Reef Matters Seminar Series

The ACRS continued its Reef Matters Seminar Series this year to help keep our Reef community in touch during the many periods of isolation. The online seminars have occurred every 4–6 weeks and reflect our broad, multidisciplinary and international membership from students through to veterans. We continue to stay connected as a community, share our research, our views and goals.

If you are interested in participating in the Reef Matters series with a seminar please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team (below).

Dr. Anna Scott anna.scott@scu.edu.au Dr. Kennedy Wolfe K.wolfe@uq.edu.au Tess Hill tess.hill@my.jcu.edu.au

Reef patterns: form, scale and processes

by David Blakeway

Many coral reefs exhibit striking geometric patterns when viewed from above. Contemporary research indicates that these patterns are examples of biotic self-organisation, in which large-scale structure emerges spontaneously from local-scale ecological processes. Under the assumption that the best-defined reef patterns signify the most influential ecological processes, identifying mechanisms of pattern generation in coral reefs can potentially provide many fundamental insights into reef ecology. In this talk I describe a case study investigating potential mechanisms of pattern generation in lagoon reefs of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia. I also highlight some intriguing and understudied reef patterns elsewhere, including within the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Lastly, I advocate for researchers to consider if, and how, biotic self-organisation may be operating at their own research sites.

Watch David Blakeway’s seminar here

Thermal plasticity of marine fish across generations

by Dr. Jenni Donelson

Knowledge of the capacity for species to acclimate and adapt to rapid climate change is critical for understanding likely species responses, as well as for effective management of ecosystems in the future. Much of the research we utilize to predict species’ future responses uses the current-day performance and sensitivity of populations and species to infer the capacity for persistence in predicted future environments. This approach generally suggests negative impacts to most organisms and very little capacity to cope with expected future change. However, for most species projected environmental change will occur over years and generations. Through time plastic and adaptive processes can take place, which may allow maintained performance in future conditions. I will present a series of experiments across three generations using the coral reef damselfish, Acanthochromis polyanthus, to show how the experience of warmer ocean temperatures early in life or when previous generations have experienced conditions affects thermal

Watch Dr. Jenni Donelson’s seminar here.

A whistle stop tour through 40 years at Lizard Island

Dr Anne Hoggett

Lizard Island has been a focus for research since 1973 when the Australian Museum opened its research station (LIRS) there, the northernmost on the Great Barrier Reef. The current LIRS directors, Lyle Vail and Anne Hoggett, have lived at Lizard Island (Jiigurru) since 1990 and visited it as researchers since 1979 and 1982 respectively. Lyle is currently overseas. In this talk, Anne will outline changes that have occurred on local reefs over 40 years and changes in research directions at LIRS over that period.

Watch Dr Anne Hoggett’s seminar here

Transitions in the study of social evolution of fish societies

by Dr Marian Wong

Understanding why and how groups have evolved has been a fundamental question in evolutionary ecology, ever since Darwin pointed out that the existence of groups posed problems for his theory of natural selection. Since then, scientists like myself have been trying to work out why non-breeding subordinate group members stay within groups rather than disperse to breed elsewhere, testing theory that was initially developed with terrestrial taxa in mind. In the marine realm, understanding sociality poses a rather unique (additional) problem in that group members are typically non-kin, meaning we can essentially throw kin selection (a key explanation for sociality in terrestrial taxa) out the proverbial window. So for the last 2 decades or so (scary that I now think in decades), I’ve been pursuing answers to these questions using one particular group of coral reef fishes, the coral gobies (genera Paragobiodon and Gobiodon). What I’d like to do is take you on a journey from where it began, to where we’re currently at, to where we need to go to try and provide better answers to this enduring question. The work I’ll be discussing ranges from experimental manipulations to phylogenetic analyses to the analysis of reams and reams of video…and is the product of a hugely collaborative, productive and exciting endeavour between myself, inspiring colleagues and exceptional students.

Watch Dr Marian Wong’s seminar here

Saving the Great Barrier Reef: It’s all about people

by Yolanda Waters

From climate change to pollution to overfishing, coral reefs are now under more pressure than ever. While science and technology play a key role in helping us understand these threats and develop appropriate solutions, ultimately, saving coral reefs comes down to people; the decisions we make and the actions we take. From policymakers and government officials, farmers and tourism operators, and the broader community – we are all responsible for what happens next. But how can we make sure that everyone makes the right decisions for the reef? How can we be certain that solutions will be effectively implemented, monitored, and maintained? How can we encourage people to take actions that will help protect coral reefs into the future? In this presentation I will dive into the reef social sciences, within the context of the Great Barrier Reef, and discuss how understanding people and their behaviour plays a key role in deciding the future of the reef. To illustrate, I will give examples from my own research which explores the ways in which the Great Barrier Reef can motivate action on climate change and reflect on learnings from the recent Social Science Symposium for the Great Barrier Reef.

Watch Yolanda Water’s seminars here.

Impact of catchment derived -nutrients and sediments on marine water quality on the Great Barrier Reef

by Dr Mark Baird

Water quality of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is determined by a range of drivers such as river flow, catchment condition, winds and waves. Observational studies have shown the impact of changing nutrient and sediment loads from the GBR catchments on water quality. Disentangling whether these impacts are caused by natural loads from undisturbed catchments or anthropogenic loads from agricultural and urban land-use changes is critical to water quality management on the GBR. This talk uses simulations of the eReefs coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical marine model forced by a process-based catchment model: Dynamic SedNet. Dynamic SedNet simulations can calculate natural and anthropogenic loads separately, meaning we can determine their relative impact on a range of marine water quality variables. We simulate reductions of anthropogenic loads to address: (1) the proposed Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan targets, and (2) application of industry-specific Innovative, Best-Practice and Minimum-Standards catchment management standards. The ability of the modelling system to isolate the impacts of anthropogenic load reductions allows us to optimise catchment management for the greatest benefit to GBR water quality. This talk provided an overview of the modelling system with its strengths and weakness, while remaining relevant to the broader coral reef science community. Simulations are publicly-available for use in relevant research including on COTS outbreaks and coral community dynamics.

Watch Dr Mark Baird’s seminar here