The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) provides a globally significant demonstration of the effectiveness of large-scale networks of marine reserves in contributing to integrated, adaptive management. Comprehensive review of available evidence shows major, rapid benefits of no-take areas for targeted fish and sharks, in both reef and nonreef habitats, with potential benefits for fisheries as well as biodiversity conservation. Large, mobile species like sharks benefit less than smaller, site-attached fish. Critically, reserves also appear to benefit overall ecosystem health and resilience: outbreaks of coral-eating, crown-of-thorns starfish appear less frequent on no-take reefs, which consequently have higher abundance of coral, the very foundation of reef ecosystems. Effective marine reserves require regular review of compliance: fish abundances in no-entry zones suggest that even no-take zones may be significantly depleted due to poaching. Spatial analyses comparing zoning with seabed biodiversity or dugong distributions illustrate significant benefits from application of best-practice conservation principles in data-poor situations. Increases in the marine reserve network in 2004 affected fishers, but preliminary economic analysis suggests considerable net benefits, in terms of protecting environmental and tourism values. Relative to the revenue generated by reef tourism, current expenditure on protection is minor. Recent implementation of an Outlook Report provides regular, formal review of environmental condition and management and links to policy responses, key aspects of adaptive management. Given the major threat posed by climate change, the expanded network of marine reserves provides a critical and cost-effective contribution to enhancing the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/107/43/18278.full.pdf

Adaptive management of the Great Barrier Reef: A globally significant demonstration of the benefits of networks of marine reserves

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensors and platforms nowadays are being used in almost every application (e.g., agriculture, forestry, and mining) that needs observed information from the top or oblique views. While they intend to be a general remote sensing (RS) tool, the relevant RS data processing and analysis methods are still largely ad-hoc to applications. Although the obvious advantages of UAV data are their high spatial resolution and flexibility in acquisition and sensor integration, there is in general a lack of systematic analysis on how these characteristics alter solutions for typical RS tasks such as land-cover classification, change detection, and thematic mapping. For instance, the ultra-high-resolution data (less than 10 cm of Ground Sampling Distance (GSD)) bring more unwanted classes of objects (e.g., pedestrian and cars) in land-cover classification; the often available 3D data generated from photogrammetric images call for more advanced techniques for geometric and spectral analysis. In this paper, we perform a critical review on RS tasks that involve UAV data and their derived products as their main sources including raw perspective images, digital surface models, and orthophotos. In particular, we focus on solutions that address the “new” aspects of the UAV data including (1) ultra-high resolution; (2) availability of coherent geometric and spectral data; and (3) capability of simultaneously using multi-sensor data for fusion. Based on these solutions, we provide a brief summary of existing examples of UAV-based RS in agricultural, environmental, urban, and hazards assessment applications, etc., and by discussing their practical potentials, we share our views in their future research directions and draw conclusive remarks.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Remote Sensing Applications—A Review

The use of remote imagery captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has tremendous potential for designing detailed site-specific weed control treatments in early post-emergence, which have not possible previously with conventional airborne or satellite images. A robust and entirely automatic object-based image analysis (OBIA) procedure was developed on a series of UAV images using a six-band multispectral camera (visible and near-infrared range) with the ultimate objective of generating a weed map in an experimental maize field in Spain. The OBIA procedure combines several contextual, hierarchical and object-based features and consists of three consecutive phases: 1) classification of crop rows by application of a dynamic and auto-adaptive classification approach, 2) discrimination of crops and weeds on the basis of their relative positions with reference to the crop rows, and 3) generation of a weed infestation map in a grid structure. The estimation of weed coverage from the image analysis yielded satisfactory results. The relationship of estimated versus observed weed densities had a coefficient of determination of r2=0.89 and a root mean square error of 0.02. A map of three categories of weed coverage was produced with 86% of overall accuracy. In the experimental field, the area free of weeds was 23%, and the area with low weed coverage (<5% weeds) was 47%, which indicated a high potential for reducing herbicide application or other weed operations. The OBIA procedure computes multiple data and statistics derived from the classification outputs, which permits calculation of herbicide requirements and estimation of the overall cost of weed management operations in advance.

Weed Mapping in Early-Season Maize Fields Using Object-Based Analysis of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Images - eScholarship

But are tourists satisfied? Importance-performance analysis of the whale shark tourism industry on Isla Holbox, Mexico.

Recent estimates put average coral cover across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) at about 20–30%. This is estimated to be a large reduction since the 1960s. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act was enacted in 1975 and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) set up shortly afterwards. So the question is: why has coral cover continued to decline when the GBR is being managed with a management regime often recognised as ‘the best managed coral reef system in the world’, based on a strong science-for-management ethic. The stressors which are known to be most responsible for the loss of coral cover (and general ‘reef health’) are terrestrial pollution including the link to outbreaks of crown of thorns starfish, fishing impacts and climate change. These have been established through a long and intensive research effort over the last 30 years. However the management response of the GBRMPA after 1975, while based on a strong science-for-management program, did not concentrate on these issues but instead on managing access through zoning with restrictions on fishing in very limited areas and tourism management. Significant action on fishing, including trawling, did not occur until the Trawl Management Plan of 2000 and the rezoning of the GBR Marine Park in 2004. Effective action on terrestrial pollution did not occur until the Australian Government Reef Rescue initiative which commenced in 2008. Effective action on climate change has yet to begin either nationally or globally. Thus it is not surprising that coral cover on the GBR has reduced to values similar to those seen in other coral reef areas in the world such as Indonesia and the Philippines. Science has always required long periods to acquire sufficient evidence to drive management action and hence there is a considerable time lag between the establishment of scientific evidence and the introduction of effective management. It can still be credibly claimed that the GBR is the best managed coral reef system in the world but it must be realised that this is a relative assessment against other reef systems and management regimes and not an absolute claim for effective management.

A critical review of environmental management of the 'not so Great' Barrier Reef

Thermal infrared imaging of geothermal environments and by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV): A case study of the Wairakei – Tauhara geothermal field, Taupo, New Zealand

The dugong (Dugong dugon) is listed as vulnerable to extinction at a global scale. It has a large range that spans some forty countries and includes tropical and subtropical coastal and island waters from east Africa to Vanuatu. A significant proportion of the world's dugongs is found in northern Australian waters where most modern dugong research has been conducted. Dugongs are long-lived animals with a low repro- ductive rate, long generation time, and a high investment in each offspring. Population simulations indicate that even with the most optimistic combinations of life-history parameters (e.g. low natural mortality and no human-induced mortality) a dugong population is unlikely to increase by more than 5% per year. Dugongs are vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts because of their life history and their dependence on seagrasses that are restricted to coastal habitats. Even a slight reduction in adult survivorship as a result of habitat loss, disease, hunting or incidental drowning in nets can cause a chronic decline in a dugong population. The optimum management strategy is to identify areas that consistently support large numbers of dugongs and to set these aside as dugong sanctuaries in which dugong mortality is minimized and their habitat protected.

A conservation strategy for dugongs : implications of Australian research

Citizen science and the power of public participation in marine spatial planning

Despite calls to better link research and practice, the gap between knowing and doing continues to limit conservation success. Here we report on the outcomes from a workshop at the Society for Conservation Biology Oceania Conference 2014 on bridging the research–implementation gap. The workshop highlighted how the gap is still very real in conservation and the importance of bringing together researchers and practitioners to discuss their work. Workshop participants discussed how the research–implementation gap influenced their conservation efforts, identified five key mismatches between research and practice, and recommended seven ways we can work together to bridge the gap. The outcomes identified by the workshop are highly relevant to conservation efforts around the world.

/pdf/conservation-mismatch-and-the-research-implementation-gap-33c710ploh.pdf

Conservation, mismatch and the research–implementation gap

Understanding the effects of increasing temperature is central in explaining the effects of climate change on vegetation. Here, we investigate how warming affects vegetation regeneration and root biomass and if there is an interactive effect of warming with other environmental variables. We also examine if geothermal warming effects on vegetation regeneration and root biomass can be used in climate change experiments. Monitoring plots were arranged in a grid across the study area to cover a range of soil temperatures. The plots were cleared of vegetation and root-free ingrowth cores were installed to assess above and below-ground regeneration rates. Temperature sensors were buried in the plots for continued soil temperature monitoring. Soil moisture, pH, and soil chemistry of the plots were also recorded. Data were analyzed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and linear regression to identify the environmental variable with the greatest influence on vegetation regeneration and root biomass. There was lower root biomass and slower vegetation regeneration in high temperature plots. Soil temperature was positively correlated with soil moisture and negatively correlated with soil pH. Iron and sulfate were present in the soil in the highest quantities compared to other measured soil chemicals and had a strong positive relationship with soil temperature. Our findings suggest that soil temperature had a major impact on root biomass and vegetation regeneration. In geothermal fields, vegetation establishment and growth can be restricted by low soil moisture, low soil pH, and an imbalance in soil chemistry. The correlation between soil moisture, pH, chemistry, and plant regeneration was chiefly driven by soil temperature. Soil temperature was negatively correlated to the distance from the geothermal features. Apart from characterizing plant regeneration on geothermal soils, this study further demonstrates a novel approach to global warming experiments, which could be particularly useful in low heat flow geothermal systems that more realistically mimic soil warming.

/pdf/temperature-effects-on-biomass-and-regeneration-of-4qxk50hq6m.pdf

Barbara Breen

Papers

Thermal infrared imaging of geothermal environments and by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV): A case study of the Wairakei – Tauhara geothermal field, Taupo, New Zealand

A conservation strategy for dugongs : implications of Australian research

Citizen science and the power of public participation in marine spatial planning

Conservation, mismatch and the research–implementation gap

Temperature Effects on Biomass and Regeneration of Vegetation in a Geothermal Area