From Australian Oceans Data Network
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A tale of two reef systems: Local conditions, disturbances, coral life histories, and the climate catastrophe

Created 23/06/2025

Updated 23/06/2025

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Long-term changes in benthic communities and habitat conditions were studied at Rowley Shoals and Scott reef systems. This collection includes data from surveys from the Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) programs at Scott Reef (from 1994) and Rowley shoals (from 1995) which are conducted usually every 1–2 years (<4 years), in addition to heat stress habitat surveys in 2016. Each LTM location contains three replicate sites, separated by 300 m, consisting of five permanently marked 50-m transects, laid end to end and separated by 10 m. Images of the benthic community were captured at a distance of 30–50 cm from the substratum, along 1m intervals. Each image was analysed by identifying the benthic group under each of five fixed points to the lowest taxonomic resolution (Jonker et al., 2008). Additional monitoring locations were established in 2016 to assess the effects of predicted heat stress. Sites were established at the reef crest and lagoon at each location, consisting of six permanently marked 20-m transects, laid end to end and separated by 10 m. Surveys were conducted before (January) and during (April) the time of peak heat stress in 2016, and in October 2016 at Scott Reef and October 2017 at Rowley Shoals to quantify associated reductions in coral cover. Spatial and temporal variation in reef slope communities were compared using multivariate analyses, as well as analysis of environmental parameters. For full details see Gilmour et al., (2022).

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Additional Info

Field Value
Title A tale of two reef systems: Local conditions, disturbances, coral life histories, and the climate catastrophe
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/16f17a2c-7cfd-4dce-a414-c929d64d7d28
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
reception@aims.gov.au
Reference Period 17/01/2023
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "A tale of two reef systems: Local conditions, disturbances, coral life histories, and the climate catastrophe". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/a-tale-of-two-reef-systems-local-conditions-disturbances-coral-life-histories-and-the-climate-c