Coral proliferation in SE Australia: hotspots for temperate and range shifts of tropical fishes
Project Member(s): Booth, D.
Funding or Partner Organisation: Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation Inc (Sea World Research & Rescue Foundation (SWRRFI) Research Project)
Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation Inc (Sea World Research & Rescue Foundation (SWRRFI) Research Project)
Start year: 2024
Summary: Coastal marine biodiversity is changing rapidly under stresses such as anthropogenic climate change. The South-East Australian coast is a hotspot for such change, with the East Australian current increasing poleward, allowing tropical larvae to spread southward and warming local waters to increase survival of tropical organisms in temperate areas. Sydney is a key area of such change, and this project will use nearly 20 years of monitoring of tropical fish incursions to understand the consequences of new coral habitat that is expanding in this region. We will address which species are now arriving due to the coral habitat, how coral structure affects performance and diversity of associated organisms, and what this all means for management of our coasts.xx
FOR Codes: Assessment and management of benthic marine ecosystems, Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)