Miss Ariane Easton1,2, Mr Tom Coughlin1, Dr Valeriya Komyakova1,3
1Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University Of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia, 2University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, 3Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Artificial reefs (ARs) are increasingly deployed in the marine environment to achieve a range of ecological and socioeconomic objectives. Many deployments fail to achieve management goals, which can result in negative consequences, such as altered community composition, productivity loss, colonisation by invasive species and a consequent loss of social license. AR performance is influenced by reef material, design and characteristics of the deployment location, which is commonly associated with chemical, noise and light pollution. To increase the likelihood of ARs effectively meeting management objectives, these factors should be considered during planning stages, however, there is currently no practical method to assess AR proposals. This study developed a prototype risk evaluation tool to assess the risks of light and noise pollution on the likelihood of achieving AR deployments that function as marine habitats. The tool is based on the best available research, which found that light and noise pollution have negative consequences for reef organisms, increasing the likelihood of poor AR performance. Risk mitigation strategies have also been explored to provide managers with the best practice advice when assessing the deployment location. The tool can be employed for both planning and regulating purposes by providing an efficient assessment of the risks that can lead to AR failure and setting a baseline for management decisions. The protype developed in this study can be expanded to enable the assessment of a comprehensive range of factors which influence ARs functioning as a natural habitat, including analysis of chemical pollution, reef complexity and reef materials.
Presentation Slides – Ariane Easton
Biography:
Ariane has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Marine and Antarctic science from the University of Tasmania, focussing on marine governance. She completed a semester of the degree at the University of Otago, New Zealand. During her degree, she completed a third-year research project and developed a prototype risk evaluation tool to assess the risks of light and noise pollution on the likelihood of achieving artificial reef deployments that function as marine habitats.
