This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "Australia’s Coastal Shorebirds: Trends and Prospects". No data outputs were generated by this project. -------------------- Coastal Australia is home to 37 regularly occurring migratory shorebird species, with many protected areas including Ramsar sites designated on the basis of shorebird populations. Many migratory shorebirds are declining rapidly, and hence the focus of conservation efforts at multiple levels of government in Australia and overseas. However, trend data are now nearly 10 years old, meaning the information available to assess where conservation actions are needed most urgently and whether conservation efforts are helping species recover are outdated. To ensure populations have the best chance at recovery and that resources are allocated where they are most likely to have the greatest positive impacts, it is critical to maintain up-to-date information on species trends. This project analysed 30 years of shorebird monitoring data collected by citizen science groups across Australia and curated by BirdLife Australia’s National Shorebird Monitoring Program to update national trend estimates, while also assessing the relative effects of human pressure and conservation efforts on population trends. In particular, it focused on 15 migratory shorebird species whose conservation status was being reassessed by the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. This project sets the stage for building the next decade of coastal shorebird conservation activity in Australia, coordinated through the national mechanism of the End User: National Migratory Shorebird Conservation Action Plan Steering Committee, with representatives from national and state governments as well as leading shorebird experts. Outputs • Fact Sheet on Australia's coastal shorebird trends and prospects [written] • Final Project Report, including a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub small-scale study - "Microplastics in South Eastern Australian coastal waters: synthesising current data and identifying key knowledge gaps for the management of plastic pollution". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Plastic pollution is pervasive in coastal environments globally and in Australia. Due to their small size, microplastics (pieces <5mm) are readily ingested by marine organisms and potentially accumulate across food webs, raising concerns for biota, ecosystem services and human health. Yet, to define guidelines and support policy actions that curb microplastic pollution, managers and decision-makers lack clear, synthesised information on this multifaceted issue, including on occurrence, sources, and pathways of microplastics in coastal and marine environments. This project synthesised current knowledge on microplastics in the coastal waters of South-Eastern Australia (South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales), identifying key gaps in data, monitoring, and risk assessment. A central output was a compiled database of existing microplastics studies across the study region. Through engagement with stakeholders from government, research, and industry, the project defined shared priorities and barriers to action. Three critical research needs were identified: (1) methodological harmonisation, (2) source and pathway identification, and (3) evidence of ecological risk. Together, the synthesis and stakeholder input set a clear direction for future coordinated research to enable evidence-based management of microplastic pollution across jurisdictions. The work laid the foundation for the development of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for marine microplastics sampling, which was subsequently delivered through NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Project 2.2 (https://www.nespmarinecoastal.edu.au/project/2-2): chapter "Marine sampling field manual for microplastics" in Field Manuals for Marine Sampling to Monitor Australian Waters, Version 3 (https://microplastics-field-manual.github.io). Outputs • Inventory of compiled datasets relating to microplastics in SE Aus waters [spatial dataset] • Final Project Report synthesising the information available on the presence of microplastics in coastal marine environments in South Eastern Australia, its potential sources and pathways [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Emerging Priorities project "Learning from the field: a rapid assessment of the composition and ecotoxicology of the harmful algal bloom in South Australia". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- A severe harmful algal bloom (HAB) involving Karenia species has affected large areas of the South Australian coastline, including Gulf St Vincent, Spencer Gulf and Investigator Strait. The species composition, toxicity and ecological impact pathways of the bloom remain poorly understood, limiting the ability of agencies to respond to ongoing and future bloom events. This Emerging Priorities project will conduct a rapid investigation of the composition, toxicity and variability of the South Australian Karenia bloom across sites, depths and bloom stages. Broadscale water sampling will target areas of bloom spread and prolonged exposure, with sampling locations adjusted using satellite chlorophyll maps and field observations. The project will combine microscopy, qPCR-based species identification and abundance estimates, rotifer bioassays, and brevetoxin screening. Rotifer assays will provide a rapid comparative indicator of aquatic toxicity, while qPCR will identify and quantify Karenia species in the same samples, allowing toxicity results to be linked with species composition and bloom development. Selected field samples and cultured strains will also be screened for brevetoxins in collaboration with allied HAB research initiatives. Outputs will include baseline information on bloom toxicity and variability, qPCR-linked species composition data, a rapid rotifer assay method, and a foundational dataset linking Karenia community structure with toxicological response. The findings will support SA DEW, Commonwealth agencies and other research users in understanding bloom impact pathways, improving future HAB response, and informing long-term monitoring and marine environmental management. Outputs • Integrated harmful algal bloom field, water-quality and toxicology dataset across Gulf St Vincent, Spencer Gulf and Investigator Strait [dataset] • Karenia species composition and abundance dataset derived from microscopy and qPCR analyses [dataset] • Toxicity assessment dataset incorporating rotifer bioassays and brevetoxin screening results [dataset] • Final technical report [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Research Plan 2024 project "Potential impacts of offshore wind developments on eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whales". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) are listed as Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC 1999). Their distribution and Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) overlap with regions proposed for offshore renewable energy development in western and south-eastern Australia, creating a need to assess potential impacts alongside existing pressures such as shipping, oil and gas activity, vessel strike, underwater noise and habitat disturbance. This project mapped the distribution and core foraging and migratory areas of eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whales by combining satellite tracking data with auxiliary information from aerial surveys, marine mammal observer records, and existing habitat suitability models. These spatial products were overlaid with proposed offshore renewable energy areas, BIAs, Australian Marine Park boundaries, and spatial pressures layers. A cumulative impact framework was used to identify areas of higher risk and potential lower-impact reference sites. The project outputs support regulators, proponents and government agencies in assessing and mitigating potential offshore renewable energy impacts on pygmy blue whales. The results contribute to cumulative risk assessment, blue whale recovery planning, future BIA review, monitoring design, and prioritisation of future research and data collection. Outputs • Spatial layers quantifying the relative distribution including migratory corridors and foraging areas across the known eastern Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale range [dataset] • Spatial layers of habitat suitability distribution [dataset] • Spatial layers for human activities identified as key pressures in this study [dataset] • Spatial layers of cumulative impact score across the species' range including potential threats from ORE and existing threats from other industries [dataset] • Final project report [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub scoping study - "Research needs for a national approach to socio-economic values of the marine environment". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Effective management of natural resources and biodiversity requires an integrated understanding of the complex relationships between people and nature. This project reviewed a range of socio-ecological frameworks to identify which system components influence environmental outcomes, and which are most relevant for policy design and behaviour change. A key point of difference from previous NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub projects was an additional theme on implementation pathways, enabling research to inform the full progression from policy to on-ground action. Through a co-design process with stakeholders, the project identified priority social and economic research needs and assessed the availability of relevant datasets to meet them. A key outcome was the identification of three common decision contexts faced by managers—monitoring, trade-off analysis, and promoting behaviour change—and the matching of appropriate frameworks and data to each context. The findings highlight critical data gaps, while providing practical guidance on how existing information can be strategically used to inform management and policy decisions. Outputs • Inventory of compiled datasets relating to relevant economic values, threats, and socioeconomic values for Case Study locations [data inventory] • Four fact sheets, each based around common decision contexts encountered by the project [written] • Final Project Report [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Emerging Priorities project "A trophic-ecology based tool to assess and manage HAB impacts on marine ecosystems". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- South Australia’s 2025 harmful algal bloom (HAB) caused mortality across multiple trophic levels, from primary producers to top predators. This highlighted the need for tools that assess reef ecosystem condition and recovery using food-web structure, not only species counts or biomass estimates. This Emerging Priorities project will develop a trophic integrity framework for assessing subtidal reef condition across South Australia’s marine estate. The framework will support development of a Normalised Reef Status Index (NRSI) based on relative biomass across trophic levels, using biodiversity datasets from Reef Life Survey and the Australian Temperate Reef Collaboration, along with stereo-BRUV surveys and long-term habitat, plankton and water-quality monitoring. The project will model relationships between reef condition and environmental, disturbance and management drivers, enabling assessment of the 2025 HAB and marine heatwave impacts, recovery trajectories, and areas most vulnerable to future events. It will integrate existing and new biodiversity datasets with trophic and spatial analyses to provide a science-based assessment of subtidal reef condition. A web-based decision-support tool will be used to visualise reef condition, disturbance impacts and recovery, and to explore management options such as spatial protection, habitat restoration, fishing closures and rezoning. A technical report with management recommendations will support the SA HAB Science Program, state and Commonwealth agencies, marine park management, and public engagement. Outputs • Quantitative models linking trophic integrity indicators (including the NRSI) with environmental and management drivers [modelling framework] • Spatial prediction and vulnerability maps identifying reef areas most affected by the 2025 HAB and areas most susceptible to future disturbance events [dataset] • Interactive web-based decision-support dashboard for visualising reef condition, disturbance impacts and recovery trajectories, with scenario-testing functionality [tool] • Final technical report [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Research Plan 2024 project "Development of regional modelling and risk assessments to inform offshore renewable decision-making". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Australia is entering a phase of rapid offshore renewable energy (ORE) development, particularly in eastern and south-eastern waters. In considering the environmental acceptability of wind energy projects under the EPBC Act and Offshore Electricity Infrastructure framework, methods are required to evaluate cumulative risks to listed species, Australian Marine Parks and other natural values, including risks that arise from construction, operation, decommissioning, climate change and existing human pressures. This project used quantitative modelling approaches to assess potential impacts and cumulative risks associated with offshore renewable energy infrastructure in the Gippsland declared region. Twelve impact pathways identified by DCCEEW were used to structure problem formulation, risk hypotheses, modelling and assessment, with priority species and associated data needs identified in consultation with DCCEEW and NOPSEMA. The project applied two linked modelling approaches: species-specific population models and whole-of-ecosystem modelling. Population models estimated exposure and potential effects for priority threatened and migratory species across breeding, overwintering, foraging and migration areas, including risks such as collision, underwater noise, electromagnetic fields, vessel interactions, displacement and attraction. Whole-of-ecosystem modelling assessed broader ecological pathways, including hydrodynamics, sediment transport, benthic habitat effects, displacement of fishing activity, trophic effects around infrastructure, and cumulative interactions with climate change. Scenario analyses were used to explore how risks varied with the timing, number, location and configuration of offshore renewable energy developments. Model outputs were used to assess the cumulative risks to key species and natural values, and supported evaluation of mitigation options such as infrastructure placement, construction timing, operational constraints and post-assessment monitoring. The project outputs provide regulators and conservation managers with a modelling framework for assessing ORE-related cumulative impacts, identifying monitoring requirements, prioritising future research, and support evidence-based decisions on risk acceptability and management under relevant environmental legislation. Outputs • Species-specific population models for key threatened and migratory species for the Gippsland ORE region [spatial outputs] • Outputs from Whole of Ecosystem (WoE) modelling [risk-based impact spatial outputs] • Final project report [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Emerging Priorities project "Assessing impacts of harmful algal bloom events on South Australian benthic habitats". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- In early 2025, South Australia experienced an unprecedented harmful algal bloom (HAB) dominated by Karenia species, with high concentrations in Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf. These gulfs support diverse benthic habitats, iconic biodiversity, and important commercial and recreational fisheries. The rapid development of the bloom and challenges associated with accessing affected areas limited timely assessment of impacts to benthic ecosystem. This Emerging Priorities project will assess HAB impacts by repeating recent benthic surveys at impacted sites across both gulfs. The project will take advantage of existing pre-bloom baseline data, allowing robust before-after comparisons with minimal confounding by seasonal or inter-annual trends. The assessment will integrate towed-camera habitat imagery, stereo-BRUV fish assemblage surveys, benthic trawl data and environmental measurements. Towed-camera resurveys will provide post-bloom imagery, and visual and quantitative assessments of habitat condition. Repeat stereo-BRUV surveys will assess changes in relative abundance, richness and composition of fish and larger invertebrate communities across seagrass and sand habitats. The findings will inform the South Australian HAB Science Program, support development of HAB-related coastal habitat monitoring, and provide evidence for state and Commonwealth agencies to prioritise future monitoring, research and management actions. Outputs • Post-HAB benthic imagery [imagery] • Quantitative assessment of impacts on benthic habitat and fish communities [dataset] • Final technical report [written]

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Research Plan 2024 project "Assessing the vulnerability of southern right whale and blue whale populations to disturbance from windfarm developments". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Offshore renewable energy (ORE) development is expanding in Australian waters. This includes regions that overlap with feeding and breeding areas for Endangered blue whales and southern right whales. Underwater noise from construction and operation of offshore wind infrastructure may affect whale behaviour, energetics and reproduction, requiring assessment of potential population-level consequences under the EPBC Act. This desktop study used available data and expert elicitation to develop interim Population Consequences of Disturbance (iPCoD) models for blue whales and southern right whales in relation to one or multiple offshore wind developments off Portland and Gippsland, Victoria. The modelling followed a decision pathway that considered spatial and temporal overlap with whale populations, the proportion of populations affected, life stages and reproductive phases exposed, and the likelihood of repeated disturbance. The models were used to assess the timing, location and potential cumulative effects of underwater noise at a regional scale. Outputs identified high-risk species and scenarios, priority data gaps, research needs, and mitigation requirements needed to reduce the likelihood of compromised population viability. The iPCoD framework can be updated as new data become available and integrated with other modelling approaches. The framework is relevant for risk assessment against other ocean-based activities such as seismic surveys oil and gas infrastructure, and carbon capture and storage. The project outputs support offshore wind assessment and regulation, species recovery planning, and development of underwater noise guidance. Outputs • iPCoD model outputs [dataset] • Final Project Report [written]