Investigating Oceanographic Drivers
of reef resilience in WA's Exmouth Gulf
The success of coral restoration depends on a range of physical and biological processes that govern how reef organisms interact with their environment. As such, a team of marine researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Western Australia's (UWA) Oceans Institute are investigating the environmental drivers of restoration effectiveness on degraded coral reef ecosystems. The multidisciplinary project, an AIMS@UWA alliance collaboration, jointly supported by the Minderoo Foundation and its Minderoo Exmouth Research Lab (MERL), are targeting their attention on nearshore marginal reefs of the western Exmouth Gulf, in North-Western, Western Australia.
Over the course of the collaboration, Camille, a Post-doctoral researcher specialising in coral reef hydrodynamics, has been deploying oceanographic instrumentation across Bundegi Reef, a nearshore fringing reef system 15 km north of Exmouth township. These deployments have included current profilers, pressure and temperature loggers - critical in gathering high-resolution data on a range of important environmental parameters in the area. With the help of numerical modelling, those measurements will help answer two key questions: (1) what is the optimal placement of restoration structures based on most favourable environmental conditions and (2) what physical factors (e.g. tide, waves) drive coral larval connectivity pathways within the study region to optimise the capacity of the reefs to be both effective coral recruitment sites, and once established, act as potential larval source sites to supply neighbouring reef areas.
The aim of the research is to understand the natural variability of reef systems and identifying environmental conditions that promote coral reef resilience and recovery, which is pivotal to advancing our ability to conserve and manage coral reefs. Given the future trajectory of coral reefs under warming ocean conditions (e.g. increased bleaching frequency/intensity), insights into the environmental drivers of resilience in marginal ecosystems (like Bundegi) and their clear-water counterparts (e.g., Ningaloo Reef), will be important in the future strategic management and restoration of these critical marine ecosystems.
Why Exmouth Gulf Reefs?
Exmouth Gulf Reefs (including Bundegi Reef located within the Ningaloo Reef World Heritage Area) have been subjected to severe extreme weather events such as marine heatwaves and cyclones, which, for example, have caused living coral abundance to decrease. With some of these reefs showing reduced recovery following these impacts, including dramatic loss in coral cover and increased rates of degradation. Understanding the oceanographic circulation of the area can help us understand key mechanisms for coral reef resilience and recovery from disturbances. Those results will provide timely and critical insights into the Exmouth Gulf environment, as a new marine park is to be established to preserve the region’s unique environmental and cultural values.
