 by Chris Crossland |
In stark contrast to the previous conference 13 years ago, almost every speaker had, at the very least, some well planned overheads and PowerPoint technology ruled supreme. Professor Helene Marsh, characteristically, managed to lift 95% of her audience off their seats by unexpectedly blowing a very loud, old-fashioned whistle - to prove a scientific point, of course (that it was impossible to say whether the manipulated scare caused to members of the audience by whistle-blowing would directly affect their fecundity in five years time).
I regret that it was impossible for me to attend each and every session, but in my view, some of the outstanding contributions from speakers external to CRC Reef but closely involved in the Great Barrier Reef as stakeholders, were - in quite random order - these:
Roland Pitcher of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Cleveland, shifted the focus from line fishing - a topic referred to in passing by many - to the trawl fishery. Sample trawling has been conducted in and adjacent to the cross-shelf closure in the Far Northern Section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. Part of the study involved a repeated trawl depletion experiment over 12 plots, which found few significant differences in benthic communities between those trawled and the controls. However, although the impacts of trawling may not be detectable in sparsely or infrequently trawled areas, the cumulative effect of frequent trawls over the same ground may be substantial. With more information about benthic distribution and trawler effort at global positioning system (GPS) resolution, management agencies should be able to put strategies in place which will ensure that the prawn trawling industry is managed in ecologically sustainable ways.
Terry Hughes from the Department of Marine Biology at James Cook University of North Queensland took some of his audience aback by the assertion that coral reefs are neither fragile nor pristine, but extremely dynamic at spatial and temporal scales. Different coral species vary greatly in how susceptible they are to impacts, whether natural (e.g. crown-of-thorns starfish) or anthropogenic (e.g. a ship-grounding), and their rates of recovery are equally variable. The rates of recolonisation depend critically on the availability of a pool of larvae, and recent genetic and recruitment studies have distinguished between corals which are brooders and those which are spawners. Management zones which protect some species may therefore be quite inappropriate for others.
Kees Hulsman from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at Griffith University outlined worrying trends in the populations of seabird colonies on the heavily visited Michaelmas Cay. While evidence from the remote Swains group suggests that anthropogenic impacts have little effect on population dynamics, and that detected declines are more likely to have natural causes, most monitoring of seabird numbers on the Great Barrier Reef has been done on an ad hoc basis and usually not using standardised methods. Quality data on the threats to the viability of seabird colonies is required in a hurry. The speaker urged that it could be provided by what he termed `Action Research'.
Ed Green, representing members of Tourism 2005 issued a timely reminder to the scientific and management communities: if they are exporting their expertise on the conservation of reefs overseas, could they first teach the necessary skills to Australians. He outlined a pilot project run by Marine Park Tourist Operators and their staff which directly involves them in a monitoring program. If successful, it should be possible to transfer the model Reef-wide, to other marine tourism industries, and social scientists and resource management agencies overseas.
Debate on reef conservation issues was raised by speakers with perspectives from different working cultures, yet with much in common. Peter Cullen, Director of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology, made the point that disagreement is fundamental to the advancement of science, but causes havoc with resource managers and the general public. His attempts to foster community support for research projects include walking the land of the Murray-Darling Basin and listening to the farmers, as well as frequently pounding the corridors of Parliament.
Community involvement was the chief focus of Di Tarte from the Australian Marine Conservation Society. Her call for improvement of public input into all aspects of management of the Marine Park was well heeded. However, for myself this debate was crystallised by Ian Lowe from the School of Science at Griffith University and well respected author of the State of the Environment Report. It is our responsibility to future generations and to the world to manage the Reef sustainably, but to do this we must find an integrated approach to environmental problems. We need a less naive approach that does not necessarily mean a well managed economy should be the first priority. Awareness of ecological issues must be built into all levels of social and economic planning if we are to achieve the goal of sustainability.
When questioned from the floor about the need for greater community involvement in the science and management of natural resources, Ian wholeheartedly endorsed the necessity of it. Yes, the community must have a greater say in the proper focus of research. The design of that research, however, should be a responsibility of the scientists. I agree.
While I have referred to the speakers delivering papers in this commentary, many of course had co- or multiple authors. These are all acknowledged in the published Conference Proceedings.
ADDRESS
Post Office James Cook University, Townsville Queensland 4811
Phone: (077) 81 4976 Fax: (077) 81 4099
E-mail: crcreef@jcu.edu.au Internet site: CRC Reef Research Centre Online
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
PO Box 1379 TOWNSVILLE QLD 4810. Phone: (077) 500 700, Fax: (077) 726 093
E-mail: registry@gbrmpa.gov.au