NERP TE Project 6.3 - Critical seabird foraging locations and trophic relationships for the Great Barrier Reef, 2011-2014 (JCU)

Updated: 2026-06-25

The program aims to identify key foraging locations and biophysical characteristics for shearwaters and boobies in the GBR and Coral Sea, assess prey availability and its climate-driven variations, and understand the conditions necessary for viable reproduction and potential anthropogenic interactions. Overall the key objectives of this program are to: 1. Identify and map the principal foraging locations for shearwaters and boobies breeding at the most important colonies of the GBR, both within and between breeding seasons, using a combination of different Geolocation, GPS and Satellite PTT data loggers; 2. Obtain detailed information on the biophysical oceanographic characteristics of these foraging habitats in both the GBR and Coral Sea regions using a range of biophysical parameters derived from satellite and in situ data; 3. Quantify how prey availability at these sites varies with climate driven changes in biophysical oceanography; 4. quantifying the level of prey availability and associated oceanographic conditions required to maintain viable reproduction at significant breeding colonies; and 5. establish potential linkages and interactions between these areas/processes and other anthropogenic activities.