Tropical Water & Ecosystems

Scott Morrissey

Scott Morrissey

Tim Smith

Tim Smith

Alejandro Navarro Otero

Alejandro Navarro Otero

Jack Koci

Jack Koci

Sarah McDonald

Sarah McDonald

Emily Webster

Emily Webster

Abbi Scott

Abbi Scott

Catherine Collier

Catherine Collier

Rob Coles

Rob Coles

Aaron Davis

Aaron Davis

Fostering the repair of Australia's lost shellfish reefs (Old ID 22934)
Ian McLeod
01 Sep 2016 - 31 Dec 2017
Shellfish reefs were once prominent features of Australia’s nearshore environments, providing important services such as water filtration, providing food and habitat for fish and protecting shorelines. Less than 1% remain today and restoration projects are starting in most states. This funding will empower me to work with the best shellfish restoration scientists in the USA to develop experimental and assessment methodologies to measure the potential water quality benefits of shellfish restoration in Australia. This project will provide the springboard for myself to become a national leader in the field of coastal restoration. Outputs will include two high-impact publications and a $600,000 Category 1 funding proposal.
2016 MangroveWatch training for Queensland southern Gulf Rangers. (Old ID 23131)
Norm Duke
01 Nov 2016 - 01 Dec 2016
Traditional owners are concerned about the recent mangrove dieback in their area. They have sought the help of Tropwater scientists to train and equip two of their dedicated Ranger teams in Normanton and Burketown for the monitoring and assessment local shorelines. This project will raise capacity of two Ranger teams consisting of around 19 Rangers, to conduct boat-based MangroveWatch surveys in their respective areas of the southern Gulf region.
Ecotoxicology of pesticides on the Great Barrier Reef for guideline development and risk assessments (Old ID 23137)
Shelley Templeman
01 Jan 2017 - 10 Mar 2020
Over 50 land-sourced pesticides have been detected in waters of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and its catchments. Previous studies on the risks posed by pesticides have focused on five priority PSll herbicides. However, other pesticides are increasingly being used, for which there are few fate, persistence and toxicity data. In order to improve water quality guidelines and assessments of the potential risks posed by these ' alternate' pesticides to GBR and its catchments we will quantify their toxicity to freshwater and marine species.
Determining nitrogen removal from floodplain restoration with Melaleuca (Old ID 27462)
Adam Canning
08 Nov 2021 - 31 Dec 2022
Tree swamps, such as those with Melaleuca, have the potential to remove nitrogen from agricultural runoff. This project aims to: (i) assess the effectiveness of a Melaleuca planting integrated within a Wet Tropics cane-dominated catchment to remove nitrogen from floodwaters before it flows to the Great Barrier Reef; and (ii) scope locations for future tree swamp integration across the Great Barrier Reef catchment.
IMR Integrated Reef Fish Monitoring Program (Old ID 27812)
Maya Srinivasan
07 Sep 2022 - 30 Dec 2024
While critical knowledge of the abundance, diversity, and assemblage composition of Great Barrier Reef (GBR) fishes has been delivered by comprehensive and systematic monitoring programs across various spatial and temporal scales to date, significant knowledge gaps remain. These are being addressed through an Integrated Inshore Reef Fish Monitoring Program, funded by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) reef trust partnership and headed by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) This project is a major component of this program and aims to monitor fish communities and habitats on the fringing reefs of 8 inshore island groups in the GBR Marine Park. It will continue an existing monitoring program that has been monitoring 4 island groups since 1998, and will expand on this legacy monitoring program considerably by adding four additional island groups which have not been previously monitored. It is part of a large-scale collaborative program, the Integrated Monitoring and Reporting (IMR) Inshore Fish Monitoring Project, funded by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) reef trust partnership and headed by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).
Spatial and temporal trends in the health and resilience of Great Barrier Reef inshore seagrass meadows in relation to water quality (Old ID 20687)
Len McKenzie
01 Dec 2012 - 30 Aug 2027
The aim of this research is to monitor the abundance and species composition of seagrass, and identify areas of seagrass that have been significantly impacted by flood plumes in areas important to major dugong populations in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
Design & Development of Receiving Environment Monitoring Program (Old ID 22207)
Shelley Templeman
30 Jun 2015 - 31 Dec 2019
TropWATER will review the existing environmental monitoring data and undertake a detailed environmental survey of the Carpentaria Cold operations with a view to designing a receiving environment monitoring program to be implemented in the 2015/16 wet season.
Hay Point Shiploader Upgrade: Benthic Habitat Assessments (Old ID 26698)
Skye McKenna
20 Sep 2019 - 28 Feb 2020
Develop and implement a benthic habitat assessment program for Advisian to report on the benthic habitats in a specific area of the port to assist with berth upgrades.
Water Quality & Receiving Environment Monitoring Programs (Old ID 26879)
Shelley Templeman
01 Feb 2020 - 31 Mar 2026
Environmental monitoring and assessment to meet regulatory assessment requirements for aquatic, riparian and terrestrial systems in the region of the closed Woodcutters mine, Northern Territory. In addition, there are investigations and research into site specific water quality and sediment quality objectives
Provision of Specialist Environmental Support to Townsville City Council. (Old ID 27681)
Shelley Templeman
26 May 2022 - 19 Apr 2023
Submission for inclusion on a panel of pre-qualified Environmental Specialists to support TCC's Environmental Services team in planning and delivery of sustainable outcomes for the Townsville Community.

Coral decline threatens fish biodiversity in marine reserves

Mid-late Holocene sea-level variability in eastern Australia

Recruitment in time and space: the dynamics and distributions of reef fish populations on a low latitude coral reef

  • 2006
  • Researchers:Maya Srinivasan

Patterns in tropical seagrass photosynthesis in relation to light, depth and habitat

Niche shifts and local competition between two coral reef fishes at their geographic boundary

A multi-trace element coral record of land-use changes in the Burdekin River catchment, NE Australia

Assessment of the water quality and ecosystem health of the Great Barrier Reef (Australia): conceptual models

Chlorophyll fluorescence measures of seagrasses Halophila ovalis and Zostera capricorni reveal differences in response to experimental shading

Sediment and nutrient exports for the Burdekin River catchment, north Queensland: a comparison of monitoring and modelling data

A review of load tools available for calculating pollutant exports to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon: a case study of varying catchment areas

Title: Endevour Research Fellow
Reseracher: Tim Smith (Senior Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2016
Title: Australian Marine Sciences Association
Reseracher: Jaelen Myers (Research Officer, Seagrass Restoration)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2023
End Date: 01 Jan 2026
Title: Oceania Chondrichthyan Society
Reseracher: Jaelen Myers (Research Officer, Seagrass Restoration)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2026
End Date: 01 Jan 2027
Title: American Elasmobranch Society
Reseracher: Jaelen Myers (Research Officer, Seagrass Restoration)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2023
End Date: 01 Jan 2026
Title: Agriculture and Regional Development Award
Reseracher: Aaron Davis (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2023
Title: Queensland-Smithsonian Fellowship
Reseracher: Aaron Davis (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2014
Title: Research Officer, James Cook University
Reseracher: Stephen Lewis (Senior Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2005
End Date: 01 Jan 2008
Title: Senior Research Officer, James Cook University
Reseracher: Stephen Lewis (Senior Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2009
End Date: 01 Jan 2015
Title: Principal Research Officer, James Cook University
Reseracher: Stephen Lewis (Senior Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2015
Title: Casual Research Assistant, Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM)
Reseracher: Sarah McDonald (Senior Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2016
End Date: 01 Jan 2018