Natural Environment Blog

Satellite tracking has revealed that Great White Sharks travel large distances to unlikely places. Photo: Terry Goss.

Two great white sharks have traveled 4,000 kilometers from the cold waters of southern New Zealand to the tropical waters of North East Australia.

The sharks began their journey in Stewart Island - 30 kilometers south of New Zealand’s South Island, and made their way to the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of the Australian state of Queensland.

The journey, of which one shark dived 1,000 meters, has surprised scientists who were studying the sharks. 

“We used to think great white sharks were shallow-water coastal species that lived in cold areas, where there were lots of seals to eat,” said Malcolm Francis, of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in Wellington.

“Now we have changed our impression of what they do.”

Possible World Record

Dr Francis added that the 1,000 meter dive could even be a world record for a great white shark.

Although various reports on the Internet claim that great whites have been known to dive to as much as 1,280 meters, great whites, which are known for swimming close to the surface, rarely dive to more than 800 meters below the surface. 

It’s likely that the shark was chasing a giant squid or phosphorescent fish at the time. Dr Francis says that at those depths, it would have been pitch black, and the shark would have been guided by the glow of the fish.

Great Whites “Know Where They’re Going”

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the Conservation Department have been attaching satellite tracking devices to great white sharks to measure position, depth and water temperature. After several months, the devices eventually detach themselves from the shark and float to the surface, where data is transmitted to a satellite.

Dr Francis was also surprised to learn that the sharks traveled in a straight line, and covered up to 120 kilometers per day. 

“They seem to know where they are going,” he said.

The Great Barrier Reef is benefiting from a strong US dollar and weak Australian dollar. Photo: Copyright (C) 2004 Richard Ling (rling.com)

The Great Barrier Reef tourism appears to be benefiting from a strong US dollar and weak Australian dollar.

Amidst the global financial turmoil, the U.S. dollar has continued to strengthen while other currencies have struggled to keep up. The Australian dollar has taken a huge hit, and recently plunged to its lowest in 5 years.

While this is not normally something for Aussies to celebrate, it has made Australia a more attractive place for overseas visitors. In particular, $1 USD will currently buy you around $1.50 AUD. In other words, if you’re American, your dollar goes 50 percent further in Australia. If you’re Canadian you’ll gain around 25 percent.

“No Barrier to the Great Barrier Reef”

A recent campaign - “No Barrier to the Great Barrier Reef” - has brought in over $1 million dollars in bookings and quotes in the six weeks since it launched, and it’s likely that the low Aussie dollar has given the campaign an extra boost. 

The campaign included an email to 260,000 North American frequent flyers, inviting them to visit Queensland - the home of the Great Barrier Reef.

The email offers packages such as:

• Eight days to the Whitsundays from $US1999 including return airfares from the US, accommodation, transfers, some meals and activit ies
• A Great Barrier Reef Air Pass from $US1199 which includes return airfares from the US and three domestic Australian flights including Cairns
• A $US599 Aussie Wildlife package which includes two nights in Brisbane, two nights on Fraser Island, entry to Australia Zoo and transfers 

Tough Times for Australian Tourism

The campaign follows a particularly destressing time for the Australain tourism industry - particularly in the Far North.   

“Destinations such as Tropical North Queensland have been hard hit by a combination of flight cuts, high fuel costs and a downturn in the global economy so our aim is to hit our key international markets with a range of value-for-money package deals that are too good to refuse” said Queensland tourism Minister Desley Boyle.

“Tourism Queensland invested $200,000 of the $4 million assistance package funding into five US campaigns, but thanks to buy-in from travel partners in North America, we have been able to increase the campaign spend to $1.9 million,” she continued.

Great Barrier Reef a “Must See”

Ms Boyle stressed the importance of visiting the Great Barrier Reef while holidaying in Australia.

“The Great Barrier Reef is one of American travellers’ must-see Australian destinations and because these special packages are only available for a short period of time, our aim is to turn their ‘one day’ dream into ‘let’s book today’ reality,” she said.

About the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system and the largest natural feature on Earth. It is under threat from climate change and water pollution, and unless urgent measures are put in place to prevent this, it could die out within three decades.

In Australia, University of Queensland’s Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg has hit back at claims that his view on climate change’s impact on coral reefs is pessimistic.

A couple of days ago, two of his colleagues downplayed his comments that sea temperatures are likely to rise 2C over the next three decades, which would undoubtedly kill the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Today, Professor Hoegh-Guldberg posted a reply on his blog entitled “Great Barrier Reef could adapt to climate change, scientists say” – Facts, fallacies and fanciful thinking.

Hoegh-Guldberg begins by saying,

I must say I’m a little amazed that Andrew Baird has come out with such poorly supported statements.  In fact, his opinions seem to depend almost entirely on his personal opinion!  The argument that corals are able to magically “adapt” over one or two decades to climate change has come up many times over the years – always, with a complete dearth of evidence to support it.

After contacting Andrew Baird to see if he might know something Hoegh-Guldberg didn’t, Baird sent through a recently published article by Jeff Maynard and himself. 

Hoegh-Guldberg clearly wasn’t impressed with the article, or its lack of evidence to support its conclusions. In response to the Maynard et al (2008) suggestion that coral reefs will be able to evolve and adapt with climate change, Hoegh-Guldberg commented, 

Perhaps it is time for Baird and Maynard to propose a mechanism (with solid evidence) for how physiological traits such as thermal tolerance are able to evolve fast enough to keep rate with oceans that are warming and acidifying at rates which dwarf even the most rapid changes over the last several million years.

After dissecting the article piece by piece, Hoegh-Guldberg, acknowledes that coral reefs could potentially adapt to gradual climate change, but emphasizes that current global warming is occuring much faster than any other period in the last 420,000 years. He finishes with the following:

Overall, while the interest of Andrew Baird and his colleague Jeff Maynard are to be encouraged, one hopes that such loose and unsupported perspectives on such an important issue will be better thought out next time.  No one doubts that evolution occurs on organisms like corals, and hence it adaptation if given time will occur, I think it is important that we realise how unusual the current situation is. 

He continues,

I together with 16 other leading scientific experts recently calculated the rates of change over the past 420,000 years and found that the current rates of changes in temperature and important aspects such as the carbonate ion concentration rose much as three orders of magnitude higher than even the most rapid rates of climate change over this period.  Given the huge changes that did occur over this period in response to ice age and other global transitions, I think we need to be extremely careful in jumping to the conclusion that:

[to quote Andrew Baird] “adaptive qualities of coral reefs would mitigate the effects of climate change.”

Full text at Climate Shifts

Colorful fish at Rapture Reef, French Frigate Shoals of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

According to the Australian newspaper, several scientists have downplayed the significance that global warming will have on our coral reefs.

Specifically, they respond to a recent comment by University of Queensland’s Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, that sea temperatures are likely to rise 2C over the next three decades, which would undoubtedly kill the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Professor Hoegh-Guldberg, also of the Australian Research Council’s Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS), has spent the past 15 years warning us about the impact of climate change on the coral reefs.   

But Dr Andrew Baird principal research fellow at CoECRS says that this is a pessimistic view, and that there are serious knowledge gaps about the impact that rising sea temperatures would have on coral. 

Baird believes that coral has the ability to adapt to climate change.

“I believe coral has an underappreciated capacity to evolve. It’s one of the biological laws that, wherever you look, organisms have adapted to radical changes.” he said.

However, Dr Baird did acknowledge that we need to do something about the impact of climate change on coral reefs.

“There will be sweeping changes in the relative abundance of species,” he said. “There’ll be changes in what species occur where.

“But wholesale destruction of reefs? I think that’s overly pessimistic.” he added.

Russell Reichelt, chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority shared Dr Baird’s sentiment.

“I think that he’s right,” he said. “The reef is more adaptable and research is coming out now to show adaptation is possible for the reef.”

Dr Reichelt, a marine scientist, believes that the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef is water quality. In particular, he refers to the coastal regions where sediment and fertilizer is draining into the ocean and therefore threatening the future of the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef.

“If a reef’s going to survive bleaching, you don’t want to kill it with a dirty river,” he said.

Coral can Cross-Breed

Baird and Reichelt aren’t the only ones who believe that coral could adapt to climate change.

Recent studies carried out by CoECRS have found that at least one species of coral can cross-breed and create a hybrid species, suggesting that coral may in fact be able to adapt to climate change.  

Ocean Acidification

Rising sea temperatures isn’t the only threat to our coral reef systems. Ocean acidification has been recently cited as a major threat.

At least three recent studies - one of which professor Hoegh-Guldberg was involved in - have concluded that rising CO2 emissions is a major threat to coral reefs around the world. This is because increased CO2 leads to increased ocean acidification - which in turn, destroys coral reefs.

Coral on the Great Barrier Reef

A lot of recent studies have been warning about the threat that climate change is posing on the world’s coral reef systems. The common conclusion appears to be that, if nothing is done about global warming, our reefs face imminent extinction. 

But according to a new study, there may yet be hope for our coral reefs.

Scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Australia (CoECRS), James Cook University, the Museum of Tropical Queensland and the Australian Institute of Marine Science have released a research paper indicating that at least one rare coral species may actually be able to adapt to climate change.

The study found that some Acropora (staghorn corals) coral - a particularly rare species of coral - are in fact hybrids. This means that they have cross-bred with other Acropora species to result in a hybrid species. By hybridising with other species, these corals draw on genetic variation in other species, increasing their own potential to adapt to changing conditions.

The Importance of Acropora

Zoe Richards, lead author of the research paper, says “Acropora are the main reef-builders throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and so of critical importance to the ability of reefs to cope with changing conditions. However, till now, very few clear cut examples of hybridisiation were known, and some people did not even accept that corals can cross-breed.”

She added that corals may prove tougher to exterminate than many people feared.

“Hybridising with another species actually makes a lot of genetic sense if you are rare and the next colony of your species may be hundreds of kilometres away.  It suggests these creatures are far more resilient that we thought, based on what we know from the behavior of land animals.” she said.

A number of factors are threatening coral reefs around the world. In particular, rising CO2 levels is leading to increased ocean acidifcation. Also, poor water quality is having a major impact on coral reefs.

The beautiful Great Barrier Reef - if climate change doesn't destroy it first, sediment and runoff will. Photo: Copyright (C) Richard Ling (rling.com)

Anna Bligh, Premier for the Australian state of Queensland, has indicated that she would move to introduce farm regulation in order to save the Great Barrier Reef.   

Ms Bligh’s announcement came on Friday, during the Reef Water Quality Summit in Parliament House, Brisbane.

The summit was being held in response to a recent report on the water quality around the reef. The report shows that the water quality around the reef is not improving. Sediment and phosphorous discharge levels are four times higher than they were prior to European settlement, and nitrogen discharge levels are five times higher.

Much of the discharge comes from farms and mining sites located on the mainland adjacent to the reef. 

Reef Water Quality Action Plan

In order to address this issue, the State Government launched a 10 year Reef Water Quality Action Plan with the Federal Government in 2003. Ms Bligh said that, since launching that plan, her Government has invested about $25 million per year in protecting and managing reef catchments.

The goal of the Reef Plan is to: 

halt and reverse the decline in water quality entering the Reef within 10 year

The plan aims to acheive this goal with following two objectives:

1. Reduce the load of pollutants from diffuse sources in the water entering the Reef; and
2. Rehabilitate and conserve areas of the Reef catchment that have a role in removing water borne pollutants.

To date, no regulations or penalties have been included in the plan. Instead, farmers have been given financial incentives to improve land practices.

Voluntary Action is Not Enough

But Ms Bligh says that after 5 years, not enough is being done. 

“We want to work with farming groups, we want to work with scientists, but after five years of a voluntary approach the science is telling us it’s just not working” she said.

“We need tougher action and a renewed sense of urgency”.

Ms Bligh indicated that the voluntary system wasn’t working and needed to be replaced by regulation.

“The science cannot be ignored and new action will be needed. That means moving from a voluntary regulated system and making the financial commitment needed to make it work” she said.

Responses to The Premier’s Announcement

John Cherry, CEO of the Queensland Farmers Federation, wasn’t happy with the announcement. 

“We believe we can move a lot more farmers to best practice through voluntary measures,” he said.

“We are concerned that regulation will undermine goodwill and make it harder to achieve that.”

Brett de Hayr, CEO of broadacre farm lobby AgForce shared this sentiment.

“Industry certainly recognises we need to look at controls for those people who won’t do the right thing, but for states to move down a purely regulatory approach - you don’t get best practice from regulation, you get the lowest common denominator.”

But Andre Leu, chairman of the Organic Federation of Australia, welcomed the news. He hoped that the premier’s announcement would lead to the farming and research community working together with the federation on ways to adopt commercially proven methods to reduce pesticides and synthetic fertilisers.

The Australian federal government has announced that it will roll out $23 million over the next few weeks in order to help improve the water quality around the Great Barrier Reef.

The money has already been set aside as part of “Reef Rescue”, a $200 million budget allocation set aside to tackle climate change and improve water quality around the Great Barrier Reef, located in Queensland Australia. 

“Most of this $23 million will help farmers in the sugar, horticulture, grazing, cropping and dairy industries to continue that good work, which will boost productivity and reduce costs” said Tony Burke Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The intention with the Reef Rescue package, is for regional and industry organisations to work together with private landholders and land managers in order to help the Great Barrier Reef resist the impacts of global warming.

As part of the allocation:

• Five regional organizations will each receive up to $7 million to work with industry organisations, land managers and landholders to give the Reef a better chance to survive climate change impacts.
• In addition, just over $1 million will support a partnership between five primary production industry organizations, the Queensland Farmers’ Federation and the Regional Groups Collective to raise awareness of the need for land management changes.

The five regional organizations are:

• Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM: to receive $3,546,300
• Burnett Mary Regional Group: to receive $3,063,000
• Fitzroy Basin Association: to receive $3,611,654
• Reef Catchments (Mackay / Whitsunday): to receive $5,808,124
• Terrain Natural Resource Management (Wet Tropics): to receive $6,804,650

The details of the allocation was announced today by Mr Burke and Australian Government Environment Minister Peter Garrett, who will also be attending the Reef Water Quality Summit today in Brisbane.

“I am very pleased that through this program Rudd Labor Government is bringing together farmers, land managers, environmental groups and the industry in an unprecedented way to ensure that the Great Barrier Reef has the best chance of survival, particularly in the face of dangerous climate change,” said Mr Garrett.

The Reef Water Quality Summit will be held today to address urgent concerns about the water quality of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

The summit was prompted by a 2007 report entitled 2007 Water Quality Report for the Great Barrier Reef, which was released earlier this month.

The report found that the water quality issue is worse than previously thought.

Agforce president, John Cotter says that farmers have been working with conservationists and the Federal Government to reduce farm run-off to the reef.

“The last thing that will get the best outcome for the reef is to have a series of blunt instruments or regulatory tools imposed on both not only the agricultural industry but the development industry,” he continued.

In response to the report, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said “We have had a lot of effort put in over the last five years, but recent scientific reports indicate that that effort has not been enough and it has not been happening fast enough”.

“So I want to hear from all those groups who are using the reef and who are concerned about it, ideas to accelerate the work that we are doing to improve water quality” she continued.

The summit, which will include Queensland and federal governments, conservation groups, farming groups, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, will take place in Parliament House in Brisbane today (24th October, Australian time).

A couple of days ago I wrote about the new report for the Great Barrier Reef. In that article, I spoke about the Queensland and Australian governments agreeing to update their plan for protecting the Great Barrier Reef.

Well, the Queensland Farmers Federation (QFF) have now accused the state government of overreaction. 

The QFF are concerned that the government will try to regulate the farming industry to protect the reef. QFF spokesman, John Cherry, believes that this isn’t necessary (yet). Mr Cherry says:

Efforts are being made by a whole range of bodies up the coast and well-funded by the Federal Government are underway. None of that is occurring from the State Government and I think the State Government is a group here who hasn’t done anything else but talk about it.

Ms Bligh has indicated that the current arrangement - voluntary land management improvements - are not working. She says that there may need to be regulation of farm and mine run-off. Ms Bligh says:

Not enough is happening and not quickly enough … we are already seeing irreparable damage to our reef, so the time to act is now.

It’s nice to think that some farmers and mining companies are making voluntary changes in order to protect the reef. I’d be interested to know how many farmers and mining companies are actually voluntarily improving their land management practices - just for the reef? 

Farmers are in business. So are the mining companies. Not many are going to change their practices unless it’s financially viable to do so. If it makes sense financially, then I’m sure we’ll see some results. 

When it boils down to it, the government has three choices:

1. Raise the financial incentive for improving land management practices
2. Regulate farm and mine run-off
3. Come up with something better…

A new report released yesterday shows that the Great Barrier Reef is in dire need of help - and it’s more urgent than previously thought. 

The report, released by the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, shows that the water quality around the reef is not improving. The report 2007 Water Quality Report for the Great Barrier Reef was the first in a regular series of reports on the health of the Great Barrier Reef - the largest natural feature on earth.

The water quality around the reef has been deteriorating over the last 150 years due to sediment run off from the mainland. This sediment is mainly caused by activities such as agriculture, grazing, tourism, mining and urban development.

Monitoring at the end of rivers, in priority catchments, has revealed that approximately:

End of river monitoring in priority catchments shows an estimated:

• 6.6 million tonnes of sediment is discharged in the reef lagoon – four times higher than estimated pre-European settlement levels;

• 16,600 tonnes of nitrogen – five times higher than estimated pre-European settlement levels; and

• 4,180 tonnes of phosphorous – four times higher than estimated pre-European settlement levels.

When announcing the report, Ms Bligh said: 

Our Great Barrier Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world,

She continued:

It fringes our north east Australian coast for approximately 2,000 kilometres, covers 348,000 square kilometres and has more than 3,200 coral reefs with a stunning array of marine habitats and species.

Ms Bligh says that both she and Peter Garrett (the Australian Environment Minister) agree that more needs to be done to protect the reef. Ms Bligh says that they will be updating the existing plan to “give it more grunt”.

I wonder if this means that the government will place more funding than the current $200 million it has allocated to “Reef Rescue”?