Webinar: Monitoring environmental impacts on the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) faces mounting cumulative threats due to the increasing incidence and severity of disturbance events (mass bleaching, cyclones, and population outbreaks of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS)). To maximise the GBR’s capacity to respond to these threats, it is vital to understand reef health, impacts, restoration and recovery to target management actions at key locations that best support the GBR's long-term resilience. This can be achieved by ensuring that the impacts of extreme events are measured and then using the best available data and pathways to understand and target management actions. This webinar discussed the research being undertaken within the hub to improve the usability of citizen science data for monitoring the GBR’s health at large scales (3.18); and for monitoring and restoring inshore habitats after the impact of extreme events, such as Cyclone Jasper (5.5). This webinar presented the findings of these projects and the potential applications of this advance in knowledge.

Presentation 1 – Citizen Science: reef monitoring for management

In this presentation, project researcher Dr Chris Lawson discusses the findings and refinement of the Great Reef Census data collection processes, site selection, and analysis methods, to increase the usefulness and relevance of citizen science data for scientists and managers. The Great Reef Census, an initiative of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, is large-scale citizen science in action. To date, this initiative has engaged 19,663 global citizen scientists from 1,144 locations worldwide to analyse 554,002 images.

Presentation 2 – Assessing impacts of extreme events on inshore coastal habitats in the northern Great Barrier Reef

Project researcher Dr Katie Chartrand discusses findings of Project 5.5 on the evaluation of the impact of Tropical Cyclone Jasper and its flooding on inshore coastal habitats in the northern Great Barrier Reef. By understanding changes in these coastal habitats and documenting recovery, this project has explored potential long-term impacts on key species and identified opportunities for restoration and rehabilitation, as well as strategies to accelerate recovery and prevent further habitat loss.