Research Program Leader - Sustainable Coastal Ecosystems and Industries in Tropical Australia
Member of the AIMS Senior Leadership Team
Role
Background
My interest and expertise is the research and management of environmental impacts, especially those related to deteriorating marine water quality, as well as the ecology of benthic marine plants and of introduced marine species. Prior to joining AIMS in 2005, I held a variety of positions spanning marine ecological research, environmental management and knowledge exchange. After being a lecturer at the University of Kiel, Germany, I migrated to Australia in 1995 for post-doctoral research at AIMS. In 2000 I joined the CSIRO to work on seaweed invasions. After positions in the Water Quality & Coastal Development group of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and at the CRC for Reef Research, I returned to AIMS to manage the AIMS component of the Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program. In 2006, I became Research Team Leader of the 'Measuring Water Quality and Ecosystem Health' Team and in 2012 Research Program Leader.
Education
- 1989: Degree 'Diplom Biologin' University of Hamburg, Germany
- 1993: PhD University of Hamburg, Germany
Current Research Activities
The research of my 40+-staff strong Program focuses on understanding the human and environmental drivers of tropical coastal and shelf systems and on forecasting the responses of key ecosystem components to a changing environment. Our research supports coastal and marine planning, development and conservation through assessments of:
¿ The condition of tropical environments;
¿ The dispersal and effects of sediment, nutrient and pollutant inputs from various sources; and
¿ Key ecological functions and processes from the organism to ecosystem-level, in particular those affected by cumulative environmental pressures.
¿ The condition of tropical environments;
¿ The dispersal and effects of sediment, nutrient and pollutant inputs from various sources; and
¿ Key ecological functions and processes from the organism to ecosystem-level, in particular those affected by cumulative environmental pressures.
Expert Committees and Boards
Darwin Harbour Integrated Monitoring and Research Program Committee
Fitzroy Partnership for River Health Science Panel
GBRMPA Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (RWQPP) Project Committee
Healthy Waterways Alliance Mackay Whitsunday Ecosystem Water Quality Think Tank
NERP Tropical Ecosystems Hub Water Quality Implementation Group
Fitzroy Partnership for River Health Science Panel
GBRMPA Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (RWQPP) Project Committee
Healthy Waterways Alliance Mackay Whitsunday Ecosystem Water Quality Think Tank
NERP Tropical Ecosystems Hub Water Quality Implementation Group
Publications
Over 60 journal articles and technical reports. The following are a selection of recent publications.
Berkelmans R, Jones AM, Schaffelke B (2012) Salinity thresholds of Acropora spp on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 31: 1103-1110
Fabricius KE, De¿ath G, Humphrey C, Zagorskis I, Schaffelke B (in press) Intra-annual variation in turbidity in response to terrestrial runoff on near-shore coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Brodie JE, Kroon FJ, Schaffelke B, Wolanski E, Lewis SE, Devlin MJ, Bohnet IC, Bainbridge ZT, Waterhouse J, Davis AM (2012) Terrestrial pollutant runoff to the Great Barrier Reef: An update of issues, priorities and management responses. Mar Poll Bull 65: 81-100
Schaffelke B, Carleton J, Skuza M, Zagorskis I, Furnas MJ (2012) Water quality in the inshore Great Barrier Reef lagoon: Implications for long-term monitoring and management. Mar Poll Bull 65: 249-260
Lewis SE, Schaffelke B, Shaw M, Bainbridge ZT, Rohde KW, Kennedy K, Davis AM, Masters BL, Devlin MJ, Mueller JF, Brodie JE (2012). Assessing the additive risks of PSII herbicide exposure to the Great Barrier Reef. Mar Poll Bull 65: 280-291
Andreakis N, Schaffelke B (2012). Invasive marine seaweeds: Pest or prize? Pp 235-262 in C. Wiencke and K. Bischof, eds. Seaweed Biology, Ecological Studies 219. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Haapkylä J, Unsworth R, Flavell M, Bourne D, Schaffelke B, Willis BL (2011) Seasonal rainfall and runoff promote coral disease on an inshore reef. PLoS ONE 6:e16893
Cheal AJ, MacNeil MA, Cripps E, Emslie MJ, Jonker M, Schaffelke B and Sweatman HPA (2010) Coral-macroalgal phase shifts or reef resilience: links with diversity and functional roles of herbivorous fishes on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 29: 1005-1015
Hauri C, Fabricius KE, Schaffelke B, Humphrey CA (2010) Chemical and Physical Environmental Conditions Underneath Mat- and Canopy-Forming Macroalgae, and Their Effects on Understorey Corals. PLoS ONE 5:1-9
Uthicke S, Thompson AA, Schaffelke B (2010) Effectiveness of benthic foraminiferal and coral assemblages as water quality indicators on inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Coral Reefs 29: 209-225
Devlin MJ, Schaffelke B (2009) Spatial extent of riverine flood plumes and exposure of marine ecosystems in the Tully coastal region, Great Barrier Reef. Marine and Freshwater Research 60: 1109-1122
Uthicke S, Schaffelke B, Byrne M (2009) A boom-bust phylum? Ecological and evolutionary consequences of density variations in echinoderms. Ecological Monographs 79: 3-24
