{"id":591242,"date":"2026-08-12T19:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T19:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/591242\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T19:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T19:38:09","slug":"rangers-and-scientists-map-vulnerable-reefs-in-the-groote-archipelago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/591242\/","title":{"rendered":"Rangers and scientists map vulnerable reefs in the Groote Archipelago"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\"Researcher<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

image:\u00a0<\/p>\n

PhD researcher Dane Wattle inspects a large colony of Acropora in the northern waters of Groote Eylandt. Photo: Hadley England.\u00a0<\/p>\n

view more\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Credit: Hadley England\/UTS<\/p>\n

For thousands of years, the Anindilyakwa people have lived in deep connection with the waters surrounding Groote Eylandt, a remote island in the Gulf of Carpentaria.<\/p>\n

The region is home to some of Australia’s most culturally and ecologically significant coral reefs. Yet the waters around Groote Eylandt have\u00a0remained\u00a0largely undocumented\u00a0by\u00a0modern\u00a0science.<\/p>\n

Now, a new study has\u00a0provided the most detailed picture yet\u00a0of\u00a0these little-studied\u00a0coral\u00a0reefs, creating a\u00a0foundation\u00a0for future monitoring and conservation.<\/p>\n

Annabelle Doheny, former\u00a0Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) Coordinator, said the reefs of the Groote Archipelago are among the most spectacular she has\u00a0encountered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve worked and dived on the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo\u00a0Reef, and\u00a0I\u00a0truly believe I’ve seen the most impressive array of marine life on the reefs around the Groote Archipelago,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The new study, co-authored by Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers and researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), has been published in the journal\u00a0PLOS\u00a0One.<\/p>\n

It documents the benthic composition \u2013 or seafloor life and geology \u2013 of five reefs\u00a0surrounding\u00a0Groote Eylandtusing underwater\u00a0remotely operated vehicles\u00a0(ROVs)\u00a0deployed in waters that can be challenging to access due to saltwater crocodiles and marine stingers.<\/p>\n

Living coral reefs in the Gulf of Carpentaria\u00a0were\u00a0only\u00a0documented\u00a0in published scientific literature in 2004,\u00a0and\u00a0just\u00a0seven reef\u00a0studies have been published since,\u00a0none\u00a0focused on\u00a0Groote Eylandt\u00a0or specifically on coral.<\/p>\n

PhD researcher and lead author\u00a0on the paper,\u00a0Dane Wattle said reefs worldwide are facing more frequent and intense stress events that can push them into a degraded state, with long-lasting consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo\u00a0ensure an\u00a0effective\u00a0ongoing\u00a0conservation strategy\u00a0that\u00a0can support reefs in the face of environmental change,\u00a0it\u2019s essential to\u00a0understand what’s there to begin with, and in Groote Eylandt, that basic\u00a0data\u00a0just didn’t exist,\u201d\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n

The surveys,\u00a0largely\u00a0captured\u00a0using\u00a0an\u00a0underwater ROV, found coral cover ranging from 5 to 47 per cent across sites, dominated by hardy massive corals rather than the branching varieties more common on other reefs.\u00a0The technology allowed\u00a0researchers to survey reefs in waters that are difficult and often hazardous to access.<\/p>\n

The fieldwork coincided with a stress event in early 2024, and satellite data showed sea temperatures were elevated in the lead-up, though not to a level\u00a0typically\u00a0associated with severe\u00a0coral\u00a0bleaching.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was on-the-ground surveys by the ranger team that\u00a0first\u00a0identified\u00a0mass\u00a0coral\u00a0bleaching at several sites\u00a0in the Gulf of Carpentaria.<\/p>\n

\u201cSatellite data\u00a0provides an early warning, but\u00a0only monitoring can show what\u2019s actually\u00a0happening on the reef,\u201d said\u00a0Mr\u00a0Wattle.<\/p>\n

Senior researcher on the paper, Associate Professor Emma Camp said the finding challenges assumptions that marginal reef systems are naturally resistant to heat stress.<\/p>\n

“Remote reefs like these have too often been treated as an afterthought in conservation, despite how important they are to the communities who rely on them,” she said.<\/p>\n

The research\u00a0is the result of\u00a0a close partnership between UTS scientists, Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangersand\u00a0Traditional\u00a0Owners.\u00a0Rangers guided the team to key reef sites using traditional knowledge, while scientists trained rangers to pilot ROVs and drones.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need\u00a0to bring together different forms of knowledge\u00a0to better\u00a0understand these\u00a0reefs\u00a0and the challenges they face,\u201d\u00a0Associate Professor\u00a0Camp said.<\/p>\n

Ms\u00a0Doheny, who completed\u00a0an\u00a0honours\u00a0degree\u00a0under\u00a0Associate Professor\u00a0Camp’s supervision at UTS, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditional knowledge-holders can provide context for an area, telling stories about environmental shifts they’ve seen over time,\u201d\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cScientists can then work with them to document those changes and use modern technology to develop management approaches that protect these high-value ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reefs face mounting pressure. Climate change and sea level rise threaten Groote Eylandt’s low-lying areas and culturally significant marine sites.<\/p>\n

Closer to shore, the region’s large manganese mine faces major water inundation issues as it approaches a predicted closure in 2032, with a proposed ocean outfall to pump gigalitres of water into the sea raising concerns for nearby coral,\u00a0seagrass\u00a0and marine microorganisms.<\/p>\n

While Traditional Owners have\u00a0strong rights over land\u00a0under the\u00a0Aboriginal Land Rights Act, protections for marine environments are more limited, despite Sea\u00a0Country making up around\u00a070 per cent of the Anindilyakwa Indigenous Protected Area.<\/p>\n

For a community that relies on the reefs for subsistence fishing and cultural wellbeing, this leaves a significant gap in protection precisely where the ecological and cultural value is greatest.<\/p>\n

With this baseline\u00a0data\u00a0established, the\u00a0team is now seeking additional funding\u00a0to support\u00a0the\u00a0next phase\u00a0of the research,\u00a0focussing\u00a0on clarifying reef taxonomy\u00a0\u2013\u00a0including potential\u00a0unique or endemic species\u00a0\u00ad\u2013\u00a0and testinghow resilient the corals are to rising temperatures and falling oxygen levels.<\/p>\n

Beyond its scientific findings,\u00a0the project has already reshaped how the\u00a0rangers\u00a0approach Sea Country management.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project puts coral reef monitoring on the radar of the Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers,\u201d\u00a0Ms\u00a0Doheny said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding it into the yearly work plan has become a priority, and it’s a high-engagement activity the rangers genuinely enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Method of Research<\/p>\n

Observational study<\/p>\n

Subject of Research<\/p>\n

Animals<\/p>\n

Article Title<\/p>\n

Benthic baselines of the Groote Archipelago\u2019s key reefs in the wake of mass coral bleaching and Tropical Cyclone Megan<\/p>\n

Article Publication Date<\/p>\n

12-Aug-2026<\/p>\n

COI Statement<\/p>\n

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"image:\u00a0 PhD researcher Dane Wattle inspects a large colony of Acropora in the northern waters of Groote Eylandt.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":591243,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[61,60,82],"class_list":["post-591242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/591243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}