In the last two decades since publication of the first edition, substantial advancements have been made in the science, the need for transdisciplinary approaches to coral reef protection greater than ever before. This new edition pinpoints science-based solutions for managers, stakeholders and policy makers.
In the last two decades since publication of the first edition, substantial advancements have been made in the science, the need for transdisciplinary approaches to coral reef protection greater than ever before. This new edition, now in full color throughout with accompanying animations, goes beyond identifying foundational information and current problems to pinpoint science-based solutions for managers, stakeholders and policy makers.
Coral reefs are connected by currents that carry plankton and the larvae of many reef-based organisms. Further, they supply food to reefs. Currents also bring pollutants from the land and, together with the atmosphere, affect the surrounding ocean. The chapters in this book provide a much-needed review of the biophysics of reefs with an emphasis on the Great Barrier Reef as an ecosystem. The focus is on interactions between currents, waves, sediment and the dynamics of coastal and reef-based ecosystems. The topographic complexity of reefs redirects mainstream currents, creates tidal eddies, mushroom jets, boundary layers, stagnation zones, and this turbulence is enhanced by the oceanographic chaos in the adjoining Coral Sea. This is the environment in which particles and organisms, of a range of sizes live, from tiny plankton to megafauna. This generates faunal connectivity at scales of meters to thousands of km within the Great Barrier Reef and with the adjoining ocean.
Pollution from land-use is increasing and remedial measures are described both on land and on coral cays. The impact of climate change is quantified in case studies about mangroves and corals. Modelling this biophysical complexity is increasing in sophistication, and the authors suggest how the field can advance further.
Section 1: The key role of oceanography and how it influences life in
the GBR
1.
Chapter 1: The emergence of biophysical sciences for the Great
Barrier Reef
2. The physical oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef: a review
4. Biological and geological links on coral reef islands
4. Currents modulate
the genetic character of marine populations in the Great Barrier Reef
5.
Advances in understanding climate change on the Great Barrier Reef using
coral-based proxies
6. From the microscale to the reef: the role of
microorganisms in the chemical ecology and gaseous emissions of the Great
Barrier Reef Section 2: Land-sea connectivity
7. Great Barrier Reef
ecohydrology
8. Sediment and nutrient flux from land
9. Dispersal and
environmental impacts of pan-oceanic contaminants
10. Jellyfish: A Window
into pesticide distribution and risks on the Great Barrier Reef
11. The
influence of the spatio-temporal dynamics of fish populations on the outcomes
of land-sea connectivity Section 3: Biophysical oceanography
12. Estimates of
wind drift coefficient to inform biophysical models of seagrass dispersal in
the Great Barrier Reef
13. Interactions between dugong biology and the
biophysical determinants of their environment: a review
14. Bio-physical
interactions of jellyfish on the Great Barrier Reef
15. More intense severe
tropical cyclones in recent decades cause greater impacts on mangroves
bordering Australias Great Barrier Reef
16. Dispersal and connectivity of
marine turtles in the Great Barrier Reef and links to the South Pacific Ocean
17. The interactions between larval behaviour and oceanography
18.
Incorporating biophysical larval dispersal simulations into coral reef
conservation decision-making
19. A historic perspective to thermal and
heatwave induced bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef
20. Biophysical
processes involved in the initiation and spread of population irruptions of
crown-of-thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef
21. The biophysics of
sharks and rays on the Great Barrier Reef Section 4: Consequences: Impact on
GBR water and remediation
22. Impacts of climate change stressors on the
Great Barrier Reef
23. Selective breeding and promotion of naturally
heat-tolerant coral reef species
24. Coastal wetland restoration: Case
studies from Great Barrier Reef catchments
25. Pathways to improved water
quality in the GBR lagoon exploring opportunities for broadscale
application of low-risk practices in the Lower Burdekin irrigated agriculture
areas
26. Raine Island Recovery Project Intervening at one of the most
significant sites on the Great Barrier Reef
27. An overview of environmental
engineering methods for reducing coral bleaching stress
28. Sexual
reproduction of reef corals and application to coral restoration Section 5:
Epilogue
29. Great Barrier Reef biophysics: A synthesis of challenges and
opportunities.
Adjunct Professor Eric Wolanski is an estuarine oceanographer and ecohydrologist at James Cook University. His research interests range from the oceanography of coral reefs, mangroves, and muddy estuaries to the interaction between physical and biological processes determining ecosystem health in tropical waters. He has published 430 book chapters, scientific papers and reports. He has a Google Scholar h-index of 87 and 25,000 citations. Eric is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Institution of Engineers Australia (ret.), and lAcadémie Royale des Sciences dOutre-Mer (Belgium). He was awarded an Australian Centenary medal, 2 Doctorate Honoris Causa (by the catholic University of Louvain and the University of Hull), a Queensland Information Technology and Telecommunications Award for Excellence, and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association. Eric is an Editor-in-Chief of Wetland Ecology and Management, and of the Elsevier book series Ecohydrology from catchment to coast, an Honorary Editor of Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, and a member of the editorial board of 4 other journals.
Michael J. Kingsford is a Distinguished Professor in the Marine Biology and Aquaculture group of the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University (JCU), Australia. Over a 14 year period he has held positions as Head of the School of Marine Biology and Tropical Biology and Dean of the College of Marine and Environmental Sciences. Furthermore, he has been President of the Australian Coral Reef Society, Director of One Tree Island Research Station, member of the Great Barrier Reef Research Foundation and the Museum of Tropical Queensland advisory committees. His awards include, the K. Radway Allen Award Awarded for an outstanding contribution in fish or fisheries science by the Australian Society for Fish Biology (2017) and, the AMSA Jubilee Award (2021) for excellence in marine research and an outstanding contribution to marine research in Australia. He has published extensively on the ecology of reef fishes, biological oceanography, climate change and jellyfishes. In total, he has two hundred and twenty publications including four major books, forty two chapters in books, 165 refereed publications and nine refereed proceedings (h-index Google Scholar = 58). He has been a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovative Coral Reef Studies. A major focus of his research has been on reef fish ecology and demography, connectivity of reef fish populations, the ecology and behavior of larval fishes, the utility of Marine Protected Areas, environmental records in corals and fishes. He has forty years of research experience of studying fishes, jellyfishes and oceanography in temperate and tropical regions of Australia and other parts of the world.
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