Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program – Estuarine and Marine

Program start date

2001

Program end date

Ongoing

Objectives of the program

This program aims to:

• advise councils and managers on water quality and ecosystem health of estuarine and marine waterways in South East Queensland
• deliver an annual regional assessment of the ambient ecosystem health of 18 river estuaries and nine zones in Moreton Bay and publically communicate this through an annual report card
• evaluate the effectiveness of management actions aimed at improving and protecting aquatic ecosystems
• use scientifically robust, relevant and cost-effective methods to provide data for intelligent decision making.

Who is involved?

Lead organisation

Healthy Waterways

Contact details of lead organisation: hwwinfo♲healthywaterways.org

Partner organisations

Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program Partners

List of indicators monitored

• Water quality (Turbidity, conductivity/salinity, water temperature, clarity/secchi depth, dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll a)
• Sewage Plume Mapping (Stable nitrogen isotope 15N uptake by macroalga Catenella nipae)
• Lyngbya monitoring
• Soft and hard coral cover and substrate type
• Seagrass distribution
• Seagrass depth range
• Riparian habitat extent

Scale of program

Regional scale

Brief description of sampling locations

• Water quality and sewage plume mapping at 254 sites throughout South East Queensland estuaries/marine areas
• Lyngbya monitoring in Eastern Banks of Moreton Bay, West Moreton and Southern Bay, Northern Deception Bay, Waterloo Bay
• Soft and hard coral cover and substrate type five sites throughout Moreton Bay at Green Island, St Helena Island, Coochiemudlo Island, Peel Island and Myora springs near North Stradbroke Island
• Seagrass distribution and depth range 18 sites in the Moreton Bay region
• Riparian habitat assessment for 18 South East Queensland estuaries from the Noosa River in the north to Currumbin Creek in the south

Frequency of monitoring

• Water quality - monthly
• Sewage plume mapping - annual
• Lyngbya monitoring - variable. Bimonthly through summer in Eastern Banks of Moreton Bay, West Moreton and Southern Bay, regular basis in Northern Deception Bay, variable in other locations around Moreton Bay.
• Soft and hard coral cover and substrate type - annual
• Seagrass depth range - sites are monitored biannually, ideally during the same month each year. Contingency monitoring at select sites may also occur in response to major environmental events (for example floods, algal blooms)
• Seagrass distribution - triennially
• Riparian habitat assessment - estuary foreground and backgrounds are monitored biennially

Where is the program reported?

Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program

Last updated: 18 November 2015