Reef And Rivers Podcast

They might look pretty – or at least, pretty harmless, but Australia's ornamental fish trade can pose a serious threat to our waterways. Once an invasive is established, it makes eradication almost impossible, which means prevention is always better than cure. In this episode we're joined by freshwater fish biologist Mariah Millington to find out exactly what impact ornamental fish are having on o...

Tropical cyclones, though destructive, are part of the natural dynamics of the rainforest and reef. We often see their land-based impacts most vividly, but they also impact coral reefs and seagrass beds. We catch up with Professor Steve Turton to find out how anthropogenic climate change is changing the frequency, intensity and location of cyclones, and what this means for reef and seagrass beds.

Equal parts fearful and fascinating, bull sharks have a reputation as strong, aggressive sharks and are one of the most common species that anglers are likely to encounter in the estuaries and inshore marine zone. Nicolas Lubitz is a Ph. D candidate at James Cook University, and tracks bull sharks to find out where they travel and why. Join us to learn about the unique life cycles of bull sharks,...

When we think about waterway pollution, things like paracetamol and caffeine probably aren't the first things that come to mind – but they're among the alarmingly long list of pharmaceuticals and consumables that are literally passing through our bodies and into waterways. Ecotoxicologist Dr Frederic Leusch joins us to talk about what's turning up, where it's turning up, and what it means for aqua...

The 2022 Wet Tropics Waterway Health Report Card was released today. A lot of complex science goes on behind the report, and it can get a bit heavy, so we asked our Independent Chair Dr Greg Vinall to break it down. Join us, to learn about the good news stories and the areas in which we could be doing better; what's impacting waterway health grades and what's being done to mitigate threats; and ho...

The science is in, and the results are out. The 2021 Report Card grades the condition of the freshwater basins, estuaries and marine environments across the Wet Tropics as an action of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan. Join our Chair and Exec Officer to hear an overview of the results. 

Ports North is responsible for the development and management of the Ports of Cairns, Cape Flattery, Karumba, Mourilyan, Skardon River, Quintell Beach, Thursday Island, Burketown and Cooktown. Manager of Sustainability and External Policy, Paul Doyle, joins the podcast to talk about Ports North's operations in the Wet Tropics, the Cairns shipping dredging project, and recent work on their environm...

Bill Dennison and Simon Costanza from the University of Maryland talk about the history and evolution of environmental report cards as a process for galvanising communities to improve environmental conditions. 

Water quality monitoring can be done on lots of different scales. Great Barrier Reef monitoring is done on a catchment scale with the results reflecting what's happening over a very large area. While this is useful to give a big picture perspective on the reef it is less relevant to farmers and doesn't give them any information about what changes they need to be making on their particular paddocks...