Malcolm McCulloch WA Premier’s Fellow Resilience of Coral Reefs of NW Western Australia to Climatic Extremes and Environmental Impacts Malcolm McCulloch WA Premier’s Fellow ARC Laureate Fellow

Climate Change & Coral Reefs Key Research Themes: Rowley Shoals Kimberley Dampier to Ningaloo Reef Houtman Abrolhos Rottnest Is Ocean acidification response of coral calcification to CO2 vs temp. (large N-S gradient in SST along WA coast) Rising ocean temperatures coral bleaching: magnitude, rapidity of change? Projecting coral reef futures integrating biogeochemical processes with physical/chemical models Can corals adapt ? At what rate? Feb-Mar 2011: 2

Climate Change & Coral Reefs Key Research Themes for NW WA Adaption of Kimberley corals to temperature extremes What controls extraordinary resistance of coral to high SST’s extremes? Is resilience transferable ? Long-term coral records of change & baseline response SST records of ocean warming, pH changes, calcification rates, river runoff (sediment loads, flood plumes, cyclone frequency etc) Community-scale interactions & response to warming, OA reef-scale interactions, eg corals <-> seagrass to OA,> SST & environmental impacts (fishing, runoff etc) 3