Monitoring the sea change: Preliminary assessment of the conservation value of nearshore reefs, and existing impacts, in a high-growth, coastal region of subtropical eastern Australia

Title
Monitoring the sea change: Preliminary assessment of the conservation value of nearshore reefs, and existing impacts, in a high-growth, coastal region of subtropical eastern Australia
Publication Date
2008
Author(s)
Smith, Stephen D
Rule, Michael John
Harrison, Matthew
Dalton, Steve James
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6947-4648
Email: sdalton4@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:sdalton4
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2007.11.016
UNE publication id
une:3526
Abstract
In northern NSW, Australia, coastal populations are forecast to increase dramatically over the next 25 years (the "sea change"). However, management of the effects of development on marine communities is hampered by the lack of data on key habitats. Consequently, we developed a protocol to assess the biodiversity and current human impacts on nearshore reefs, habitats that will be readily affected by coastal development. We assessed four reefs adjacent to each of three population centres targeting fish, mollusc and sessile benthic communities, and debris loads. Community structure was highly variable over all spatial scales indicating that reefs should not be considered equivalent within the planning framework. While, debris loads were relatively low on most reefs, those with highest conservation value also had the highest debris loads suggesting potential conflict between human use and long-term sustainability of reefal communities. Without intervention, this situation will be exacerbated in the future.
Link
Citation
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 56(3), p. 525-534
ISSN
1879-3363
0025-326X
Start page
525
End page
534

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