at different temperatures and compared how long they took to hatch, and what sex ratios were produced at each temperature.

“We also found differences in development rates, with populations that have cooler nest sites having a maximum development rate that occurs at lower temperatures.

“In contrast, the two populations of green turtles were relatively similar in their attributes, although the more tropical population displayed a wider range of temperatures that produced both sexes.”

Dr Bentley said the results provided insights into how turtles might respond to climate change.

“Most importantly, we found that increasing temperatures do not necessarily affect species and populations the same way, as future population sex ratios depend on both physiological traits and the pace of environmental change,” he said. “This means that management responses to climate change will need to be individually tailored to achieve the best outcomes.”

 

 

This article was originally published by The University of Western Australia. Read the original article.

The $30 million Kimberley Marine Research Program is funded through major investment supported by $12 million from the Western Australian government co-invested by the WAMSI partners and supported by the Traditional Owners of the Kimberley.

Category: 

Kimberley Marine Research Program

Temperature ‘switch point’ that determines the sex of marine turtles

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Scientists from The University of Western Australia and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions have examined how temperature determines the sex of baby turtles. The research will be published in the Journal of Functional Ecology.
Sea turtles nest on sandy beaches over a large geographic range, with some beaches being warmer than others. When temperatures are warmer more female sea turtles are produced, and when the temperatures are cooler more male sea turtles are produced. 
Although it is widely known that temperature affects reproduction in sea turtles, the pivotal temperature at which there is an equal probability of a male or female turtle produced, varies between species and is not well understood.
The researchers examined the range of temperatures and impact on the sex of turtles, and embryonic development rates between two species of sea turtles found in Western Australia – three populations of Flatback turtles (Natator depressus) and two populations of green turtles (Chelonia mydas).
Lead researcher Dr Blair Bentley from the UWA School of Biological Sciences said the Western Australian Marine Science Institution project incubated eggs at different temperatures and compared how long they took to hatch, and what sex ratios were produced at each temperature.

“We also found differences in development rates, with populations that have cooler nest sites having a maximum development rate that occurs at lower temperatures.
“In contrast, the two populations of green turtles were relatively similar in their attributes, although the more tropical population displayed a wider range of temperatures that produced both sexes.”
Dr Bentley said the results provided insights into how turtles might respond to climate change.
“Most importantly, we found that increasing temperatures do not necessarily affect species and populations the same way, as future population sex ratios depend on both physiological traits and the pace of environmental change,” he said. “This means that management responses to climate change will need to be individually tailored to achieve the best outcomes.”
 

 
This article was originally published by The University of Western Australia. Read the original article.
The $30 million Kimberley Marine Research Program is funded through major investment supported by $12 million from the Western Australian government co-invested by the WAMSI partners and supported by the Traditional Owners of the Kimberley.
Category: 
Kimberley Marine Research Program

National Science Week: Ocean expert high school presentations

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In term two 2020 some of the world’s leading marine scientists Zoomed in to WA high school classrooms to help Year 12 students achieve their best in their final year of study amid the COVID-19 confusion.

The presentations cover subjects in the year 12 marine studies curriculum followed by a question and answer session.

The recorded presentations are now available to all teachers, students and audiences.

Click on the image below to watch a presentation.

We’d like to get your feedback, or for more information contact: info@wamsi.org.au

 

Areas of coral diversity identified for conservation in Australia’s North West

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New research has confirmed that corals reefs along the Kimberley coastline will not recover quickly from an extreme event such as mass coral bleaching, unless local populations survive.   

The study published in Evolutionary Applications, reveals that Kimberley corals live in genetically related neighbourhoods of less than 35 kilometres and are unlikely to recruit larvae from outside this neighbourhood.

Two types of coral were sampled: the broadcast spawning coral Acropora aspera and the brooding coral Isopora brueggemanni across the inter-archipelago (tens to hundreds of kilometres), inter-reef (kilometres to tens of kilometres) and within-reef (tens of metres to a few kilometres).

The research is the result of a national collaboration between researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), CSIRO, Curtin University, the WA Museum and  the Bardi Jawi Rangers as part of the Western Australian Marine Science Institution’s Kimberley Marine Research Program.

Lead author Dr Jim Underwood (AIMS) said the study provides a valuable insight into how to protect the ecosystems from local human pressures such as overfishing and pollution in Marine Protected Areas and Indigenous Protected Areas.

“To do this well, we need to know where and how far coral larvae move in the ocean currents after they are spawned and before they settle down as recruits,” Dr Underwood said. “This helps us to understand where the next generation of young corals will come from so we can look to keeping the sources healthy.”

The key finding from the study is that most coral larvae do not move more than 35 kilometres from their home reef, and shows that locally produced recruits drive replenishment.

Unlike continuous reef systems such as the Great Barrier Reef, most systems in Australia’s North West are extremely isolated with low “connectivity” between local coral populations and larvae from distant sources via ocean currents.

“This means recovery after disturbance will rarely be supplemented through the input of larvae produced far away,” Dr Underwood said.

 

Lead author Dr Jim Underwood collecting corals from Bowles Reef in Mayala sea country. (Image: Oliver Berry, CSIRO)

 

Co-author and project leader Dr Oliver Berry (CSIRO) said they also found that corals of the Dampier Peninsula and Buccaneer Archipelago are genetically diverse and different from other regions, and therefore require special custodianship.

“The study is a great example of how new technologies like DNA sequencing can reveal information about the movement of corals without having to observe them,” Dr Berry said. 

The study recommends networks of marine reserves that effectively protect reefs from local pressures should be spaced within a few tens of kilometres to conserve the existing patterns of demographic and genetic connectivity.

 

This article was originally published by the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Read the original article.

 

The $30 million Kimberley Marine Research Program is funded through major investment supported by $12 million from the Western Australian government co-invested by the WAMSI partners and supported by the Traditional Owners of the Kimberley.

Category: 

Kimberley Marine Research Program

Blue Carbon conversation celebrates World Oceans Day 2020

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The United States Consulate General Perth in partnership with the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) celebrated World Oceans Day 2020 this week by hosting a virtual conversation with world-leading ocean scientists who have been at the forefront of collaborations between the U.S. and Australia on Blue Carbon research.     

The conversation on Monday 8 June was moderated by U.S. Consul General David J. Gainer and featured :

  • Professor James Fourqurean, Director of the Center for Coastal Oceans Research, Professor Biological Sciences, Institute of Environment, Florida International University
  • Dr Oscar Serrano, Research Fellow, Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, School of Science, Edith Cowan University

Click HERE to watch to the conversation

Background

Professor Jim Fourqurean and Dr Oscar Serrano played a crucial role in establishing successful collaborations between Australia and the United States in the field of Blue Carbon. As a direct result, they have published a number of papers in top scientific journals over the last decade, which have had significant impact in the research community and in the media.

Western Australia and the United States host some of the largest Blue Carbon ecosystems in the world. Both countries have great potential to mitigate climate change through the conservation and restoration of Blue Carbon ecosystems. Research partnerships between the two countries are instrumental to meet these targets.

 

Professor Jim Fourqurean

Professor Jim Fourqurean is a marine and estuarine ecologist with a special interest in benthic plant communities and nutrient biogeochemistry. He received his undergraduate and graduate training in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, where he became familiar with the Chesapeake Bay and its benthic communities.

He developed a love of tropical ecosystems while doing his dissertation research in Florida Bay. After a post doc at San Francisco State studying planktonic processes in Tomales Bay, California, he was recruited to return to south Florida to join a new research group at the then-newest research university in the USA, Florida International University (FIU).

He has been at FIU since 1993, where he is now Professor of Biological Sciences and the Director of the Center for Coastal Oceans Research in the Institute for Water and Environment. Since 2011, he has also held an adjunct appointment at The University of Western Australia.

For the past three decades, his main research areas have been in the seagrass environments of south Florida, but he has also worked in coastal environments around the Gulf of Mexico, in Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, Panama, Bahamas, Bermuda, the United Arab Emirates and the western Mediterranean. He is the lead scientist and overall manager of FIU’s Aquarius Reef Base, the world’s only saturation diving habitat and laboratory for research, education and outreach.

His global leadership in coastal oceans research was recently recognised when he was elected President of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation, the world’s leading body of scientists who study coastal issues.

 

Dr Oscar Serrano

Dr Oscar Serrano has over 15 years research experience in marine ecology and palaeoecology, chemistry and in marine biogeochemical cycles. After completing his PhD in 2011, he started working as a postdoctoral research fellow at Edith Cowan University and The University of Western Australia (from 2012 until present) in multi-institutional projects.

His research focuses on Blue Carbon and climate-human-landscape interactions during the Holocene, through the study of coastal environmental archives.

During the past ten years he has worked to establish an extensive international network that has supported his ongoing development on Blue Carbon research, including collaborators in Australia, the U.S. and Europe, and he has become internationally recognised as one of the leaders in Blue Carbon research.

Currently, Dr Serrano is assisting the Australian Government to include the carbon dioxide absorbed by Australian tidal marsh, mangrove and seagrass ecosystems in National Carbon Inventories and Nationally Determined Contributions towards meeting climate change agreements.