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Historic Content you are reading content from a previous reporting year.

Showing 30 of 107 results

Figure MAR26 State of (a) coral bleaching and (b) coral mortality of the Great Barrier Reef associated with climate extremes, 2015–16

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Map

Download as png Source: Coral bleaching, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Figure MAR26 State of (a) coral bleaching and (b) coral mortality of the Great Barrier Reef associated with climate extremes, 2015–16 State and trends of marine biodiversity: Quality of...

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Box HER24 The Great Barrier Reef-World Heritage in focus

2016
Heritage
Effectiveness of management
Case Study
... World Heritage in Danger in 2015, and the subsequent major coral bleaching event of 2016, have received extensive media ... suggest that, in early 2016, up to one-quarter of the coral on the Reef suffered from bleaching caused by heat ...
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Climate extremes have resulted in widespread coral bleaching, habitat destruction and species mortalities in the past 5 years

2016
Marine environment
Key Finding

2016One of the strongest recorded La Niña events (2010–12), superimposed on overall increasing water temperatures, led to widespread bleaching of corals, loss of kelp forests, fish and invertebrate deaths, and changes in species distribution in western Australian marine environments. Also...

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Figure HER16 Map of observed bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef as at 13 June 2016

2016
Heritage
Effectiveness of management
Map

Download as png Source: GBRMPA (2016b) Figure HER16 Map of observed bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef as at 13 June 2016

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Box MAR5 National assessment of shallow reefs

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Case Study
... to provide a national assessment of shallow rocky and coral reef biodiversity (in waters less than 25 metres deep) ... and the Great Barrier Reef, have suffered from loss of coral habitat and predatory reef fishes because of human and ... on shallow-water reef biodiversity, with widespread coral bleaching in the North-west Marine Region, and loss of kelp ...
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Effectiveness of heritage management 2016

2016
Heritage
Effectiveness of management
At a glance

At a glanceThe Australian Heritage Strategy, launched in December 2015, recognises Australia’s significant achievements in heritage management and sets out a program that aims to improve the effectiveness of heritage management. Successful implementation of the Australian Heritage Strategy...

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Record high water temperatures have caused widespread coral bleaching, habitat destruction and species mortality in 2011–16.

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Key Finding

2016Record high water temperatures have caused widespread coral bleaching, habitat destruction and species mortality in 2011–16.

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Overview of state and trends of the marine environment

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Marine environment State and trends Great Barrier Reef Marine North Marine North West Marine South East Marine...

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Anthropogenic ocean warming and ocean acidification, superimposed on natural climate variations, pose risks to Australia’s marine ecosystems and their habitats, communities and species groups

2016
Marine environment
Key Finding

2016Sea surface temperatures are continuing to increase, with surface ocean warming during the 21st century occurring at approximately 7 times the rate observed during the 20th century. The frequency of extreme sea surface temperature events has increased. Rising summer ocean temperatures...

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Australia’s extraordinary and diverse natural and cultural heritage generally remains in good condition, despite some deterioration and emerging challenges

2016
Heritage
Key Finding

2016Nationally consistent information is not available to allow a single cohesive conclusion about the condition of Australia’s natural and cultural heritage, given the diverse and fragmented nature of available data. Expert opinion and limited surveys suggest that the values for which...

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State and trends of the marine environment 2016

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
At a glance

At a glanceReporting on the current state and recent trends of the biological and ecological components of Australia’s marine environment is highly variable across Australia’s marine estate, and is often inadequate for robust assessment. There are few coordinated, sustained monitoring...

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Pressures affecting the environment

2016
Pressures
At a glance

To understand the state and trends of Australia’s environment, it is necessary to consider both the historical pressures that have had a profound impact on the environment, and the contemporary pressures that directly and indirectly influence the state of the environment. Historical changes...

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Coastal and marine species and ecosystems

2016
Biodiversity
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity State and trends Murray Darling North East Coast Tasmania Greater Darwin Greater Hobart...

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Coasts: 2011– 16 in context

2016
Coasts
Introduction
Report Content
... In 2016, higher than usual sea temperatures caused mass coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, and approximately ...
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Marine environment: 2011–16 in context

2016
Marine environment
Introduction
Report Content
... period of high ocean temperatures led to widespread bleaching of corals, loss of kelp forests, fish and ... record. These extreme temperatures resulted in extensive coral bleaching and die-off, particularly across the northern ...
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State and trends of marine biodiversity: Quality of habitats and communities

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Marine environment State and trends Tasmania Marine Temperate East Marine South West Great Barrier Reef East...

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Executive Summary - Marine environment

2016
Marine environment
Executive Summary

Marine environment 2016Australia’s marine environment is the world’s third largest marine jurisdiction, at 13.86 million square kilometres. It is home to a diverse array of marine species, many of which occur nowhere else in the world. Our oceans also...

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Climate change is a key pressure on the Australian environment

2016
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Pressures Climate change is an increasingly important and pervasive pressure on all aspects of the Australian environment. Although our climate and its high natural variability from year to year have always been a major influence on the state...

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Resilience

2016
Resilience
At a glance

Resilience is the ability of the environment to withstand or recover from a shock or disturbance. Although the concept of resilience was developed and is mainly used in relation to ecosystems, it is a valuable concept across the environment and in environmental management. Effective...

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State and trends of habitats and communities

2016, 2011
Marine environment
State and trends
Assessment summary

The title of this assessment summary has changed from 2011. State and trends of quality of habitats for species Marine environment State and trends...

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Overview of state and trends of heritage

2016
Heritage
State and trends
Report Content

2016 Heritage State and trends North East Coast Tasmania Timor Sea Great Barrier Reef Marine North West...

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Climate and system variability

2016
Marine environment
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Marine environment Pressures Tasmania Marine Temperate East Marine South West Great Barrier Reef Marine North...

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Heritage: 2011–16 in context

2016
Heritage
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Heritage Introduction Tasmania Timor Sea Great Barrier Reef Lake Eyre The SoE 2011 'Heritage' chapter concluded that...

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Climate change will affect Australian regions differently

2016
Atmosphere
Key Finding

2016  Climate change will result in location-specific vulnerabilities. Australia is predicted to experience increased heatwaves, leading to increased bushfire incidence and health problems (heat stress); longer droughts, extending further geographically; flooding from more intense storm...

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Figure MAR25 Great Barrier Reef hard coral cover, 1986–2012

2016
Marine environment
State and trends
Graph

Great Barrier Reef hard coral cover, 1986–2012 Great Barrier Reef hard coral cover, 1986–2012 95% confidence intervalAverage live coral coverLower confidence interval 1985.529.32078327.29436325.357747 1985.5260329.26995727.25262125.324541 1985.5520529....

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Climate change

2016
Heritage
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Heritage Pressures Murray Darling Tasmania Great Barrier Reef Marine North Greater Sydney...

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Risks to Australia’s climate 2016

2016
Climate
Risks
At a glance

At a glanceAn understanding of the risks associated with Australia’s climate will lead to improved action plans to adapt to the changes predicted to occur. Our climate is a dynamic system; therefore, the risks need to be re-evaluated frequently. Recent climate change projections for...

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Importance of biodiversity

2016
Biodiversity
Introduction
Report Content

2016 Biodiversity Introduction Tasmania Great Barrier Reef Biodiversity is important to humans for many reasons. Biodiversity is also considered by many to have...

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Pressures on natural heritage

2016
Heritage
Pressures
Report Content

2016 Heritage Pressures Lake Eyre Our terrestrial and marine natural heritage is susceptible to the general pressures arising from climate change outlined above, as well as some of the...

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Resilience of our environment and society

2016
Climate
Resilience
Report Content

2016 Climate Resilience South Coast South Australian Gulf Timor Sea Great Barrier Reef Marine North...

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Australia State of the Environment 2016 has been prepared by independent experts using the best available information to support assessments of environmental condition, pressures, management effectiveness, resilience, risks and outlook.

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We, the authors, acknowledge the traditional owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community; we pay respect to them and their cultures and to their elders both past and present.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2017-2018

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