Condition: Ecosystem and biodiversity
Note: Some of the material contained in this chapter is out of date and currently under review (1/7/2004)
Condition: Ecosystem and biodiversity
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| Currently, many inter-reefal and lagoonal benthos bioregions do not have adequate protection. |
From the perspective of the ecosystem and biodiversity, it is very difficult to determine the condition of the seabed communities. Despite the geographical extent and biological importance of these areas, only a small number of descriptive studies have been carried out. There are no historical scientific monitoring programs that describe how these seabed communities have changed over time. Furthermore, research into the effects of trawling completed in 1998 (see Pressure) suggests that trawling has significantly altered the seabed communities of some areas of the inter-reef and lagoon. The lack of research in these areas has meant that there is now little information on what “pristine” seabed habitats were like before trawling began.
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| Seventy bioregions (places with particular biological and physical traits) were identified in the Great Barrier Reef. Forty of these are in the inter-reefal, lagoonal and continental slope areas. |
In 2001, the Great Barrier Reef was mapped using the best available biological and physical information as part of the Representative Areas Program (RAP). With the assistance of an Independent Scientific Steering Committee, the RAP identified 40 separate and unique “bioregions”in the inter-reefal, lagoonal and continental slope areas, containing a large number of different habitats such as isolates (thickets of sponges and soft corals), beds of deepwater seagrasses and underwater mounds comprised of the marine algae species Halimeda.
- A full description of the bioregions is available on line at: http://www.reefed.edu.au/rap/overview/principles/bioregions2.html
- Bioregion maps showing the biological and physical traits of the Great Barrier Reef are available on line at: http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/conservation/rep_areas/maps.html
The Independent Scientific Steering Committee also identified that the current zoning regime is unlikely to provide adequate protection of the biodiversity and integrity of inter-reefal and lagoonal areas. Under the existing zoning system, less than five per cent of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) is highly protected (as a Marine National Park B, National Park, Preservation or Scientific Research zones). While 21per cent of coral reef area is included in these highly protected zones, only three to four per cent of non-reef areas are currently highly protected and the greatest concentrations of protected areas are concentrated only in the Far Northern Section of the GBRMP.
Although the RAP conducted the most comprehensive collation of scientific knowledge from scientists and scientific publications, significant knowledge gaps were highlighted. There are only limited data about the biota for large sections of reefs, particularly in the Far Northern Section of the GBRMP, and for most GBR deepwater (>50 m) reefs. Furthermore, little information was available about the patterns of biodiversity in pelagic habitats, on the continental slope and abyssal plain, and there is an urgent need for more information relating to the biodiversity and distribution of inter-reefal fauna (infauna and epifauna) and flora.