Oceanographic Processes of Coral Reefs: Physical and Biological Links in the Great Barrier Reef

In the last two decades since publication of the first edition, substantial advancements have been made in the science, the need for transdisciplinary approaches to coral reef protection greater than ever before. This new edition, now in full color throughout with accompanying animations, goes beyond identifying foundational information and current problems to pinpoint science-based solutions for managers, stakeholders and policy makers.

Coral reefs are connected by currents that carry plankton and the larvae of many reef-based organisms. Further, they supply food to reefs. Currents also bring pollutants from the land and, together with the atmosphere, affect the surrounding ocean. The chapters in this book provide a much-needed review of the biophysics of reefs with an emphasis on the Great Barrier Reef as an ecosystem. The focus is on interactions between currents, waves, sediment and the dynamics of coastal and reef-based ecosystems. The topographic complexity of reefs redirects mainstream currents, creates tidal eddies, mushroom jets, boundary layers, stagnation zones, and this turbulence is enhanced by the oceanographic chaos in the adjoining Coral Sea. This is the environment in which particles and organisms, of a range of sizes live, from tiny plankton to megafauna. This generates faunal connectivity at scales of meters to thousands of km within the Great Barrier Reef and with the adjoining ocean.

Pollution from land-use is increasing and remedial measures are described both on land and on coral cays. The impact of climate change is quantified in case studies about mangroves and corals. Modelling this biophysical complexity is increasing in sophistication, and the authors suggest how the field can advance further.

Adjunct Professor Eric Wolanski is an estuarine oceanographer and ecohydrologist at James Cook University. His research interests range from the oceanography of coral reefs, mangroves, and muddy estuaries to the interaction between physical and biological processes determining ecosystem health in tropical waters. He has published 430 book chapters, scientific papers and reports. He has a Google Scholar h-index of 86 and 24,700 citations. Eric is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Institution of Engineers Australia (ret.), and l’Académie Royale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer (Belgium). He was awarded an Australian Centenary medal, 2 Doctorate Honoris Causa (by the catholic University of Louvain and the University of Hull), a Queensland Information Technology and Telecommunications Award for Excellence, and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association. Eric is an Editor-in-Chief of Wetland Ecology and Management, and of the Elsevier book series Ecohydrology from catchment to coast, an Honorary Editor of Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, and a member of the editorial board of 4 other journals.

Michael J. Kingsford is a Distinguished Professor in the Marine Biology and Aquaculture group of the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University (JCU), Australia. Over a 14 year period he has held positions as Head of the School of Marine Biology and Tropical Biology and Dean of the College of Marine and Environmental Sciences. Furthermore, he has been President of the Australian Coral Reef Society, Director of One Tree Island Research Station, member of the Great Barrier Reef Research Foundation and the Museum of Tropical Queensland advisory committees. His awards include, the K. Radway Allen Award Awarded for an outstanding contribution in fish or fisheries science by the Australian Society for Fish Biology (2017) and, the AMSA Jubilee Award (2021) for excellence in marine research and an outstanding contribution to marine research in Australia. He has published extensively on the ecology of reef fishes, biological oceanography, climate change and jellyfishes. In total, he has two hundred and twenty publications including four major books, fortytwo chapters in books, 165 refereed publications and nine refereed proceedings (h-index Google Scholar = 58). He has been a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovative Coral Reef Studies. A major focus of his research has been on reef fish ecology and demography, connectivity of reef fish populations, the ecology and behavior of larval fishes, the utility of Marine Protected Areas, environmental records in corals and fishes. He has forty years of research experience of studying fishes, jellyfishes and oceanography in temperate and tropical regions of Australia and other parts of the world.