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In this paper we examine and critique adaptive management (AM) practices for protected areas (PAs), in pursuit of practices that can account for more-than-human relations. Engaging with empirical research from Australian PAs, we reflect on the formation of PAs as "exceptional places" where Nature is implicitly/explicitly to be controlled. We find that AM practices harness the spatial and temporal characteristics of the PAs to deliberatively construct a static and timeless scene, creating a particular vision of Nature. This metaphoric vision is captured "like a postcard." It reinforces and justifies static protectionism as Nature conservation, arraigning a series of material objects that are meant to assist with maintaining that image: that "reality." Using sentipensar as an exemplar, we explore and highlight relational and everchanging human-nonhuman engagements to contest the ontological dimensions of a static Nature and ideas of control and power associated with the binaries of Nature and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how the imagined landscapes that act as a catalyst for World Heritage listing, are unable to be reconciled with formal heritage assessments. We explore this tension through two Australian World Heritage landscapes: the Great Barrier Reef and the Tasmanian Wilderness. The history of these listings suggests a teleological process driven by a desire to create authentic utopias. While utopias are imagined spaces, Paradise at the Reef and the Tasmanian Wilderness are realised through hyperreal landscapes (fakes). However, these wholistic landscapes dissolve into a series of inventories of species and numbers in official listing. We suggest the failure to recognise the hyperreal is a form of false consciousness that creates a tension between managing for formally recognised values and managing the unmanageable utopia, and that a broader use of cultural landscapes might be useful in addressing this divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coral reefs provide important ecosystem services as well as economic and cultural benefits to society. Yet they are under significant threat from anthropogenic and natural threats, including climate change. Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is one such reef undergoing significant change. More radical interventions that go beyond traditional forms of management are being considered to help repair and restore the GBR. These are based on science and technologies that have yet to be widely tested. This paper reports on a study that seeks to identify and understand support for such interventions, and to understand the antecedents that explain support. The Norm Activation Model (NAM) was extended with a sample of 468 domestic and international tourists to Cairns, Australia. Personal norms had the largest direct influence on support for interventions, followed by attitudes. Awareness of consequences had a large positive impact on personal norms and a smaller positive impact on attitudes. A negative relationship was found between information and attitudes. Personal norms and attitudes also acted as mediators between awareness of consequences, information and support. No differences were found between domestic and international tourists. The results are discussed and theoretical and practical implications outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, natural resource managers see the marine protected areas that they are responsible for as linked social-ecological systems. This requires an equal focus on managing for both natural and human dimensions of the protected estate. Consequently, identification of indicators that represent the human dimensions of Large Scale Marine Protected Areas (LSMPAs) such as the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is critical if these values are to be properly considered as part of standard management practice. Assessment and monitoring of the human dimensions of LSMPAs requires a replicable, collaborative process, rolled out at local scales but comparable across vast, socially and geographically diverse areas. This paper explores the application of a process for the development, assessment, and monitoring of the GBR's human dimensions. The process includes (a) development of a conceptual framework that links indicator sets to the desired state of the GBR's human dimensions; and (b) a collaborative approach including ten practical steps to implement assessment, monitoring, and benchmarking of the human dimensions of an LSMPA. We conclude with examination of challenges and opportunities for implementing this process in the GBR context, specifically with respect to the targets and objectives of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex policy frameworks guide the management of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) at multiple decision-making levels. Mounting pressure on its outstanding universal value suggests that further improvements in governance are required. There has been little examination of the role of policy actors in addressing complex governance challenges in large scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs) involving multi-layered governance conflicts across diverse contexts. Framed by street level bureaucracy, pragmatic planning theory, and lessons from MPA governance, this paper examines how policy actors improvised and collaborated to advance outcomes in the GBR LSMPA. We assessed practice-focused oral histories with experienced policy actors who negotiated agreements and achieved policy outcomes in the GBR between 1985 and 2016. These policy actors were skilled improvisers, alternating between roles as democratisers, mediators, and negotiators. They used collaboration and facilitative leadership to advance policy in the face of governance problems. This enabled them to adapt policy across multi-level decision systems, address power and information imbalances, and generally deal with conflict and uncertainty. A deeper understanding of improvisation will assist governments and others to address complex challenges in LSMPAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dependence on water is one of the factors that can determine regional vulnerability in Australia. Climate change is predicted to change rainfall patterns in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region, and scarce water resources have the potential to make regional Queensland economies increasingly vulnerable. Understanding which economic sectors depend on water as an input factor helps in understanding sectoral and regional vulnerability, and thus in guiding regional policy aimed at structural change. Using a regional Queensland Input-Output (IO) model, this paper integrates water consumption of the GBR region and then compares monetary IO multipliers with water consumption multipliers. We argue that these IO multipliers can inform regional decision makers about potential future regional vulnerability by taking into account limited water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the discursive struggle over the reach and containment of spectacle in environmental politics to provide (a) case study-based evidence of how, on one hand, transnationally shared environmental awareness and concern, emerging in part through spectacle, is translating into expectations of participation and demands for accountability, and (b) how this is already impacting the ways in which environmental politics is being understood and enacted locally, regionally and transnationally. Drawing on recent mediated debate over the Great Barrier Reef, it finds that while the transnational is clearly an ambition for environmental campaigners, and the perception that transnational publics are emerging is already impacting environmental politics, the potency of these publics and their capacity to meaningfully negotiate accountability is yet to be empirically confirmed. Nevertheless, measures to contain spectacle are providing a potency for a transnational public sphere, even if in reality it is still little more than a specter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable destinations must deliver products that perform better than their competitors and at the same time protect key environmental drawcards. This research explores the environmental–economic interface of a major destination, both as a case study in how to approach this complex relationship and as a contribution to the methodology of tackling the need for understanding competitive pressures as part of sustainable tourism strategy creation. Using the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) as an example, the paper assesses 21 key environmental values, including Indigenous culture, against market-based factors, in terms of their importance for visitors as regional drawcards, satisfaction with them and the way in which changes in them might affect trip numbers and duration across different regions. While the natural values of the GBRWHA are found to be the most important drawcards, satisfaction scores were significantly lower than importance scores for a number of these values. Visitors responded more negatively to the prospect of environmental degradation than to the prospect of a 20% increase in local prices: the detailed impact depends, however, on location and visitor mix. Clear ocean, healthy coral reefs, healthy reef fish, and lack of rubbish were the top four most important values. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the Mossman Mill District Practices Framework. It was developed in the Wet Tropics region within the Great Barrier Reef in north-eastern Australia to describe the environmental benefits of agricultural management practices for the sugar cane industry. The framework translates complex, unclear and overlapping environmental plans, policy and legal arrangements into a simple framework of management practices that landholders can use to improve their management actions. Practices range from those that are old or outdated through to aspirational practices that have the potential to achieve desired resource condition targets. The framework has been applied by stakeholders at multiple scales to better coordinate and integrate a range of policy arrangements to improve natural resource management. It has been used to structure monitoring and evaluation in order to underpin a more adaptive approach to planning at mill district and property scale. Potentially, the framework and approach can be applied across fields of planning where adaptive management is needed. It has the potential to overcome many of the criticisms of property-scale and regional Natural Resource Management. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's premier tourist destinations. It is promoted and marketed to tourists as part of an idealised Pacific island paradise. While the gardens and decor of island resorts mimic those of resorts elsewhere in the Pacific, the way in which Indigenous people are represented is markedly different. This paper presents an analysis of historic tourist ephemera to suggest that Australian Aboriginal people are largely invisible at the Great Barrier Reef, despite their role in establishing the tourism industry. It suggests that ambiguities of Aboriginal presence, in labour and performance, are a product of tourism ideals and colonial race relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Queensland, Australia, is one of the most recognisable coral reefs in the world. In 1981 the reef was listed on the World Heritage List, to be preserved as an environmental asset of global significance for all people in perpetuity. The GBR is also a landmark Marine Protected Area (MPA) under the World Heritage Marine Programme. Yet management of this iconic property is not without controversy and in recent years a number of impacts, including coastal developments, increased shipping traffic and global warming, have all threatened the reef. Any breach of Australia's World Heritage obligation to protect and conserve the property may yet result in the GBR being placed on the World Heritage List in Danger. In light of the persistent controversy surrounding GBR management, this paper gives voice to the perspectives and values of stakeholders located in and around one site of controversy, Gladstone Harbour, in the southern section of the GBR World Heritage Area. We present the views of users directly exposed to the controversial port expansion development at Gladstone Harbour in the southern GBR to shed light on the importance of community perspectives in marine park management. Our findings show that local views act to reinforce the global environmental protection narrative which underpins the World Heritage (WH) system. In this study local and global values collide and, we argue, that overlooking the perspectives of users has potential deleterious consequences for WH marine site management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and associated environmental impacts are increasingly important issues. Effective communication with residents of coastal communities is critical to mitigate and adapt to changing conditions; however, this can be a challenging feat without an understanding of attitudes toward pro-environmental behaviour. Drawing on three dimensions of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this paper: (1) explores the Australian public's perceptions of climate change impacts on the Great Barrier Reef; (2) segments respondents into homogenous groups based on their environmental attitudes; and (3) profiles the emergent segments using managerially-relevant indicators. Study findings illustrate that respondents can be organised into five distinct segments according to their attitudes toward pro-environmental behaviour that could potentially stem climate change-related impacts. These segments perceive a variety of threats to the health of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem, underestimate the performance of behaviours that help to mitigate impacts and face a variety of internal and external constraints on behavioural engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Climate change impacts such as coral bleaching are now evident on many coral reefs visited by tourists. This paper reports on climate change workshops and climate change actions implemented by tourism operators and agencies in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, with a focus on eco-efficiency initiatives. The results of a climate change action survey of 82 Great Barrier Reef tourism operators are also presented. Climate change responses by coral reef destinations require a mix of environmental and business strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper challenges the accepted tenet that conservation creates attractive tourist experiences and high satisfaction rates, and explores the nature and value of partnerships between protected area managers and tourism operators. It develops a model to examine the linkages between natural resource management and nature-based tourism industry performance. The model uses input measures (such as the expertise and financial resources put into maintaining a healthy ecosystem), output measures (visitor perceptions of the environment and their experience of it) and outcome measures (satisfaction scores), to examine these linkages. Whilst the links between input, outputs and outcomes appear relatively weak, results suggest that operators can strengthen those links through high service quality, effective interpretation, in order to produce higher visitor satisfaction. The relationship between the natural environment itself and satisfaction was less clear, perhaps symptomatic of the “messiness” of protected area tourism systems where cause and effects are not always clear. The study suggests that perceptions of the natural environment and the nature-based tourist experience are best mediated through the tour operators’ input into creating and maintaining quality staff, to complement and demonstrate inputs by protected area managers, within the context of long-term partnerships between natural resource management and nature-based tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The relationship between tourism, health and well-being is a complex one based on interactions between the motivations of the travellers and the opportunities provided by the destinations. Much of the discussion to date has been dominated by descriptions of emerging opportunities and services, a focus on the provision of services such as health spas and wellness retreats and definitions based on this supply rather than demand. This paper argues that the focus on the supply side can distort our understanding of the phenomenon and therefore focuses on the demand side of wellness tourism and explores tourist motivation in a series of surveys conducted with tourists to Australia's Great Barrier Reef region over a seven year period. An analysis of the changing patterns of travel motivation to this destination provides some evidence that tourist motives to this region have moved towards incorporating a greater focus on aspects of well-being. More detailed examination of the recent surveys revealed the existence of two motive clusters with links to wellness - one focussed on family well-being and the other one emphasizing the restorative elements of being in a natural environment. The results support the existence of two different expressions of an interest in well-being reflecting an inner-outer directedness dichotomy common in psychology. The paper concludes with implications for understanding wellness tourism and tourism motivation in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the use of aesthetic value as a criterion by which the significance of heritage places is assessed. It is argued that current heritage management practice has not engaged with the extensive discourse relating to aesthetics, and therefore confines aesthetics to a particular class and culture, and an inert view of only one of our sensory experiences. Historical records relating to the Great Barrier Reef are used to show how aesthetic appreciation of the area has changed over time.The data suggest that the failure to recognise an aesthetic that is primarily non-visual can lead to changes in landscape and loss of associated value. It also suggests that aesthetic values change rapidly and are influenced by social and technological factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan 2017–2022 identified that changes to evaluation practices were an urgent need if ambitious water quality targets were to be realised. To understand if progress had been made, this study synthesised publicly available evidence for ten projects aiming to engage sugarcane growers in practice change. The aims of this study were to identify factors facilitating or preventing practice change in sugarcane growing, drawing on monitoring and evaluation evidence that was publicly available for the ten projects. Twenty-one peer-reviewed articles and government and industry reports were collated and analysed. Thematic analysis identified seven enablers of engagement with practice changes resulting from project participation: government and industry partnerships, effective communication, training and education, grower or community leadership, financial support, return on investment and social factors. This review showed that a lack of enabling factors is a barrier to program adoption and practice change. Additional barriers were lack of availability of alternatives, lack of clear and transparent monitoring and evaluation for projects, lack of trust between stakeholders and competing stakeholder interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of tourists who visit Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) engage in snorkelling. Yet little is known about how snorkellers perceive this experience. The aim of this study was to investigate snorkeller behaviour by exploring their environmental opinions and to provide insights on the association between climate concerns and environmentally conscious behaviours of snorkellers. A selfadministered questionnaire (n = 273) was distributed onboard reef tourism vessels visiting the study area. Approximately one-third of respondents believe that climate change and global warming are major threats to the GBR. Regression results indicate the environmentally conscious behaviour model (ECBM), a modified version of the norm activation model, is effective in understanding how a snorkeller's level of climate concern (LCC) both directly and indirectly activates and influences a snorkeller's environmentally conscious behaviour (ECB). LCC has a positive direct effect on ECB, and a positive indirect effect via environmental identity (EI), and personal environmental norms (PEN). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a reexamination of the author's understanding of pedagogy, aimed at developing an increased awareness of the provinciality, limits and blind spots of the pedagogy and knowledge systems of colonial modernity. It engages with particular Indigenous epistemological theorisations of non-human agency, with Haraway's notion of multispecies entanglement, and with the Australian Great Barrier Reef in an inquiry aimed at noticing absences and hauntings of pedagogies of modernity, including the absence of ways of knowing and being without separability and determinacy and the damage that has come of this. This opens space for contemplating separability and determinacy as ontological difficulties contributing to socio-ecological crises of our time. The article is intended as a move by the author toward developing greater capacity to stay with the trouble of educating and living on a damaged planet that is fast becoming uninhabitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach for improving the accuracy of altimetry-derived sea level anomalies (SLAs) near the coast is presented. Estimation of SLAs is optimized using optimal waveform retracking through a fuzzy multiple retracking system and the most appropriate detiding method. With the retracking system, fuzzy-retracked SLAs become available within 5 km of the coast; meanwhile it becomes more important to use pointwise tide modelling rather than state-of-the-art global tidal models, as the latter leave residual ocean tide signals in retracked SLAs. These improvements are demonstrated for Jason-2 waveforms in the area of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Comparing the retrieved SLAs withinsitutide gauge data from Townsville and Bundaberg stations showed that the SLAs from this study generally outperform those from conventional methods, demonstrating that adequate waveform retracking and detiding are equally important in bringing altimetry SLAs closer to the coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tourism literature offers a number of different themes related to defining and understanding the long stay, independent travel of younger people often, referred to as backpacking. This paper focuses on the two major themes of differences between backpackers and other tourists, and change over time in backpacking, through an examination of survey data collected from tourists to Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 1996, 2001 (prior to the event of September 11) and in 2002 (prior to the Bali Bombing). Backpackers were compared to Other Younger Travellers at each of these three times on a number of variables including travel party, motivations, type of reef trip chosen, and satisfaction. The results supported three main conclusions. Firstly, Backpackers differed from Other Younger Travellers on a number of variables and they retain some of these differences over time. Secondly, both groups changed over time, reflecting impacts of changes in international travel and contexts. Finally, although significant differences continued to exist between the two groups in each time period, over time tourists in the Other Younger Travellers group became more like Backpackers. The study concludes that the concept of backpacking as a rite de passage is worthy of further consideration and research attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2017, a category 4 cyclone, 'Cyclone Debbie', made landfall across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region of Australia. Drawing on the social amplification of risk framework and the concept of emotional stability, this research aims to provide insight into the perceptions of risk and individual responses to the disaster event using Twitter data, facilitating future analysis of social media messages during disaster events. This study uses Twitter data collected from the GBR region before, during and after Cyclone Debbie. Findings revealed changes in emotional stability across the stages of the cyclone. The findings suggested that statements revealing lower emotional stability were associated with amplified perceptions of risk, whilst increased emotional stability attenuated perceptions of risk. However, this was not the case for the characteristic 'empathy', which may have contributed to amplified perceptions of risk. Preparedness was also found to portray higher emotional stability characteristics. The findings have implications for future research analysing social media messages, as well as for disaster planning and response strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to test the usefulness of eye-tracking in measuring the perceived beauty of photos of the Great Barrier Reef. Eye-tracking is used to measure visual attention (fixation count, fixation duration) to 21 photos ranked in the degree of perceived beauty. Results indicate significant differences in visual attention to 'beautiful' and 'ugly' photos and a significant correlation between average perceived beauty and attention measures. This study provides evidence that eye-tracking can be used to measure the relative perceived beauty of natural images reflecting the attention given to 'attractive' images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation agencies and eco-tourism operators spend considerable effort developing strategies and programs to educate visitors about environmental issues. Typically, these include appeals for individuals to adopt environmentally friendly lifestyles. A review of messages distributed by marine conservation organisations and studies on interpretive tourism experiences on the Great Barrier Reef indicate there are multiple suggestions about which conservation behaviours to adopt. Despite the vast variety of options, research reveals visitors' uptake of conservation behaviours following eco-tourism experiences is low. To contribute to an increase in conservation campaign effectiveness, this study uses a Delphi technique to ascertain the views of a panel of stakeholders who hold significant knowledge, experience and expertise in the health, management and conservation of coral reefs about which conservation behaviours would contribute most towards protecting the Great Barrier Reef and other sensitive marine environments. Initially, the panel identified over 60 actions and behaviours. Further iterations reduced this number to 34 items which were grouped into six categories. The categories ranked as most important were political actions and education. A comparison between expert opinions and current practice is made and implications and recommendations for the future design of reef-based interpretive programs and conservation campaigns are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

eReefs is a comprehensive interoperable information platform that has been developed for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region to provide users with access to improved environmental intelligence allowing them to assess past, present, and future conditions, as well as management options to mitigate the risks associated with multiple and sometimes competing uses of the GBR. eReefs is built upon an integrated system of data, catchment and marine models, visualisation, reporting and decision support tools that span the entire GBR area. This communication briefly describes eReefs architecture and components and provides examples of applications that have been used to inform policy and management decisions, and finally discusses challenges and key learnings and considers future developments and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While excess zeros are often thought to cause data over-dispersion (i.e. when the variance exceeds the mean), this implication is not absolute. One should instead consider a flexible class of distributions that can address data dispersion along with excess zeros. This work develops a zero-inflated sum-of-Conway-Maxwell-Poissons (ZISCMP) regression as a flexible analysis tool to model count data that express significant data dispersion and contain excess zeros. This class of models contains several special case zero-inflated regressions, including zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP), zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB), zero-inflated binomial (ZIB), and the zero-inflated Conway-Maxwell-Poisson (ZICMP). Through simulated and real data examples, we demonstrate class flexibility and usefulness. We further utilize it to analyze shark species data from Australia's Great Barrier Reef to assess the environmental impact of human action on the number of various species of sharks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seagrass meadows are at increasing risk of thermal stress and recent work has shown that water temperature around seagrass meadows could be used as an indicator for seagrass condition. Satellite thermal data have not been linked to the thermal properties of seagrass meadows. This work assessed the covariation between 20 in situ average daily temperature logger measurement sites in tropical seagrass meadows and satellite derived daytime SST (sea surface temperature) from the daytime MODIS and Landsat sensors along the Great Barrier Reef coast in Australia. Statistically significant (R2 = 0.787-0.939) positive covariations were found between in situ seagrass logger temperatures and MODIS SST temperature and Landsat sensor temperatures at all sites along the reef. The MODIS SST were consistently higher than in situ temperature at the majority of the sites, possibly due to the sensor’s larger pixel size and location offset from field sites. Landsat thermal data were lower than field-measured SST, due to differences in measurement scales and times. When refined significantly and tested over larger areas, this approach could be used to monitor seagrass health over large (106 km2) areas in a similar manner to using satellite SST for predicting thermal stress for corals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchronised multispecies mass spawning events are striking features of reproduction in corals. This synchronous gamete release of thousands of animals over vast stretches of reef is thought to be cued by rhythms of the Moon. However, the mechanisms are not fully understood. We propose an explanation that may contribute to understanding this mechanism, that spawning is triggered by the coincidence of two factors, each in different lunar rhythms. We investigate this proposal in case studies using seven years of coral spawning data from two locations: Kochi, Japan and Lizard Island, Australia. Our calculations show that a feature in a lunar synodic rhythm (the third quarter) will synchronise with a feature in a lunar non-synodic rhythm (the zero declination) usually once, although occasionally twice in a year. Supported by data on the date of spawning from the two locations, we suggest that this coincidence of lunar factors exerts an important influence on the timing of annual mass spawning in corals. This coincidence may be associated with low atmospheric pressure. Spawning at the time of the third lunar quarter may favour fertilisation success due to the reduced currents during neap tides associated with the lower gravitational pressure of the lunar quarters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based tourism experiences have the potential to change the environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavior of visitors; but such experiences may be beyond the physical and/or financial reach of many people. To influence the conservation behavior of populations world-wide, a more accessible yet equally effective strategy is required. Using an experimental design, this study explored whether a conservation documentary about Australian marine environments, together with post-viewing support materials, prompted the adoption of conservation behaviours. Questionnaires revealed environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions rose immediately after viewing the documentary. Ten weeks later, these levels were maintained or decreased slightly for those who received post-viewing support (Facebook, help sheet or both), but decreased markedly in the control group. Results are similar to those reported in wildlife tourism studies. Implications for the use of documentaries in place of nature experiences are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how people are dependent on Large Scale Marine Protected Areas (LSMPAs) is important for understanding how people might be sensitive to changes that affect these seascapes. We review how resource dependency is conceptualized and propose that it be broadened to include cultural values such as pride in resource status, scientific heritage, appreciation of aesthetics, biodiversity, and lifestyle opportunities. We provide an overview of how local residents (n= 3,181 face-to-face surveys), commercial fishers (n= 210, telephone surveys), and tourism operators (n= 119 telephone surveys) are potentially dependent on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), a region currently experiencing significant environmental, social, and economic change. We found that commercial fishers and tourism operators were dependent not only financially on the GBR, but also because of their age, years in the industry and region, lack of education, and the number of dependents. These stakeholders lacked flexibility to secure alternative employment. All stakeholder groups, regardless of economic imperatives, were dependent on the GBR because of their cultural connections. We propose that resource dependency also provides an umbrella concept to describe the cultural services provided by an ecosystem, which can be described through place-based dependence and place-identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores images of an attraction that is simultaneously tagged as the ‘greatest reef in the world’, the ‘best managed reef’ and potentially a ‘world heritage site in danger’. Combining research in conservation psychology, place identity and visual communication, this study analysed a sample of images (n = 45) of the Great Barrier Reef to explore the complexity of messages being conveyed with regard to the status and health of the world heritage site and their impact on emotions and behavioural intentions of potential tourists (n = 1249). The results reveal three very different image types: tourism promotion, government support and conservation-oriented. Few of the images portray messaging underpinned by the science of conservation psychology, with most images portraying a negative or ambivalent message. The emotions elicited by the images significantly differed across the three different image types, resulting in different behavioural intentions in response. The overall finding is that there are often contradictory messages about the Reef, arguably impeding conservation efforts to protect the Reef, and a need for an integrated place identity management communication strategy. We propose the notion of care as one value that drives all three major stakeholders and that could underpin an integrated strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in port development along the Queensland coast, and the associated dredging activity, has led to increased environmental concerns for the health of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). While such impacts are of particular immediate concern for the GBR region, the issues surrounding dredging and dumping of dredge spoil are common to many other coastal regions in Australia and elsewhere. In this article, we review the current Australian policy and legislation affecting the dumping at sea of dredge spoil and the incentives this creates in terms of minimising damage. We find that the current complex framework may not necessarily provide appropriate incentives to minimise damage once approval has been obtained, although more recent policy interventions may help encourage innovation in more environmentally friendly actions. We also review the potential for other incentive-based management systems to limit environmental damage from dredging, drawing on the experiences in fisheries and marine biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Edwin G. Bowen’sWhite Death(1936) is an Australian–American film about shark fishing that stars the American novelist and fisherman Zane Grey as himself. Set mainly at the Great Barrier Reef, it has a semi-fictional plot about Grey’s quest to kill a shark in the face of opposition from an anti-fishing activist, Newton Smith (Alfred Frith). AlthoughWhite Deathwas financially unsuccessful and has received little attention in histories of Australian film or Grey’s life, it is significant in several ways. The film is unusual among early Australian productions for combining elements of the genres of travelogue documentary, fictional adventure film and exotic exploitation film. It reflects an American perspective of Australia as an exotic location. White Death is also linked to the interwar development of tourism at the Great Barrier Reef and foreshadows the growth of the environmental conservation movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The publically documented decline in health of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has led to its labelling, in media and academic literature, as a last chance tourism destination. That is, a place tourists travel to experience before it is gone. While the GBR has been labelled as such, no empirical evidence has identified that this is actually occurring. This article explores if tourists are motivated to visit the GBR to see it before it's gone, and examines the level of concern tourists have about the range of issues that are threatening the GBR. Drawing on 235 questionnaires with on-site tourists, the results indicate that tourists are seeking travel to the GBR in a bid to see the reef before it's too late. These tourists - identified as "seeking a last chance experience" - were also found to be more environmentally conscious, and have a higher level of concern about the overall health of the GBR. In terms of threats to the GBR, respondents indicated that they were mainly concerned about coral bleaching/disease and climate change, with tourism only considered as a moderate to low concern. The implications of this are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article bridges managers’ place meanings and environmental governance to provide insight on the factors that shape decisions concerning the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park. Drawing on a thematic analysis and open coding of data from 34 semistructured interviews, we investigated the perspectives of managers from three agencies charged with protecting the GBR. We observed that a plurality of place meanings converged on five themes: (i) stewardship of the environment, (ii) utilization and access to natural resources, (iii) individualized experience, (iv) intergenerational connections, and (v) spirituality in place. Results revealed that these themes were complemented by formal and informal policy instruments that comprised our governance framework. Informal policy instruments played a particularly important role in the co-creation of knowledge, facilitated negotiations between managers and their constituencies, and increased public involvement in decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pied Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula bicolor) is a summer migrant to northern Australia, and nests colonially on many islands of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Numbers are perceived to have declined as a result of large-scale shooting in the past and clearing of their mainland feeding grounds. To obtain evidence of any population changes, 1–10 counts were made each breeding season of the evening flight from the mainland to a nesting colony on North Brook Island. The counts began in 1965 and have continued for 50 years. The count represents one individual of a pair that visits the mainland to feed and returns in the evening. In the 1965–66 breeding season, the December count (the count used to compare years) was 4692 birds. Over the following three seasons, numbers declined to a low of 1451 birds in 1968–69; this decline was attributed to shooting of up to 1100 birds at a time. Large-scale shooting stopped in 1968 and was followed by a steady exponential increase (y = 3370.4e0.0908x in numbers over 23 years to 29 818 birds in the 1992–93 season. Numbers have fluctuated between ∼25 000 and 35 000 individuals over the following 18 years. A tropical cyclone of extreme intensity affected the pigeons' breeding site on North Brook Island and their mainland feeding areas in February 2011. In the following breeding season of 2011–12, numbers fell to 5311, but recovered to 21 088 in the 2012–13 season. The dramatic drop in numbers was attributed to the pigeons moving elsewhere for the 2011–12 season. It is predicted that the post-cyclonic number of 21 088 will take 4 years to recover to 30 000. The counts are a simple and somewhat coarse measure of population trends, but provide a population baseline for more sophisticated studies on the movements of pigeons and their responses to long-term changes in habitat and climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new species of the water mite family Pontarachnidae are described from Queensland, Australia: Pontarachna curvipalpis and Litarachna haleioides. Pontarachna curvipalpis can be distinguished from other members of the genus by its stocky leg segments, long apodemes of the fourth coxae, strongly bowed pre- and postgenital sclerite and wheel-like acetabula without radiating spokes. Litarachna haleoides is characterized by strongly bowed but not touching genital sclerites, relatively short apodemes of the fourth coxae, a slender palp and P2 with a ventral projection. A short discussion is provided on the occurrence of water mites on the Great Barrier Reef. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The value of public participation in water planning and management has been recognized in recent years; however, questions remain regarding which processes and factors contribute to appropriate participation. In this article I analyze the participatory processes employed to develop a water quality improvement plan (WQIP) for the Tully–Murray catchment in northeastern Australia using Smiley et al.'s (2010) analytical framework for appropriate public involvement. Three key lessons are drawn from this analysis, which are suggested to guide future research. First, to achieve participation by all relevant stakeholders, participation needs to be institutionalized. Second, the role and relevance of scientific and local knowledge and values for making decisions need clarification. Third, how conflicts, in particular conflicts over competing water uses and values, can be addressed and effectively dealt with deserves further research attention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Encouraging pro-environmental behavior among protected area visitors and other stakeholders has become a priority for marine resource managers. However, there exists a lack of understanding of the human dimensions of resource management regarding the perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders. Using the value-belief-norm theory of environmentalism (VBN) as a framework, the purposes of this investigation were to: 1) test a model of variables that influence stakeholders' intentions to adopt pro-environmental behavior in two marine protected areas (i.e., the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary); and 2) using the relevant literature and information gleaned from the model, suggest techniques that managers can use to encourage pro-environmental intentions. Acceptable goodness-of-fit indices for both of the structural equation models (one for each protected area) provided empirical support for the usefulness of the VBN framework to guide both research in marine contexts and marine protected area management efforts to encourage stakeholders' intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Specific suggestions include increasing stakeholders. knowledge about impacts via environmental education strategies, increasing their awareness of their impacts and their efficacy in mitigating those impacts (e.g., workshops), and developing interpersonal relationships among managers and stakeholders (e.g., implementation intention and follow-up strategies). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hydrographers have traditionally referred to the nearshore area as the ‘white ribbon’ area due to the challenges associated with the collection of elevation data (elevation hereafter refers to both topography and bathymetry) in this highly dynamic transitional zone between terrestrial and marine environments. Accordingly, available information in this zone is typically characterized by a range of data sets from disparate sources. In this article, we propose a framework to fill the white ribbon area of a coral reef system by integrating multiple elevation data sets acquired by a suite of remote-sensing technologies into a seamless digital elevation model (DEM). A range of data sets are integrated, including field-collected global positioning system (GPS) elevation points, topographic and bathymetric light detecting and ranging (lidar), single and multibeam echosoundings, nautical charts, and bathymetry derived from optical remote-sensing imagery. The proposed framework ranks data reliability internally, thereby avoiding the requirements to quantify absolute error and results in a high-resolution, seamless product. Nested within this approach is an effective spatially explicit technique for improving the accuracy of bathymetry estimates derived empirically from optical satellite imagery through modelling the spatial structure of residuals. The approach was applied to data collected on and around Lizard Island in northern Australia. Collectively, the framework holds promise for filling the white ribbon zone in coastal areas characterized by similar data availability scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become a hot topic for research, but the response of national governments has been relatively cool, particularly in their support for effective mitigation measures to combat the problem. A review of the scientific literature (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC]. (2007). Summary for policy makers. In S. Solomon, M. Qin, Z. Manning, M. Chen, K. Marquia, M. Averyt, M. Tignor, & H. Miller (Eds.), Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group 1 to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York: Cambridge University Press) paints a generally grim view of where the Earth is heading for by the end of the century if effective mitigation strategies are not implemented in the next few years. Mitigation measures of the type required to prevent major environmental damage in the future can only be effective if a global political approach based on agreed levels of climate change gas reduction is implemented. For its part the tourism industry is caught in a trap, unable to adopt meaningful mitigation strategies because of reluctance by consumers to bear the cost of changes that will be required but having to meet the cost of climate change mitigation and adaption strategies when they are introduced in the future. This article proposes a four stage problem definition and response framework with associated models that can be used by the industry to plan for and adapt to climate change both prior to and after the introduction of legislation and policies to combat climate change at the national and international levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the waveform retracking technique for two predominant waveform classes near the coast: quasi-specular and multi-peak echoes. The technique retracks the truncated sub-waveform rather than the full-waveform. Sub-waveforms, which are only based on returns reflected from the water surface, are extracted and retracked using the Brown model. The retracker is applied to simulated waveforms and Jason-1 and Jason-2 waveforms in the Great Barrier Reef. When using it as a supplement to the full-waveform retracker, results show that retracked SSHs can be extended further to the coastline, up to ∼2–6 km for Jason-1 and ∼1–7 km for Jason-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the diversity and taxonomy of a mainly marine group of species lacking chaetae currently assigned to the genusMarionina. This achaetous group includes four nominal species:M. achaeta(Hagen, 1954),M. achaetasensu Lasserre, 1964,M. nevisensisRighi & Kanner, 1979 andM. arenariaHealy, 1979. As Lasserre's (1964)M. achaetaappears to be morphologically different from its (then) senior homonymM. achaeta(Hagen, 1954), the replacement nameM. nothachaetanom. nov. is proposed for it. We studied the genetic and morphological diversity of achaetous specimens ofMarioninacollected in Florida, the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia, Sweden, England and the Bahamas. The collection localities are almost all supralittoral and often brackish-water habitats. Parts of the mitochondrial genes 12S, 16S, COI and the nuclear genes 18S, 28S and ITS were analysed to assess the genetic variation and phylogeny of the achaetousMarioninaspecies. The molecular data reveal one monophyletic group of 11 separately evolving lineages, and between these lineages, K2P distances in the barcoding gene COI vary between 5.4 and 25.0%. On a morphological basis, the lineages could be assigned to seven different groups (morphotypes), of which only two could be identified as described nominal taxa:M. nevisensiss. lat. (several lineages) andM. nothachaeta. Since the former taxon appears to be a complex of cryptic species around the world and the original type material no longer exists, a neotype from the Caribbean was designated forM. nevisensiss. str. The remaining achaetous lineages represent five morphologically distinct species that are left unnamed, awaiting finer morphological scrutiny and detailed comparisons with new collections ofM. achaetaandM. arenaria. Summing up, the group of achaetousMarioninanow seems to contain up to 13 different species, seven of which are yet to be formally described and named. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catchment-derived pollution of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, is instigating the development of novel policy, including community assessments and monitoring of their own resilience to water quality decline. This article explores community perspectives of social resilience to changing water quality in local waterways, and potential indicator domains for framing community-derived indicators. In a regional case study in northern Australia, we interviewed knowledgeable individuals with a specific interest in water quality management to elicit their understandings of social resilience in relation to water quality change. From their responses we identified 18 domains for the future development of indicators to be applied in the catchment. These included large social networks, numbers of stewardship volunteers, and cross-scale government–community partnerships. We discuss the utility of our results for targeting investment by policymakers to promote community adaptive capacity to water quality decline in the Townsville catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The claim that the herbicide Diuron in agricultural runoff caused dieback of the grey mangrove (Avicennia marina) in Central Queensland, Australia, has influenced government policies including programs to save the Great Barrier Reef. Several investigations on mangrove dieback in Central Queensland river estuaries have been published during the past decade. However, proof of a causal link between mangrove dieback and Diuron remains inconclusive. This study presents a systematic review of the evidence using Hill's Criteria of Causation. Our review shows that using concentrations of the chemical bound to sediment as a measure for biological availability in either glasshouse or field studies is inappropriate. The appropriate measure is Diuron concentration in solution and this parameter bears no simple relationship to concentration bound to sediment, and is not strongly correlated with mangrove health. Only when the herbicide is applied in experimental investigations at many orders of magnitude higher than measured in rivers has an impact on A. marina been demonstrated. Evidence from field studies suggests burial of pneumatophores, the plant's breathing roots, following flood events is a more likely causal factor in mangrove dieback, whereas any contribution from Diuron remains unproven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge of developing environmental outcomes acceptable to stakeholders with different values is well documented. Discourse analysis provides insights into how the views of different stakeholders affect decision making. We studied the discourses of key actors associated with the implementation of a Turtle and Dugong Hunting Management Plan developed by Hope Vale Aboriginal community in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia. The discourses of the environmental managers and community members were very different. Hope Vale people prioritized cultural well-being; the staff of management agencies prioritized biodiversity outcomes. These differences precluded effective outcomes despite considerable investment in hunting management over more than 20 years by both groups. Understanding the discursive terrain within environmental management domains can inform environmental decision making and the implementation of agreed management arrangements, enabling biodiversity objectives and Indigenous cultural aspirations to be met in a socially just, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preliminary results of a survey investigating individual well-being of residents in the Great Barrier Reef region of Australia are presented. The well-being factors were grouped into domains of: society, representing family and community issues; ecology, representing natural environment; and economy, dealing with economic issues and provision of services. The relative perceived importance of factors was quantified, allowing for a creation of individual well-being functions. In the society domain, family relations and health were identified as the most important contributors to well-being. Water quality was the ecology domain factor that received highest scores, and health services and income were the most important contributors to the economic domain. The methodological approach used in this study has a potential to integrate ecological, social, and economic values of local people into decision-making processes. The profiles of well-being thus generated would present policymakers with information beyond that available from standard data sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been considerable effort to set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed (SMART) targets to halt the decline in the quality of water entering the Great Barrier Reef from diffuse sources. Less attention has focused on the assessment of collaborative delivery options needed to meet these targets. This article adapts the SMART criteria to assess partnership needs to deliver voluntary water quality management programs proposed in Queensland's Tully-Murray Water Quality Improvement Plan. This formative assessment enabled us to guide agricultural industry and local government sector focus group discussions. These discussions helped to determine if institutional arrangements adequately considered the specific purpose of proposed management activities, if measures of delivery success were compatible among collaborators, and if delivery costs were fairly distributed and achievable. The assessment also exposed the relevance of proposed management programs to each partner's activities and agendas, and how temporal attributes of partnership design and purpose could maximise the benefits of proposed actions. We suggest that the framework can help other practitioners and researchers to assess systematically how partnerships can be adaptively designed to 'fit' the objectives of integrated water quality management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of Australia's iconic tourism attractions and one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an important economic, social and natural resource for Queensland's Tropical North. However, the long-term prognosis for the health of the reef and by implication, the industries dependent on it, is not positive. So far much attention has focussed on the health and resilience of the reef ecosystem, as a foundation for a resilient tourism industry. In this study we explore how weather conditions have affected the reef experiences of 1000 tourists to the Cairns/Port Douglas region, suggesting that this may also be an important indicator of change on the reef. The results suggest that poor weather has a more pronounced effect on experiences than good weather and reinforce the likelihood that seasickness, cold and wet conditions, reduced water visibility, and difficult snorkelling/diving conditions will reduce overall levels of satisfaction. Poor weather was found to have a direct effect on satisfaction scores, the likelihood that reef and tour expectations were not realised, and lowered perceived value for money. These are important considerations for the reef centred tourism industry that is currently facing strong environment pressures from climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sedimentological and stratigraphic study of Low Isles Reef off northern Queensland, Australia was carried out to improve understanding of factors that have governed Late Holocene carbonate deposition and reef development on the inner to middle shelf of the northern Great Barrier Reef. Low Isles Reef is one of 46 low wooded island-reefs unique to the northern Great Barrier Reef, which are situated in areas that lie in reach of river flood plumes and where inter-reef sediments are dominated by terrigenous mud. Radiocarbon ages from surface and subsurface sediment samples indicate that Low Isles Reef began to form at ca 3000 y BP, several thousand years after the Holocene sea-level stillstand, and reached sea-level soon after (within ∼500 years). Maximum reef productivity, marked by the development of mature reef flats that contributed sediment to a central lagoon, was restricted to a narrow window of time, between 3000 and 2000 y BP. This interval corresponds to: (i) a fall in relative sea-level, from ∼1 m above present at ca 5500 y BP to the current datum between 3000 and 2000 y BP; and (ii) a regional climate transition from pluvial (wetter) to the more arid conditions of today. The most recent stage of development (ca 2000-0 y BP) is characterised by extremely low rates of carbonate production and a dominance of destructive reef processes, namely storm-driven remobilisation of reef-top sediments and transport of broken coral debris from the reef front and margins to the reef top. Results of the present study enhance existing models of reef development for the Great Barrier Reef that are based on regional variations in reef-surface morphology and highlight the role of climate in controlling the timing and regional distribution of carbonate production in this classic mixed carbonate-siliciclastic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]