Algae covered tiles containing week-old and month-old coral recruits of Acropora millepora, Acropora kenti and Goniastrea retiformis were exposed to different types of fish grazing to investigate the impact of grazing on coral recruit survival. High resolution images of tiles where used to track recruit size and survival, and algae coverage, pre and post 24 hour exposure to fish grazing. The tested fish grazers were Ctenochaetus binotatus (a 'brusher'), Salarias fasciatus ('brusher'), Acanthurus nigrofuscus ('cropper') and Zebrasoma scopas ('concealed cropper'); also included were a 'control' treatment where tiles were undisturbed for the 24 hours and a 'manual' treatment where algae was removed by an aquarist. After the experiment, fish were anaesthetised and measured. These data were collected in December 2023.

Co-culture of coral recruits with different species of grazing herbivores was tested as a method of improving the corals’ survival and growth in ex-situ grow-out facilities. Coral recruits from Acropora millepora, A. tenuis, A secale, Porites lobata and Platygyra daedalea were cultured for 6 months in 50L flow-through tanks under one of five grazing treatments: (1) Thalotia, coral cultured with 30 Calthalotia strigata per tank, (2) Turbo, 30 Turbo haynesi per tank, (3) COTS, 40 Acanthaster cf. solaris per tank, (4) Mix, 10 Calthalotia strigata, 10 Turbo haynesi, 20 Acanthaster cf. solaris and (5) Control, with no grazers. Survival was tracked by photographs of plugs with coral recruits taken at Day 0, Day 7. Day 14 and subsequently fortnightly until Day 182 when the experiment was ended. Growth from Day 0 to Day 56 and Day 182 was the basal growth of the recruits, measured using the ImageJ program. Parameters: Size and growth of corals is measured in mm2 In growth datafiles, the fused parameter indicated which recruits had fused on the designated measurement date. Different groups of fused corals on the same plug are indicated by different numbers. Survival is recorded under Dead_time 0 for no mortality occurring within the time frame and 1 for when mortality occurred, and time_Survival for time of event (either 182 for no mortality or the day mortality was observed).

The scope of the proposed work includes a six-month laboratory dose response experiment to determine the effects of environmentally-realistic levels of DIN on coral health and function. Plugs or branch tips of four species of Atlantic scleractinian corals, Porites astreoides, Porites divaricata, Montastraea cavernosa, and Siderastrea siderea were exposed for six months to five concentrations of nitrate. Four independent replicates of each elevated nitrogen concentration was maintained by addition of a nitrate solution to dose water. To link coral physiological performance to exposure over time, the maximum quantum yield of PSII photochemistry of each coral was monitored bi monthly with a submersible pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer (PAM). To assess growth rate and calcification response, buoyant weight measurements will be utilized. To quantify tissue condition, and zooxanthellar density, 25% of each coral was fixed for histological analysis at the end of the experimental period. These metrics are used to identify cause and effect relationships and specific responses associated with quantified levels of nitrate.

This dataset shows the measured response of early life history stages to different levels of nutrient enrichment and temperatures in experiments conducted in 2014-2015. The data is presented as one Excel spreadsheet file. Each tab contains data from experiments (Exp. 1a,b; Exp 1c,d; Exp. 2; Exp 3) on different life stages exposed to the same conditions. Measured logged water quality (Nutrients) and temperature (Temperature) data taken during the experiment are also presented in different tabs. The aim of this study was to: 1) understand the combined effects of elevated temperature and degraded water quality when they co-occur; 2) identify the most sensitive early life history stages to elevated temperatures and nutrient enrichment, and 3) provide a minimum estimate of their combined effects on population replenishment. Methods: Early life history stages or processes of Acropora tenuis, a coral species common in inshore reefs of the Indo Pacific and the Red Sea, were exposed to different levels of nutrient enrichment and warming temperatures. Gamete fertilization, larval survivorship, larval settlement, juveniles photophysiology, growth, weight and survivorship were measured after exposures. Experimental concentrations of nutrients were chosen to lie within the range of those measured on inshore GBR reefs, while temperature levels corresponded to an increase between +2 to +5°C during spawning periods in reefs of the GBR. All experiments were conducted under controlled conditions in the National Sea Simulator. Please refer to the following publication for specific details of the methodology employed in each of the 3 experiments: Humanes A, Noonan S, Willis B, Fabricius K, Negri A. (in press). Cumulative Effects of Nutrient Enrichment and Elevated Temperature Compromise the Early Life History Stages of the Coral Acropora tenuis. PLoS ONE. Format: Excel Spreadsheet with one tab per experiment and tabs for logged temperature and nutrient conditions during the experiment in the other tabs. Data Dictionary: Replicate: number of replicates of a single treatment or measurement type Low: nutrient concentrations in control seawater, see "Nutrient" tab for details Medium: nutrient enriched seawater, see "Nutrient" tab for details High: nutrient enriched seawater, see "Nutrient" tab for details Total: total number of coral gametes, embryos, larvae or recruits NA: data not available, see notes in each tab for explanation DOC: dissolved organic carbon TOC: total organic carbon TDN: total dissolved nitrogen TN: total nitrogen TDP: total dissolved phosphorus Fv/Fm: maximum quantum yield All temperature measurements are in degrees Celsius References: Humanes A, Noonan S, Willis B, Fabricius K, Negri A. (in press). Cumulative Effects of Nutrient Enrichment and Elevated Temperature Compromise the Early Life History Stages of the Coral Acropora tenuis. PLoS ONE. Data Location: This dataset is saved in the eAtlas enduring data repository at: data\NERP-TE\5.2_Cumulative-pressures\

Wild corals were collected on the Northern and Central regions of the Great Barrier Reef at depths of ~4m. The colonies were transferred to the National Sea Simulator at AIMS. Spawning occurred on 26th to the 29th of November 2018, and experiments were carried out from Nov 2018 until March 2019. Thermal heat test experiments were conducted following coral spawning and purebred / hybrid offspring were produced. Larvae were reared and subjected to a heat tests. Larval survival was counted from 0 to 56 hours at 27°C and 35.5°C. Larvae were then induced to settle, exposed to symbionts and then exposed to heat stress. Both larvae and juveniles were sampled for survival, counted at 0 and after 58 days at 27 and 32°C treatments. Individual larvae were counted within replicate net-wells, in replicate, plates within each temperature treatment. Each larval survival measurement represents a discrete sample measurement. Juvenile survival, bleaching and growth were assessed, survival statistical analyses were run in R (v. 3.6.0) and amplicon Miseq and RNAseq sequencing of Symbiodiniaceae taxa in coral juveniles. See Quigley & van Oppen (2022) for full details.

Size frequency surveys of the sponges Coscinoderma matthewsi, Hyrtios erecta and Ianthella basta (yellow color morph) were conducted at Masig Island, central Torres Strait, in March 2007. At each of eight sites, separated by at least 200 m, three randomly positioned 30 x 1 m transects were surveyed, with each transect separated by at least 20 m. All transects were located on sloping reef at between 10 and 12 m depth.The greatest dimension of each sponge was measured for Coscinoderma matthewsi and Ianthella basta, and used as an approximation of overall sponge size. Due to the branching morphology of Hyrtios erecta, the length of each individual branch was included to give an overall measurement. Sponges were also assigned a competition class based on the percentage of their perimeter in contact or within 1 cm of surrounding or encroaching organisms.Three tissue samples, each 1-2 cm³ were collected from 20 different individuals of each species from a single site to examine the influence of sponge size on bioactivity. Prior to sampling, sponges were also measured for size, photographed and assigned a competition class. The sponges sampled encompassed the full size range of each respective species, except for very small sponges, which did have sufficient tissue to obtain three independent tissue samples. Sponges displaying signs of disease were not sampled. Samples were frozen at -20°C within one hour of collection and kept frozen until freeze dried.Freeze-dried sponge tissue samples were weighed and extracted 3 times with methanol (MeOH). Crude extracts were made up into a 100 mg/ml concentration in MeOH based on individual extract weights. 100 µl of each sample was then aliquoted to microtitre plates and dried down, yielding 10 mg of dry extract per sample for bioactivity screening.The production of bioactive metabolites and overall bioactivity of sponges was examined using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Crude extracts were re-suspended in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and added to 96 well plates containing 100 µl of pre-incubated cell suspension. Several concentrations were tested for each species, with the concentration showing the greatest fine-scale variation in toxicity between individual samples selected for the analyses: 100 µg/ml for Coscinoderma matthewsi; 0.1875 µg/ml for Hyrtios erecta; and 100 µg/ml for Ianthella basta. One replicate plate was made for each sample plate and for each concentration, with appropriate controls. After 48 hours of incubation, plates were fixed with trichloroacetic acid and stained using 0.4% SRB. Plates were read using the Wallac Victor plate reader at an absorbance of 490 nm, and % cell growth values were calculated. This study was undertaken to examine the influence of individual size and spatial competition on the bioactivity of three coral reef sponges of differing morphologies, occurring in Torres Strait: Coscinoderma matthewsi (a massive, hemispherical sponge), Hyrtios erecta (a club-shaped branching sponge) and Ianthella basta (a fan-like sponge).