Management Concern: Moderate     Adequacy of Information: Low

Summary extracts from Outlook Report 2009

• Little is known about the status of plankton and microbes on the Great Barrier Reef.
• Climate change may cause compositional shifts in plankton due to changes in ocean circulation, nutrient regimes and ocean acidification.
• Microbes are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but have greater capacity for adaptation than other groups.
• Increased concentrations of suspended sediments and agricultural chemicals are having significant effects inshore close to agricultural areas. much continues to be done to improve water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef but it will be decades before the benefits are seen.
  

What do we know? (relevant pages from Outlook Online)

• Vulnerability of microbes on the Great Barrier Reef to climate change
• Vulnerability of Great Barrier Reef plankton to climate change
• Phytoplankton in the Great Barrier Reef
• Ecological role of marine microbes in the Great Barrier Reef
• Scientific consensus statement on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef 
• Reef exposure to river contaminants ecosystem risk index 
• Catchment influence on the Great Barrier Reef 
• Inshore Reef Health

Existing policies and management actions

• Australian Government policy on climate change
• Queensland Government climate change policies and strategies
• Climate Change Action Plan 2007-2012
• Water Quality Guidelines for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (2009)
  
• Regional Water Quality Improvement Plans
  
• Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program
• Improving water quality
• Coastal ecosystem protection

Future management requirements

• Biodiversity strategy

Defined research questions

• What effect is the changing physical and chemical environment having on plankton and microbe populations? 
  
• What is the adaptation potential of microbes and plankton to the predicted impacts of climate change?
• What will be the effects of climate change on microbial processes and symbioses?

Current Research and Monitoring