Giant tides supply food and nutrients to Kimberley reefs

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Researchers from The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute have been studying how giant tides in the west Kimberley (up to 12 metres range) flush reefs with water rich in nutrients and phytoplankton, which are food sources for seagrass, algae, coral, and other reef organisms. 

In a journal article recently published in Limnology and Oceanography, the scientists, working on the Western Australian Marine Sience Institution’s (WAMSI) Kimberley Marine Research Program, showed how semidiurnal and spring-neap tidal cycles helped control nutrient availability on reefs.   

 

Professor Ryan Lowe, Dr Renee Gruber, and Dr Jim Falter worked on Tallon Island, a fringing reef in the Sunday Island group, with assistance from the Bardi Jawi Rangers and Kimberley Marine Research Station staff.

The researchers placed instruments on the reef to measure flow speeds and chlorophyll concentrations in waters flowing over the reef.  Chlorophyll is a pigment present in green plants and is used to estimate how much phytoplankton (a food source for coral) is present. 

The researchers also built a four metre high scaffold on a sandy part of the reef to hold an automatic water sampler that collected water samples throughout the tidal cycle. This study occurred over three weeks in order to measure how the conditions varied over a complete spring-neap tidal cycle.

 

Platform and water sampler on Tallon Reef during high tide (Renee Gruber)

 

Many Kimberley reefs sit close to mean sea level and become “cut off” from surrounding ocean waters when the tide falls below the level of the reef crest. The researchers found that during these periods, almost all chlorophyll is grazed from the water column and reef organisms must wait for the next flood tide to feed again. 

By measuring the chlorophyll entering and exiting the reef each tidal cycle, the researchers determined how much feeding occurred over the entire reef platform and estimated that phytoplankton provided ~50% of the nitrogen used by the reef community.

Although approximately 30% of reefs worldwide experience water motion driven predominantly by tides, almost all scientific studies of reefs to date have focused on locations where the flows responsible for ocean-reef nutrient exchange are driven mainly by currents generated by breaking waves. 

Giant clams are an abundant filter-feeding organism on Tallon Reef (Renee Gruber)

 

“Our results are an important first step in understanding how tides can affect the productivity and growth of reef communities,” Dr Renee Gruber said. “The physics of water motion control many aspects of an organism’s life cycle, and we must first understand the physics before we can predict how future challenges such as sea level rise and ocean warming will affect tidally-driven reefs.” 

This study was also among the first to publish water quality data for the coastal Kimberley region, which is a first step in helping managers set baselines and interpret future changes in environmental condition in the broader region. 

Links:

Gruber R, Lowe R, Falter J (2018) Benthic uptake of phytoplankton and ocean-reef exchange of particulate nutrients on a tide-dominated reef. Limnology and Oceanography doi: 10.1002/lno.10790

Project Page: www.wamsi.org.au/benthic-community-production

 

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.

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Kimberley Marine Research Program

Where to find WAMSI science data

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Data from the Western Australian Marine Science Institution’s WAMSI-2 projects (2012-2018) is discoverable and available for reuse.

WAMSI Data Manager, Luke Edwards from the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, manages the collection and storage of data from the programs including:

WAMSI Dredging Science Node

Kimberley Marine Research Program

Wheatsone sawfish offsets project

“One of the great legacies of the WAMSI science is that the data is made discoverable for ongoing and future research,” Luke Edwards said. “Data is made public after the default 18 month embargo period to enable researchers to publish.”

For example, KMRP project 1.3.1 on Reef Growth and Maintenance has data publicly available now.  The link to the metadata record is http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/metadata.show?uuid=7ab491d2-9507-428c-aed1-091d2aaed521.

Within the metadata, there are links to the Pawsey Data Portal, where it is held.

As well as the Pawsey Data Portal, data is stored in the CSIRO Data Access Portal (DAP) and AIMS Data Centre.

Data discovery and access starts via the AODN catalogue – http://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/.  To see all WAMSI 2 projects, type WAMSI 2 into the “Title” search box.

Other discovery pathways are being developed including via the WA Open Data catalogue – https://catalogue.data.wa.gov.au/group/wamsi.

Other WA Government marine data is available here – https://catalogue.data.wa.gov.au/group/0-wa-marine-map.

 

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Sawfish Project Kimberley Marine Research Program Dredging Science

Sediment timeline reveals climate change influence on Kimberley

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By: Jo Myers, CSIRO

The remote Kimberley coast of northwestern Australia is one of the few marine environments on earth largely unaffected by human use. However, the region is undergoing increasing economic importance as a destination for tourism and significant coastal developments associated with oil and gas exploration.

A team of researchers, which included scientists from CSIRO, Edith Cowan University, La Rochelle University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, collected sediment cores from three coastal locations in the Kimberley region, to provide an indication of the level of variability and change in water quality over the last 100 years.

The study locations of Koolama Bay (King George River), Cygnet Bay and Roebuck Bay in the southern, central and northern Kimberley were selected as each offered a different perspective in comparison of levels of human use or natural environmental variability.

Collecting sediment cores at Cygnet Bay (CSIRO)

The team found that for the Kimberley in general, climate change, in particular temperature increases have had, and may continue to have, a significant influence on phytoplankton biomass.

Analysis of cores from the Broome site lent general support to other studies which have indicated increased nutrient pollution levels in Roebuck Bay.

At Cygnet Bay, where pearl farming has occurred since the 1960s, there were small but detectable, gradual changes in the environment evident over the long term.

Sediment cores indicated increased nutrient pollution levels in Roebuck Bay.

The project also undertook a pilot study using the King George River cores, which indicated that coastal sediment cores could reveal long-term patterns of bush fires in different catchments in the Kimberley.

Links:

Yuan Z, Liu D, Keesing, J K, Zhao M, Guo S, Peng Y, Zhang H (2018) Paleoecological evidence for decadal increase in phytoplankton biomass off northwestern Australia in response to climate change. Ecology and Evolution doi:10.1002/ece3.3836

The project report Sediment Records in the Kimberley_WAMSI KMRP Report 2.2.9_Keesing et al 2017_FINAL is available at www.wamsi.org.au/sediment-record

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.

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Kimberley Marine Research Program

Protecting the Balguja

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A CSIRO study being carried out in partnership with Indigenous rangers in the Kimberley is merging Traditional Knowledge with science to gain a better understanding of the ecology of this magnificent species to help guide their future management.

Click here to read the full story published in LANDSCOPE

 

 

 

 

More information on the WAMSI Dugong Project is available at: www.wamsi.org.au/dugong

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.

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Kimberley Marine Research Program

EPA approval for Onslow marine base stage 2

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By: Matt Mckenzie (Monday, 5 February, 2018)

 

A plan to expand the Onslow Marine Support Base has been given the tick of approval by the Environmental Protection Authority, three months after stage one of the project was completed.

The existing facility is run by Kuwait-based Agility Logistics, located on Beadon Creek near the town of Onslow.

Work on stage one of the facility started in 2016 and was finished late last year at a cost of about $125 million.

Stage two received the green light from the EPA today.

The plan will include extending and modifying the harbour approach channel at Beadon Creek and improving the facility’s turning basin and berth pocket.

About a million cubic metres of sediment will be dredged as part of the project.

EPA deputy chairman Robert Harvey said the department had a high level of confidence in the assessment.

“The proponent incorporated contemporary and locally relevant dredging science from the Western Australian Marine Science Institution into its predictions and proposed management of the project’s impacts,” Mr Harvey said.

“The use of the latest dredging science, as well as the conditions identified by the EPA, including the implementation of a dredging and spoil disposal management plan, means the proposal can be managed in an environmentally acceptable way.”

Spoil from dredging will be piped onshore to a disposal area near Onslow Airport.

The new harbour approach will run for around two kilometres with a depth of about six metres, enabling offshore vessels to enter the facility

The base is in close proximity to a number of offshore oil and gas projects, including Gorgon at Barrow Island and Woodside Petroleum’s Pluto platform.

That means it will be competing with nearby bases in Dampier and Exmouth.

 

The article was originally published in Business News Western Australia

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Dredging Science

WAMSI welcomes new Chair

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Peter Millington B.Sc.(Hons); M.Env.St.; M.Sc; FAICD

Before taking up the appointment as WAMSI Chair Peter was Chief Executive Officer, ChemCentre, Western Australia’s main chemistry centre.

He was responsible for the State’s chemical research across six areas: forensics, environmental health, emergencies and crises, food and agriculture, bioanalyses and occupational health. He was also responsible for collaborative and contract research services.

Prior to that Peter was the Acting Chief Executive Officer at the Department of Fisheries where between 1988 and 2008 he instituted a series of reforms to take WA’s fisheries into the future. He introduced new management arrangements for most of the commercial fisheries, implemented a framework for recreational fishing and increased the focus on habitat protection in the estuarine and marine environments.

He was also involved in policy development, monitoring and management of Commonwealth fisheries, and foreign fisheries operating in the Australian Fishing Zone and also convened two international conferences and Chaired many national committees.

Peter obtained a biological science degree at Flinders University and pursued his marine interests by undertaking an Honours degree in marine science at James Cook University. He obtained a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies at Adelaide University before obtaining an overseas study scholarship to undertake a Masters Degree in Marine Science at the University of British Columbia, specialising in fish population dynamics. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Farewell from the Chair

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After almost five years as Chair of the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI), having helped to guide the joint venture partnership Board through the Kimberley and Dredging Science Node projects and the Blueprint for Marine Science Initiative, I’m stepping down as Chair.      

I’m exceptionally proud to have been here during the Kimberley Marine Research Progam (KMRP) and the Dredging Science Node (DSN), to have been a part of the fabulous science that has been done and was shown at the 2017 WAMSI Research conference.

I’d like to pay tribute to Patrick Seares, who was CEO during the bulk of this time, for his strategic thinking, huge energy and enthusiasm and I know that the current CEO Dr Luke Twomey will use his considerable skills in guiding WAMSI well into the future.

It’s been a pleasure working with all the WAMSI partners. I greatly respected their ideas and considerable support for the notion and realisation of the marine science collaboration that is WAMSI.

A huge thanks also to the staff of WAMSI, who are the real backbone to facilitating the smooth running of this Institution. I give particular acknowledgement to Linda McGowan who has managed the WAMSI finances and contracts for many years. Her commitment to detail is invaluable.

I’d like to express my admiration to all of the scientists involved in the dredging and Kimberley science nodes and in particular the Node Leadership teams: Ray Masini, Ross Jones, Kevin Crane and Kevin McAlpine (DSN); and Stuart Field and Kelly Waples (KMRP).

As WAMSI moves forward, I’m leaving the Institution in very good hands with Peter Millington, who  is taking over as Chair from the first of January 2018.

As a long-standing WAMSI Board member and CEO of Chemcentre and previously Acting Chief Executive Officer of Fisheries, Peter is well known to most in the Western Australian marine science field.

I wish Peter and everyone else involved in WAMSI a long and successful future.

Naomi Brown
Chair WAMSI

 

Science priorities for estuary management in SW Western Australia

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A report presenting a prioritisation of the science and monitoring needs for southwest estuary management has been released by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI).

The Research and information priorities for estuary management in southwest Western Australia is the result of extensive consultation with estuary managers and researchers by the WAMSI Estuaries Science Steering Group.

 

 

The report identifies priorities under 11 key themes:

  1. Water quality
  2. Key habitats
  3. Biodiversity management
  4. The effects of catchment land use
  5. Coastal engineering and port development
  6. Sediment quality
  7. Human health
  8. Freshwater and hydrology
  9. Sustaining resources
  10. Socio-economic aspects
  11. Integrated system modelling

For each of these themes, research priorities and priorities that can be met with better use of current knowledge have been identified both for estuaries management as a whole and more specifically, for each of the seven southwest estuary systems.

“The purpose of this body of work is to assist researchers to focus on high impact studies, and to help plan a more strategic and collaborative approach to developing information for future management through independent peer reviewed science,” WAMSI General Manager Luke Twomey said.  

Executive Director of Environmental Protection Authority, Strategy and Guidance, from Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Patrick Seares said the priorities should help guide the science activities that will be required to support effective policy initiatives such as the Regional Estuaries Initiative, Green Growth Plan for Perth-Peel and the Swan-Canning River Protection Strategy.

“Estuaries are a vital part of our landscape both socially and economically,” Mr Seares said. “As a community, we receive a wide range of benefits from estuaries – liveability of cities and towns, recreational opportunities, sacred sites, ports and harbours, bird sanctuaries, food resources, flood mitigation, and rich biological ecosystems. However, numerous pressures, associated primarily with catchment development and exacerbated by climate change, have resulted in impaired ecosystem health in several popular estuary systems.”

Principal Scientist, Rivers and Estuaries Division, at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Dr Kerry Trayler said the priorities reflected the need to respond to the increasing pressure on estuaries from Western Australia’s growing population.

“The challenge facing managers and scientists is to enable further population growth and associated economic activity in these popular areas of the State while maintaining, and in some cases revitalising, healthy estuaries as expected by communities,” Dr Trayler said. “This Report establishes the groundwork needed to consider the implications for management as we move forward.”

Links:

Thomson C, Kilminster K, Hallett C, Valesini F, Hipsey M, Trayler K, Gaughan D, Summers R, Syme G, Seares P (2017) Research and information priorities for estuary management in southwest Western Australia. Report prepared for the Western Australian Marine Science Institution, Perth, Western Australia, 87 pp.

WAMSI Estuaries project page: www.wamsi.org.au/estuary-science

Peel-Harvey Estuary

 

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Estuary Science

Kimberley moves on integrating Traditional Knowledge and science

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A three-year project that has broken down barriers to communication between Traditional Owners and scientists working on Country in the Kimberley was recognised as a significant step forward by members of the working group at the 2017 WAMSI Research Conference.

The Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science Project (KISSP) worked with Rangers from seven Kimberley Indigenous Native Title Saltwater groups as well as 103 Traditional Owners to develop protocols and guidelines that recognise how Traditional Knowledge can engage with and complement modern research and science.

The KISSP project made significant progress into delivering three key objectives:

  1. Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and management practices into Kimberley marine conservation management.
  2. Developing standard and agreed community protocols.
  3. Developing a framework and protocols for standardising data collection, storage and monitoring, including the development of a pilot training package.

“If you think about CSIRO, AIMS and the Parks and Wildlife Service, there is a lot of marine research being undertaken in the Kimberley, and Traditional Owners just want to be respected and have some idea about it, know who is on their Country and what involvement the community will have in the research,” Project Leader Dean Mathews (Yawuru) explained.

Charles Darwin University and CSIRO researcher and working group member Beau Austin said there were a lot of practical, implied benefits from getting the collaboration between western scientists and Traditional Owners to work.

“For example, Indigenous Knowledge holders can see changes, threats and connections between things that scientists might not see and this can contribute to informing policy and decision making that can lead to better decisions, better policy and better management,” Dr Austin said.

Albert Wiggan, representing the Nyul Nyul people from the Dampier Peninsular north of Broome, described the two-year journey with the project as an, “opportunity to discover the potential and productive tools that can come from a relationship between science and Traditional Knowledge.”

Albert Wiggan, Deputy Project leader presenting the KISSP program out comes at the 2017 WAMSI Research Conference. Albert is a traditional Bardi, Nyul Nyul, and Kija man from the Kimberley who has been working as a Nyul Nyul Ranger for the last five years.

“It is important that we, as Indigenous people who are still connected with our land, develop the skills and capacity to work alongside science, so that we best look after the environment not just for ourselves but for everybody into the future,” Mr Wiggan said.

A six step approach to entering into collaborative research has been developed by Gina Lincoln from Mosaic Environmental Consultancy as part of the project outcomes. It addresses current shortfalls and provides consistency for researchers embarking on Kimberley coastal and marine research projects.

Six step approach to entering into collaborative research developed by Gina Lincoln from Mosaic Environmental Consultancy

“The key around this is the products that are coming out of the project and how they get taken up or implemented into management, especially around joint management with Traditional Owners in the Kimberley,” Mr Mathews said. “We also want to build capacity within the groups so, when a researcher leaves their research, they leave a legacy of their work, such as tools or methodologies so groups can continue monitoring the change in their Country over time.”

“At the end of the day we are working towards a common objective,” Mr Mathews said. “There’s policy and legislation, but if you look at our goal it’s about protecting and managing Country. We believe the group has developed strong momentum and that it is a model that will work.”

(L-R) WAMSI Kimberley Marine Research Program Node Leader Stuart Field (DBCA), KISSP Project Leader Dean Matthews (Senior Project leader Yawuru for the last 5 years working closely with the state in developing the Yawuru conservation estate plans and the Yawuru Marine Park Plan), Manager Land and Sea Unit at Nyamba Buru Yawuru Julie Melbourne, Rebecca Dobbs (UWA), Beau Austin (CDU/CSIRO) and WAMSI Kimberley Science coordinator Kelly Waples (DBCA).

Links:

KISSP Project page: www.wamsi.org.au/Indigenous-knowledge

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.

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Kimberley Marine Research Program

Kimberley Marine Research Conference to share insight into pristine and extreme environment

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The WAMSI Kimberley Marine Research Conference (WA State Library 28-29 November) is all about emphasising the impact of science, from sharing the many new findings uncovered by the research program through to ensuring that science is best used by managers for the conservation and management of Australia’s far northwest marine environment.

We have invited government, Traditional Owners and industry stakeholders to discuss their marine research priorities and why these are important for  management of the marine environment. Researchers will present the results of their Kimberley science projects highlighting the foundational datasets that have been collected to underpin marine park, healthy country and marine resource management, detailing the ecosystem functioning and describing current and potential future human impacts, including climate change, in order to predict how management can support conservation in the region.

To wrap up we’ll hear from natural resource managers about the application of this information through joint management practices and conservation efforts.

The Kimberley Marine Research Program has provided us with an unprecedented insight into one of the most pristine and extreme environments in the world. Five years ago we didn’t know if marine life there was barely surviving or thriving. Our program has shown that many species have adapted over time and some have developed a high tolerance to the extreme conditions.

However, we’ve also found that some species are not immune to the  pressures associated with ocean warming, changes in rainfall and human development of the terrestrial and marine environments and we now have the baseline information and the tools to better compare and advise on the effectiveness of conservation efforts.    

The KMRP Conference program and abstracts can be found at www.wamsi.org.au/wamsi-research-conference-2017

 

Dr Stuart Field, KMRP Node Leader

Dr Kelly Waples, KMRP Science Coordinator

 

Links:

www.wamsi.org.au/kimberley-marine-research-program

www.wamsi.org.au/kmrp/kimberley-marine-research-node-projects

www.wamsi.org.au/kmrp-research-articles

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