Dispersion of seagrass propagules and connectivity among meadows in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Queensland, Australia.
(2016) 13th International Coral Reef Symposium — Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA (20.June.2016)
Files
Coles_ICRS2016.pdf
Restricted Access - Adobe PDF
- 82.78 KB
Details
- Authors
- Abstract
- Severe tropical storms and floods in north- eastern Australia between 2007 and 2012 damaged or destroyed seagrass meadows along hundreds of kilometres of coastline. The subsequent deaths of turtles and dugong have led to the very status of our iconic Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area being questioned. We examined how meadow loss at this scale may re-establish from the dispersion of propagules floating in the water. We conducted a study based around Townsville and Abbot Point in North Queensland using a 2 dimensional numeric model developed for studying water movement. We released virtual propagules in the model between August and November 2011 with actual wind and current data. Model results suggest connectivity between offshore meadows and inshore meadows is likely to be low, limiting their ability to provide a reservoir of propagules. Time of year, location of release and the location of the propagule (surface or sub-surface) influenced movement. Over an 8 week model duration most propagules remained between 30 and 60 kilometres of their release point but distances up to 950 kilometres were possible. Most movement was to the north –west. An initial analysis identified where propagules from many source meadows accumulate and reestablishment would be more likely and where meadows were not well connected to other meadows. We report on the value of this exercise and management implications.
- Affiliations
Citations
Coles, R., Grech, A., Rasheed, M., Mc Kenzie, L., Tol, S., Congdon, B., Jarvies, J., Wolter, J., & Hanert, E. (2016). Dispersion of seagrass propagules and connectivity among meadows in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Queensland, Australia. 13th International Coral Reef Symposium, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/179707