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

Benthic monitoring and demersal fish surveys in Limmen Marine Park. (Old ID 29022)
Alexandra Carter
18 Jun 2023 - 30 Jun 2025
This project's requirements are for field work, data analysis and reporting on benthic habitat monitorings and demersal fish communities in, and connected to, Limmen Marine Park, in the South-West Gulf of Carpentaria. The objectives are: 1. Increase understanding of traditional knowledge and collaborate with Indigenous rangers and Traditional Owners to undertake marine park management, such as monitoring, including the development of bilingual maps where possible. 2. Identify any changes/trends in the condition of benthic habitats in the marine park, including seagrass, algal, sponge and coral habitats. 3. Identify demersal fish communities in and adjacent to the marine park, including consideration of key pressures on these communities and any potential management actions for mitigating impacts.
Port of Townsville Seagrass Monitoring (Old ID 20697)
Skye McKenna
01 Dec 2012 - 31 Dec 2016
The aim of this research is to monitor seagrass habitats including those which may potentially be impacted by existing and proposed port developments. The objectives include comparing results of previous monitoring and baseline surveys and assessing any changes in seagrass distribution and abundance in relation to natural events or human induced port and catchment activities.
Cairns-Port Douglas Reef Hub Coordinator (Old ID 27460)
Skye McKenna
20 Dec 2021 - 31 Mar 2026
The purpose of the consultancy is to manage the design, coordination and on-ground implementation of the Cairns Port Douglas Reef Hub (hub) on a day-to-day basis. The Coordinator will play an important role as a central connection point across a range of partners with interests in Reef restoration and stewardship activities in the Cairns-Port Douglas region (and beyond). They will be responsible for supporting a collaborative network to build on work underway and strengthen communication, information exchange and collaboration to scale and strengthen Reef and community resilience outcomes. The role is a 0.6 FTE role, contracted to June 2024.
Influences on inshore marine water quality in the dry season (Old ID 27285)
Stephen Lewis
17 Jun 2021 - 30 Nov 2021
In this discreet pilot study, we will build on significant investment in the Great Barrier Reef MMP. We will build on the existing wet season mapping approaches developed through the MMP to investigate the application of these for the development of dry season water type maps using Sentinel satellite imagery. Ultimately, the aim is to understand: 1) the magnitude, duration and extent of poor water quality in the dry season, when the Reef is not affected by catchment run-off in river discharge; and 2) how this compares to the affects we can attribute to run-off in the wet season.
Green Mussel Monitoring Proposal 2017 - Weipa Plankton Sampling and Sample Processing (Old ID 23570)
Carissa Reason
26 Jun 2017 - 30 May 2018
This project will sample plankton for the presence of AGM larval DNA at two locations; Weipa Harbour, and the Amrun project site to the south of Weipa. It will meet the initial requirements of the Weipa Asian Green Mussel Surveillance Strategy. The collection will follow protocols previously used in Cairns Harbour and will rely on expertise developed by TropWATER scientists to collect, process and transport DNA material for analysis and to report the results.
Habitat characterisation and biodiversity surveys in West Cape York Marine Park and Torres Strait Dugong Sanctuary. (Old ID 27402)
Tim Smith
01 Oct 2021 - 30 Jun 2024
Marine habitats of western Torres Strait and Cape York have long been identified as ecologically and culturally significant, supporting large areas of seagrass, high densities of dugongs and turtles, and traditional, commercial and recreational fisheries. These ecological values in the region have led to the establishment of the Torres Strait Dugong Sanctuary and the West Cape York Marine Park (WCYMP). Despite these values, benthic habitats including seagrasses, fish assemblages and the cultural significance of the region remain inadequately surveyed and documented. In this project we will: (1) Increase understanding of traditional knowledge and collaborate with Indigenous rangers and Traditional Owners to undertake marine park management. (2) Identify any changes/trends in the extent, health and diversity of seagrass meadows. (3) Provide a habitat map for the National Park, Habitat Protection and Special Purpose Zones in the southern region of West Cape York Marine Park. (4) conduct a pilot study of fish diversity.
Seagrass Monitoring in Wuthathi Sea Country (Old ID 31147)
Len McKenzie
04 Oct 2023 - 31 Dec 2025
Wuthathi land and sea country in far northern Cape York extends from Captain Billy landing south to Temple Bay and includes Shelburne Bay and Raine Island. JCU will work with Wuthathi rangers to continue to map coastal seagrass in Wuthathi and establish monitoring sites and methods. A range of techniques will be adopted, including airborne/spaceborne imagery (UAV drone and satellite) and transects for intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats and drop cameras in deeper subtidal waters. Wuthathi rangers will be trained in seagrass mapping and monitoring techniques to facilitate continued monitoring of seagrass habitats in Wuthathi sea country.
An Assessment of the Distribution and Abundance of Dugongs and In-Water Large Marine Turtles Along the Queensland Coast From the NSW Border to Port Douglas (Old ID 23033)
Christophe Cleguer
12 Oct 2016 - 28 Apr 2017
This project provides information to inform the management of dugongs in the SGBR by continuing the time series of standardised aerial surveys conducted since the late 19802. The project provides an assessment of the distribution and abundance of dugongs and in-water large marine turtles in the SGBR and contribute to the 30 year time series for temporal comparisons using the latest advances in distribution and abundance analyses. In addition the project provides a more detailed spatially explicit assessment of the importance of Shoalwater Bay for these species and their habitats to the GBRWHA by incorporating historical data from other sources.
Abbott Point Seagrass Monitoring (Old ID 20699)
Skye McKenna
01 Dec 2012 - 27 Oct 2017
The aim of this research is to monitor seagrass habitats, including those which may potentially be impacted by proposed port developments. The objectives include comparing results of previous monitoring and baseline surveys and assessing any changes in seagrass distribution and abundance in relation to natural events or human induced port and catchment activities, and establishing the capacity for recovery of key seagrass meadows types likely to be affected by proposed developments.
MMG Century Environmental Evaluation of Receiving Waters (Old ID 22531)
Shelley Templeman
01 Jan 2016 - 31 Mar 2016
Undertake environmental evaluation and expert advice with regards to effects of mining activities undertaken by MMG Century.

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: Poster presentation at the International Rangelands Congress 2025
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2025
End Date: 01 Jan 2025
Title: Poster Presentation at the International Rangelands Congress 2025
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2025
End Date: 01 Jan 2025
Title: Poster presentation at the American Geophysical Union Conference 2019
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2017
End Date: 01 Jan 2017
Title: Oral presentation at Australia and New Zealand Geomorphology Group Conference 2019
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2019
End Date: 01 Jan 2019
Title: Workshop organiser, Australia and New Zealand Geomorphology Group Conference 2019
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2019
End Date: 01 Jan 2019
Title: Oral presentation at the International Symposium on Gully Erosion 2019
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2019
End Date: 01 Jan 2019
Title: Guest Lecture - Advanced GIS (2020)
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2020
End Date: 01 Jan 2020
Title: Masters Thesis Examination
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2020
End Date: 01 Jan 2020
Title: Guest Lecture - University of Central Asia
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2021
End Date: 01 Jan 2021
Title: Honours Research Seminar Examination
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2021
End Date: 01 Jan 2021