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Abstract: Adaptive management is the pathway to effective conservation, use and management of Australia’s coastal catchments and waterways. While the concepts of adaptive management are not new, applications involving both assessment and management responses are indeed limited at the national and regional scales. This paper outlines the components of a systematic framework for linking scientific knowledge, existing tools, planning approaches and participatory processes to achieve healthy regional partnerships between community, industry, government agencies and science providers to overcome institutional barriers and uncoordinated monitoring. The framework developed by the Coastal CRC (www.coastal.crc.org.au/amf/amf_index.htm) is hierarchical in the way it displays information to allow associated frameworks to be integrated, and represents a construct in which processes, information, decision tools and outcomes are brought together in a structured and transparent way for adaptive catchment and coastal management. This paper proposes how an adaptive management approach could be used to benefit the implementation of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (RWQPP). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (ANZECC Guidelines) provide default national guideline values for a wide range of indicators of relevance to the protection of the ecological condition of natural waters. However, the ANZECC Guidelines also place a strong emphasis on the need to develop more locally relevant guidelines. Using a structured framework, this paper explores indicators and regional data sets that can be used to develop more locally relevant guidelines for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA). The paper focuses on the water quality impacts of adjacent catchments on the GBRWHA with the key stressors addressed being nutrients, sediments and agricultural chemicals. Indicators relevant to these stressors are discussed including both physico-chemical pressure indicators and biological condition indicators. Where adequate data sets are available, guideline values are proposed. Generally, data were much more readily available for physico-chemical pressure indicators than for biological condition indicators. Specifically, guideline values are proposed for the major nutrients nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and for chlorophyll-a. More limited guidelines are proposed for sediment related indicators. For most agricultural chemicals, the ANZECC Guidelines are likely to remain the default of choice for some time but it is noted that there is data in the literature that could be used to develop more locally relevant guidelines. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Despite general interest in the concept, there is a lack of formal education systems that foster ocean literacy. Informal marine education programs may be filling this gap; where students undertake unique, immersive learning experiences connected to the marine environment. This paper consolidates information about marine education programs within Australia's temperate region – the Great Southern Reef – and evaluates the extent to which ocean literacy is being delivered through these programs under the banner of Australia's national curriculum. Using the mixed methods approach of a survey and semi-structured interviews, we found that participants are familiar with ocean literacy principles (89.4 %), and half of the informal providers (51 %) reported incorporating these principles into their education programs. We discuss the barriers to teaching and learning about ocean concepts reported by respondents, and argue that formal and informal education programs, working in tandem, can improve school curricula and promote greater ocean literacy. • 50 %+ of informal marine educators integrate ocean literacy principles. • 91 % link their programs with the Australian Curriculum. • Informal education enriches formal settings with unique opportunities. • There is a need for ocean literacy beyond biological concepts. • Ocean literacy programs can increase knowledge of the temperate marine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reef Check Australia (RCA) has collected data on benthic composition and cover at > 70 sites along > 1000 km of Australia's Queensland coast from 2002 to 2015. This paper quantifies the accuracy, precision and power of RCA benthic composition data, to guide its application and interpretation. A simulation study established that the inherent accuracy of the Reef Check point sampling protocol is high (<± 7% error absolute), in the range of estimates of benthic cover from 1% to 50%. A field study at three reef sites indicated that, despite minor observer- and deployment-related biases, the protocol does reliably document moderate ecological changes in coral communities. The error analyses were then used to guide the interpretation of inter-annual variability and long term trends at three study sites in RCA's major 2002–2015 data series for the Queensland coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine debris is one of the most significant issues facing oceans worldwide. The sources of this debris vary depending on proximity to urban centres and the nature of activities within an area. This paper examines the influence of tourism in the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR), and its contribution to litter levels in the region. By conducting beach debris surveys on occupied and unoccupied islands, this study found that debris was prevalent throughout the region with significant differences in material types between locations. The greatest source of debris from publically accessible islands was tourist-related, with this source also influencing debris loads on nearby uninhabited islands. A focus on debris at Heron Island, showed that sites close to amenities had greater levels of tourist-sourced items like cigarette butts. These findings indicate the contribution of tourists to this problem and that working with operators and managers is needed to minimise visitor impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many coastal and marine ecosystems around the world are under increasing threat from a range of anthropogenic influences. The management of these threats continues to present ongoing challenges, with many ecosystems increasingly requiring active restoration to support or re-establish the ecosystem's biological, cultural, social and economic values. The current condition of Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and its threats, including water quality, climate change and the loss of wetlands, causing the continuing decline in the GBR's ecological condition and function, has received global attention. Activities aimed at halting these declines and system restoration have been underway for over forty years. These activities are challenging to implement, and much has been learnt from their various outcomes. This paper considers the GBR and the associated management activities as a case study for regional scale catchment to reef management. It summarises the management approaches to date, describing the key role that science, policy and community have played in underpinning various investments. Four criteria for success are proposed: the lead role of the community, the need for a systems approach, the need for targeted, cost-effective and sustainable long-term investment, and importantly, building knowledge and maintaining consensus and political commitment. • Activities have intended to halt the decline and restore values of the GBR for decades. • The history of GBR catchment to reef provides a foundation for learning. • Criteria for success are identified to improve the condition and resilience of the GBR. • Integrated socio-ecological approaches will facilitate successful management. • Community leadership, long-term commitment and a solid knowledge base are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Degradation of coastal ecosystems in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia, has been linked with a decline in water quality from land-based runoff. This paper examines the reduction in current end-of-catchment loads required for total suspended solids (TSS) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) to achieve GBR water quality guidelines. Based on first-order estimates of sustainable pollutant loads, current TSS and DIN loads would need to be reduced by approximately 7000ktons/y (41%) and 6000tons/y (38%), respectively. Next, these estimated reductions for TSS and DIN are compared with Reef Plan targets for anthropogenic sediment (−20% by 2020) and nitrogen (−50% by 2013) loads. If successful, these targets will accomplish approximately 40% of TSS and 92% of DIN load reductions required to achieve sustainable loads to the GBR lagoon. These first-order estimates elucidate the need to establish ecologically relevant targets for river pollutant loads to the GBR for management and policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The potential for oil rigs to transport diverse, reef-like communities around the globe makes them high risk vectors for the inadvertent spread of non-indigenous species (NIS). This paper describes two case studies where a suite of pre-border management approaches was applied to semi-submersible drilling rigs. In the first case study, a drilling rig was defouled in-water prior to departure from New Zealand to Australia. Risk mitigation measures were successful in reducing biosecurity risks to the recipient region, but they resulted in the unintentional introduction of the non-indigenous brown mussel (Perna perna) to New Zealand when the rig was defouled in-water by divers. In the second case study, lessons learned from this high-profile incursion resulted in a more structured approach to pre-border management, and this serves as a useful template for future rig transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melbourne Water’s Eastern Treatment Plant (ETP) produces a secondary-treated sewage effluent which is chlorinated and discharged into Bass Strait at Boags Rocks, Victoria, Australia. Disappearance of the sensitive brown seaweed Hormosira banksii from rock platforms immediately adjacent to the shore-line discharge was identified in the early 1990s. Subsequently, Melbourne Water and CSIRO undertook an environmental impact assessment and review of land and marine effluent disposal options, which included ambient water quality monitoring, biological monitoring, bioaccumulation studies and toxicity testing of existing effluent to assess the nature and magnitude of the environmental effects. This paper presents data from the toxicity monitoring programs since 2001. Chronic toxicity testing using macroalgal germination and cell division (H. banksii), microalgal growth rate (Nitzschia closterium) and scallop larval development (Chlamys asperrima), confirmed that ammonia was the major cause of effluent toxicity. Results from this toxicity monitoring program were used to develop action trigger values for toxicity for each species, which were then used in a refined monitoring program in 2005–2007. An upgrade of the ETP is in progress to improve nitrification/denitrification in order to reduce ammonia concentrations and the toxicity of the effluent. Toxicity testing with a simulated upgraded effluent confirmed that ammonia concentrations and toxicity were reduced. Estimated “safe” dilutions of effluent, calculated using species sensitivity distributions, decreased from 1:140–300 for existing ETP effluent to 1:20 for nitrified effluent, further confirming that treatment improvements should reduce the impact on marine biota in the vicinity of the discharge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sediment accumulation rate is a frequently required parameter in environmental and management studies, in particular near coral reefs where sediment accumulation can potentially cause severe impact. However, opportunities to obtain accurate sediment accumulation measurements are often limited by a lack of adequate instrumentation, in particular for high temporal resolution monitoring. For instance the traditional use of sediment traps, as the most widespread technique, offers poor temporal resolution (commonly of weeks) besides having significant hydrodynamic shortcomings. Therefore, a new optical backscatter sediment accumulation sensor (SAS) was developed to continuously measure in situ short-term sediment accumulation in sensitive riverine and coastal environments, enabling high temporal and vertical resolution (order of 1h and with a deposited thickness resolution in the order of 20μm respectively). This allows investigations of various parameters that influence accumulation: tides, current, waves, rain, or anthropogenic activity such as sediment dumping. This paper briefly describes the SAS and presents three field applications on nearshore coral reefs at Ishigaki Island (Japan), Lihir Island (Papua New Guinea), and Magnetic Island (Australia). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nitrogen loading to aquatic ecosystems from sewage is recognised worldwide as a growing problem. The use of nitrogen stable isotopes as a means of discerning sewage nitrogen in the environment has been used annually by the Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program in Moreton Bay (Australia) since 1997 when the technique was first developed. This (“sewage plume mapping”) technique, which measures the δ15N isotopic signature of the red macroalga Catenella nipae after incubation in situ, has demonstrated a large reduction in the magnitude and spatial extent of sewage nitrogen within Moreton Bay over the past 5years. This observed reduction coincides with considerable upgrades to the nitrogen removal efficacy at several sewage treatment plants within the region. This paper describes the observed changes and evaluates whether they can be attributed to the treatment upgrades. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Most Australian estuaries are subject to riverine discharge regimes that are highly episodic. This characteristic poses difficulties for estimating nutrient budgets of such systems based on sampling regimes that do not resolve the discharge variation and the changes in nutrient distributions that they cause. This paper presents a method for calculating nutrient budgets in estuaries having episodic hydrology. The method utilises a simple hydrodynamic transport model that is calibrated using measured salinities and which is used to describe the transport properties of the estuary as they respond to river discharge. Using this transport model, the temporal variation in nutrient concentrations within the estuary can be resolved between sampling surveys even when the discharge events are of short duration. An inverse method is then applied to calculate internal fluxes of nutrients from measurements obtained on successive sampling surveys. The approach is demonstrated through an application to the Fitzroy Estuary in Queensland, Australia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a multi-criteria based tool for assessing the relative impact of diffuse-source pollution to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) from the river basins draining into the GBR lagoon. The assessment integrates biophysical and ecological data of water quality and pollutant concentrations with socio-economic information pertaining to non-point source pollution and (potential) pollutant impact. The tool generates scores for each river basin against four criteria, thus profiling the basins and enabling prioritization of management alternatives between and within basins. The results support policy development for pollution control through community participation, scientific data integration and expert knowledge contributed by people from across the catchment. The results specifically provided support for the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan, released in October 2003. The aim of the plan is to provide a framework for reducing discharge of sediment, nutrient and other diffuse-source loads and (potential) impact of that discharge and for prioritising management actions both between and within river basins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Along the tropical coastline of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region, little is known to date about submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into the near-shore ocean. In an oceanographic sense, SGD consists of freshwater flow from land as well as seawater circulated through sediments. Recent radiochemical and geophysical studies, using the tracer 222Rn and apparent ground conductivity respectively, provide evidence for SGD to occur in a variety of hydrogeological settings. In this paper, a non-quantitative overview of different settings of SGD in the region is presented: (1) recirculation of seawater through animal burrows in mangrove forests, (2) freshwater SGD from unconfined aquifers as a narrow coastal fringe of freshwater along Wet Tropics beaches, (3) SGD from coastal dune systems in form of localised freshwater springs in the intertidal zone, (4) inner-shelf SGD from confined submarine aquifer systems comprised of riverine paleochannels incised into the shelf. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The macrobenthos on the coastal reefs near the North Head deep-wateroutfall were sampled nine times over a 3 year period to determine whether patterns in diversity and abundance were affected by the outfall. The assemblages were sampled using an asymmetrical after control/impact design (ACI). Ten replicate quadrats at each of three sites nested within each of three locations were photographed using a jump camera. These photographs were sampled to provide estimates of the number and abundance of major taxa and abundances of individual species. Significant interactions between outfall vs control through time were detected for the total number of species, bryozoans, cnidarians and the abundances of a silt matrix and two species of bryozoans. Smaller scale interactions among sites through time occurred for the abundances of total fauna, sponges and an ascidian species representing some evidence for the effect of the outfall at these smaller spatial scales. This paper summarizes the correlative evidence of effects from theoutfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic and microplastic contamination in the environment receive global attention, with calls for the synthesis of scientific evidence to inform actionable strategies and policy-relevant practices. We provide a systematic literature review on microplastic research across Australian coastal environments in water, sediment and biota, highlighting the main research foci and gaps in information. At the same time, we conducted surveys and workshops to gather expert opinions from multiple stakeholders (including researchers, industry, and government) to identify critical research directions to meet stakeholder needs across sectors. Through this consultation and engagement process, we created a platform for knowledge exchange and identified three major priorities to support evidence-based policy, regulation, and management. These include a need for (i) method harmonisation in microplastic assessments, (ii) information on the presence, sources, and pathways of plastic pollution, and (iii) advancing our understanding of the risk of harm to individuals and ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Two saltmarsh locations within Lake Macquarie, NSW, Australia were selected to investigate the uptake and partitioning of metal(loid)s Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb in the Australian saltmarsh halophyte, Sarcocornia quinqueflora and the associated sub-lethal effects of metal(loid)s on plant health, including photosynthetic performance, biomass, and productivity. Metal(loid)s primarily accumulated to roots (BCF > 1). Barriers to transport were observed at the root to non-photosynthetic stem transition (TF < 1) for all metal(loid)s, suggesting this species is suitable for phytostabilisation. Sediment and plant tissue metal(loid) concentrations were significantly correlated with photosynthetic performance and plant biomass. As such, the action of sediment and tissue metal(loid)s on photosynthetic performance and the subsequent effect on biomass of S.quinqueflora appear to be suitable targets for molecular analyses to further elucidate mechanisms responsible for the observed adverse effects and the development of adverse outcome pathways., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Satellite retrieval of total suspended solids (TSS) and chlorophyll-a (chl-a) was performed for the Gold Coast Broadwater, a micro-tidal estuarine lagoon draining a highly developed urban catchment area with complex and competing land uses. Due to the different water quality properties of the rivers and creeks draining into the Broadwater, sampling sites were grouped in clusters, with cluster-specific empirical/semi-empirical prediction models developed and validated with a leave-one-out cross validation approach for robustness. For unsampled locations, a weighted-average approach, based on their proximity to sampled sites, was developed. Confidence intervals were also generated, with a bootstrapping approach and visualised through maps. Models yielded varying accuracies (R 2  = 0.40-0.75). Results show that, for the most significant poor water quality event in the dataset, caused by summer rainfall events, elevated TSS concentrations originated in the northern rivers, slowly spreading southward. Conversely, high chl-a concentrations were first recorded in the southernmost regions of the Broadwater., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The uptake and distribution of copper, zinc, arsenic, and lead was examined in two rare Australian saltmarsh species, Tecticornia pergranulata and Wilsonia backhousei. The bioconcentration factors and translocation factors were generally much lower than one, except for the Zn translocation factors for T. pergranulata. When compared to other Australian saltmarsh taxa, these species generally accumulated the lowest levels observed among taxa, especially in terms of their BCFs. Essential metals tended to be regulated, while non-essential metals increased in concentration with dose during transport among compartments, a pattern not previously observed in Australian saltmarsh taxa. The uptake of metals into roots was mainly explained by total sediment metal loads as well as more acidic pH, increased soil organic matter, and decreased salinity. The low uptake and limited translocation observed in these rare taxa may offer a competitive advantage for their establishment and survival in the last urbanised populations, where legacy metal contamination acts as a selective pressure., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The rapid expansion of the aquaculture industry raises concerns about water pollution from aquaculture production facilities (APFs). APFs release pollutants, including fish feed and feces, threatening the environment. The United Nations has introduced regulatory tools like the National Baseline Budget of pollutants (NBB) and Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) to monitor pollution. However, these tools lack specific capabilities for estimating aquaculture-related pollution, especially from mariculture non-point sources (NPS). The United Nations Programme for the Assessment and Control of Marine Pollution in the Mediterranean (UNEP/MAP) stresses the need for an inventory and guidance document. Our comprehensive literature review focused on (1) NPS discharges of specific pollutants from APFs, (2) methods for estimating potential pollution releases from aquaculture, and (3) compiling information into a guidance document summarizing estimation methods. The geographical coverage of our study includes Europe, Australia, the USA, Canada, and East/Southeast Asia., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Plastic pollution is fast becoming one of the most prominent contamination issues facing the marine environment. Microplastics are a major subset of plastic waste now present in all global oceans, with their numbers standing only to increase. This study applies a coupled hydrodynamic model and Lagrangian particle-tracking model to predict and simulate microplastic transport in South Australian waters. Virtual particles representing microplastics were released daily for 365 days from two major freshwater input sources along the coastline of Adelaide, Australia. These particles entered the Gulf St Vincent and were tracked over two model years using LTRANS software. The model identified general gulf circulation as circular, clockwise, with net southward particle transport from particle release sites. A potential accumulation zone associated with a local eddy was identified. Concentrations of particles that passed through local marine parks were also calculated in response to the potential concerns they pose in vulnerable protected areas., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work appearing in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

As oil and gas infrastructure comes to the end of its working life, a decommissioning decision must be made: should the infrastructure be abandoned in situ, repurposed, partially removed, or fully removed? Environmental contaminants around oil and gas infrastructure could influence these decisions because contaminants in sediments could degrade the value of the infrastructure as habitat, enter the seafood supply if the area is re-opened for commercial and/or recreational fishing, or be made biologically available as sediment is resuspended when the structures are moved. An initial risk hypothesis, however, may postulate that these concerns are only relevant if contaminant concentrations are above screening values that predict the possibility of environmental harm or contaminant bioaccumulation. To determine whether a substantive contaminants-based risk assessment is needed for infrastructure in the Gippsland Basin (South-eastern Australia), we measured the concentration of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in benthic sediments collected around eight platforms earmarked for decommissioning. The measurements were compared to preset screening values and to background contaminant concentrations in reference sites. Lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), PAHs and other contaminants were occasionally measured at concentrations that exceeded reference values, most often within 150 m of the platforms. The exceedance of a few screening values by contaminants at some platforms indicates that these platforms require further analysis to determine the contaminant risks associated with any decommissioning option., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

To mitigate marine debris and promote sustainable marine industries, legislation and regulations surrounding the management of marine debris have been adopted worldwide. One of the most well-known and important agreements is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which focuses on reducing all types of ship-sourced marine pollution. MARPOL Annex V, which deals with the disposal of solid waste, came into force on 31 December 1988. However, was only amended to include a complete ban on waste disposal as of 1 January 2013. Assessing the effectiveness of key regulations is fundamental for supporting evidence-based decisions regarding the management of our oceans. Here, we evaluated whether MARPOL Annex V translated into a decrease in the incidence of shipping- and commercial fishing-sourced debris on remote beaches in Australia using 14 years of standardised, community-driven data. From 2006 to 2020 there was a significant change over time in the density of fishing and shipping debris on Australian beaches; debris density increased up to 2013 followed by a decrease until mid-2017. Although the new regulation started in January 2013, the decrease in density was not recorded until one year later. The decline was only observed for 4 years, reinforcing the existence of lags between the implementation of international agreements and the corresponding potential reduction in debris in the environment. This provides compelling evidence that international agreements and policies by themselves are not enough to solve the debris problem, with improved implementation and enforcement also required. We discuss future perspectives and solutions to reduce ocean-sourced litter inputs into the ocean and highlight the urgent need for action., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Climate-induced coral bleaching represents the foremost threat to coral assemblages globally, however bleaching susceptibility varies among and within coral taxa. We compared bleaching susceptibility among 10 coral morpho-taxa and two colony size classes relative to reef-scale bleaching severity at 33 reefs across the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Marine Parks in February-March 2020. Colony size and bleaching severity caused the hierarchy of bleaching susceptibility among taxa to change considerably. Notably, massive Porites shifted from being among the least likely taxa to exhibit bleaching, to among the most susceptible as overall bleaching severity increased. Juvenile corals (≤5 cm diameter) were generally more resistant to bleaching, except for Montipora and Pocillopora colonies, which were more likely to bleach than adults (>5 cm). These findings suggest that colony size and reef-scale bleaching severity are important determinants of bleaching susceptibility among taxa and provide insights into possible shifts in the structure of coral assemblages caused by bleaching events., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to understand the amount and type of microplastics flowing into Port Phillip Bay from urban rivers around Melbourne. Water samples were collected from the Patterson, Werribee, Maribyrnong, and Yarra Rivers, which contribute 97 % to the total flow into Port Phillip Bay. On average, the rivers contained a mean of 9 ± 15 microplastics/L and ranged from 4 ± 3 microplastics/L (Patterson) to 22 ± 11 microplastics/L (Werribee). Of the eight polymers investigated, polyamide and polypropylene were the most frequently detected polymers. Using the mean concentration of each river, the flow of microplastics into Port Philip Bay was estimated to be 7.5 × 10 6 microplastics per day and 3.7 × 10 10 microplastics per year. To fully understand the fate and transport of microplastics into Port Phillip Bay, this study would be the foundation for a more in-depth investigation. Here, further samples will be collected at more points along the river and at the midpoint of each season., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Continuous monitoring of oil discharges in coastal and open ocean waters using Earth Observation (EO) has undeniably contributed to diminishing their occurrence wherever a detection system was in place, such as in Europe (EMSA's CleanSeaNet) or in the United States (NOAA's OR&R). This study describes the development and testing of a semi-automated oil slick detection system tailored to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) marine park solely based on EO data as no such service was routinely available in Australia until recently. In this study, a large, curated, historical global dataset of SAR imagery acquired by Sentinel-1 SAR, now publicly available, is used to assess classification techniques, namely an empirical approach and a deep learning model, to discriminate between oil-like features and look-alikes in the scenes acquired over the marine park. An evaluation of this detection system on 10 Sentinel-1 SAR images of the GBR using two performance metrics - the detection accuracy and the false-positive rate (FPR) - shows that the classifiers perform best when combined (accuracy >98 %; FPR 0.01) rather than when used separately. This study demonstrates the benefit of sequentially combining classifiers to improve the detection and monitoring of unreported oil discharge events in SAR imagery. The workflow has also been tested outside the GBR, demonstrating its robustness when applied to other regions such as Australia's Northwest Shelf, Southeast Asia and the Pacific., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Crown Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Estuaries in rainfall poor regions are highly susceptible to climatic and hydrological changes. The Coorong, a Ramsar-listed estuarine-coastal lagoon at the end of the Murray-Darling Basin (Australia), has experienced declining ecological health over recent decades. Twenty years of environmental data were analysed to assess patterns and drivers of water quality changes. Large areas of the Coorong are now persistently hyper-saline (salinity >80 psu) and hypereutrophic (total nitrogen, TN > 4 mg L -1 , total phosphorus, TP > 0.2 mg L -1 , chlorophyll a > 50 μg L -1 ) which coincided with reduced flushing due to diminished freshwater inflows and increasing evapo-concentration. Sediment quality also was related to flushing, with higher concentrations of organic carbon, TN, TP and sulfides as salinity increased. While total nutrient levels are very high, dissolved inorganic nutrients are generally low. Increased lagoonal flushing would be beneficial to reduce the hypersalinisation and hypereutrophication and improve ecosystem health., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Fishes represent an important natural resource and yet their diversity and function in dynamic estuaries with relatively high levels of human pressure such as Sydney Harbour have rarely been quantified. Further, Eastern Australia supports the survival and persistence of an increasing number of tropical species found within temperate estuaries owing to increasing average ocean temperatures. A re-valuation of the number of fish species known from Sydney Harbour is therefore needed. In this study, we generated an up-to-date and annotated checklist of fishes recorded from Sydney Harbour based on verified natural history records as well as newly available citizen science records based on opportunistic observations and structured surveys. We explored the spatial and temporal distribution of these records. In addition, we quantified the function, conservation status, and commercial importance of the identified fishes. The number of fish species recorded from Sydney Harbour now stands at 675, an increase of 89 species (15 %) when compared to the most recent evaluation in 2013. We attribute this increase in fish diversity over a relatively short time to the contribution of newer citizen science programs as well as the influx and survival of fishes in the Harbour with preferences for warmer waters. Some fish families were also overrepresented in the more urbanized and polluted sections of the Harbour. In forecasting further environmental impacts on the fishes of Sydney Harbour, we recommend increased integration of collaborative citizen science programs and natural history collections as a means to track these changes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All co-authors declare no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that influenced the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Water quality monitoring programs (WQMPs) are crucial for assessment of water quality in river basins where agricultural intensification and development raise concerns in freshwater and marine environments. WQMPs if supported by scientists and local communities, and if based on the knowledge needs of all stakeholders, can provide vital information supporting resource management actions. Our paper focuses on the transdisciplinary development and implementation of a community-led pilot WQMP for the Tully River basin, adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The community-led pilot WQMP was established to fill some knowledge gaps identified during development of the Tully Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP) and to provide opportunities for active stakeholder participation in the monitoring. Results indicated some water quality parameters (i.e. nitrates and total phosphorus) had higher than expected values and exceeded state water quality guidelines. Hence, the results provided an evidence base for freshwater quality objective development to conserve, protect and improve water quality conditions in this basin and GBR. Leadership of Indigenous people in the pilot WQMP recognizes their deep desire to improve water resources outcomes and to care for country and people., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

While the ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), north-eastern Australia, is being threatened by the elevated levels of sediments and nutrients discharged from adjacent coastal river systems, the source of these detrimental pollutants are not well understood. Here we used a combined isotopic (δ 13 C, δ 15 N) and geochemical (Zn, Pt and S) signatures and stable isotope analysis in R (SIAR) mixing model to estimate the contribution of different land uses to the sediment and associated particulate nitrogen delivered to the Johnstone River. Results showed that rainforest was the largest contributor of suspended and bed sediments in the river estuary (both 33.1%), followed by banana (26.7%, 20.4%), sugarcane (21.5%, 21.4%) and grazing (18.7%, 25.1%). However, bananas and sugarcane land uses had the highest contribution to sediments delivered to the coast per unit of area. This will help land managers to prioritise on-ground activities to improve water quality in the GBR lagoon., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Microplastics are an emerging contaminant in aquatic environments. Information on the occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in Australia is limited and their interactions with chemical contaminants have not been addressed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to generate baseline information on the physical and chemical characteristics of microplastics on Australian shorelines to facilitate further detailed risk assessment. Field collected microplastics were categorised by colour, shape and polymer type. Plastic particles were primarily clear, blue, white and green and consisted mainly of fragments (57.80%) and pellets (30.68%). Polymer characterisation revealed that shoreline microplastics were polyethylene (53.17%), polypropylene (35.17%), polystyrene (6.61%) and polyethylene terephthalate (1.85%). Analysis of metal(loid)s found that concentrations of Mn, Cr, Cu, As, Zn and Pb were significantly higher on microplastics associated with industrial locations compared with other land uses, indicating that aged microplastics have the potential to adsorb toxic metals and that metals levels may be location-dependent., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Crown Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The ecological role of intertidal microphytobenthos (MPB) is increasingly recognized in coastal production systems. MPB primary production (PP) measured in coastal wetlands of Korea, Cambodia, and Australia confirmed large variability at the global scale. Surprisingly, MPB biomass in mangrove forests almost doubled those measured in nearby bare tidal flats. However, MPB productivity (P b ) in vegetated habitats was significantly reduced (by ~50%) compared to that on bare tidal flats. Extensive measurements of MPB biomass, PP, and P b across 12 Korean tidal flats revealed large spatiotemporal variations, suggesting complex sediment-MPB coupled dynamics. The key factors included sediment type, tide, bed elevation, irradiation, temperature, and vegetation. Winter MPB blooms and the elevated P b seem to be unique characteristics of the Korean intertidal flats. The present study provides the baseline data of MPB PPs in mudflat, saltmarsh, and mangrove habitats in the highly productive zones of the Western Indo-Pacific Rim., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Shipping is almost certainly the most prevalent human-mediated transport vector for non-indigenous species (NIS) within the marine environment. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has long acknowledged the importance of sound environmental management and in recent years has taken a proactive approach to addressing risks associated with marine biosecurity. primarily as a result of biofouling on Navy vessel returning from overseas operations. This paper describes two case studies that highlight the effectiveness of the RAN marine biosecurity management framework in identifying an unwanted marine species on Navy vessels, and the successful biosecurity management program that ensued. In particular, the early detection and identification of a suspect NIS, the quick response to the discovery and the collaborative approach adopted between the RAN and the Government regulatory agency (Western Australian Department of Fisheries) charged with coordinating the incursion response serves as a model for how future incursion responses should be reported and managed., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a World Heritage Area and contains extensive areas of coral reef, seagrass meadows and fisheries resources. From adjacent catchments, numerous rivers discharge pollutants from agricultural, urban, mining and industrial activity. Pollutant sources have been identified and include suspended sediment from erosion in cattle grazing areas; nitrate from fertiliser application on crop lands; and herbicides from various land uses. The fate and effects of these pollutants in the receiving marine environment are relatively well understood. The Australian and Queensland Governments responded to the concerns of pollution of the GBR from catchment runoff with a plan to address this issue in 2003 (Reef Plan; updated 2009), incentive-based voluntary management initiatives in 2007 (Reef Rescue) and a State regulatory approach in 2009, the Reef Protection Package. This paper reviews new research relevant to the catchment to GBR continuum and evaluates the appropriateness of current management responses., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)