2016 SoE Marine Chapter - Case Study - Blueprint for monitoring and reporting on biodiversity in Australia’s oceans

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Case Study "Towards a blueprint for monitoring and reporting on biodiversity in Australia’s oceans". The full Case Study, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Case Study are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FOCUS OF THE CASE STUDY
Monitoring Australia’s Commonwealth Marine Area (CMA) is fundamental to understanding and reporting on how the ocean is changing in response to human pressures. The National Environmental Research Program Marine Biodiversity Hub, collaborated with the Australian Government Department of the Environment, to develop "Towards a blueprint..." to monitor and report on key ecological features in the CMA.
"Towards a blueprint..." shows how Australia can expand its institutional capacity to meet the reporting needs of the Department of the Environment. It identifies existing data for areas where monitoring can begin, and assesses Australia’s capability to collect new monitoring data as a basis for decision making. Key Ecological Features (KEFs) are parts of the ocean identified in the Australian Government’s marine bioregional plans as highly valued for their importance to biodiversity or ecological function and integrity. They provide an important starting point for developing monitoring in the Commonwealth Marine Area.
PRESSURES/ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE
Fifty-four KEFs were identified in Commonwealth waters during marine planning processes. As the map of Australia illustrates (Figure 1), KEFs come in many shapes and sizes and Towards a blueprint divides them into six groups for reporting purposes. These are areas of enhanced pelagic productivity, canyons, deep seabeds, seamounts, shelf reefs and seabeds.
While the oceanography of most KEF groups has been studied, the level of biological sampling varies. Areas of enhanced pelagic productivity are the best understood, and shelf seabeds and deep seabeds the least. The Bonney Coast Upwelling is one of nine enhanced pelagic productivity Key Ecological Features identified in Australia’s Commonwealth waters and provides a good example of how KEFs focus biodiversity monitoring. 
From November to May, the surface waters of the Bonney Coast are blown offshore by south-easterly winds and replaced by cold, nutrient-rich water. The sunlit nutrients fuel an explosion of phytoplankton that sustains hordes of marine life, from krill to blue whales. Understanding long-term changes to this biophysical system and distinguishing what is most likely to have caused any changes is the focus for monitoring. 
DATA STREAM(S) USED IN CASE STUDY
Satellite observations of chlorophyll and derived net primary productivity estimates.

Tags: case study, environmental monitoring, expert assessment, key ecological features (KEF)
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network