© James Cook University (TropWATER), 2018 Published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority ISSN: 2208-4037 Marine Monitoring Program: Annual Report for inshore seagrass monitoring 2016-2017 is licensed for use under a Creative Commons By Attribution 4.0 International licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logos of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, James Cook University and TropWATER, any other material protected by a trademark, content supplied by third parties and any photographs. For licence conditions see: This publication should be cited as: McKenzie, L.J., Collier, C.J, Langlois, L.A., Yoshida, R.L., Smith, N. and Waycott, M. 2018, Marine Monitoring Program: Annual Report for inshore seagrass monitoring 2016-2017. Report for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, 248pp. A catalogue record for this publication is available from the National Library of Australia Front cover image: Seagrass (mainly Cymodocea spp.) on the reef flat at Green Island Dieter Tracey 2013. DISCLAIMER While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this document are factually correct, JCU and TropWater do not make any representation or give any warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose of the information or statements contained in this document. To the extent permitted by law JCU and TropWater shall not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of or reliance on the contents of this document. Comments and questions regarding this document are welcome and should be addressed to: TropWATER- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research James Cook University Townsville, Qld 4811 This project is supported by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority through funding from the Australian Government Reef Program, the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program, Austalian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University.
Results and discussion The following results and discussion section provides detail on the overall climate, environmental pressures and seagrass responses for the 2016–17 monitoring period, in context of longer-term trends. It is structured as: Great Barrier Reef-wide summary: overall Great Barrier Reef-wide trends and trends for each habitat type represented separately a chapter on each NRM region starting with the most northern, Cape York Case study: Assessing the effects of light and temperature on seagrass abundance Each section (aside from the case studies) contains data on environmental pressures as well as the indicators that are used for calculating the report card score, or data that may be included in the report card in the future: A summary of the key findings from the overall section including a summary of the report card score Climate, river discharge and flood plume exposure Within-canopy light Within-canopy temperature threshold exceedance Seagrass abundance and extent Seagrass species composition based on life history traits Seagrass reproductive effort and seed banks Seagrass leaf tissue content (C:N, N:P and C:P ratios) Epiphyte and macroalgae abundance Seagrass meadows sediment characteristics Findings from other seagrass monitoring programs (e.g. QPSMP) Report card score The following supporting data, identified as important in understanding the Results and discussion sections (including any long-term trends), is detailed within Appendix 4: Climate (monthly rainfall and monthly 3pm wind speed) relevant to each monitoring location Annual daytime tidal exposure at each monitoring site Daily within canopy seawater temperature at each monitoring site Daily light each monitoring location Sediment grain size composition at each monitoring site Epiphyte and macroalgae abundance at each monitoring site Meadow extent within each monitoring site (5.5 ha) Location and seagrass species composition at each monitoring site Seagrass leaf tissue nutrient C:N, C:P, and N:P at each monitoring location Seagrass leaf tissue nutrient isotopic signature (13C, 15N) concentrations, for each species at each monitoring habitat within each NRM region Tables detailing statistical analysis
Whitsunday Island TO1^ 22 TO2^ 20 O’Connell Newry Islands NB1^ 22 NB2^ 21 Plane Sarina Inlet SI1 33 30 3 15 33 30 15 SI2 33 30 3 15 33 30 15 Southern Fitzroy Fitzroy Shoalwater Bay RC1 33 30 3 15 WH1 33 30 3 15 Great Keppel Island GK1 33 30 3 15 GK2 33 30 3 15 Boyne Gladstone Harbour GH1 33 30 3 15 GH2 33 30 3 15 Burnett Mary Burnett Rodds Bay RD1 33 30 3 15 RD2 33 30 15 Burrum Burrum Heads BH1 33 30 3 15 33 30 BH3 33 30 3 15 33 30 Mary Hervey Bay UG1 33 30 3 15 33 30 15 UG2 33 30 3 15 33 30 15