Management Concern: High    

Adequacy of Information: Moderate

Summary extracts from Outlook Report 2009

• Coral reef habitats are likely to be declining, more so in inshore areas, but the trends are difficult to interpret.
• Available evidence indicates that the overall status of coral reefs on the GBR is relatively good, but is likely to be declining slightly, especially in inshore areas.  However, the picture is not simple or clear cut, with reefs in different regions showing enormous differences in trends, including both increases and declines. This is because coral reefs are naturally dynamic habitats, with cycles of disturbance and recovery. The challenge is to detect whether there are long-term trends hidden within natural cycles.
• 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:

• Confronting the coral reef crisis
  
• Australian Institute of Marine Science - surveys of sessile benthic communities
  
• Coral cover estimates during broadscale surveys using manta tow
  
• Trend in GBR hard coral cover from the AIMS Long Term Monitoring Program
  
• Reef Water Quality Protection Plan Inshore Reef Monitoring: hard coral, soft coral and algal cover
  
• Status of coral reefs of the world 2008
  
• Scientific consensus statement on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef 
• Inshore Reef Health
• Water Quality effects on macroalgae
• Water Quality effects on hard coral richness
• Water Quality effects on richness of phototrophic octocorals
• Water Quality effects on richness of hetertrophic octocorals
• Water Quality in the GBR - guidelines and current status
  
• Development intensification and water quality pressures on the Great Barrier Reef ecosystems
• Ecosystem health - regional coral cover and recruitment 
• Competition between corals and algae on coral reefs
• Rapid smothering of coral reef organisms by muddy marine snow 
• Terrestrial runoff and its effects on reef ecology  

Existing policies and management actions

• Marine Park legislation and regulations
  
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 – Ecological assessments
  
• Permit conditions for specific activities
  
• Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan
  
• Water Quality Guidelines for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (2009) [1.70MB]
  
• Regional Water Quality Improvement Plans
  
• Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program
  
• Improving water quality
• Coastal ecosystem protection

Future management requirements

• Biodiversity strategy

Defined research questions

• There are currently no defined research questions for this topic. Research questions will be developed, giving priority to interactions/issues that are of most concern to management.

Related information

• Current Research and Monitoring