REDMAP is a Spot-Log-Map website for community change monitoring This Mahi Mahi image from the Redmap website provides us with an example of one observation of a commonly tropical species recorded in Tasmanian waters. Is it an anomaly or will there be more sightings?"All animal species have a preferred temperature range that they like to live, feed and breed in, and marine creatures are no different. As our waters warm up, species change their distribution, or range, to keep pace with the temperature changes. In the southern hemisphere, range shifts and extensions are usually in a southerly direction as species shift pole-ward to avoid the warming waters of their usual habitats. Capturing species range shifts can be difficult due to a scarcity of marine monitoring programs and the often short time frames of such studies. Fishers, divers and other people enjoying or working off our coasts have a huge depth of knowledge and Redmap is a website where we can record your valuable information."
Tracking who is on the move in our Australian waters will help us better understand and manage our precious marine resources. To view the Redmap website click here.
REPORT CARD on the Impacts and Adaptation Responses in the marine environment
Althought we don't have Redmap programs in all Aussies states as yet, we can look at the National Report Card for 2009 that summarises present knowledge on marine climate change impacts, knowledge gaps and adapatation responses in Australia.
Key findings in the Report Card indicate that ocean temperatures in south (east and west) have warmed the fastest. The flow of the East Australian Current has strengthened and this will continue. There are indications that biodiversity is changing in the south-east of Australia in response to warming temperatures and the stronger East Australian Current. Additionally Great Barrier Reef coral growth rates are likely to decline over 10% citing ocean acidification and thermal stress. To view the 2009 Report Card click here
