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

Distributions and behaviours of stingrays (Old ID 27582)
Jaelen Myers
01 Jul 2022 - 01 Jul 2023
Stingrays are abundant intermediate predators in shallow coastal waters that impact biotic communities and structure physical environments. However, assessments of ray communities and their habitat use are sparse, resulting in poor understanding of their ecological value and management. For this project, I will evaluate ray populations in diverse intertidal habitats around Orpheus Island and examine how spatio-temporal factors influence community composition, distribution and behaviours. This goal is divided into research objectives with outcomes that will improve our ability to identify valuable areas for rays and understand how behaviours are linked to habitat choice, functional roles, and ecological impacts.
2023 Southern GBR Coastal Wetland Feasibility Assessment (Old ID 28939)
Norm Duke
07 Nov 2022 - 01 Nov 2023
To identify locations and activities between Cairns and Gladstone where coastal protection and restoration could occur to increase carbon sequestration and storage. Climate change is threatening the health of all ecosystems globally, including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The restoration of coastal ecosystems presents a substantial opportunity to not only sequester carbon, necessary for reducing climate change, with mangrove forests estimated to store approximately five times more carbon per hectare than tropical rainforests. In addition, carbon sequestration, coastal ecosystems can protect from storm surges and erosion, provide habitat for fisheries, improve water quality from runoff, and support immense biodiversity. This project aims to survey the health of the coastal ecosystems between Cairns and Gladstone and identify opportunities for the restoration of mangroves and salt marsh.
Reef lagoon benthic habitat mapping in the Coral Sea Marine Park (Old ID 27466)
Samantha Tol
01 Jun 2022 - 30 Nov 2024
This project will undertake reef lagoon benthic habitat mapping within the Coral Sea Marine Park. Sites to be surveyed are the western lagoon of Holmes Reef, all of Herald Cays, the lagoon between the Diamond Islets in Tregrosse Reef, and the eastern corner of the lagoon in Lihou Reef. This project will produce the first extensive reef lagoon benthic maps of the selected regions in the Coral Sea Marine Park and will be the first seagrass survey in the Coral Sea.
HPCT Berth 1 Upgrade – Marine Benthic Habitat Assessment. (Old ID 27895)
Skye McKenna
19 Jan 2023 - 28 Feb 2023
Advisian have engaged TropWATER to undertake a survey to determine the presence/absence of marine plants within and adjacent to the extension proposed at HPCT Berth 1, located at the Port of Hay Point. Specifically, the survey requires assessment of marine plant distribution in the area proposed for expanded dredging.
Investigating fine-scale habitat use of rays in high-value intertidal nurseries. (Old ID 28989)
Jaelen Myers
01 May 2023 - 01 Mar 2024
Project aims to understand fine-scale habitat use of stingrays on intertidal sandflats. Data on abundances, species composition, and habitat use are being collected via drone assessments, and hands-on capture is being conducted to study diet and assess how foraging shapes habitat use.
Investigating the Effects of Seagrass productivity on pH at Local Scales (Old ID 20928)
Catherine Collier
01 Jul 2013 - 31 Jul 2016
During photosynthetic uptake of carbon, seagrasses modify seawater chemistry (reduce DIC and increase pH) and "buffer" against OA at local scales. Furthermore, seagrass meadows are likely to increase their productivity as DIC increases because they can be carbon limited. This project will be undertaken by a PhD candidate who will measure seagrass productivity and its effects on seawater chemistry in a range of
NESP 7.1 - Continuity Proposal for ‘Project 25’ – Farmers, Water Quality and On-Farm Decision-Making (Old ID 27131)
Aaron Davis
01 Feb 2021 - 31 Mar 2021
Landholder concerns surrounding the credibility of broad-scale water quality monitoring and modelling initiatives in the GBR catchment area has emerged as one of the major cane industry engagement challenges for promoting significant farming practice change, and delivering water quality improvements. Based around small, sub-catchment scale water quality monitoring in a key cane growing region of the GBR catchment, Project 25 successfully utilised a bottom-up approach to integrated sub-catchment monitoring and intervention to identify ‘hot spot’ sub-catchments through localised water quality monitoring. In a collaborative programs between scientists from a range of organisations (JCU, CSIRO) and cane farming stakeholders, the Project emphasised industry ownership and control of monitoring design, and delivery of locally targeted water quality data and extension effort to provide confidence in on-farm decision making and facilitate practice change.
Mapping Yanyuwa Sea Country - Intertidal (Old ID 27848)
Alexandra Carter
25 Sep 2022 - 05 Dec 2022
This sub-project is a collaboration of specialists from James Cook University and Charles Darwin University. The team will survey the intertidal marine benthic habitats within Yanyuwa sea country. A baseline seagrass survey and ongoing monitoring will provide an opportunity for Traditional Owners to engage in the developing blue carbon economy and empower Yanyuwa people in decision-making in local resource use.
International Travel Support - INQUA 2019 (Old ID 26424)
Emma Rehn
04 Apr 2019 - 01 Sep 2019
Funding to support international travel to attend and present at the 20th International Quaternary Association Congress in Dublin, Ireland. Oral presentation of PhD results in palaeoenvironmental science.
Short Term Run-Off Studies on Conventional Knockdowns and Emerging Herbicides in the Burdekin (Old ID 21495)
Aaron Davis
01 Jul 2014 - 01 Jul 2016
Because of the characteristic furrow irrigation practises utilised in the lower Burdekin region, significant losses of herbicides into local waterways pose some of the highest risks to any receiving water bodies in the Great Barrier Reef catchment, particularly during the dry season when dilution effects are minimal. Despite substantial investment in practice changes such as improved application technologies (such as shielded sprayers), there has been minimal quantification of benefits to water quality from this funding. This study will compare water quality effects of traditional herbicide application techniques with emerging precision sprayer technologies in furrow irrigated farming systems of the lower Burdekin.

Decadal long sub-lethal temperature increases alter the production of non-structural carbohydrates in Zostera muelleri

Capacity for Cairns Harbour seagrass seed banks to fuel recovery following large-scale declines

How 30 years of Strategic Monitoring in Tropical Ports has Facilitated Industry and Protected Seagrass Habitats – From new Management Tools to Developing Meadow-scale Seagrass Restoration

Tropical seagrass restoration: novel approaches for challenging environments

Flowering and seed dynamics of a tropical seagrass meadow: a reproductive bottleneck threatens meadow resilience and restoration potential

Seagrass habitat of Cairns Harbour and Trinity Inlet: Annual Monitoring Report 2024

Post-Flood Seagrass Monitoring in the Great Sandy Marine Park – 2024

Port of Weipa Long-Term Seagrass Monitoring Program - 2023

Seagrasses in Port Curtis and Rodds Bay 2023 Annual long-term monitoring.

Post-Flood Seagrass Monitoring in the Great Sandy Marine Park - 2023

Title: Ports North, Ports North supports an annual monitoring program conducted by James Cook University (JCU) in Cairns Harbour and Trinity Inlet, as well as at our other ports, such as Karumba, Mourilyan and Thursday Island. By using helicopters and underwater cameras on boats, the seagrass meadows are mapped and assessed for any changes.
Reseracher: Carissa Reason (Senior Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2009
End Date: 01 Jan 2026
Title: Gladstone Ports Corporation, The purpose of the Long-term Maintenance Dredging Management Plan (LMDMP) is to address operational needs, environmental risks, monitoring and adaptive management actions specific to the Port of Gladstone whilst ensuring the ongoing sustainability of maintenance dredging within the port.
Reseracher: Carissa Reason (Senior Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2009
End Date: 01 Jan 2030
Title: North Queensland Bulk Ports, Partnering with scientists at James Cook University (JCU), NQBP has been collecting data on seagrass growth around our port sites for more than 20 years. In addition to informing our own environmental activities and port operations, our data has contributed to advances in an international body of seagrass knowledge through JCU's academic research and regional report cards developed to help monitor the health of our waterways.
Reseracher: Carissa Reason (Senior Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2014
End Date: 01 Jan 2030
Title: Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service contracted James Cook University to conduct surveys and research on the impacts to and resilience of seagrass in Great Sandy Marine Park. This important surveying and research help government understand the impacts to seagrass from the 2022 flooding events and its ability to recovery.
Reseracher: Carissa Reason (Senior Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2021
End Date: 01 Jan 2025
Title: Master of Science - Botany, James Cook University
Reseracher: Norm Duke (Senior Research Scientist)
Start Date: 01 Jan 1981
End Date: 01 Jan 1984
Title: Doctor of Philosophy, James Cook University
Reseracher: Norm Duke (Senior Research Scientist)
Start Date: 01 Jan 1986
End Date: 01 Jan 1988
Title: Bachelor of Science with Honours, James Cook University
Reseracher: Norm Duke (Senior Research Scientist)
Start Date: 01 Jan 1973
End Date: 01 Jan 1973
Title: Editor of the SeDNAS PeerJ Hub
Reseracher: Cecilia Villacorta Rath (Senior Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2024
Title: Higher Degree By Research Committee
Reseracher: Jack Koci (Principal Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2022
End Date: 01 Jan 2023
Title: Conference co-chair
Reseracher: Sarah McDonald (Senior Research Officer)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2023
End Date: 01 Jan 2023