Reserves In Australia Research Articles

Re-evaluation of the Hydrocarbon Potential of the Scarborough Field, Offshore Northern Carnarvon Basin, Australia.

This study examines the detailed basin analysis and re-evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of the Scarborough Field in the Northern Carnarvon Basin, offshore Australia, aiming to enhance energy reserves. The research integrates extensive datasets, including a 3-D seismic reflection volume, fifty-two 2-D seismic lines, well logs from six wells, checkshot surveys, and surface geologic maps. The Northern Carnarvon Basin, a significant hydrocarbon reserve in Australia, has experienced a multi-phase extensional history and exhibits a complex stratigraphy linked to six tectonic phases. The pressing need for increased energy reserves necessitates revisiting old hydrocarbon fields to boost their production capacity using integrated methods. Well-log interpretation and correlation have revealed the lateral extents of petroleum system elements. The stratigraphic analysis identified three sequences and associated system tracts using the Depositional Sequence Model IV. Structural framework interpretation highlighted faults as migration pathways and hydrocarbon traps. Time and depth structure maps were produced to identify leads and prospects. Four leads and three prospects were pinpointed using RMS amplitude surfaces. Porosity values range from 20% to 29%, with hydrocarbon saturation between 51% and 65%. Volumetric assessment indicates that NAU Deep-1 contains 10.6 bcf, NAU Deep-2 holds 4.24 tcf, and NAU Deep-3 has 6.22 tcf of gas. These significant gas volumes highlight potential for future exploration and development in the Scarborough sedimentary infill.

Optimal post-border surveillance against invasive pests to protect a valuable nature reserve and island asset

Harmful and often catastrophic damages from the introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) are widely acknowledged. While preventing the introduction of NIS through border and pre-border measures has been the first line of defence, post-border surveillance has recently attracted considerable attention as it increases the likelihood that small invasive populations will be found and eradicated quickly before they become widespread. We develop a novel and practical optimal surveillance model across space and a number of surveillance techniques for four different invasive pests, determining where and how to best allocate resources to detect and eradicate these pests. Our focus is on Barrow Island, a Class A Nature Reserve in Australia, home to thousands of native plants and animals, many endemic to the island, where limited industrial activity and environmental protection coexist. It is also home to the world's largest non-government quarantine and surveillance system. Our results provide a unique platform that finds the maximum net benefit from post-border surveillance expenditures across species, locations, and surveillance methods, thus protecting a key environmental asset.

Marine reserves shape seascapes on scales visible from space.

Marine reserves can effectively restore harvested populations, and ‘mega-reserves’ increasingly protect large tracts of ocean. However, no method exists of monitoring ecological responses at this large scale. Herbivory is a key mechanism structuring ecosystems, and this consumer–resource interaction's strength on coral reefs can indicate ecosystem health. We screened 1372, and measured features of 214, reefs throughout Australia's Great Barrier Reef using high-resolution satellite imagery, combined with remote underwater videography and assays on a subset, to quantify the prevalence, size and potential causes of ‘grazing halos’. Halos are known to be seascape-scale footprints of herbivory and other ecological interactions. Here we show that these halo-like footprints are more prevalent in reserves, particularly older ones (approx. 40 years old), resulting in predictable changes to reef habitat at scales visible from space. While the direct mechanisms for this pattern are relatively clear, the indirect mechanisms remain untested. By combining remote sensing and behavioural ecology, our findings demonstrate that reserves can shape large-scale habitat structure by altering herbivores' functional importance, suggesting that reserves may have greater value in restoring ecosystems than previously appreciated. Additionally, our results show that we can now detect macro-patterns in reef species interactions using freely available satellite imagery. Low-cost, ecosystem-level observation tools will be critical as reserves increase in number and scope; further investigation into whether halos may help seems warranted. Significance statement: Marine reserves are a widely used tool to mitigate fishing impacts on marine ecosystems. Predicting reserves' large-scale effects on habitat structure and ecosystem functioning is a major challenge, however, because these effects unfold over longer and larger scales than most ecological studies. We use a unique approach merging remote sensing and behavioural ecology to detect ecosystem change within reserves in Australia's vast Great Barrier Reef. We find evidence of changes in reefs' algal habitat structure occurring over large spatial (thousands of kilometres) and temporal (40+ years) scales, demonstrating that reserves can alter herbivory and habitat structure in predictable ways. This approach demonstrates that we can now detect aspects of reefs' ecological responses to protection even in remote and inaccessible reefs globally.

Telemetry reveals existing marine protected areas are worse than random for protecting the foraging habitat of threatened shy albatross (Thalassarche cauta)

AbstractAimTo assess the efficacy of marine reserves in Australia for shy albatross, using long‐term tracking data.LocationAlbatross Island, Tasmania, and south Australian waters.MethodsWe integrated a tracking dataset consisting of 111 individuals collected over 23 years and generated Brownian bridge kernel density estimations to identify important habitat. We quantified the overlap between the foraging distribution of early incubating adults and post‐fledgling juveniles with management boundaries and marine reserves. We compared the extent of coverage of albatross foraging areas by Marine Protection Areas (MPAs) relative to a randomly designed network of the same size to determine whether the spatial protection measures are likely to be effective.ResultsIncubating adults consistently foraged in waters to the northwest of Tasmania while post‐fledglings occupied shelf waters around Tasmania and South Australia. We show that our sample of 99 incubating adults adequately represented the population but that our sample of 12 post‐fledgling birds was insufficient, thereby limiting the confidence in our results for this life stage. The Commonwealth Government has the majority of management responsibility for shy albatross at‐sea, containing 88% and 90% of the area occupied most intensively by adult and post‐fledgling shy albatross, respectively. Randomly designed reserve networks outperformed the current MPA network for both life stages, such that the mean protection by a random reserve system was 30% and 12% higher than the actual protection for adults and juveniles in Commonwealth waters.Main conclusionsImportant foraging habitat of shy albatross from Albatross Island is mostly within Commonwealth‐managed waters. The current MPA network, the only spatial protection measure for shy albatross, provides less coverage for this species than a randomly placed network. An increase in the representation of productive shelf waters in MPA networks would benefit the conservation of shy albatross through reducing fisheries interactions and protecting habitat in these regions.

Measuring the impact of a journal

The Ecological Management & Restoration (EMR) journal's long journey to become listed on the Web of Science (previously referred to as ISI listing) – and thus be included in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) – has now been rewarded. In short, EMR now has an Impact Factor. In the 2016 Journal Citation Report, EMR received a score of 1.139 – which places the journal 115/153 in the Ecology category. Papers from EMR are now being cited widely. For example, the Scopus 2016 database listed 130 EMR papers that were cited in nearly 90 different SCIE journals and publications. This is not bad for a newcomer and is a clear baseline from which the journal can build. There are several issues with the listing process that explain the long time this has taken. One of the main reasons is that a journal needs a minimum qualifying level of citations in papers published in already listed journals to get to the bottom rung of the ladder. This is hard enough for any new journal but is doubly hard for an intentionally applied science journal with a largely management-oriented readership – given that most of the journals already in SCIE are primarily directed to a research readership and may be less likely to cite applied science papers. It is significant, then, that this Impact Factor was attained despite ESA's decision to retain the journal's current scope and format, only making very minimal concessions to improve EMR’s conformity to a science journal format. That is, EMR is, and will remain, primarily a management-oriented journal linking science and practice. But having an Impact Factor means that EMR may now be a more attractive first-choice publication outlet for researchers working in universities – while also retaining a strong representation from management authors and a strong management readership. It is this readership, after all, that is one of the reasons many established researchers send particular (applied) papers to EMR as their first-choice publication outlet. In his interview in this issue, Andrew Bennett – who has been a dedicated executive member of the EMR board since its inception in the year 2000 – reflects on the importance of communicating science to end-users. He is not alone in his view that the motivation behind the work of many scientists working in the nature conservation area is to make the world a better place, requiring researchers to communicate their work not only to other researchers but also to managers. Bennett raises more novel ways being considered by the Australian Research Council (which funds research) to measure the degree a project engages with industry partners and others who may use the research findings. The interview is a good read also because it provides us with some insights into the author's own career, his background, his drive to consider questions at larger and larger scales and his hopes for the future of biodiversity conservation research and practice in Australia. Bennett speaks of the importance of not only spatial scale but also temporal scale. We need longer-term efforts and longer-term research and practice. This is echoed by David Lamb's comment piece in this issue which eloquently challenges both science and practice institutions to take stronger steps to protect long-term data- or old data that can act as a baseline for building upon in the future. Linda Broadhurst and colleagues also take a big picture temporal view in their article on designing protocols for revegetation that can double as experimentation into genetic adaptation in the context of changing climates. The remaining offerings of long and short technical and research reports in this issue epitomize the management relevance of EMR papers. Each of these grapples with measuring the effects of solution-based restoration or management. Of the longer articles, this includes Ben Carr and colleagues’ review of the use of Conservation Action Planning to improve, in particular, the management of private conservation reserves in Australia including on Indigenous lands; Peter Kyne and Pierre Feutry focus on mitigating recreational overfishing; Joseph Stapleton and colleagues focus on trialling the introduction of coarse woody debris to reduce mammalian browsing in revegetation; Chris Gillies and colleagues focus on oyster reef restoration, and Konrad Uebel and colleagues and Steve Sinclair and colleagues focus on the observations of natural recovery of vegetation communities after a range of interventions. Indeed, it is the quality of the applied science papers that will retain and build EMR's Impact Factor, although our applied focus will always limit citations in pure research publications. We know that EMR counts in terms of end-user impact and recommend that it be continued to be considered as such by researchers and the bodies who fund them, rather than now judging EMR by its SCIE Impact Factor alone.

Falling apart? Insights and lessons from three recent studies documenting rapid and severe decline in terrestrial mammal assemblages of northern, south-eastern and south-western Australia

Context Since European settlement in 1788, much of the Australian terrestrial mammal fauna has declined or become extinct. The pattern of, and reason for, that decline was little documented, and is now difficult to decipher. Many mammal species are still declining, providing (an unfortunate) opportunity to better document the process, identify the causal factors and attempt to redress the problem. Aim We compare trends in mammal abundance reported in three recent longitudinal studies in conservation reserves in Australia. The studies were not established with the intention of documenting mammal decline, but marked simultaneous decline of co-existing species was the most striking feature of their results. Methods Long-term monitoring in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory (2001–04 and 2007–09), the Upper Warren region of Western Australia (since 1974) and the Great Otway National Park, Victoria (since 1975) principally relied on trapping, but also some spotlighting and sand plots, to document changes and trends in abundance in their respective mammal assemblages. Key results Decline was reported in most mammal species, across taxonomic groups, diets and size classes, but mostly involved species <5500g. The studies differed in their monitoring protocols and varied in the degree to which potential causal factors were monitored, thereby constraining interpretation of the drivers of declines. Inappropriate fire regimes and predation by feral cats are likely contributing factors in at least two study areas, and periods of markedly below-average rainfall are implicated in two areas. Conclusions We conclude the following: (1) conservation reserves in Australia may be failing to maintain at least some elements of the biodiversity that they were established to protect, and substantially enhanced management is required to redress this problem; (2) with current threats, mammal assemblages in Australia may be highly unstable; (3) substantial increase in effective long-term biodiversity monitoring programs in an adaptive management framework is needed; and (4) such monitoring programs will be more insightful if they also monitor factors driving population change. Implications Native mammal species declines and community disassembly may be occurring elsewhere. Long-term monitoring is critical for assessing trends in biodiversity and if done well, it can guide more effective and efficient management to deliver better conservation outcomes.

Designating Marine Reserves Is not Just an Ecological Process

Marine natural resource and ocean species are endangered because of human activities. In order to avoid marine natural resource depletion and recover marine ecosystem, marine reserves are created. The report will introduce the marine reserve definition and its functions. In addition, the report will describe three main marine reserves in Australia. Moreover, it will explain why designating marine reserves is not an ecological process.

The uptake of coronary fractional flow reserve in Australia in the past decade

The uptake of coronary fractional flow reserve in Australia in the past decade

Analysis of the management of currency composition of foreign exchange reserves in Australia

Following the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2007, questions have been raised regarding the prospect of the US dollar continuing its dominance as the principal reserve currency. The increased volatility of the US dollar exchange rate and the uncertain sustainability of the US economic growth since that time have created pressure for central banks around the globe to shift their US dollar reserve holdings to other currencies. Amongst the major reserve currencies, the euro has been considered by a number of central banks to be an alternative currency to the US dollar. In light of the above considerations, this paper aims to present an empirical analysis on the different transaction factors that affect the currency composition holding of the reserve currencies held by the central bank of Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

A trade-off in conservation: Weed management decreases the abundance of common reptile and frog species while restoring an invaded floodplain

Responsible conservation decisions are made when managers consider the benefits provided by an action in relation to the potential negative effects incurred. Some introduced grasses can be managed using fire and grazing, but experiments, replicated in time and space, are required to determine the relative costs and benefits of this action on native biodiversity. We aimed to experimentally determine the effect on reptile and amphibian assemblages of repeated burning and grazing of the invasive weed para grass (Urochloa mutica) over three years in a north Queensland conservation reserve in Australia. We measured the diversity and abundance of reptiles and amphibians, and quantified temperature and humidity during an experiment that repeatedly grazed, burnt, or burnt and grazed para grass in a replicated series of experimental plots. All burnt plots were drier and sites that were both burnt and grazed were hotter. The frog and reptile community was dominated by a few common species. Richness changed seasonally and was strongly related to the distance from the nearest woodland and free water, but it was unaffected by the management treatments. Abundance of the skink (Lampropholis delicata) and frog (Limnodynastes convexiusculus) decreased with burning and grazing, while a closely related frog (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) remained unaffected. There was a clear trade-off between decreasing the abundance of a few common species to increase the overall suitability of habitat for a diversity of native species. We suggest that, in this case, it is reasonable to make the value judgement that this trade-off is acceptable.

Habitat use of a critically‐endangered species in a predator‐free but degraded reserve in Australia

The success of species reintroduction programmes depends on many factors, including habitat quality and predator occurrence at release locations. For the critically endangered eastern barred bandicoot Perameles gunnii in Australia, successful releases have been achieved only in the absence of predation by the introduced red fox Vulpes vulpes. However, few fox‐free sites exist, but those that are fox free may have low habitat suitability, potentially leading to reintroduction failure. We studied a reintroduced population of eastern barred bandicoots at Mt Rothwell, a 420‐ha fox‐free reserve which appeared to have a degraded foraging range and a lack of nesting material due to overgrazing by marsupial herbivores. We quantified habitat use and measured several variables representing movement distances and nest use. Bandicoots foraged in open grassy areas and nested at sites containing high values of litter, lateral cover and concealment cover. Mean (± SE) home ranges (37.2 ha ± 11.8), daily movement distances (494.6 m ± 32.5) and distances between consecutive nests (122.6 m ± 29.0) were large for males. On average, the length of stay at each nest (2.8 days ± 0.4) was longer than previously recorded values for males, and 13.2% of the nests were used by at least two individuals, suggesting that nesting opportunities were limited. Despite behaviour indicating a low resource base, bandicoots appeared to be surviving and reproducing in our study area, indicating a capacity to live in structurally simple habitat in the absence of predators. Our results are consistent with predator exclusion being a critical factor for successful bandicoot reintroduction.

Continental‐Scale Governance and the Hastening of Loss of Australia's Biodiversity

Against a global backdrop of rapid environmental change, conserving biodiversity poses one of the biggest and most important challenges to society. For this reason, systems of nature reserves have never been more important. Protected areas are under threat in many parts of the world (Mascia & Pailler 2011), but the weakening of protected areas in a rich, developed country with a global reputation for conservation leadership (Harrison 2006) is particularly alarming (Ritchie 2013). Consequently, we are concerned about the recent spate of substantial policy, legislative, and management changes being made by three of six Australian state governments for exploitative uses of national parks—actions that could affect much of Australia and have negative effects on biodiversity.

Public and Expert Preference Divergence: Evidence from a Choice Experiment of Marine Reserves in Australia

This study investigates whether public and expert preferences diverge in a valuation of two marine reserves in Western Australia. Identical choice experiments are applied to a sample of marine scientists and the Western Australian community. Evidence of both divergence and convergence between public and expert values is found, with public awareness factors helping to explain differences of opinion. This result implies that, in instances of divergence, it may be preferable to support potential environmental policies through community awareness campaigns, rather than using uninformed public preferences in policy design.

Using potential field data for petroleum exploration targeting, Amadeus Basin, Australia

The Amadeus Basin, a large Proterozoic basin located in central Australia, is one of the least explored onshore petroleum-bearing basins with proven reserves in Australia. The size and remoteness of the Amadeus Basin makes ground exploration expensive so this study uses aerogravity and aeromagnetic data to assess petroleum prospectivity.In the western part of the Amadeus Basin the Gillen Petroleum System is considered most significant; this system has the important characteristic that the source in the Bitter Springs Formation is stratigraphically higher than the potential reservoirs within the Dean/Heavitree Quartzite. Thin skinned deformation is expected at the source level and above, with detachments at evaporitic horizons, but deformation of the reservoir is expected to be thick-skinned. This model can form the basis for predicting potential field responses. The most prospective areas are where: (i) gravity suggests basement (and reservoir) is shallow; (ii) magnetics maps fold-thrust complexes (structural trap); and (iii) these features occur adjacent to gravity lows, indicative of significant thicknesses of basin fill (source at depth and below reservoir). Faults at the margins of the depocentre (mapped using magnetic data) provide a possible migration path for the hydrocarbons.Favourable scenarios for younger petroleum systems are antiforms in fold-thrust complexes in units assigned to the Boord Formation and younger units. The juxtaposition of these structures with depocentres suggested by negative gravity anomalies constitutes a favourable exploration scenario.Regardless of specific exploration targets, this study demonstrates that airborne gravity and magnetic data are capable of resolving intra-basin structures in sufficient detail to allow prospective areas to be identified and for follow-up seismic surveys to be reliably planned.

Use Them or Lose Them? Australia’s Defence Force Reserves

This article reviews the history of military reserves in Australia with particular reference to the Army Reserve. It shows how the importance of reserves in Australia has waxed and waned across the past two centuries, from an early situation of primacy in the colonial period. The importance of reserves has reemerged in the post–Cold War era, with new forms of reserve organization evolving alongside ‘‘conventional’’ reserve forces. The authors discuss the extent to which these developments need to be accompanied by attention to cultural and personnel management issues and to enhanced reserves–regular integration. Despite the challenge of juggling civilian employment with reserve commitments, most reservists appear to welcome a greater, rather than a token, obligation to serve. There is a viable and meaningful role for the reserves provided that the Australian Defence Force and the government are prepared to devote sufficient effort to them and to assign them appropriate tasks.

Developing a framework for displaced fishing effort programs in marine protected areas

As marine protected areas (MPAs) continue to be established, measures to address displaced effort are likely to become increasingly relevant. Recent experiences of displaced fishing effort programs for MPAs and recreational fishing reserves in Australia, together with two examples from the United States, are described. A practical framework for addressing displaced fishing effort is developed, which explores the likely displaced-effort scenarios and options when planning spatial commercial fishing closures for an MPA.

Marine and estuarine reserves in Australia with particular reference to New South Wales.

A gradual realization throughout the world that the resources of the oceans and estuaries are becoming more affected by the impacts of man, has highlighted an urgent need for the reservation of representation areas of marine and estuarine ecosystems. This idea of marine parks and reserves as a logical extension of the terrestrial park concept into the underwater realm, seems, like that of terrestrial national parks, to have flowered originally in the USA. The concept was given impetus by the first World Conference on National Parks held in Seattle in 1962 which “recognized that the oceans and their life are subject to the same dangers of human interference and destruction as the land, and encouraged that the governments of all countries with marine frontiers examine, as a matter of urgency, the possibility of creating marine parks and reserves”. (Randall 1971). Further impetus was given to the concept by a special symposium on marine parks held at the Eleventh Pacific Science Congress in Tokyo in 1966 and the International Conference on Marine Parks and Reserves, also held in Tokyo, in 1975.

Hotspots of biodiversity or homogeneous landscapes? Farm dams as biodiversity reserves in Australia

In many countries the ubiquitous farm dam or pond is an integral component of agricultural landscapes. In Australia there are in excess of half a million farm ponds, used largely for irrigation or for watering stock. In contrast to Europe, these wetlands are being decommissioned in response to the introduction of government policy that regulates water usage from these dams. They are also being in-filled with expanding urbanisation without consideration of their benefits as reservoirs of biodiversity. We compared the diversity of macroinvertebrates in farm dams with nearby stream habitats on a cool temperate tableland in central New South Wales. There was greater diversity in-stream than in the dams; however, dam sites showed a larger mean diversity and total diversity per site than in-stream. Species recorded in-stream were more frequently represented by single individuals while species were recorded more consistently in dams. We also observed that macroinvertebrate assemblages were more similar to those in the same dam in different seasons than to adjacent dams in the same season. Some species recorded had not previously been recorded from farm dams. In contrast to the general consensus that Australian farm dams are homogeneous environments with a range of common widespread species, we showed that they provide a variety of sustainable reservoirs of biodiversity within the landscape. They also have the potential to provide ‘stepping stones’ between undisturbed and modified habitats, in part countering the fragmentation that occurs as a result of agricultural practices.

Bookabourdie Q-land* 3D proof of concept study; mapping sand thickness and sand quality in the Cooper Basin

The Cooper Basin is the location of the largest conventional onshore hydrocarbon reserves in Australia and was discovered in the 1960?s. Drilling, in the Cooper Basin, has shown the reservoir sands to be very variable both in terms of thickness and sand quality. While 3D seismic has been acquired extensively in the area, resulting datasets have struggled to provide the detail to allow accurate prediction of the reservoir sand quality. This paper presents the results of a pilot study to assess whether high end acquisition and processing techniques in conjunction with a fully integrated approach from survey design through generation of reservoir attributes, could fulfil the objective of mapping the reservoir sands.

Environmental update for 2007

This environmental update for 2007 covers key environmental issues and development updates for the upstream oil and gas industry in Australia. Driven by market opportunities, the continued significant growth in the exploration and development of oil and gas reserves in Australia is considered against the environmental issues and challenges this growth presents. The number of large projects is testing regulatory approvals processes at a time when there is an ever rigorous and adapting regulatory climate, an increasing need for stakeholder engagement, and sustainability considerations. The review includes a summary of the environmental approval status of the large number of LNG projects in their various stages of development, as well as summary statistics on oil and gas activities in relation to assessment under the key Commonwealth environmental assessment legislation, the EPBC Act. An overview of changes in the main oil and gas legislation is also provided. Major environmental issues affecting the oil and gas industry are summarised, along with details of some of the main areas of ongoing environmental research initiatives. Finally, a summary of the review draws together the matters described in the environmental update for 2007.