Wet Tropics Waterways: Recent Episodes
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The post Rainforest Rescue: Healing the Heart of the Daintree appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Fishways: Helping Juvenile Fish Complete Their Lifecycles appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Podcast S6E9. Dr Matt Curnock, Human Dimensions of Waterway Health appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Podcast S6E6. Geoff McClure, Restoring Cattana Wetlands appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Podcast S6E4. Matt Moore, Fish Connectivity appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Podcast S6E3. Sam Bastounas, Filtering Nutrients with Seaweed appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Podcast S6E2. Heidi Tait, Cleaning Up Marine Debris appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Podcast S6E1. Report Card Results 2024 appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post 2024 Wet Tropics Waterway Health Report Card. appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Podcast S5E10. Invertebrates in Waterways appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Local Scale Monitoring: Show me it’s my Nitrogen appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Podcast S5E9. Prawn Farming By the Great Barrier Reef appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Podcast S5E8. Science and Reef Tourism appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The post Girringun Dugong and Seagrass Project appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
eDNA is an emerging science with mnay calling it a revolution in biology
The post eDNA: Decoding Our Waterways appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
Cattana Wetlands is a shining example of turning an urban landscape into a nature park
The post Cattana Wetlands appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
Dr Samantha Tol is well known for her research into turtle and dugong poo but it revealed fascinating insights into their relationship with seagrass.
The post Podcast S5E4. Dugongs, Turtles & Seagrass appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The sugarcane industry is a backbone of the Wet Tropics rural economy but the industry operates close to two World Heritage Areas including the Great Barrier Reef.
The post Podcast S5E3. Cane Farming by the Great Barrier Reef appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
More than 55 'green' jobs created by Queensland Government Reef Assist Program
The post Reef Assist 2.0 Delivers Green Jobs appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
You can't even see them with the naked eye but we can't live without tiny micro-organisms called diatoms
The post Diatoms: One Cell Wonders appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The rate of loss of wetlands has slowed and in some places they're actually increasing as we build artificial wetlands
The post Podcast S5E2. Restoring coastal wetlands. appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
A mass die off of fish can be caused by a number of different factors and they're a reminder of the delicate balance of healthy waterways.
The post Fish kills. Copy appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
Most waterways have been graded as 'good' or 'very good' in 2023 with the big news being a dramatic decline in pesticide runoff.
The post Plastic Free Places appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
The 2023 Report Card grades the condition of the freshwater basins, estuaries and marine environments across the Wet Tropics.
The post Podcast S5E1. Report Card Results 2023 appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
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The post Netherlands Online Gambling Market Size appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
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The post Are Online Casinos Sound In Slovenia appeared first on Wet Tropics Waterways.
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If you’ve visited the Cairns Aquarium you’ll know that biodiversity and conservation education are a driving force behind their business model. In fact, raising awareness about the biodiversity in our world heritage-listed reef and rainforest underpins their entire philosophy.
With over 300,000 visitors annually, the Aquarium is in a unique position to educate and influence. By providing an outdoor nature experience, inside, the Aquarium enables broader access to our natural wonders and takes up the much anthologised idea that educating for understanding is the building block for promoting conservation.
Christine Jorgensen is a senior wildlife educator at the Aquarium and joins us to talk about the role that the aquarium has to play in conservation in the Wet Tropics and beyond.
Further information
Cairns Aquarium
Follow Cairns Aquarium on Facebook
The post Podcast: The role of Aquariums in conservation education appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Despite its name, the Johnstone River snapping turtle is no snappier than any other freshwater turtle – and is perhaps better known by its alias, the ‘bum breather’. Tune in to find out about the turtle's cloacal respiration and other fun facts.
The post Podcast: The bum breathing Johnstone River snapping turtle appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
The Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project was an ambitious social change and reef water quality project that received unprecedented engagement. Find out why.
The post Podcast: A blueprint for change appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Locating populations of endangered frogs in the Wet Tropics can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but a new techonology called eDNA can greatly narrow down the search area. Find out how researchers are using it in our region.
The post Podcast: Using environmental dna to monitor endangered frogs appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Mangroves and saltmarsh are important coastal ecosystems that help purify water, buffer coastal communities from extreme weather, and provide fish nurseries for our recreational and commercial fishing industries. They’re also among the most efficient ecosystems in the world at sequestering and storing carbon – but are under threat from climate change as well as local pressures such as urban development, rubbish, pollution and weeds.
The post Podcast: Keeping tabs on mangroves appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
They might look pretty – or at least, pretty harmless, but Australia’s pet fish trade can pose a serious threat to our waterways. Once an invasive is established, it makes eradication almost impossible, which is why prevention is always better than cure.
The post Podcast: From Pets to Pests – Ornamental Fish Gone Rogue appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Though destructive, cyclones are a part of the natural dynamic of the rainforest and reef - tune in to hear how anthropogenic climate change is changing the frequency and location of cyclones, and why we can expect to see an increase in the intensity of severe tropical cyclones.
The post Season 4 Episode 4: The changing face of tropical cyclones appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
A new survey has revealed local waterways are a key reason for people choosing to live in the Wet Tropics. It’s the first time the social, cultural, and economic values of our rivers, estuaries and reefs have been quantified, with the data being used to engage the community in stewardship activities. The surveys were undertaken by CSIRO, Wet Tropics Waterways Continue Reading
The post Social Value of Waterways Quantified appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Equal parts fearful and fascinating, bullsharks have a reputation for being a strong and agressive shark. Find out about their unique life cycles, and how climate change is impacting their habitat range.
The post Season 4 Episode 3: Tracking bullsharks appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
There's a growing list of pharmaceuticals turning up in our waterways. Ecotoxicologist Dr Frederic Leusch joins us to talk about what’s happening, where, and what it means for aquatic critters.
The post Season 4 Episode 2: Pharmaceutical-filled waterways appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
After planting 32,000 trees along riverbanks as part of a COVID economic boost program, Johnstone Region Landcare Group is now focusing on the long and involved process of collecting and cultivating seeds to restock their nursery. Every year thousands of trees are planted along riverbanks throughout the Wet Tropics by landholders, councils, NRM organisations and landcare groups. This work helps Continue Reading
The post Johnstone Landcare Restock for Riparian Reveg appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
The data's been crunched and the results are out. Greg Vinall and James Donaldson provide an update on the condition of the freshwater basins, estuaries and marine environments across the Wet Tropics for 2022.
The post Season 4 Episode 1: Report Card Results 2022 appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Mangrove condition has been graded as ‘good’ to ‘very good’ in five estuaries across the Far North in a new report on waterway health released today. Mangrove condition has been graded as ‘good’ to ‘very good’ in five estuaries across the Far North in a new report on waterway health released today. For the first time, the annual Wet Tropics Continue Reading
The post Citizen scientists bolster waterway health report card with new mangrove assessment appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Landcare has evolved to become one of the largest volunteer movements in Australia. Across the Wet Tropics there is a diverse network of people and groups focused on protecting, enhancing and restoring the local environment. Kuranda Envirocare is one of those groups, and has been operating for over 20 years. Volunteers are currently working at Cain Creek to create wildlife Continue Reading
The post Generation Restoration appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Cairns local Phil Laycock shares the fishing spots that he loves going back to time and time again, and his best practice fishing tips.
The post Hooked: Fishing With Phil appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Beyond rates, roads and rubbish - how Wet Tropics councils are helping protect the reef Living beside the Great Barrier Reef has many benefits, but it also brings great responsibilities, and Reef Guardian Councils are leading the way to take action. The eight local governments across the Wet Tropics have joined forces to become Reef Guardians – a stewardship Continue Reading
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River activities are a must do for Far North Queenslanders, especially in our summers. There are plenty of spots on the major rivers that are popular with kayakers, rafters and stand up paddleboarders. We asked professional photographer Paul Curtis to take readers a bit further off the beaten track for some river drifting adventure ideas... Note that Kauri and Continue Reading
The post River Drifting appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Six years ago, Barretts Lagoon near Tully was best described as a weed-choked “disaster”. But with landholders, agencies and traditional owners working together, the result is a thriving wetland supporting birds, fish and even crocodiles. Cane farmers Santo Silvestro and Denis Marsilio’s smiles broaden when they look out over Barrett’s Lagoon. The way it looks now – with its wide expanses of water, birdlife and native Continue Reading
The post Wetlands Work Wonders appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Tucked away at the northern end of Holloways Beach is an Environmental Education Centre that has been delivering specialist outdoor and environmental programs for over 30 years. About 2500 students visit each year, contributing scientific data to school and citizen science programs that help expand the knowledge base about our local environment. The Centre’s ethos is all about learning through interaction with the Continue Reading
The post Next Gen Citizen Scientists appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
With hundreds of rivers and creeks meandering through the landscape, and more islands than we know what to do with, Far North Queensland is overflowing with gorgeous waterside camping spots. Here’s some that we love. Station Camping Emu Creek Outback Holiday Station A remote-feeling bush camping experience on a working cattle station. Just 2 two hours drive from Cairns, Continue Reading
The post Waterside Camping Spots in the Wet Tropics appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Scientists, environmental managers and community groups heard from experts on the latest technologies and methods being used to address the challenges affecting our waterways and reefs, at the biennial waterway health forum. Hosted by Wet Tropics Waterways, this year’s forum covered a range of innovations in remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems and artificial intelligence, citizen science, water quality monitoring and Continue Reading
The post Innovation needed to meet water quality targets appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
If you’ve ever caught or eaten a coastal fish, chances are you can thank the mangroves for it! They provide a home for fish to live, feed and breed in, and they nurture about 75% of all coastal fish catches. Mangroves play a vital role in our coastal ecosystems, acting as a coastline buffer against storm surges, flooding and cyclones Continue Reading
The post The Truth About Mangroves appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Bronwyn Masters has spent most of her life surrounded by sugar cane. She grew up in the Pioneer Valley where her father was a cane cutter and she worked at a mill to pay for university. She is now a senior scientist with the Queensland Government, where she is able to combine her passions for science and sustainable farming by Continue Reading
The post Paddock Monitoring in the Wet Tropics appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
The recent release of the IPCC’s latest report on climate change makes it clear that we need to act fast to reduce carbon emissions. But what are the implications of climate change on our local waterways and what can we do to adapt?
Climate change is an issue that’s been kicked around like a political football in Australia for many years, but local scientists have already undertaken the research and modelling to work out what the adverse impacts will be in the Wet Tropics, including how water, waterways and coastal systems will be affected.
In terms of the big picture, we know with a fair degree of confidence that rainfall patterns will be less predictable and there will be more extreme weather events like cyclones, land and marine heatwaves and heavy rainfalls.
Some of the key impacts that could affect our waterways include:
1. Sea level rise
Rising sea levels are being caused by a combination of ice sheets and glaciers melting and thermal expansion of seawater as it heats up. Since 1880 global mean sea level has risen by about 25cm with about half of this happening since 1970. By the end of this century, it is estimated that the global mean sea level rise will be at least 50 cm, even if we drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under high emission scenarios it could be up to one metre by 2100.
The most significant impact of this will be to our coastal communities. Some low-lying areas will become permanently submerged while others will only be inundated during high tide or storm tides associated with cyclones. Saltwater intrusion will affect wetlands, mangroves, seagrass beds, reefs, lakes and dams. Even groundwater will be affected in some areas so farming will be adversely impacted.
2. More extreme weather events
Cyclones are a feature of our tropical climate and modelling predicts that they are likely to become less frequent but more intense with climate change. When combined with rising sea levels, this will mean more intense and frequent storm surges and coastal flooding. This has implications for coastal settlements, but it will also cause damage to natural barriers like sand dunes and mangroves which buffer the land and keep the ocean and freshwater habitats separate.
3. Warmer water temperatures
Marine heatwaves, caused by increasing sea surface temperatures, are already the biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef. In the last five years there have been three mass coral bleaching events. This is a natural phenomenon, but climate change is causing them to happen much more frequently, which means that coral reefs won’t have time to recover between each event.
Lots of other important biological processes are regulated by temperature, including the reproduction of animals like turtles and crocodiles. The gender of these animals is determined by the temperature of their nests, with warmer temperatures producing more females than males, which has implications for their future populations.
Our rivers and waterways will also be affected by a decreasing ability of water to hold dissolved oxygen as temperatures rise. Dissolved oxygen is critical for life in waterways and sensitive species, such as larger fish, are particularly vulnerable to declines in dissolved oxygen. For example, these conditions in the ocean will favour more jellyfish rather than big fast swimming species like tuna. Over the last few decades there have been marked decreases in dissolved oxygen and this trend is projected to continue.
Water temperature is also a critical cue for behaviour of fish species during the year. Seasonal changes of temperature in waterways affect the onset of fish movements and reproductive patterns. As water temperatures rise and fall out of season, the movement and behavioral patterns of fish are disrupted and reproduction is inhibited.
What can we do to mitigate these impacts?
While the world is (hopefully) moving swiftly towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we can help build the resilience of our region to adapt to the changing climate conditions through:
- Restoration of mangroves, riparian vegetation, littoral rainforest and beach and dune vegetation to provide coastal protection against cyclones, storm surges, erosion and salinity.
- Planting salt resistant vegetation further inland.
- Restoring coral reefs and coastal dune systems.
- Helping mangroves to establish further inland.
- Improving water use efficiency and recycling.
More information
For more information about the implications of climate change for the Wet Tropics, go to the Wet Tropics Plan for People & Country.
The post Climate Change: How will it affect our waterways? appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
Less than 2% of waste plastic is currently recovered in Far North Queensland, compared to 5.7 % across Queensland and 9.5 % nationally. The remainder goes to landfill, so we’ve got plenty of room to improve! Some good news is that there is a growing appetite for a commercial plastics hub in Far North Queensland, which would see our plastic waste being re-manufactured locally rather than trucked to Brisbane and then brought back as a new product.
A new feasibility study by the RPS Group for Regional Development Australia Tropical North shows that a plastics hub would annually divert 5400 tonnes of plastic from landfill, reduce emissions of C02 by 5000 tonnes, and bump up our recovery rate to 17%. The hub would create 83 full-time jobs during construction and six full-time jobs once it was up and running. As part of the study, a feasibility template is available and replicable by other regions that are facing similar challenges.
The problem with plastic Half of the plastic items we buy are used once and thrown away. A lot of plastic becomes litter which is washed into our waterways. It causes harm when animals get tangled in or injured by litter, or mistake it for food. Plastics break up into smaller and smaller pieces and absorb toxic industrial chemicals which, when ingested by animals are absorbed into their tissues. Some microplastics are so small that we actually breathe them in—these are called nano or pico plastics.
It’s hard to know yet exactly what implication this has for humans. What we do know from studying other species is that contaminants from plastics can change their hormone levels and endocrine systems.
What can you do? Plastic free doesn’t mean waste free. Reusable products are the best alternative to single-use disposable products, so BYO cups, cutlery, bottles and containers or join a reusable café cup program like Green Caffeen.
Some alternatives are better than others. Encourage businesses and food vendors to use alternative products that have the least impact on the environment, like 100 per cent home compostable products that are certified under Australian standards.
Stop extra plastic going to landfill with these easy actions:
- Say “no thanks” to extra packaging.
- Dine in instead of getting takeaway.
- Reduce pre-packaged goods by shopping at your local bulk food store or co-op.
- Recyle plastic bags and other soft plastics that can't go in your regular recycle bin at a Coles or Woolies near you.
The single-use plastic ban Great news for our waterways and our region! From the 1 September, the supply of some types of single-use plastic is banned in Queensland.
What’s banned? * Straws: regular straws, flexible straws, straws with a scoop, cocktail straws and bubble tea straws. * Cutlery: knives, forks, spoons, teaspoons, sample tasting spoons, soup spoons, chopsticks, splayds and sporks. * Bowls and plates. * Stirrers: hot or cold drink stirrers, swizzle sticks and hot or cold food stirrers. * Expanded polystyrene takeaway food containers and cups, for example ‘clamshell’ style containers.
Cleaning up Last year there were 162 beach and waterway clean ups around the region. Almost 1000 volunteers were involved, and over seven tonnes of debris was removed. The most littered items were plastic remnants, plastic packaging items and plastic consumer items. With the ban now in effect, we hope to see far less single-use plastic items trashing the environment.
What’s next? Additional single-use plastic items may be banned in the future, after further consultation. If you are a food or drink retailer in the Cairns or Port Douglas area you can access free, personalised support from Plastic Free Cairns. For those outside those areas, handy general resources are available at plasticfreecairns.org
Article first published in our Reef and Rivers magazine.
Photo courtesy of Tangaroa Blue
The post The Wrap on Plastic appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.
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The science is in, and the results are out! The 2021 Report Card grades the condition of the freshwater basins, estuaries and marine environments across the Wet Tropics as an action of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan.
Chair Steve Turton and Executive Officer James Donaldson bring you a community update on the health of our waterways in the Wet Tropics.
Podcast Timestamps 01:30 Background – what is the Report Card, where does the data come from, and how does it all come together? Includes information on the reporting period, scores vs indicators, technical working group and peer review. 05:55 This is the first time that freshwater fish data for all basins (except Daintree) has been included. How are fish surveys conducted and how is the data analysed? 8:00 Another first is the focus on our urban footprint. The Urban Water Stewardship Program involved scoring councils' performances in the urban water stewardship space against 66 management activities. 10:20 The results! How things are looking for this reporting period and the major patterns and changes since the previous reporting period. 11:45 Differences in reporting on condition vs reporting on progress against targets. 15:00 What is actually being done on the ground, to improve waterway health. 18:20 A peek into what’s covered in the first edition of our new environment and lifestyle magazine, Reef and Rivers, which shocases good news stories from around the region.
The post Season 3 Episode 7: Report Card Results 2021 appeared first on Wet Tropics Water Ways.