Environmental change in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia
This is a long-running piece of work investigating changes in the environments and ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef, particularly since European settlement in coastal Queensland.
Staff member:
Time period:
2001 - present.
Collaborators:
- Dr Peter Griggs (James Cook University)
- Professor Helene Marsh (James Cook University)
Objectives and scope:
This research investigates and documents changes in the Great Barrier Reef and its associated habitats and species, particularly since European settlement in the adjacent coastal lands since 1860. The research documents a variety of human activities and their impacts on the coastal and marine environment; those activities and impacts include coral mining, coral collecting, shell collecting, various forms of fishing, guano and rock phosphate mining, the introduction and spread of exotic species, the transformation of island ecosystems, and the development and spread of tourism. The research also derives implications for the management of the Great Barrier Reef, its adjacent coastal and marine areas, and its associated species and habitats.
Publications:
- Daley, B. (forthcoming) The Great Barrier Reef: An Environmental History, Earthscan, London.
- Daley, B., Griggs, P. and Marsh, H. (forthcoming) ‘Oil, meat and money: the supply of dugong products to Indigenous settlements in Queensland, Australia, 1928–1976’, submitted to Environment and History.
- Daley, B. (2012) ‘Human impacts on coastal and marine geo-ecosystems’, in Matthews, J. E., Bartlein, P. J., Briffa, K. R., Dawson, A. G., de Vernal, A, Denham, T., Fritz, S. C. and Oldfield, F. (eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Environmental Change, Los Angeles, Sage Publications: 607-630.
- Daley, B. and Griggs, P. (2008) ‘“Loved to death”: coral collecting in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 1770–1970’, Environment and History, 14 (1): 89-119.
- Daley, B., Griggs, P. and Marsh, H. (2008) ‘Exploiting marine wildlife in Queensland: the commercial dugong and marine turtle fisheries, 1847–1969’, Australian Economic History Review, 48 (3): 227-265.
- Daley, B., Griggs, P. and Marsh, H. (2008) ‘Reconstructing reefs: qualitative methods and the environmental history of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia’, Qualitative Research, 8 (5), 589-620.
- Daley, B. and Griggs, P. (2006) ‘Mining the reefs and cays: coral, guano and rock phosphate extraction in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 1844–1940’, Environment and History, 12 (4): 395-433.