Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station 2020 - Report

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Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station 2020 - Report
Report

Australian Museum
Lizard Island
Research Station
2020
Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station 2020 - Report
Lizard Island Research Station
2020 Report
Lizard Island Research Station
Dr Lyle Vail AM and Dr Anne Hoggett AM

Lizard Island Research Station
PMB 37
Cairns QLD 4892
Australia
T + 61 (0)7 4060 3977                                       The Lizard Island Research Station
E lyle.vail@australian.museum and                          acknowledges the traditional owners
   anne.hoggett@australian.museum                           of Jiigurru, the Dingaal people, on whose
W australianmuseum.net.au/Lizard-Island-Research-Station   land the research station is situated.

Australian Museum Research Institute                        The Lizard Island Research Station
Professor Kristofer Helgen, Chief Scientist and Director    respects elders past and present,
T + 61 (0)2 9320 6237                                       and welcomes all who visit the
E Kris.Helgen@australian.museum                             research station.
Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station 2020 - Report
Kim McKay AO                                                       Kate Hayward
Director & CEO, Australian Museum                                  Chair, Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation

The resilience the Lizard Island Research Station (LIRS) has       So many lives and livelihoods have been impacted by COVID
shown during 2020 is to be commended. The emergence of             this past year. Including, of course, disruption to research
COVID-19 served as a global disruptor on an unthinkable scale,     and productivity of scientists globally. Granted, in some
bringing connections between wildlife, disease, environment        instances, we’ve seen greater collaborations across borders
and our global society and economy into sharp focus. Like          and institutions, or a boost to citizen science. For Lizard
many other destinations, the LIRS was forced to close due to       Island Research Station (LIRS) however, the pandemic and
the pandemic, pressing pause on the Station’s operations.          closure of LIRS for several months, compounded by open-
                                                                   shut borders, has interrupted many research projects. LIRS
Looking back, 2020 was not all bad news. Coral recovery in
                                                                   is, after all, a field station situated right on the Great Barrier
the Lizard Island area is going well, following the devastation
                                                                   Reef, attracting researchers whose projects require them to
caused by cyclones and bleaching in previous years. LIRS also
                                                                   be in situ and part of this dynamic living laboratory.
continued its important research on the Crown-of-Thorns
starfish in 2020, providing valuable knowledge about how to        Each year for nearly 40 years now the Foundation has
mitigate the impacts of this coral-eating species on reefs.        supported the award of Fellowships to PhD and early
                                                                   career scientists for field-intensive research. Last year the
Despite the pandemic, we did reopen the Australian Museum
                                                                   Foundation made the difficult but pragmatic decision to
(AM) in Sydney on 28 November 2020 following our major
                                                                   pause the awarding of new Fellowships for 2021 due to the
renovation known as Project Discover. The transformed AM
                                                                   backlog of research projects already delayed. We do hope
includes a new Changing Climate display, which highlights
                                                                   to be able to resume this important program next year. The
the need to understand how climate change is affecting
                                                                   easing of travel restrictions – within Australia at least – has
biodiversity on the Great Barrier Reef. The exhibition
                                                                   now seen a pickup in LIRS usage and forward scheduling as
features LIRS’ co-director Anne Hoggett.
                                                                   researchers are champing at the bit to get back to work.
In December 2020, we were pleased to welcome Lizard Island
                                                                   Our Foundation is proud to support the ongoing development
Reef Research Foundation (LIRRF) Chair Kate Hayward and a
                                                                   and maintenance of research facilities at LIRS. Among other
small group of donors to tour the “new” AM. During their visit,
                                                                   things this year, we have underwritten the replacement of
the group also heard from Professor Kristofer M. Helgen, the
                                                                   numerous air conditioners and solar hot water systems. A
new Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute
                                                                   notably exciting project underway is the complete upgrade
(AMRI) and the AM’s Chief Scientist.
                                                                   of LIRS’ solar power infrastructure which upon completion
Under the dedicated leadership of co-directors Anne                will mean LIRS can produce about 95% of its electricity from
Hoggett and Lyle Vail, LIRS demonstrated flexibility during        solar power.
these challenging times, using the COVID-19 forced closure to
                                                                   There is an increasing sense of urgency as we grapple with
tackle necessary administrative and maintenance work while
                                                                   the consequences of a rapidly warming environment and the
research and education outreach was put on hold.
                                                                   degradation of our coral reef habitat. Dramatic intervention
It’s also important to recognise the steadfast efforts of the      is needed globally to reduce greenhouse emissions. In the
LIRRF, led by Chair Kate Hayward, for continuing to support        meantime, much of the research undertaken at LIRS revolves
the work of the LIRS. While I know the LIRS team has missed        around understanding the changes that are happening to
the presence of visiting researchers and volunteers during         our reef ecosystems. Projects such as the ongoing recording
the pandemic, I am hopeful that this year will welcome the         of longitudinal data sets collected around Lizard are so
return of usual activity to LIRS. Finally, I would like to thank   important. We need to better understand how coral reefs
the donors, AMRI staff and AM Trust for their unwavering           function. What stresses are they facing? Can and how
support of the AM’s LIRS.                                          do they recover? How can we protect these ecosystems?
                                                                   What will future reefs look like? Current research is helping
                                                                   us understand these vital issues and on behalf of our
                                                                   Foundation a heartfelt thank you to all our donors and
                                                                   supporters at this critical period in time.

                                                                                                                                        3
Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station 2020 - Report
2020
in review

4
Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station 2020 - Report
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the work of LIRS              On a happier note, coral recovery in this area over the past
enormously. The station closed on 24 March 2020 when the         year has been nothing short of amazing. Since the devastation
last researchers left. Many were international scientists who    caused by cyclones and bleaching over four consecutive
had been scrambling to find a way back home as borders           summers (2014-2017), critical mass has been achieved by
were closing and flight options were in flux. LIRS remained      growth of small corals that survived the disturbances and
closed until 16 August due to health management issues,          others that have recruited since. The reef now looks fabulous
border restrictions, and very limited travel options.            in some places. Other places are well on the way and will also
                                                                 look great by this time next year as long as there are no major
The four LIRS staff remained on site during the lockdown
                                                                 disturbances in the early months of 2021.
in what must be one of the best places on the planet to be
isolated. We were able to get a lot of things done that had      There was a close call in early 2020. Coral bleaching began in
been on the to-do list for years, both administrative and        mid-February and there was some mortality by mid-March
maintenance. After nearly five months, we were more than         but a weather change associated with Cyclone Grace cooled
ready to welcome back the few researchers who were able          things down before much damage was done. The beginning of
to travel to LIRS. For the remainder of the year, occupancy      widespread bleaching became apparent in early January 2021,
was about one third of the corresponding period in a normal      too, five weeks earlier than the corresponding stage of the
year. Clearly, the work plans of many researchers were           devastating event in 2016. However, by the time of writing (late
thwarted by their inability to be in the field.                  January 2021), the weather pattern had changed and cooled
                                                                 the water enough to remove the immediate stress - but there
For the first time since the program’s inception in 1982,
                                                                 are still at least ten potentially dangerous weeks to come.
no new Lizard Island fellows or grants were offered this year.
Of the eleven new awards made in the previous round, four        This year saw the departure of three people important to
were not able to begin field work in 2020 as planned and two     LIRS. Dr Rebecca Johnson left her position as Chief Scientist
ongoing fellowships were not able to do the second year’s        and Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute of
work. It wasn’t sensible to award more to start in 2021 when     which LIRS is a part. She has taken up a new leadership role
the outlook is so uncertain.                                     at the Smithsonian Institution in the US. Marianne Dwyer and
                                                                 John Williamson left their positions as maintenance staff at
One trip that had to be cancelled was especially
                                                                 LIRS in October after 5.5 years of service. We thank all of them
heart-wrenching. For some years, we’ve been working
                                                                 for their great contributions. We welcome into the LIRS fold
with the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation to start
                                                                 Prof. Kristofer Helgen who took over from Rebecca in July and
a program of educational trips to LIRS for Year 11 Biology
                                                                 who has made a flying start to a complex job. We are currently
students and teachers. Generous donors had funded
                                                                 seeking two people for the ongoing maintenance roles at LIRS.
the initial trip, a competitive selection process had been
completed, flights were booked, and the 16 high-achieving
students and two inspiring teachers were raring to go.
The trip had to be cancelled less than three weeks before        Lyle Vail AM and Anne Hoggett AM
it was due to start on 10 April.                                 Directors, Lizard Island Research Station

Left LIRS boat Kirsty K.

                                                                                                                               5
Australian Museum Lizard Island Research Station 2020 - Report
Fellowships
and grants

6
The fellowships and grants program                                Details of the conditions and selection criteria for these
                                                                  awards can be found in the Lizard Island Research Station
provides funding for field-intensive
                                                                  section of the Australian Museum’s website. Information
research at LIRS. The program is fully                            for the previous round remains there until it’s updated in
supported by the Lizard Island Reef                               June or July for the next round. Applications close in August
Foundation (LIRRF) and its donors.                                or September for funding that becomes available in March of
                                                                  the following year.
Several new fellowships are usually awarded each year
to support broad categories of research by PhD students           The pandemic has also delayed an external evaluation of the
and recent postdocs. Grants are also awarded periodically         fellowships and grants program that had been planned for
to support more tightly targeted research. However,               2020. Funded by The Ian Potter Foundation, the project is led
for the first time since the program’s inception in 1982,         by LIRRF Trustee Lynne Madden. However, Professor Madden
no new fellowships or grants were offered in 2020 to              works in public health and understandably was absorbed by
start in 2021.                                                    the response to the pandemic during the year.

Practical matters dictated by the pandemic forced that
difficult decision. A major consideration was the capacity
of LIRS to facilitate the substantial backlog of research
that has resulted from travel restrictions. Many researchers
whose trips had to be cancelled in 2020 will reschedule
when travel can resume with a reasonable level of certainty.
Existing fellows and grantees are among those affected
(see table on next page). It seemed impractical to award funds
for new research that would compete with ongoing projects
for space at LIRS when access becomes widely available.

Another factor was the desire to retain one of the
strengths of the program: its national and international
scope. Eligibility for 2021 awards could have been limited
to Queensland-based researchers but that would have
compromised the program’s broad geographic reach.

Hopefully, the program can restart with only a single
year’s gap. The decision will be made in mid-2021 whether
or not to offer fellowships and grants that will start in 2022.
The LIRRF and its donors remain committed to this valuable
program. Donors who support specific awards that will be
made in the next round include:

•	Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation members
   and friends
• The Ian Potter Foundation
• The Charles Warman Foundation
• The Gough Family
• The Banyer Family
• The Nell and Hermon Slade Trust
• The Maple-Brown Family Foundation
• The estate of Sir John and Lady Proud
• The estate of Zoltan Florian

                                                                  Opposite In late 2020, coral recovery is well underway in
                                                                  some areas around Lizard Island following near-annihilation
                                                                  between 2014 and 2017.

                                                                  Above Kelly Hannan, 2019 Lizard Island Doctoral Fellow,
                                                                  at work in the aqaurium.

                                                                                                                                  7
Status of fellowships and grants in 2020

Award                          Recipient                   University                     Field work status in 2020

Ian Potter Doctoral            Sterling Tebbett            James Cook University          Start delayed to 2021,
Fellowship 2020                                                                           on track

Gough Family Doctoral          Makeely Blandford           James Cook University          On track
Fellowship 2020

Maple-Brown                    Dr William Feeney           Griffith University            On track
Family Postdoctoral
Fellowship 2020

Raymond E. Purves              Dr Stephanie Gardner        University of                  Not started
Foundation Postdoctoral                                    New South Wales
Fellowship 2020

John and Laurine               Dr Christopher Goatley      University of New England      Not started
Proud Postdoctoral             and Dr Simon Brandl         and University of Perpignan,
Fellowship 2020                                            France, respectively

Isobel Bennett                 Dr Zegni Triki              Stockholm University,          Not started
Marine Biology                                             Sweden
Fellowship 2020

Crown-of-Thorns Starfish       Prof Maria Byrne and        University of Sydney           On track
Research Grant 2020            Dione Deaker

Crown-of-Thorns Starfish       Prof Morgan Pratchett and   James Cook University          Delayed start, on track
Research Grant 2020            numerous collaborators

Plastics Pollution Research    Dr Fredereike Kroon and     Australian Institute of        On track
Grant 2020                     Dr Mark Meekan              Marine Science

LIRRF special grant 2020       Dr Daniela Ceccarelli       Independent researcher         Complete

LIRRF Special Grant 2020       Dr Joseph Di Battista       Australian Museum              Complete

Zoltan Florian                 Catheline Froelich          University of Wollongong       On track
Marine Biology
Fellowship 2019

Lizard Island Doctoral         Kelly Hannan                James Cook University          Delayed start to 2nd year,
Fellowship 2019                                                                           on track

John and Laurine Proud         Dr Bridie Allen             University of Otago,           2nd year not started
Postdoctoral Fellowship 2019                               New Zealand

Lizard Island Postdoctoral     Dr Chiara Pisapia and       California State University    2nd year field trip started
Fellowship 2018                Dr Steve Doo                Northridge, USA                in March 2020, cut short,
                                                                                          incomplete

8
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish
Research Grants

This program aims to discover ways to mitigate the impacts
on reefs of this coral-eating starfish which periodically
outbreaks into huge numbers. It was funded with a $500,000
Ian Potter 50th Anniversary Commemorative Grant to the
Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation. The first research
grants were awarded in 2015.

The final grant in this program was awarded to Prof. Morgan
Pratchett and collaborators in early 2020. The 2-year grant
is for a project titled: “Effective sampling of Acanthaster
cf. solaris to improve understanding and management of
population irruptions.” It is a continuation and expansion
of research already funded under this program by some
of the team members.

In total, twenty grants have been awarded and funded
research will continue into 2022. Research has ranged from
biological studies of the starfish - needed to understand
its capacity for population outbreaks and hence potential
intervention points – to practical methods of managing
outbreaks. The program has already produced 24 scientific
publications that provide a valuable contribution to
knowledge, and there are more to come.

Perhaps the most surprising finding so far is that
Crown-of-Thorns larvae can and do reproduce asexually
by splitting to form clones while drifting at sea. This could
allow the species to live in the plankton indefinitely and
disperse widely. Other research has honed in on developing
ways to detect the starfish between outbreaks, when their
numbers are building up unseen within the reef and before
they begin to eat coral. Such methods include diver surveys
for tiny juveniles, larval traps, and detection of DNA traces
in the environment (eDNA). These methods all show promise
and point the way to more targeted and effective control
measures. With the next outbreak on the Great Barrier Reef
predicted to begin in the Lizard Island area within the next
five years, we need to get those measures in place urgently.

Above Crown-of-Thorns Starfish, Acanthaster cf. solaris.

                                                                9
Lizard Island                                                The Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation
                                                             (LIRRF) is an independent trust established

Reef Research
                                                             in 1978 to conduct and support scientific
                                                             research at LIRS and elsewhere on the
                                                             Great Barrier Reef.

Foundation                                                   Go to lirrf.org for information about the
                                                             Foundation and the research it supports
                                                             and to make a donation to its worthy causes.
                                                             All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible
                                                             in Australia.
                                                             Members donate $1,000 or more in a 12
                                                             month period and Friends give a lower
                                                             amount. Life Members donate at least
                                                             $100,000 which may be spread over several
                                                             years. LIRS would not be the place that it is
                                                             without the support of the LIRRF. Members
                                                             in 2020 are listed on page 24.

                                                             Vale Chris Joscelyne
     FOUNDER                      Mrs Anna Le Deux
                                  Prof Lynne Madden          Long-term Trustee Chris Joscelyne died in June 2020
     The late Sir John Proud                                 following an illness that had affected him for the last year
                                  Ms Kim McKay AO
                                  Mrs Heather Power          of his life. Chris made several visits to Lizard Island and
     PATRONS                                                 was always generous with his time and knowledge.
                                  Mr Robert Purves AM
     Mr Andrew Green              Mr David Shannon           Among his other contributions, Chris provided a substantial
     Dr Des Griffin AM            Dr Geoff Shuetrim          donation of computer equipment as part of the station’s
     Mr Raymond Kirby AO          Ms Helen Wellings          30th Anniversary Development.
     Mrs Jacqueline Loomis        ¹ New Trustee in 2020      In the words of LIRRF Chair Kate Hayward: “Chris was a
     The Ian Potter Foundation    ² Died in 2020
                                                             LIRRF Trustee for 22 years, a dedicated span of time, and was
     Mr Robert Purves AM
                                                             a great champion of the work of LIRS. I feel fortunate to have
      Thyne Reid Foundation       SCIENCE                    spent several days getting to know Chris a little when we were
     Prof Frank Talbot AM         COMMITTEE                  part of a small group of Trustees visiting LIRS in 2018. He had
     TRUSTEE EMERITUS             Dr Penny Berents (Chair)   great warmth, great presence with his deep radio voice and
     Mr Kenneth Coles AM          Mr Charlie Shuetrim AM     was a story teller, sharing his many experiences
     Mr James Bildner             Prof Kristofer Helgen³     of business and life.”
                                  Dr Rebecca Johnson⁴
     TRUSTEES                     Dr Lyle Vail AM
     Ms Kate Hayward (Chair)      Dr Anne Hoggett AM         Below Members of the 2018 Trustees visit to LIRS. From left: Lynne Madden,
                                  Prof Lynne Madden          Alison Hayward, Bill Hayward, Henry Byrne, Jay Banyer, Chris Joscelyne,
     Mr Charlie Shuetrim AM
                                                             James Kirby, Peter Sainsbury, Greer Banyer.
      (Chair, Appeal Committee)   ³ New member in 2020
                                  ⁴ Left committee in 2020
     Mr David Armstrong
     Mrs Greer Banyer
     Dr Penny Berents
     Ms Allison Haworth-West¹
     Mr Chris Joscelyne²
     Dr Rod Kefford AM
     Mrs Wendy King
     Mr James Kirby

10
Board changes                                                    Events
We welcome Allison Haworth-West to the board this year.          Large face-to-face events for LIRRF supporters could not take
Allison is known widely in the travel and tourism industry in    place in 2020 due to the pandemic. Instead, about 100 people
Australia where her family founded and developed Captain         were welcomed to a virtual “reefside chat” by LIRRF Chair
Cook Cruises. Allison recently assumed a majority interest       Kate Hayward on 9 December. LIRS Directors Lyle Vail and
in Captain Cook Cruises Fiji where the company operates          Anne Hoggett outlined some of the research that had been
four cruise ships and she is president of the Australian Fiji    conducted at LIRS since reopening in August and provided
Business Council. Allison has visited LIRS and has a keen        an update on the state of the Reef. AMRI Director Kris Helgen
interest in its operations and the science being undertaken.     introduced himself to many LIRRF supporters for the first
                                                                 time and ran a lively Q&A session.

Projects and equipment                                           On 17 December, Kate Hayward welcomed a small group of
                                                                 donors at the newly refurbished Australian Museum where
funded by LIRRF in 2020                                          they toured the new public spaces and the wet specimen
In the 2020 financial year, the LIRRF contributed a              collection area. They were joined by other donors at a casual
total of $312,745:                                               lunch in the Museum’s Harbour View Room. After lunch, AMRI
                                                                 Director Kris Helgen spoke briefly and AM researcher Dr Joey
–$
  277,300 for research through its fellowships and
                                                                 DiBattista presented some of his Lizard Island work on eDNA
 grants program
                                                                 which has been funded by the LIRRF. Covid Safe practices
– $5,214 for a new outboard motor to support research at LIRS   limited the number of people that attended these sessions.
–$
  30,231 for other research operations

Other projects carried out in 2020 for which funding will        Lizard Island Resort
be provided by the LIRRF in the 2021 financial year include
                                                                 The luxurious Lizard Island Resort provides an exceptional
replacement of 10 solar hot water systems and 11 air
                                                                 base from which to experience the Great Barrier Reef.
conditioners.
                                                                 Delaware North, operator of the Resort, is a long-term
                                                                 supporter of the Research Station and the Foundation.
Coral Reef Study Tour cancelled                                  Each year Delaware North donates to LIRRF a generous
The inaugural Lizard Island Coral Reef Study Tour had to         three-night stay at the Resort for two people that includes
be cancelled due to the pandemic shortly before it was           return transfers by light aircraft from Cairns, accommodation,
planned to begin on 10 April 2020. Sixteen high-achieving        meals, beverages and more. This wonderful package is used
students of Biology at NSW government schools and two            to raise funds.
Biology teachers had been selected for the 9-night trip
                                                                 In addition, current LIRRF Members (i.e. those who have
to LIRS to immerse themselves in coral reef studies. This
                                                                 made a donation of $1,000 or more in the last 12 months)
was a great disappointment to all concerned. The trip was
                                                                 qualify for a 20% discount on any stay of 3 or more nights
funded by three generous donors to the LIRRF: the James N.
                                                                 at the Resort, except in the last week of October and in the
Kirby Foundation, the Corella Fund and the Coles Danziger
                                                                 Christmas-New Year period. Visit lirrf.org for information
Foundation. The funding remains intact and future plans for
                                                                 about making a booking.
this program depend on developments with the coronavirus
response within Australia.                                       When you are on the island, please be sure to visit the
                                                                 Research Station to see how your donation is being put

Solar power upgrade                                              to good use. For more information about the Resort,
                                                                 visit: lizardisland.com.
Since 2011, solar energy has produced most of the electrical
power for LIRS through a solar/diesel hybrid system with a
large battery bank. Efficiency has decreased in recent years     Donations
due to the inevitable degradation of batteries with time.        LIRRF operates with very low overhead costs and it provides a
A substantial upgrade is planned thanks to donations by the      highly efficient channel for donations to support science
Charles Warman Foundation and the Minderoo Foundation.           on the Reef. Lizard Island Research Station would not exist
It will increase solar collection by 50% and replace the         and could not continue without donor support. Various
existing battery bank and inverters with new technology so       options for donating are available online at lirrf.org/donate.
energy storage will be much improved. About 95% of LIRS          All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible in Australia.
electricity will be produced from solar in the upgraded
system. This project would have happened in 2020 if not for
the pandemic which delayed detailed planning. It will now
take place in early 2021.

                                                                                                                                11
For the record

COVID-19 impacts and response                                     capacity limits and other signage, hand sanitiser and alcohol
                                                                  surface cleaners became ubiquitous, and frequent cleaning
The LIRS COVID-19 response is based on Queensland                 of high-touch surfaces was implemented. For the remainder
Government regulations. It is documented in a Health              of the year, only Queensland-based researchers were able
Management Plan that is approved by the Australian                to access LIRS apart from one team based in ACT.
Museum, updated as needed, and submitted as required
                                                                  Restrictions on movements and operation of businesses
to Queensland Health.
                                                                  in Queensland continue to ease. On 28 October, LIRS
LIRS closed on 24 March, shortly after the staged closure         implemented version 2 of its health management plan
of Australia’s international border began. Several overseas       which was based on one person per 2 square metre rule.
researchers who were on site and many others who were             That allowed an increase in capacity to 24 visitors and several
just about to arrive had to make arrangements to get out          minor changes. Despite that, usage remained low because so
of the country quickly. By late March, the Queensland             few people were able to get to LIRS. October to December
border began a staged closure to other parts of Australia.        are historically the busiest months for research at LIRS but
Within the state, movement of people and operation                they were eerily quiet in 2020.
of businesses were restricted and even stricter travel
                                                                  On 1 December, NSW was removed from the Queensland
constraints were placed on remote communities including           hot-spot list. That encouraged several groups based in that
Cape York. Bookings at LIRS were progressively cancelled          state to plan long-delayed trips to LIRS to start in early 2021.
as it became clear that travel was not going to be possible.      However, the border remained open for less than three
The four LIRS staff remained at Lizard Island throughout          weeks: Greater Sydney was declared a hotspot in the week
the closure period.                                               before Christmas so those plans had to change again. As we
                                                                  move into 2021, the state border situation remains volatile
The Lizard Island Resort also closed in March leaving a
                                                                  and there is no end in sight for the current restrictions on
skeleton staff on site. Delaware North, operator of the
                                                                  international travel.
Resort, provides the scheduled flights and regular barge
service on which LIRS relies. During the closure, the twice-
daily flight schedule was replaced by sporadic flights as
needed and the usual fortnightly barge service changed
to monthly. LIRS is very grateful to Delaware North for
continuing to provide access to these essential services
during that difficult time.

Restrictions began to ease within Queensland during June.
On 3 July, the restriction on travel into and out of Cook
Shire (of which Lizard Island is part) was lifted. This enabled
LIRS to start planning to reopen. On 10 July, the Queensland
border opened to all states except Victoria but that only
lasted until 1 August when NSW was declared a hotspot by
Queensland. Combined with quarantine requirements and
other states’ regulations, travel into Queensland was not
practical from most other states.

LIRS reopened on 16 August with the first version of its
covid health management plan in place. That was based on
one person per four square metre rule. It required 2-stage
pre-screening of visitors, reduced capacity from 37 to 18
visitors, reduced the number of people allowed in boats
and vehicles, and excluded island visitors from the property
who were not LIRS residents. Rooms were labelled with

12
Staff
Dr Lyle Vail AM and Dr Anne Hoggett AM completed
30 years as joint Directors in August 2020.

Marianne Dwyer and John Williamson decided to move
on in October 2020 after 5.5 years in the maintenance
roles at LIRS. We thank them for their reliable and friendly
contributions to the life of LIRS and wish them well for
the future.

For the last two months of 2020, the maintenance roles
were ably filled on a temporary basis by Helen and Peter
Wodetzki who have volunteered at LIRS on several occasions
over the years. We are indebted to them for stepping in at
short notice so competently and enabling the work of LIRS
 to continue.

Snow Amos was employed as a temporary staff member
for a month in early 2020 to carry out several specific
maintenance projects.

At year’s end, the permanent maintenance positions remain
unfilled and the search is on for two new staff members who
will become an important part of the LIRS community.

Volunteers                                                       Scientific diving
The volunteer program was strongly curtailed in 2020 due to      Scientific diving in Australia is governed by state regulations
the pandemic. Before the closure in March, five wonderful        and in accordance with two Australian Standards that define
volunteers helped out with maintenance: Renie Amos, Erin         operating procedures and training requirements. Over the
Blair, Johanna Ettinghausen, Josephine Fletcher and Catarina     past four years, a group of experienced scientific divers have
Kollmannsburger. After reopening in August to much-reduced       been working to upgrade these standards. LIRS Director Lyle
capacity, LIRS did not accept any volunteers to ensure that      Vail represents the Australian Museum in this group.
space remained available for researchers.
                                                                 In September 2020, the two draft Standards went out for
Volunteers come from all walks of life and from all over the     public consultation. Many hundreds of comments were
world. Many come just once and some make repeat visits.          received and most were highly supportive. However, a small
LIRS is extremely fortunate to have a group of ‘hard-core’       core of stakeholders who are not practicing scientific divers
volunteers: Lois Wilson, Renie and Snow Amos, Helen and          do not support the changes and the process has stalled.
Peter Wodetzki, Kerry Sackett and Sue Lawrence. They bring
an extraordinary array of skills and undertake a diverse range
of essential maintenance jobs without which LIRS would not
be the place that it is. Since 2001, these seven people have
made 71 visits and worked as volunteers for 1,438 days.
The longest-serving volunteer is Renie Amos, who started         Opposite A small soft coral, Sarcophyton.

in 1991 and has volunteered almost every year since then.        Above Ascending from a dive.

                                                                                                                              13
Lizard Island Field Guide                                     Usage
Lizard Island Field Guide (LIFG) is an online guide to        Optimal usage of LIRS is 7,000 visitor nights per year.
the life of Lizard Island, both terrestrial and marine.       That level is not based solely on the amount of visitor
At year’s end, it included 3,040 species with photographs     accommodation available at LIRS, which has been 37 beds
and much other information.                                   in 12 bedrooms since 2010. Maximum possible occupancy -
                                                              all beds occupied for every night of the year - is almost
The rate of increase has slowed slightly: 240 species were
                                                              double the optimum.
added in 2020 compared to 300 in each of 2018 and 2019.
That is partly because there were fewer researchers at        The optimal level is based on all LIRS facilities and resources
LIRS in 2020 to provide knowledgeable ‘eyes on the ground.’   interacting efficiently. As well as accommodation, it takes
Also, the common and most easily-photographed species         into account our impact on the environment (including the
are already represented. However, there’s still a long way    cumulative effect of research on local reefs and the amount
to go.                                                        of freshwater drawn from the island’s aquifer), it allows for
                                                              efficient shared usage of other LIRS facilities such as the
A database behind LIFG captures the names of all species
                                                              research aquarium, and it reflects the number of visitors that
that have been recorded from the area. This has been
                                                              can be managed effectively by just four LIRS staff members.
compiled over many years from the scientific literature,
                                                              The optimal number has been exceeded in some years
the Atlas of Living Australia website, and records of
                                                              (see graph) and the challenges associated with it were
specimens collected at LIRS for research. Synonyms
                                                              apparent at the time.
(multiple names for the same species) have been weeded
out systematically using reputable online resources such      Usage in 2020 does not even approach optimum. At just
as the World Register of Marine Species. While the list can   2,364 person days, it is at a level not seen since the 1980s.
never be completely accurate, the total number was about      Usage was on track to achieve optimum from January until
7,350 at the end of 2020 - and that’s just the species for    the closure in March. After reopening in mid-August, usage
which we have names. While we know a lot about which          has been about 30% of normal.
corals and fishes live in the area, many groups - including
highly diverse ones such as insects and small marine
invertebrates - have received little scientific attention.
There are undoubtedly many thousands more species
present than those currently listed.

The online guide (http://lifg.australianmuseum.net.au/
Hierarchy.html) is updated continuously and free mobile
applications for both major platforms are updated about
twice each year. We thank the LIRRF for providing the
funds to maintain these sites, to Geoff Shuetrim and the
Gaia Guide Association for developing them, to Marianne
Pearce who enters much of the background data, and to the
many contributors. Anne Hoggett oversees the quality and
development of content.

Right A Large Whipgoby, Bryaninops amplus, on a whip coral.

14
Bench fees
                        Per person per night,		 2020		                                            2021
                        Including GST

                        Researcher                                          $ 150.00       $ 151.50
                        Researcher’s assistant                              $ 134.00       $ 135.00
                        Postgrad student (own project)                      $ 58.50        $ 59.00
                        Postgrad’s assistant                                $ 53.50        $ 54.00
                        School or university group                          $ 96.00        $ 97.00
                        Media                                               $226.00		      $ 228.00
                        Commercial                                          $ 283.00       $ 285.00

                                                                                                                     Above Anemonefish Amphiprion percula.

                9,000           Other
                                Volunteers
                                Commercia l
                8,000
                                Educational Groups
                                Postgra duates
                7,000           Researchers

                6,000

                5,000

                4,000

                3,000

                2,000
Person nights

                1,000

                   0
                                                                                                                                                                                  2020
                                                                                                                  2002
                                                                                    1994

                                                                                                                                2006
                                                                                                                         2004

                                                                                                                                       2008
                                                                                           1996
                                         1982

                                                                                                           2000
                                                                                                    1998
                         1978

                                                                             1992
                                1980

                                                       1986

                                                              1988

                                                                     1990
                                                1984

                                                                                                                                                                           2018
                                                                                                                                              2010

                                                                                                                                                      2012

                                                                                                                                                                    2016
                                                                                                                                                             2014

                         Calendar year

                                                                                                                                                                                  15
Institutions
                                                       Australian
                                                       1    ARC Centre of Excellence for
                                                            Coral Reef Studies
                                                       2    Australian Institute of Marine Science
                                                       3    Australian Museum
                                                       4    Curtin University
                                                       5    Deakin University

Visitors in 2020
                                                       6    Griffith University
                                                       7    Independent researcher
                                                       8    James Cook University
                                                       9    Queensland University of Technology
                                                       10   Southern Cross University
                                                       11   University of New England
                                                       12   University of Queensland
                                                       13   University of Sydney
                                                       14   University of Wollongong

                                                       International
                                                       15 Bar Ilan University (Israel)
                                                       16 California State University Northridge (USA)
                                                       17 Leibnitz Institute for Tropical Marine
                                                          Research (Germany)
                                                       18 University of Exeter (United Kingdom)
                                                       19 University of Neuchatel (Switzerland)
                                                       20 University of Oslo (Norway)

Scientists from 20 institutions in 7 countries
conducted 52 research projects in 2020
comprising 37 senior scientists or postdocs,
21 PhD candidates, 1 MSc candidate, 2 Honours
candidates and 1 undergraduate research
student. The researchers are listed here with
their project titles and institutional affiliations.

All visits by people based at institutions outside
of Queensland took place between January and
March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

16
Senior scientists                         Christopher Goatley11 and David
                                          Bellwood¹,⁸
and postdocs                              Ecology of cryptobenthic fish larvae

Sophie Stephenson as field leader         Alexandra Grutter12
for Kristen Anderson King¹,⁸              Culturing gnathiid isopod parasites
Recovery of coral growth rates and
                                          Andrew Hoey¹,⁸ and Morgan Pratchett¹,⁸
reef carbonate budget after severe
bleaching events at Lizard Island         The relative resilience of coral- and
                                          macroalgal-dominated habitats to
Andrew Baird¹,⁸                           multiple disturbances
Reef records monitoring
                                          Emily Howells14
Kristen Brown12
                                          Evolutionary potential of corals to adapt
Species interactions and reef
                                          to climate warming
recovery in the aftermath of mass
coral bleaching                           Frederieke Kroon2
                                          The effects of microplastic
Wen-Sung Chung12
                                          contamination on mesozooplankton:
Neuroanatomy and tractography
                                          a unique threat?
of octopus
                                          Sjannie Lefevre Nilsson20
Fabio Cortesi12 and Martin Luehrmann12
Visual system plasticity in reef fishes   and Goran Nilsson20
                                          Effect of hypoxia and temperature
Thomas Cribb12 and Scott Cutmore12        on heart rate and oxygen uptake in
Trematode parasites of GBR fishes         jumping snails
Fanny de Busserolles12
                                          Vanessa Messmer¹,⁸ and Ciemon
Coral reef fish sensory systems from
                                          Caballes James Cook University¹,⁸
a brain perspective
                                          Early detection of COTS recruitment
Joseph DiBattista 3                       using settlement traps and genetic
eDNA monitoring of a Lizard Island reef   analysis
Jennifer Donelson¹,⁸                      Samuel Powell12 and Justin Marshall12
Behavioural thermoregulation of           Visual cues for navigation in open water
coral reef fish
                                          Morgan Pratchett¹,⁸ and
Steve Doo17                               Ciemon Caballes¹,⁸
Carbonate production of large             Effective sampling of Crown-of-Thorns
benthic foraminifera in a changing
                                          Starfish to provide early warning of new
marine climate
                                          and renewed outbreaks
Jason Doyle and Sven Uthicke
            2                  2
                                          Steve Purcell10
Refining eDNA detection of COTS
                                          Growth and movement of sea
Matthew Dunbabin9                         cucumbers Pearsonothuria graeffei
CoralBots for benthos classification,     and Holothuria fuscopunctata
impact and restoration assessment
                                          Zoe Richards4 and Daniela Ceccarelli4
Will Feeney , Alexandra Grutter
           6                       12
                                          Coral and fish long-term biodiversity
and Rohan Brooker5                        study
Investigating the ecology and
evolution of cleaner-client mutualisms    Michael Salter¹8
on coral reefs                            Short-term preservation pathways
                                          of calcium carbonate sediments in
Will Figueira13 and
                                          tropical reef settings
Renata Ferrari Legorreta13
Assessing 3D structure and fish           Noa Truskanov ¹9
assemblages of reefs around               Social learning in juvenile
Lizard Island                             cleaner wrasse

                                                                                      17
Postgraduate                               Siobhan Heatwole14
                                           with supervisor Marian Wong14
                                                                                     Ching Wen Wang12
                                                                                     Spectral and polarisation information
research students                          The evolution and variability of social   processing in the stomatopod lamina:
                                           behaviour in anemonefishes (PhD)          intracellular electrophysiology and
Jessica Bellworthy15                                                                 histology of the lamina monopolar
How do local thermal regimes and           Christopher Hemingson1,8                  neurons (PhD)
reproductive timings impact coral          Linking cryptobenthic fish colour
planulae plasticity? (PhD)                 diversity to substrate type (PhD)
Makeely Blandford 1,8
                                                                                     Undergraduate
                                           Ashtyn Isaak16
with supervisor Andrew Hoey1,8             Utilizing innovative 3D photogrammetry    research students
The influence of habitat degradation
                                           techniques to determine how various       Charlotte Lewis12
on olfactory-mediated behaviour of
                                           stressors affect coralline algae and      Can holocentrids see colour in dim
coral reef fishes (PhD)
                                           coral reef recovery (MSc)                 light? (Undergraduate)
Leonore Bonin19
                                           Laurie Mitchell12
with supervisor Redouan Bshary19
Testing for advanced cognitive abilities
                                           with supervisor Karen Cheney12
                                           Ultraviolet communications in
                                                                                     Education groups
in cleaner wrasse (PhD)
                                           anemonefishes (PhD)                       Endeavour Christian College
Luke Calvert10                                                                       Led by Cassandra Grover
Growth and movement of the world's         Renato Morais Araujo1,8
largest holothuroids, Thelenota anax       Habitat degradation effects on
and Thelenota ananas (Hons)                reef fish productivity (PhD)              Other visitors
                                           Serena Mou9                               Media
Dylan Corner12
Life-cycles, biodiversity and diagnosis    Few-shot learning of fauna and            • Plimsoll Productions (UK), Alex Vail
of pathenogenic turtle blood flukes        flora (PhD)                                 and Amy Bothamly
(Trematoda: Spirochiidae) infecting                                                  • Wild Chase Productions (UK), Alex Vail,
                                           Pauline Narvaez1,8
Australian marine turtles (PhD)                                                        Grace Frank and Alexia Graba-Landry
                                           Cleaner fish as vectors of parasites
Peter Doll1,8                              and influence of habitat degradation      First aid training
Settlement rates and patterns for          on cleaning symbiosis (PhD)
                                                                                     • Charlie Makray
Crown-of-Thorns starfish and early
                                           Tessa Page6
detection of renewed population                                                      Australian Institute of Marine Science
irruptions (PhD)                           Differential expression of genes in
                                           calcified vs uncalcified segments of      • GBROOS maintenance team, Scott
Berilin Duong12                            coralline algae (PhD)                       Gardner, Shaun Hahn, Neill Roberts
The trematode fauna of pomacentrid                                                     and Myles Gandy
fishes from the Great Barrier Reef:        Gabriella Scata12
richness, distribution and                 Octopus brain and social                  Contractors
evolution (PhD)                            behaviour (PhD)                           • FNQ Hot Water, replace solar hot
                                           Abigail Shaughnessy  12                     water systems
Lily Fogg12
                                                                                     • VAE Group, replace airconditioners
with supervisor Karen Cheney12             Colour vision capabilities of
                                                                                     • Tropical Energy Solutions, site visit
The role of habitat and lifestyle in       box fish (Hons)
                                                                                       for future solar power upgrade
the visual development of reef and
                                           Sterling Tebbett1,8
deep-sea fishes (PhD)
                                           Functioning of climate-transformed
Catheline Froehlich14                      coral reefs and the microbiome of
                                                                                     Top Kelly Hannan (left) with team Jana Birkby
with supervisor Marian Wong14              algal turfs (PhD)                         (centre) and Mila Grinblat.
Investigating the advantages of
                                                                                     Middle left A collage of beach rubbish collected on
sociality in challenging environments      Valerio Tettamanti12
                                                                                     a 100 metre transect at Lizard Island by Frederieke
using coral-dwelling gobies (PhD)          Development of the visual system          Kroon's team.
                                           and colouration in damselfish             Middle right Valerio Tettamanti with a tank of
Kelly Hannan1,8                            (Pomacentridae) (PhD)                     juvenile fishes.
Evidence for a mechanism that                                                        Bottom left Alexia Graba-Landry (left) and Alex Vail
enhances tissue oxygen extraction          Laura Velasquez1,8                        filming in the aquarium.
during elevated pCO₂ exposure in           Effect of repeated boat noise             Bottom right Fredereike Kroon (left) and Michaela
teleosts (PhD)                             exposure on juvenile fishes (PhD)         Miller at work in the aquarium.

18
19
Publications

               Jellyfish Mastigias sp.

20
In 2020, 94 publications                     Metabolome of the Phyllidiella pustulosa     Amelioration of ocean acidification and
                                             species complex (Nudibranchia,               warming effects through physiological
based on work carried out at
                                             Heterobranchia, Gastropoda) reveals          buffering of a macroalgae. Ecology and
LIRS were received into the                  rare dichloroimidic sesquiterpene            Evolution, 2020: 1-11.
collection as listed below.                  derivatives from a phylogenetically
                                                                                          17. Doyle, J. and S. Uthicke, 2020.
There are now more than                      distinct and undescribed clade. Journal
                                             of Natural Products, 83(9): 2785-2796.       Sensitive environmental DNA detection
2,470 LIRS publications.                                                                  via lateral flow assay (dipstick)—A
                                             9. Bollati, E., C. D’Angelo, R. Alderdice,   case study on corallivorous crown-of-
1. Allan, B.J.M., B. Illing, E.P. Fakan,     M. Pratchett, M. Ziegler and J.              thorns sea star (Acanthaster cf. solaris)
P. Narvaez, A.S. Grutter, P.C. Sikkel,       Wiedenmann, 2020. Optical feedback           detection. Environmental DNA, 00: 1–20
E.C. McClure, J.L. Rummer and M.I.           loop involving dinoflagellate symbiont
McCormick, 2020. Parasite infection          and scleractinian host drives colorful       18. Emms, M.A., P. Saenz-Agudelo,
directly impacts escape response             coral bleaching. Current Biology,            E.C. Giles, R. Gatins, G.B. Nanninga,
and stress levels in fish. Journal of        30: 2433–2445.                               A. Scott, J.-P.A. Hobbs, A.J.
Experimental Biology, 223: jeb230904.                                                     Frisch, S.C. Mills, R. Beldade and
                                             10. Borisova, P. and N. Budaeva, 2020.
                                                                                          M.L. Berumen, 2020. Comparative
2. Bassi, D., J.C. Braga, M. Owada, J.       Helmutneris vadum, a new species of
                                                                                          phylogeography of three host sea
Aguirre, J.H. Lipps, H. Takayanagi and       Lumbrineridae (Annelida) from Lizard
                                                                                          anemones in the Indo-Pacific.
Y. Iryu, 2020. Boring bivalve traces in      Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
                                                                                          Journal of Biogeography, 47: 487–500.
modern reef and deeper-water macroid         Zootaxa, 4877(3): 413–421.
and rhodolith beds. Progress in Earth                                                     19. Erséus, C., B.W. Williams, K.M.
                                             11. Chase, T.J., M.S. Pratchett and
and Planetary Science, 7: 41.                                                             Horn, K.M. Halanych, S.R. Santos,
                                             M.O. Hoogenboom, 2020. Behavioral
                                             trade-offs and habitat associations          S.W. James, M. Creuzé des Châtelliers
3. Bellwood, D.R., C.R. Hemingson
                                             of coral-dwelling damselfishes (family       and F.E. Anderson, 2020.
and S.B. Tebbett, 2020. Subconscious
biases in coral reef fish studies.           Pomacentridae). Marine Ecology               Phylogenomic analyses reveal a
BioScience 70: 621–627.                      Progress Series, 633: 141-156.               Palaeozoic radiation and support a
                                                                                          freshwater origin for clitellate annelids.
4. Bergstrom, E., A. Ordonez, M.             12. Clark, T.D., G.D. Raby, D.G. Roche,      Zoologica Scripta, 49: 614–640.
Ho, C. Hurd, B. Fry and G. Diaz-             S.A. Binning, B. Speers-Roesch,
Pulido, 2020. Inorganic carbon uptake        F. Jutfelt and J. Sundin, 2020.              20. Ferrari, M.C.O., M.I. McCormick,
strategies in coralline algae: Plasticity    Ocean acidification does not impair          E. Fakan, R. Barry and D.P. Chivers,
across evolutionary lineages under           the behaviour of coral reef fishes.          2020. The fading of fear effects due
ocean acidification and warming.             Nature, 577: 370-375.                        to coral degradation is modulated
Marine Environmental Research,                                                            by community composition.
                                             13. Clark, T.D., G.D. Raby, D.G. Roche,      Functional Ecology, 2020: 1–11.
161: 105107.
                                             S.A. Binning, B. Speers-Roesch,
5. Bernal, M.A., C. Schunter, R.             F. Jutfelt and J. Sundin, 2020.              21. Fraser, K.M., J.S. Lefcheck, S.D.
Lehmann, D.J. Lightfoot, B.J.M. Allan,       Reply to: Methods matter in                  Ling, C. Mellin, R.D. Stuart-Smith and
H.D. Veilleux, J.L. Rummer,                  repeating ocean acidification studies.       G.J. Edgar, 2020. Production of mobile
P.L. Munday and T. Ravas, 2020.              Nature, 586: E25-E27.                        invertebrate communities on shallow
Species-specific molecular responses                                                      reefs from temperate to tropical seas.
                                             14. Cowan, Z.-L., S.D. Ling, C.F.
of wild coral reef fishes during a marine                                                 Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 287:
                                             Caballes, S.A. Dworjanyn and
heatwave. Science Advances,                                                               20201798.
                                             M.S. Pratchett, 2020. Crown-of-thorns
6: eaay3423.
                                             starfish larvae are vulnerable               22. Fraser, K.M., R.D. Stuart-Smith,
6. Bigg, E.K. and C. Leck, 2008.             to predation even in the presence            S.D. Ling and G.J. Edgar, 2021.
The composition of fragments of              of alternative prey.                         Small invertebrate consumers produce
bubbles bursting at the ocean surface.       Coral Reefs, 39: 293-303.                    consistent size spectra across reef
Journal of Geophysical Research, 113: 1-7.                                                habitats and climatic zones.
                                             15. Demairé, C., Z. Triki, S.A. Binning,
7. Blanckaert, A.C.A., R. Reef, J.M.         G. Glauser, D.G. Roche and R. Bshary,        Oikos, 130(1): 156-170.
Pandolfi and C.E. Lovelock, 2020.            2020. Reduced access to cleaner fish
                                                                                          23. Fraser, K.M., R.D. Stuart-Smith,
Variation in the elemental stoichiometry     negatively impacts the physiological
                                                                                          S.D. Ling, F.J. Heather, G.J. Edgar,
of the coral–zooxanthellae symbiosis.        state of two resident reef fishes.
                                                                                          2020. Taxonomic composition of mobile
Coral Reefs, 39: 1071–1079.                  Marine Biology, 167: 48.
                                                                                          epifaunal invertebrate assemblages
8. Bogdanov, A., A. Papu, S. Kehraus,        16. Doo, S.S., A. Leplastrier,               on diverse benthic microhabitats from
M. Cruesemann, H. Waegele and G.M.           A. Graba-Landry, J. Harianto, R.A.           temperate to tropical reefs. Marine
Koenig, 2020.                                Coleman and M. Byrne, 2020.                  Ecology Progress Series, 160: 31-43.

                                                                                                                                  21
24. Gordon, T.A.G., 2020. The               32. Hannan, K.D., G.M. Miller, S.-A.        40. Huertas, V. and M. Byrne, 2019.
changing song of the sea: soundscapes       Watson, J.L. Rummer, K. Fabricius and       Observation of mass spawning of the
as indicators and drivers of ecosystem      P.L. Munday, 2020. Diel pCO₂ variation      sea cucumber Holothuria coluber
transition on tropical coral reefs.         among coral reefs and microhabitats at      at Lizard Island, Great Barrier
PhD thesis, University of Exeter.           Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef.          Reef, Australia. SPC Beche-de-mer
                                            Coral Reefs, 39: 1391–1406.                 Information Bulletin 39: 79-82.
25. Graba-Landry, A., 2020. The effect
of increasing temperature on algae-fish     33. Hannan, K.D., P.L. Munday and J.L.      41. Huston, D.C., T.H. Cribb and
interactions on coral reefs. PhD thesis,    Rummer, 2020. The effects of constant       L.R. Smales, 2020. Molecular
James Cook University.                      and fluctuating elevated pCO₂ levels on     characterisation of acanthocephalans
                                            oxygen uptake rates of coral reef fishes.   from Australian marine teleosts:
26. Graba-Landry, A.C., Z. Loffler,                                                     proposal of a new family, synonymy of
                                            Science of the Total Environment, 741:
E.C. McClure, M.S. Pratchett and                                                        another and transfer of taxa between
                                            140334.
A.S. Hoey, 2020. Impaired growth                                                        orders. Systematic Parasitology, 97: 1-23.
and survival of tropical macroalgae         34. Harding, H.R., T.A.C. Gordon,
(Sargassum spp.) at elevated                K. Wong, M.I. McCormick, S.D.               42. Kroon, F.J., C.D. Lefèvre,
temperatures. Coral Reefs, 39: 475-486.     Simpson and A.N. Radford, 2020.             J.R. Doyle, F. Patel, G. Milton, A.
                                            Condition-dependent responses               Severati, M. Kenway, C.L. Johansson,
27. Gronell, A.M., 1988.                                                                S. Schnebert, P. Thomas-Hall,
                                            of fish to motorboats.
Sexual dimorphism: Its causes and                                                       M.C. Bonin, D.S. Cameron and
                                            Biology Letters, 16: 20200401.
correlates in the Orange-tailed Blue                                                    D.A.Westcott, 2020. DNA-based
Damselfish, Chrysiptera cyanea              35. Hemingson, C.R. and D.R.                identification of predators of the
(Pisces: Pomacentridae). PhD thesis,        Bellwood, 2020. Greater multihabitat        corallivorous Crown-of-Thorns
University of Sydney.                       use in Caribbean fishes when                Starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris)
                                            compared to their Great Barrier Reef        from fish faeces and gut contents.
28. Gronell, A.M., 1989. Visiting
                                            counterparts. Estuarine, Coastal and        Scientific Reports, 10: 8184.
behaviour by females of the sexually
                                            Shelf Science, 239: 106748.
dichromatic damselfish, Chrysiptera                                                     43. Kudlai, O., T.H. Cribb and S.C.
cyanea (Teleostei: Pomacentridae):a         36. Hing, M., 2019. The evolution of        Cutmore, 2016. A new species of
probable method of assessing male           sociality in the genus Gobiodon and its     microphallid (Trematoda: Digenea)
quality. Ethology, 81: 89-122.              maintenance under a changing climate.       infecting a novel host family,
                                            PhD thesis, University of Wollongong.       the Muraenidae, on the northern
29. Grutter, A.S., S. Bejarano, K.L.
                                                                                        Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
Cheney, A.W. Goldizen, T. Sinclair-         37. Hoogenboom, M.O., G.E. Frank,
                                                                                        Systematic Parasitology, 93: 863-876.
Taylor and P.A. Waldie, 2020.               S.A. Blowes, T.J. Chase, K.J.A. Zawada
Effects of the cleaner fish Labroides       and M. Dornelas, 2015. Disparity            44. Lambrides, A.B.J., I.J. McNiven,
dimidiatus on grazing fishes and coral      between projected geographic                S.J. Aird, K.A. Lowe, P. Moss, C. Rowe,
reef benthos. Marine Ecology Progress       ranges of rare species: a case study of     C. Harris, C. Maclaurin, S.A. Slater,
Series, 643: 99-114.                        Echinomorpha nishihirai (Scleractinia).     K. Carroll, M.H. Cedar, F. Petchey, C.
                                            Marine Biodiversity Records, 8: e147.       Reepmeyer, M. Harris, J. Charlie, E.
30. Grutter, A.S., W.E. Feeney,                                                         McGreen, P. Baru and S. Ulm 2020
K.S. Hutson, E.C. McClure,                  38. Hrebien, V., E. Deschaseaux and         Changing use of Lizard Island over the
P. Narvaez, N.J. Smit, D. Sun and           B.D. Eyre, 2020. Isoprene flux from         past 4000 years and implications for
P.C. Sikkel, 2020. Practical methods        permeable carbonate sediments               understanding Indigenous offshore
for culturing parasitic gnathiid isopods.   on the Great Barrier Reef.                  island use on the Great Barrier Reef.
International Journal for Parasitology,     Marine Chemistry, 225: 103856.              Queensland Archaeological Research,
50: 825-837.                                                                            23: 43-109.
                                            39. Hrebien, V., E. Deschaseaux, W.
31. Hammond, A.R., L. Meyers, and           Eickhoff, H.B. Swan and B.D. Eyre,          45. Lester, E.K., T.J. Langlois, S.D.
S.W. Purcell, 2020. Not so sluggish:        2020. Quantification of isoprene            Simpson, M.I. McCormick and M.G.
movement and sediment turnover              in coastal ecosystems by gas                Meekan, 2020. The hemisphere of
of the world's heaviest holothuroid,        chromatography–mass spectrometry            fear – the presence of sharks influences
Thelenota anax. Marine Biology, 167:        using cumulative headspace injections.      the three dimensional behaviour of
60 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1007/         Limnology and Oceanography:                 large mesopredators in a coral reef
s00227-020-3671-5.                          Methods, 18: 374–382.                       ecosystem. Oikos, 129: 731-739.

22
46. Ling, S.D., Z.-L. Cowan, J. Boada,         54. McCormick, M.I., D.P. Chivers,            62. Page, T.M. and G. Diaz-Pulido,
E.B. Flukes and M.S. Pratchett, 2020.          M.C.O. Ferrari, M.I. Blandford, G.B.          2020. Plasticity of adult coralline algae
Homing behaviour by destructive                Nanninga, C. Richardson, E.P. Fakan,          to prolonged increased temperature
crown-of-thorns starfish is triggered          G. Vamvounis, A.M. Gulizia and B.J.M.         and pCO₂ exposure but reduced
by local availability of coral prey.           Allan, 2020. Microplastic exposure            survival in their first generation.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B,            interacts with habitat degradation to         PLoS ONE 15(6): e0235125.
287: 20201341.                                 affect behaviour and survival of juvenile
                                               fish in the field. Proceedings of the Royal   63. Palacios, M.M. and M.I.
47. Lovelock, C.E., R. Reef, J.A.              Society B, 287(1937): 20201947.               McCormick, 2020. Positive indirect
Raven, and J.M. Pandolfi, 2020.                                                               effects of top-predators on the
                                               55. McWilliam, M., M.S. Pratchett,
Regional variation in δ13C of coral                                                          behaviour and survival of juvenile fishes.
                                               M.O. Hoogenboom and T. P. Hughes,
reef macroalgae. Limnology and                                                               Oikos, 130(2): 219-230.
                                               2020. Deficits in functional trait
Oceanography, 65(10): 2291-2302.
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