The first comprehensive field guide to the Great Barrier Reef will be launched by UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield at Customs House tomorrow (10am, Thursday, November 27).
UQ’s Centre for Marine Studies Director and 2008 Smart State Premier’s Fellow Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, said The Great Barrier Reef (CSIRO Publishing, $89.95) provided readers with a broad overview of the biological and physical attributes of the reef and where relevant, other reefs around the world.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s most recognised natural icons.
“It is also the largest continuous reef system on the planet and can be seen from space by passing satellites,” he said.
“By understanding it better through resources like this book, we stand a better chance of preserving this wondrous ecosystem for all time.”
All royalties received from sales of the book will go to the Australian Coral Reef Society to fund student research on the reef.
The book has been edited by Australian Museum Senior Principal Research Scientist Dr Pat Hutchings, Head of the School of Marine Biology and Aquaculture at James Cook University, Professor Michael Kingsford, and Professor Hoegh-Guldberg.
The three researchers have contributed articles to the 368-page book alongside 32 other reef experts from around the world. Themes covered include threats and issues concerning the reef such as coral bleaching, coral diseases and the challenges of coral reef fisheries.
Professor Greenfield, who was a co-author with Professor Hoegh-Guldberg on a 2007 report showing coral reefs would disappear within decades if global warming continued unabated, said the book gave non-scientists access to a scholarly understanding of both the richness of reefs and the pressures they faced.
Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said the book would allow people to identify common plants and animals on the reef and learn about some of the management systems that could be used to protect and preserve the reef for future generations.
“We have learnt a great deal about the Great Barrier Reef over the past three decades. This book pulls together not only the taxonomy of coral reef organisms but also the important ecological processes that are involved in this vast and complex ecosystem. Importantly, it also reviews the threats and management options that face us as we deal with issues such as human population growth and climate change,” Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said.
“This book is the culmination of a number of undergraduate courses on the biology of coral reefs that the three universities have collaborated on.
“Held on Heron Island, these courses have been one of the most popular for Australian and international students. By producing this resource, we hope that we will not only empower these learning experiences, but that we will also create a resource that will be useful for anyone studying coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
“The book has pulled together research by 20 coral reef experts on topics ranging from taxonomy, physical oceanography, ecological dynamics, climate change and the natural resource management of coral reefs.
“In coming together, we feel that this group of experts has produced the definitive text for coral reefs for the next 20 years.”
Dr Hutchings said the book would whet the appetites of students visiting the reef for the first time and help them navigate a vast amount of scientific literature already written about reefs.
Professor Hoegh-Guldberg said authors were grateful for in-kind support for the book including an Australian Coral Reef Society technical officer’s time and many photographs donated free-of-charge.
The book launch will be held in the Lady Theiss Room at Brisbane Custom’s House from 10am. The Great Barrier Reef can be accessed on the web at:
http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/5921.htm
Media: Lianne Cook, Centre for Marine Studies (3346 7417), Melinda Chandler, Sales & Marketing Coordinator, CSIRO Publishing (03 9662 7601), Michelle Britton, Publicist, Australian Museum (02 9320 6181 or 0421 617 019) or Shirley Glaister at UQ Communications (3365 1931).
