Reef And Rivers Podcast James Donaldson, Wet Tropics Waterways

Micro invertebrates are tiny creatures that are invisible to the naked eye but form the basis of the food web in our waterways. Dr. Robert Walsh talks about the importance and diversity of microfauna for sustaining aquatic systems and reveals that their eggs can remain viable for up to 400-500 years, meaning that extinct species could come alive again if water is added!
 
 
 

Australia loves its prawns so much that Queensland's aquaculture industry produces more than $200M of produce of each year, but is it sustainable? Kim Hooper, Executive Officer of the Australian Prawn Farmers Association, talks about the industry, how it works and how it minimises its impact on local waterways. 
 
 

Millions of tourists come to north Queensland each year to experience the natural wonder of the Great Barrier Reef. This influx of people from around the world represents an opportunity to educate and inform people about the complexity of the reef system and the threats that it faces.  

 

In this week’s Reef & Rivers podcast, Gareth Phillips, CEO of the Australian Marine Park Tourism Operators, talks about the link between science and reef tourism and how tourism can support conservation.   

Seagrass meadows play a critically important role in the reef ecosystem. They are nursery habitat for fish and prawns, they stabilise sediment and protect coastlines from erosion, they suck up and filter nutrients coming down from rivers into the reef lagoon, they absorb carbon and also help buffer the reef from pathogens and diseases. 

Associate Professor at JCU Mike Rasheed shares some of his knowledge about seagrass and how researchers are monitoring seagrass meadows in the Wet Tropics. 
Paul Doyle, General Manager of Strategy & Port Development for at Ports North also talks about why they monitor seagrass. 

The Great Barrier Reef is about the size of Japan or Italy and there are millions of dollars being invested in improving the runoff of water flowing off the land. How do we know if these reef projects are actually working? 
Fiona Barron is the coordinator of the Paddock to Reef Program in the Wet Tropics, which tracks progress against targets in Australia's Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan. 
 

Professor Mark Kennard discovered the Bloomfield River Cod in the early 90's whilst undertaking fish surveys as a research assistant. It is the only tropical cod in the world that has avoided predators by living in an 11 kms stretch of the Bloomfield River between two waterfalls.