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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Coral restoration and adaptation in Australia: The first five years
PloS one, Vol.17(11), pp.1-22
30/11/2022
PMID: 36449458
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Abstract
While coral reefs in Australia have historically been a showcase of conventional management informed by research, recent declines in coral cover have triggered efforts to innovate and integrate intervention and restoration actions into management frameworks. Here we outline the multi-faceted intervention approaches that have developed in Australia since 2017, from newly implemented in-water programs, research to enhance coral resilience and investigations into socio-economic perspectives on restoration goals. We describe in-water projects using coral gardening, substrate stabilisation, coral repositioning, macro-algae removal, and larval-based restoration techniques. Three areas of research focus are also presented to illustrate the breadth of Australian research on coral restoration, (1) the transdisciplinary Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP), one of the world's largest research and development programs focused on coral reefs, (2) interventions to enhance coral performance under climate change, and (3) research into socio-cultural perspectives. Together, these projects and the recent research focus reflect an increasing urgency for action to confront the coral reef crisis, develop new and additional tools to manage coral reefs, and the consequent increase in funding opportunities and management appetite for implementation. The rapid progress in trialling and deploying coral restoration in Australia builds on decades of overseas experience, and advances in research and development are showing positive signs that coral restoration can be a valuable tool to improve resilience at local scales (i.e., high early survival rates across a variety of methods and coral species, strong community engagement with local stakeholders). RRAP is focused on creating interventions to help coral reefs at multiple scales, from micro scales (i.e., interventions targeting small areas within a specific reef site) to large scales (i.e., interventions targeting core ecosystem function and social-economic values at multiple select sites across the Great Barrier Reef) to resist, adapt to and recover from the impacts of climate change. None of these interventions aim to single-handedly restore the entirety of the Great Barrier Reef, nor do they negate the importance of urgent climate change mitigation action.
Details
- Title
- Coral restoration and adaptation in Australia: The first five years
- Creators
- Ian M McLeod - James Cook UniversityMargaux Y Hein - MER Research and Consulting, The Office, Monaco, MonacoRuss Babcock - CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere (Australia, Hobart)Line Bay - Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, AustraliaDavid G Bourne - James Cook UniversityNathan Cook - Reef EcologicChristopher Doropoulos - CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere (Australia, Hobart)Mark Gibbs - Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, AustraliaPeter Harrison - Southern Cross UniversityStewart Lockie - The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaMadeleine J H van Oppen - The University of MelbourneNeil Mattocks - Great Barrier Reef Marine Park AuthorityCathie A Page - Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, AustraliaCarly J Randall - Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, AustraliaAdam Smith - Reef EcologicHillary A Smith - University of New South WalesDavid J Suggett - University of Technology SydneyBruce Taylor - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationKaren J Vella - School of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, AustraliaDavid Wachenfeld - Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, Queensland, AustraliaLisa Boström-Einarsson - Lancaster University
- Publication Details
- PloS one, Vol.17(11), pp.1-22
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science
- Grant note
- IMM, MYH and LB were funded through the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program’s Tropical Quality Hub. IM, LB, MG, BT, SL, KV were funded through the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program, which is funded by the Reef Trust, a partnership between the Australian Government and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. DGB and HAS were funded through a partnership with Earthwatch Institute and Mitsubishi Corporation. HAS is additionally funded through a National Geographic Society Early Career Grant, and acknowledges the support of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. PLH larval restoration projects have been funded by grants from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Paul G Allen Family Foundation, Commonwealth and Queensland Government research schemes. Research in the Keppel Islands was funded by the BHP-AIMS Keppel Islands Coral Project and completed under Permits G19/43024.1 and G20/43472.1 issued by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority with the consent of the Woppaburra Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement (TUMRA) Steering Committee.
- Identifiers
- 991013072559302368
- Copyright
- © 2022 McLeod et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Marine Ecology Research Centre; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article