NESP MaC Project 4.11 - Scaling-up long-term seagrass restoration in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, 2024-2026 (JCU)

Research Project

Researchers: Anna Frouws (collaborator) ,  Australian Institute of Marine Science (Associated with) ,  Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) (Associated with) ,  Bell, Sahira (collaborator) ,  Cocos Marine Care (Associated with)
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Full description This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub study - Scaling-up long-term seagrass restoration in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. There is an urgent community-driven need to develop appropriate seagrass restoration approaches at scale for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (CKI). Fast-tracking larger-scale restoration research is required to prevent imminent collapse and functional extinction of seagrasses at CKI due to past disturbance and current green turtle grazing pressure. This project builds on pilot studies to design and establish a network of larger-scale turtle exclusion areas where locally appropriate restoration approaches can be refined. At the same time, this will provide “seagrass refuges” to initiate recovery, monitor ecological effects, and provide for future restoration efforts. The project has been co-developed with the CKI community and Parks Australia, addressing their highest research priority identified in the newly established Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park. The project will provide an action plan for ongoing interventions and strategies to future-proof local seagrasses and support seagrass-dependent species, such as green turtles and fish, in the long term. Planned Outputs • exclusion zones experimental data [spatial & tabular dataset] • environmental monitoring dataset [tabular data] • Final technical report with analysed data and a short summary of recommendations for policy makers of key findings [written]

Notes Credit
This project was funded by the Australian Government's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water through the National Environmental Science Program Marine and Coastal (NESP MaC) hub with co-investment from project partners and collaborators.

Data time period: 2024-02-01 to 11 12 2026

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