University of Queensland
21 July 2016
Marine Palaeoecology lab members presented research recently at the Centre of Marine Science TalkFest at the University of Queensland. Presentations came from Dr Eugenia Sampayo and Dr K-le Gomez-Cabrera, while Carrie Sims presented a poster during the lunch break.
To attend the next TalkFest or read up on research being conducted at the Centre of Marine Science please click on the following link: www.marine.uq.edu.au/
26-30 June 2016
Marine Palaeolecology Lab PhD student, Chelsea Korpanty, recently attended the Australian Earth Sciences Convention (AESC) in Adelaide to present preliminary research entitled: An ecological assessment of a Late Miocene coral assemblage near Rowley Shoals, Roebuck Basin, Western Australia. This research stems from an International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) expedition that Chelsea participated in 2015 aboard the JOIDES Resolution along the Northwest Shelf of Australia (Expedition 356: Indonesian Throughflow). Her presentation at AESC was given in a topical session specific to the results of recent and upcoming IODP expeditions in the Australian-New Zealand region. Of the seventeen oral presentations in this session, most were given by Australian- and New Zealand-based IODP researchers, two by PhD students, and several by international IODP researchers from Europe and the United States. The session overall was very engaging and informative, generating many questions and facilitating discussions between presenters and the audience. About 550 delegates attended the AESC, which is the biennial convention of the Geological Society of Australia.
Click on the following links for more information on Expedition 356: Indonesian Throughflow or the Geological Society of Australia
June 2016
Members, current and past, of the Marine Palaeoecology Lab were a formidable presence at the ISRS 13th International Coral Reef Symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii this June giving talks or presenting posters on their current and continuing research. They joined over 2500 coral reef scientists, policy makers and managers from around 97 different nations presenting the latest research findings, case histories and management activities, and to discuss the application of scientific knowledge to achieving coral reef sustainability.
The Symposium’s main theme was Bridging Science to Policy and the lab’s Professor John Pandolfi delved into the issue of improving scientific input into coral reef management and policy. With his main points being the need to: 1) prioritise research questions, ensuring that we are asking the right questions, and not ignore important ones; 2) get the message right by incorporating nuance into public and policy debates; 3) expand temporal perspectives to avoid misguided policies subject to shifted ecological baselines; 4) embrace and report uncertainty; 5) provide insight on potential biases; and 6) acknowledge the simultaneous effects of multiple stressors and the geographical variation in response to stressors.
The lab’s own Kerrie Fraser (PhD candidate) also works in marine policy and presented her findings for putting marine policy into practice for the Great Barrier Reef. Specifically, analysing how the management of Australian marine protected areas (MPAs) is undertaken when applying a vast range of policy, agreements and legislation, and how the policy implementation process is actually achieved.
While such a large gathering can become confounding at times, it also provides an opportunity to meet up with old faces, develop new collaborations and immerse yourself in the global research being carried out on coral reefs. We all walk away knowing that coral reefs today are subjected to numerous local and global impacts, but with increased efforts and cross-collaborations, as well as data sharing and impartial representation of our work we can hope to have a greater influence on the conservation of these valuable systems that drive us to do what we do each and every day.
For further information on the Symposium and to review the abstracts of other lab members please see the ICRS Website.
13 June 2016
A recent article in The Guardian by Professor John Pandolfi.
We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the state of the Great Barrier Reef and the major threat it faces. Sometimes it feels overwhelming – reefs are dying and it seems nothing can be done. Actually there is much that can be done, from the Australian government really putting our money where its mouth is, to understanding that science must be at the basis of all action. Here I outline five things that need to be done right now to save the Great Barrier Reef.
Link to the full article by Professor John Pandolfi
30 May 2016
Professor John Pandolfi from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies explains the latest report on bleaching, which has found 50 per-cent of the northern parts of the Great Barrier Reef are dying.
10 May 2016
Jeremy Jackson from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute provides an opinion on the recent paper in Science Advances that Professor John Pandolfi and other lab members co-authored:
Acroporids have been the dominant reef-building corals over the past few mill
ion years. Unfortunately, they are also the most vulnerable species to human impacts. Renema et al. show that acroporids originated more than 50 million years ago but did not dominate reef communities until the intensification of fluctuations in sea level associated with the ice ages. This geologically recent success is attributable to their exceptionally rapid growth and their ability to spread across reefs by clonal fragmentation. These very features, however, have also made them vulnerable to heat stress and disease, as exemplified by the tragic mass bleaching and mortality of corals along the Australian Great Barrier Reef.
Original paper: W. Renema, J. M. Pandolfi, W. Kiessling, F. R. Bosellini, J. S. Klaus, C. Korpanty, B. R. Rosen, N. Santodomingo, C. C. Wallace, J. M. Webster, K. G. Johnson. 2016. Are coral reefs victims of their own past success? Sci. Adv. 2, e1500850. PDF
Link to online opinion.
15 April 2016
John Pandolfi is a Professor in Palaeoecology and Marine Studies at the University of Queensland. His comments below refer to the current bleaching event in the Solitary Islands.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is experiencing its worst coral bleaching in recorded history. The vivid kaleidoscopic colours that have mesmerized divers for generations – the purples, blues, indigos, lime greens, tan oranges and yellows – have been turning a depressing dull grey and white.
“It’s saddening but we had come to expect this”, Professor John Pandolfi of the University of Queensland told me via skype from his Brisbane home.
For rest of the interview please follow following links:
Online version: http://fm4.orf.at/stories/1768938/
On-air version http://fm4.orf.at/player/20160331/RC
31 March 2015
We are proud to announce that Dr Ian Butler, who has recently finished his PhD in the Marine Palaeoecology Lab, has received 2015 Virginia Chadwick Award for his publication:
Butler, IR, Sommer, B, Zann, M, Zhao, JX and Pandolfi, JM (2015). The cumulative impacts of repeated heavy rainfall, flooding and altered water quality on the high-latitude coral reefs of Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 96(1-2): 356-367. PDF
The 
recognise, each year, five outstanding publications lead-authored by ARC Centre of Excellence graduate students. These awards were established by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in honour of Virginia Chadwick following her death in 2009. The awards are in recognition of Dr Chadwick’s significant contribution to securing the future of coral reefs worldwide during her role as Chair of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and as a member of the Centre of Excellence’s Advisory Board.
18 March 2016
As part of the World Science Festival in Brisbane re
cently, I attended the 2016 Thomas Conservation Oration delivered by The Honourable Robert Hill titled “Ocean Futures: A New Generation of Laws and Policies for the Sea”. The Hon. Robert Hill was an intrinsic part of introducing Australia’s Oceans Policy (AOP) in 1998 during his term as Environment Minister. This policy was perceived as ground breaking in advancing coordinated and integrated management of Australia’s marine areas. However, AOP was never fully implemented and was superseded by marine bioregional planning. The main thrust of Hill’s oration was the need to secure the future of the oceans’ biodiversity and resources through new laws and policies. Of particular mention was the management of high seas areas; vast parts of the oceans and seas that need strong legislation and regulation, not just voluntary agreements. Hill suggested that careful and successful implementation of policies is required as merely signing International conventions and agreements does not guarantee outcomes. My research uses this premise and aims to assess the implementation of policy/legislation that underpins the management of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Australia. I have interviewed MPA practitioners and policy makers about what policy/legislation is used in management, how it is applied, and at what stage of the cycle policy is utilised. Preliminary results suggest a complex system of governance arrangements, policies, and legislation, with practitioners having to overcome numerous challenges to effectively implement the myriad of marine policies. This research will be developed into a paper for publication at a later date.
By Kerrie Fraser
“The coral bleaching event that is wreaking havoc in the northern p
art of the Great Barrier Reef is also being expressed along the subtropical coast of eastern Australia. Preliminary work being conducted in the Solitary Islands near Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, led by myself and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, shows widespread coral bleaching with a number of coral genera feeling the heat. The hardest hit corals appear to be the pocilloporids, (Pocillopora in particular, but also Stylophora), and the genus Turbinaria. However, other taxa, such as Porites are also showing substantial bleaching.
Of particular concern is that in many places around the Solitary Islands, the two hardest hit corals are two of the most abundant. Moreover, some of the Pocillopora colonies are dying or have already died. Should mortality ensue for these two dominant corals on the reef, Australia’s subtropical reefs could undergo major changes in their biotic composition. On the positive side, many of the hardest hit corals on the Great Barrier Reef, such as Acropora, are showing only minimal stress to the sub-tropical bleaching event.”
For more information on current coral bleaching and more comments from experts please follow the LINK.