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Associate Professor Chris Roelfsema

Associate Professor

School of the Environment
Faculty of Science
c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 56977

Overview

Research interest: Monitoring ecosystem health of coral reefs and seagrass habitats, integrating field and remote sensing image datasets, and the developing applied cost-effective mapping and monitoring approaches. Developed approaches have been adopted as standard practice globally, making a difference in conservation of these valuable habitats. The long term monitoring studies at Heron and Moreton Bay formed the basis for the development of mapping and monitoring over time and space at local to global scale.

Current projects:

1) Long term monitoring of benthic composition at Heron Reef (2002-ongoing). Annual photoquadrate surveys are being collected at Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef. Initiated to develop remote sensing mapping approaches and assess coral composition over time. The resulting Maps, photo quadrate and benthic data, spectral reflectance are accessible online.

2) Long term monitoring of seagrass composition and abundance in Moreton bay Marine Park (2000-ongoing). For Eastern Banks it included monitoring seagrass species, cover and biomass 15x times since 2004 using photoquadrate survey and satelite imagery and for Moreton Bay it included seagrass extent and cover (2004, 2009, 2015, 2021, 2022), all data accessible via Moreton Bay Research Station.

3) Smart Sat CRC Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Seagrass and Coral Reefs 2023-2027. Collaborative effort with CSIRO, Adelaide University, DES Adelaide Coastal Waters.

4) 3D GBR Habitat Mapping Project 2015 - ongoing: Mapping and monitoring geomorphic zonation, bottom type and predicted coral type habitat for every Great Barrier Reef within the Marine Park.

5) Global habitat mapping project 2019-2023 Developed and implemention of global habitat mapping as part of the Allen Coral Atlas resulting in extent, geomorphic and benthic maps for reefs globally, funded through with Vulcan Philanthropies in partnership with; Planet; the Arizona State University and the National Geographic Society.

Other projects: Advisor for Reef Cloud Australian Institute of Marine Science and Coordinated Global Research Assessment of Seagrass System (C-GRASS).

Current position: Associate Professior in Marine Remote Sensing. Academic Director Heron Island Research Station and affiliated researchers with Centre for Marine Science and Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science

Capacity building: under/post graduate courses; Msc/PhD supervision, workshops/courses; Remote Sensing Educational Toolkit, and online courses (e.g. TNC)

Citizen science: Strong supporter of citizen science based projects, as trainer, organiser and advisor for Reef Check Australia, CoralWatch, Great Reef Census and UniDive.

Research Impacts

See Research Impact on Mapping a better future for coral reefs

Qualifications

  • Volunteer, Reef Check Australia, Reef Check Australia
  • Member, Professional Assosciation of Diving Instructors, Professional Assosciation of Diving Instructors
  • Member, International Coral Reef Society, International Coral Reef Society
  • Volunteer, Great Reef Census, Great Reef Census
  • Volunteer, Coral Watch, Coral Watch
  • Member, Australian Marine Science Association, Australian Marine Science Association
  • Volunteer, Australian Coral Reef Society, Australian Coral Reef Society
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Science, The University of Queensland
  • Postgraduate Diploma of Marine Science, The University of Queensland
  • Masters (Coursework) of Engineering, Delft University of Technology
  • Bachelor of Science

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • PhD, Masters or Honours Topics: Coral community assamblage from 3D photogrammetry

    General

    If you are interested in working as part of a collaborative, supportive, multi-disciplinary team that links different disciplines across academia, governments, industry and NGOs, on the topics below please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to it further.

    Collaboration/Supervision possible with: Chris Roelfsema(UQ), Dylan Cowley(UQ) Tiny Remmers (UQ/AIMS) Stuart Phinn(UQ), Nikkie Brown (UQ) Julie Vercelloni AIMS, Emma Kennedy AIMS, Juan Carlos Ortiz AIMS and relevant others

    Coral Reef research can focus on work on the Heron Reef but are not limited to that.

    Funding

    These project do not have funding or scholarships currently, but are supported by extensive pre-existing data archives of fully corrected satellite image archives and field data sets, a collective group of researchers working on the site, and ability to be supported in scholarship and funding applications.

    Background

    In 2023 orthophotomosaics were collected around Heron Reef as basis to integrate with satellite imagery and to understand the site level changes in benthic composition. The work can be supported by detailed field-based baseline of the reef, which is completed annually and has produced a 20+ year annual data set. Since 2011, Iin 2023 we collected orthomosaics of 20-50 m for 10 sites around Heron Reef, this provide the possiblity to get more detail benthic information and higher spatial scale locally.

    PhD Topics

    The data sets themselves provide a wealth of information for interested students to work on, hence we aim to engage with those interested in building coral reef science and management related , knowledge, skills, network, experience and development opportunities to enhance existing, or develop new careers.

    If you are interested, please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to discuss how to develop a research project for special topic, masters or PhD research that might suit you focussing on:

    1. Ecological assessment of the benthic field data reviewing not only coral cover but also coral morphologies, or algae cover or other at site level scale over time and space
    2. Developing approaches for time series analysis of the orthophoto mosacis.
    3. Any other topic that promotes the use of the existing field data and/or high resolution image data.
    4. Or any other related topic.

    See related information in:

    Title: Benthic and coral reef community field data for Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2002–2018

    Title: Close-range underwater photogrammetry for coral reef ecology: a systematic literature review

    Title: Fine-scale time series surveys reveal new insights into spatiotemporal trends in coral cover (2002–2018), of a coral reef on the Southern Great Barrier Reef

  • PhD, Masters or Honours Topics: Coral Reef Dynamics Integrating Geospatial/Earth Observation/Ecology

    General

    If you are interested in working as part of a collaborative, supportive, multi-disciplinary team that links different disciplines across academia, governments, industry and NGOs, on the topics below please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to it further.

    Collaboration/Supervision possible with: Chris Roelfsema, Dylan Cowley, Nikki Brown, Stuart Phinn UQ, Julie Vercelloni QUT/AIMS, Emma Kennedy, Juan Carlos Ortiz AIMS and relevant others

    Coral Reef research can focus on work on the Heron Reef but are not limited to that.

    Funding

    These project do not have funding or scholarships currently, but are supported by extensive pre-existing data archives of fully corrected satellite image archives and field data sets, a collective group of researchers working on the site, and ability to be supported in scholarship and funding applications.

    Background

    Since 2002 UQ Team have used Heron Reef as basis to develop integrated earth observation and field data monitoring, modelling and mapping approaches. Part of that work was establishing a detailed field-based baseline of the reef, which is completed annually and has produced a 20+ year annual data set. Since 2011, the Reef Check Australia Coral Watch Field teams have joined the surveys and collected their associated data sets. Iin 2023 we collected orthomosaics of 20-50 m for 10 sites around Heron Reef, this provide the possiblity to get more detail benthic information and higher spatial scale locally.

    PhD Topics

    The data sets themselves provide a wealth of information for interested students to work on, hence we aim to engage with those interested in building coral reef science and management related , knowledge, skills, network, experience and development opportunities to enhance existing, or develop new careers.

    If you are interested, please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to discuss how to develop a research project for special topic, masters or PhD research that might suit you focussing on:

    1. Ecological assessment of the benthic field data reviewing not only coral cover but also coral morphologies, or algae cover or other
    2. Developing approaches in GEE for time series analysis to link field data to image date to get high resolution thematic maps of Heron reef.
    3. Ecological assessment over time of benthic components, but also impacts, fish, inverts and general coral healthy using coral health chart, reef check data and geolocated photos
    4. Any other topic that promotes the use of the existing field data and/or high resolution image data.
    5. Or any other related topic.

    See related information in:

    Title: Benthic and coral reef community field data for Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2002–2018

    Title: Use of a semi-automated object based analysis to map benthic composition, Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef

    Title: Fine-scale time series surveys reveal new insights into spatiotemporal trends in coral cover (2002–2018), of a coral reef on the Southern Great Barrier Reef

  • PhD, Masters or Honours Topics: Seagrass Dynamics Integrating Geospatial/Earth Observation/Ecology

    General

    If you are interested in working as part of a collaborative, supportive, multi-disciplinary team that links different disciplines across academia, governments, industry and NGOs, on the topics below please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to it further.

    Collaboration/Supervision possible with: Chris Roelfsema, Dylan Cowley, Nikkie Brown, Carissa Klein, Stuart Phinn UQ, Julie Vercelloni QUT/AIMS, and relevant others

    Seagrass research can focus on work in the Moreton Bay but are not limited to that.

    Funding

    These project do not have funding or scholarships currently, but are supported by extensive pre-existing data archives of fully corrected satellite image archives and field data sets, a collective group of researchers working on the site, and ability to be supported in scholarship and funding applications.

    Background

    Since 2000 the UQ Team have used Moreton Bay as basis to develop integrated earth observation and field data monitoring, modelling and mapping approaches. Part of that work was establishing a detailed field-based baseline of the seagrass in the Moreton Bay and specificly Eastern Banks. In the last 20+ years seagrass has been mapped regulary in this region.

    PhD Topics

    The data sets themselves provide a wealth of information for interested students to work on, hence we aim to engage with those interested in building seagrass science and management related , knowledge, skills, network, experience and development opportunities to enhance existing, or develop new careers.

    If you are interested, please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to discuss how to develop a research project for special topic, masters or PhD research that might suit you focussing on:

    1. Ecological assessment of the benthic field data reviewing not only coral cover but also seagrass species, composition and biomass or other
    2. Developing approaches in GEE or other for time series analysis to link field data to image date to get high resolution thematic maps of Eastern Banks Moreton Bay.
    3. Ecological assessment over time of seagrass composition, but also impacts, fish, inverts and geolocated photos or other field data for the Eastern Banks or the Moreton Bay Marine Parks
    4. Any other topic that promotes the use of the existing field data and/or high resolution image data.
    5. Or any other related topic.

    See related information in:

    Title: Multi-Temporal Mapping of Seagrass Cover, Species and Biomass: A Semi-Automated Object Based Image Analysis Approach. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.05.001

    Title: A Multi-date seagrass species and percentage cover field data set, derived from georeferenced photo transects for the Eastern Banks, Moreton Bay https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2015.40

    Title: Challenges of Remote Sensing for Quantifying Changes in Large Complex Seagrass Environments https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2013.01.015

View all Available Projects

Publications

Featured Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • Citizen science for managing Queensland’s coral reef habitats

    Roelfsema, Chris and Loder, Jen (2022). Citizen science for managing Queensland’s coral reef habitats. Coral reefs of Australia: perspectives from beyond the water’s edge. (pp. 205-207) edited by Sarah M. Hamylton, Pat Hutchings and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. Clayton South, VIC Australia: CSIRO Publishing. doi: 10.1071/9781486315499

  • Mapping Australia’s coral reefs

    Hamylton, Sarah, Roelfsema, Chris, Beaman, Robin and Kennedy, Emma (2022). Mapping Australia’s coral reefs. Coral reefs of Australia: perspectives from beyond the water’s edge. (pp. 200-205) edited by Sarah M. Hamylton, Pat Hutchings and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. Clayton South, VIC Australia: CSIRO Publishing. doi: 10.1071/9781486315499

  • Ecology

    Anstee, Janet, Roelfsema, Chris M., Kovacs, Eva and Phinn, Stuart R. (2022). Ecology. Earth observation: data, processing and applications. Volume 3B—surface waters. (pp. 395-425) edited by B.A. Harrison, J.M. Anstee, A.G. Dekker, E.A. King, D.A. Griffin, N. Mueller, S.R. Phinn, E. Kovacs and G. Byrne. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Australia and New Zealand CRC for Spatial Information.

  • Building an understanding of Moreton Bay Marine Park's reefs through citizen science

    Roelfsema, Chris, Loder, Jennifer, Hay, Kyra, Kleine, Diana, Grol, Monique and Kovacs, Eva (2019). Building an understanding of Moreton Bay Marine Park's reefs through citizen science. Moreton Bay Quandamooka and catchment: past, present and future. (pp. 459-474) edited by Ian R. Tibbetts, Peter C. Rothlisberg, David T. Neil, Tamara A. Homburg, David T. Brewer and Angela H. Arthington. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Moreton Bay Foundation.

  • How does citizen science contribute to sustaining Moreton Bay? A discussion of approaches and applications

    Loder, Jennifer, Roelfsema, Chris, Kilpatrick, Carley and Martin, Victoria (2019). How does citizen science contribute to sustaining Moreton Bay? A discussion of approaches and applications. Moreton Bay Quandamooka and catchment: past, present and future. (pp. 447-458) edited by Ian R. Tibbetts, Peter C. Rothlisberg, David T. Neil, Tamara A. Homburg, David T. Brewer and Angela H. Arthington. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Moreton Bay Foundation.

  • Moreton Bay and catchment urban expansion and vegetation change

    Lyons, Mitch, Phinn, Stuart and Roelfsema, Chris (2019). Moreton Bay and catchment urban expansion and vegetation change. Moreton Bay Quandamooka and catchment: past, present and future. (pp. 181-186) edited by Ian R. Tibbetts, Peter C. Rothlisberg, David T. Neil, Tamara A. Homburg, David T. Brewer and Angela H. Arthington. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Moreton Bay Foundation.

  • The seagrasses of Moreton Bay Quandamooka: Diversity, ecology and resilience

    Maxwell, Paul, Connolly, Rod, Roelfsema, Chris, Burfeind, Dana, Udy, James, O'Brien, Kate, Saunders, Megan, Barnes, Richard, Olds, Andrew, Hendersen, Chris and Gilby, Ben (2019). The seagrasses of Moreton Bay Quandamooka: Diversity, ecology and resilience. Moreton Bay Quandamooka and catchment: past, present and future. (pp. 279-298) edited by Ian R. Tibbetts, Peter C. Rothlisberg, David T. Neil, Tamara A. Homburg, David T. Brewer and Angela H. Arthington. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Moreton Bay Foundation.

  • Wetland and benthic cover changes in Moreton Bay

    Kovacs, Eva M., Tibbetts, Hannah L., Baltais, Simon, Lyons, Mitch, Loder, Jennifer and Roelfsema, Chris (2019). Wetland and benthic cover changes in Moreton Bay. Moreton Bay Quandamooka and catchment: past, present and future. (pp. 211-226) edited by Ian R. Tibbetts, Peter C. Rothlisberg, David T. Neil, Tamara A. Homburg, David T. Brewer and Angela H. Arthington. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Moreton Bay Foundation.

  • Australian seagrass seascapes: present understanding and future research directions

    Kendrick, Gary A., Hovey, Renae K., Lyons, Mitchell, Roelfsema, Chris, Montoya, Leonardo Ruiz and Phinn, Stuart (2018). Australian seagrass seascapes: present understanding and future research directions. Seagrasses of Australia: structure, ecology and conservation. (pp. 257-286) edited by Anthony W. D. Larkum, Gary A. Kendrick and Peter J. Ralph. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-71354-0_9

  • Mapping, monitoring and modelling seagrass using remote sensing techniques

    Phinn, Stuart, Roelfsema, Chris, Kovacs, Eva, Canto, Robert, Lyons, Mitch, Saunders, Megan and Maxwell, Paul (2018). Mapping, monitoring and modelling seagrass using remote sensing techniques. Seagrasses of Australia: structure, ecology and conservation. (pp. 445-487) edited by Anthony W. D. Larkum, Gary A. Kendrick and Peter J. Ralph. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-71354-0_15

  • Remote Sensing of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation and Coral Reefs

    Purkis, Sam and Roelfsema, Chris (2015). Remote Sensing of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation and Coral Reefs. Remote Sensing of Wetlands: Applications and Advances. (pp. 223-240) edited by Ralph W. Tiner, Megan W. Lang and Victor V. Klemas. Boca Raton, Florida, United States: CRC Press (Taylor and Francis).

  • Remote sensing of submerged aquatic vegetation and coral reefs

    Purkis, Sam and Roelfsema, Chris (2015). Remote sensing of submerged aquatic vegetation and coral reefs. Remote sensing of wetlands: applications and advances. (pp. 223-242) Boca Raton, FL USA: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/b18210

  • Science and management

    Jupiter, Stacy, Roelfsema, Chris M. and Phinn, Stuart R. (2013). Science and management. Coral reef remote sensing: a guide for mapping, monitoring and management. (pp. 403-423) edited by James A. Goodman, Samuel J. Purkis and Stuart R. Phinn. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer - Netherlands. doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-9292-2_15

  • Validation

    Roelfsema, Christiaan M. and Phinn, Stuart R. (2013). Validation. Coral Reef Remote Sensing: A Guide for Multi-level Sensing Mapping and Assessment. (pp. 375-401) edited by James A. Goodman, Samuel J. Purkis and Stuart R. Phinn. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-9292-2_14

  • Visible and infrared overview

    Phinn, Stuart R., Hochberg. Eric M. and Roelfsema, Chris M. (2013). Visible and infrared overview. Coral reef remote sensing: a guide for mapping, monitoring and management. (pp. 3-28) edited by James A. Goodman, Samuel J. Purkis and Stuart R. Phinn. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer - Netherlands. doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-9292-2_1

  • Remote sensing: Discerning the promise from the reality

    Phinn, Stuart, Roelfsema, Chris and Stumpf, Richard P. (2010). Remote sensing: Discerning the promise from the reality. Integrating and applying science: A handbook for effective coastal ecosystem assessment. (pp. 201-222) edited by B.J. Longstaff, T.J.B. Carruthers, W.C. Dennison, T.R. Lookingbill, J.M. Hawkey,, J.E. Thomas, E.C. Wicks, and J. Woerner. Cambridge, MA, U.S.A: IAN Press.

  • Lessons learned, future directions and recommendations

    Love, M., Corrin-Care, J., Ross, A., Albert, S., Tibbetts, I., Udy, J., Roelfsema, C. and Duke, N. (2007). Lessons learned, future directions and recommendations. Conserving the marine biodiversity of Marovo Lagoon: Development of environmental management initiatives that will conserve the marine biodiversity and productivity of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands. (pp. 129-141) edited by N. C. Duke, J. W. Udy, S. Albert, M. Love, A. Ross, I. R. Tibbetts, C. Roelfsema, D. T. Neil, G. Marion, J. Corrin Care, W. Carter, P. Dart and S. Hough. St Lucia, Australia: The University of Queensland.

  • Science addressing community concerns about the marine environment

    Albert, S., Love, M., Udy, J., Tibbetts, I., Roelfsema, C., Neil, D., Marion, G., Hough, S., Ross, A. and Duke, N. (2007). Science addressing community concerns about the marine environment. Conserving the marine biodiversity of Marovo Lagoon: Development of environmental management initiative that will conserve the marine biodiversity and productivity of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands. (pp. 43-83) edited by N. C. Duke, J. W. Udy, S. Albert, M. Love, A. Ross, I. R. Tibbetts, C. Roelfsema, D. T. Neil, G. Marion, J. Corrin Care, W. Carter, P. Dart and S. Hough. Brisbane: The University of Queensland.

  • The UQ Marovo Experience: Science-based support for community management of marine resources

    Duke, Norm, Udy, James, Albert, Simon, Love, Mark, Ross, Annie, Tibbetts, Ian., Roelfsema, Chris, Neil, David, Marion, Guy, Prange, Joelle, Corrin-Care, Jennifer, Carter, William, Dart, Peter and Hough, Sean (2007). The UQ Marovo Experience: Science-based support for community management of marine resources. Conserving the marine biodiversity of Marovo Lagoon: Development of environmental management initiatives that will conserve the marine biodiversity and productivity of Marova Lagoon, Solomon Islands. (pp. 11-27) edited by N. C. Duke, J. W. Udy, S. Albert, M. Love, A. Ross, I. R. Tibbetts, C. Roelfsema, D. T. Neil, G. Marion, J. Corrin Care, W. Carter, P. Dart and S. Hough. Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland.

  • Changing coastlines in the Fitzroy Estuary - assessing historical change in coastal environments

    N. C. Duke, P. Lawn, C. Roelfsema, K. Zahmel, D. Pedersen and C. Tack (2005). Changing coastlines in the Fitzroy Estuary - assessing historical change in coastal environments. Fitzroy in Focus. (pp. 6-46) edited by B. Noble, A. Bell, P. Verway and J. Tilden. Brisbane: Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management.

  • The role of integrated information acquisition and management in the analysis of coastal ecosystem change

    Phinn, S. R., Joyce, K. E., Scarth, P. F. and Roelfsema, C.M. (2005). The role of integrated information acquisition and management in the analysis of coastal ecosystem change. Remote Sensing of Coastal Aquatic Ecosystem Processes - Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing Series. (pp. 217-249) edited by L. Richardson and E. LeDrew. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. doi: 10.1007/1-4020-3968-9_10

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Hyperspectral Earth Observation to monitor seagrass species and live coral

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Encounter Climate Change by Developing Method for Estimating Seagrass Carbon Stock and Sequestration Using Remote Sensing Technology in Indonesia

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Identification of coral deposition, accretion, and erosional zones from detailed benthic and substrate mapping using hyperspectral image data

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Sustaining life on Pacific atoll islands in the face of accelerating coastal change: insights from three-dimensional change detection analysis

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Understanding tsunami sources and frequency in northern Tonga

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Using space based Earth Observation to map Australia's kelp forests for a stronger Blue Carbon economy

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • PhD, Masters or Honours Topics: Coral community assamblage from 3D photogrammetry

    General

    If you are interested in working as part of a collaborative, supportive, multi-disciplinary team that links different disciplines across academia, governments, industry and NGOs, on the topics below please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to it further.

    Collaboration/Supervision possible with: Chris Roelfsema(UQ), Dylan Cowley(UQ) Tiny Remmers (UQ/AIMS) Stuart Phinn(UQ), Nikkie Brown (UQ) Julie Vercelloni AIMS, Emma Kennedy AIMS, Juan Carlos Ortiz AIMS and relevant others

    Coral Reef research can focus on work on the Heron Reef but are not limited to that.

    Funding

    These project do not have funding or scholarships currently, but are supported by extensive pre-existing data archives of fully corrected satellite image archives and field data sets, a collective group of researchers working on the site, and ability to be supported in scholarship and funding applications.

    Background

    In 2023 orthophotomosaics were collected around Heron Reef as basis to integrate with satellite imagery and to understand the site level changes in benthic composition. The work can be supported by detailed field-based baseline of the reef, which is completed annually and has produced a 20+ year annual data set. Since 2011, Iin 2023 we collected orthomosaics of 20-50 m for 10 sites around Heron Reef, this provide the possiblity to get more detail benthic information and higher spatial scale locally.

    PhD Topics

    The data sets themselves provide a wealth of information for interested students to work on, hence we aim to engage with those interested in building coral reef science and management related , knowledge, skills, network, experience and development opportunities to enhance existing, or develop new careers.

    If you are interested, please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to discuss how to develop a research project for special topic, masters or PhD research that might suit you focussing on:

    1. Ecological assessment of the benthic field data reviewing not only coral cover but also coral morphologies, or algae cover or other at site level scale over time and space
    2. Developing approaches for time series analysis of the orthophoto mosacis.
    3. Any other topic that promotes the use of the existing field data and/or high resolution image data.
    4. Or any other related topic.

    See related information in:

    Title: Benthic and coral reef community field data for Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2002–2018

    Title: Close-range underwater photogrammetry for coral reef ecology: a systematic literature review

    Title: Fine-scale time series surveys reveal new insights into spatiotemporal trends in coral cover (2002–2018), of a coral reef on the Southern Great Barrier Reef

  • PhD, Masters or Honours Topics: Coral Reef Dynamics Integrating Geospatial/Earth Observation/Ecology

    General

    If you are interested in working as part of a collaborative, supportive, multi-disciplinary team that links different disciplines across academia, governments, industry and NGOs, on the topics below please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to it further.

    Collaboration/Supervision possible with: Chris Roelfsema, Dylan Cowley, Nikki Brown, Stuart Phinn UQ, Julie Vercelloni QUT/AIMS, Emma Kennedy, Juan Carlos Ortiz AIMS and relevant others

    Coral Reef research can focus on work on the Heron Reef but are not limited to that.

    Funding

    These project do not have funding or scholarships currently, but are supported by extensive pre-existing data archives of fully corrected satellite image archives and field data sets, a collective group of researchers working on the site, and ability to be supported in scholarship and funding applications.

    Background

    Since 2002 UQ Team have used Heron Reef as basis to develop integrated earth observation and field data monitoring, modelling and mapping approaches. Part of that work was establishing a detailed field-based baseline of the reef, which is completed annually and has produced a 20+ year annual data set. Since 2011, the Reef Check Australia Coral Watch Field teams have joined the surveys and collected their associated data sets. Iin 2023 we collected orthomosaics of 20-50 m for 10 sites around Heron Reef, this provide the possiblity to get more detail benthic information and higher spatial scale locally.

    PhD Topics

    The data sets themselves provide a wealth of information for interested students to work on, hence we aim to engage with those interested in building coral reef science and management related , knowledge, skills, network, experience and development opportunities to enhance existing, or develop new careers.

    If you are interested, please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to discuss how to develop a research project for special topic, masters or PhD research that might suit you focussing on:

    1. Ecological assessment of the benthic field data reviewing not only coral cover but also coral morphologies, or algae cover or other
    2. Developing approaches in GEE for time series analysis to link field data to image date to get high resolution thematic maps of Heron reef.
    3. Ecological assessment over time of benthic components, but also impacts, fish, inverts and general coral healthy using coral health chart, reef check data and geolocated photos
    4. Any other topic that promotes the use of the existing field data and/or high resolution image data.
    5. Or any other related topic.

    See related information in:

    Title: Benthic and coral reef community field data for Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2002–2018

    Title: Use of a semi-automated object based analysis to map benthic composition, Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef

    Title: Fine-scale time series surveys reveal new insights into spatiotemporal trends in coral cover (2002–2018), of a coral reef on the Southern Great Barrier Reef

  • PhD, Masters or Honours Topics: Seagrass Dynamics Integrating Geospatial/Earth Observation/Ecology

    General

    If you are interested in working as part of a collaborative, supportive, multi-disciplinary team that links different disciplines across academia, governments, industry and NGOs, on the topics below please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to it further.

    Collaboration/Supervision possible with: Chris Roelfsema, Dylan Cowley, Nikkie Brown, Carissa Klein, Stuart Phinn UQ, Julie Vercelloni QUT/AIMS, and relevant others

    Seagrass research can focus on work in the Moreton Bay but are not limited to that.

    Funding

    These project do not have funding or scholarships currently, but are supported by extensive pre-existing data archives of fully corrected satellite image archives and field data sets, a collective group of researchers working on the site, and ability to be supported in scholarship and funding applications.

    Background

    Since 2000 the UQ Team have used Moreton Bay as basis to develop integrated earth observation and field data monitoring, modelling and mapping approaches. Part of that work was establishing a detailed field-based baseline of the seagrass in the Moreton Bay and specificly Eastern Banks. In the last 20+ years seagrass has been mapped regulary in this region.

    PhD Topics

    The data sets themselves provide a wealth of information for interested students to work on, hence we aim to engage with those interested in building seagrass science and management related , knowledge, skills, network, experience and development opportunities to enhance existing, or develop new careers.

    If you are interested, please contact c.roelfsema@uq.edu.au to discuss how to develop a research project for special topic, masters or PhD research that might suit you focussing on:

    1. Ecological assessment of the benthic field data reviewing not only coral cover but also seagrass species, composition and biomass or other
    2. Developing approaches in GEE or other for time series analysis to link field data to image date to get high resolution thematic maps of Eastern Banks Moreton Bay.
    3. Ecological assessment over time of seagrass composition, but also impacts, fish, inverts and geolocated photos or other field data for the Eastern Banks or the Moreton Bay Marine Parks
    4. Any other topic that promotes the use of the existing field data and/or high resolution image data.
    5. Or any other related topic.

    See related information in:

    Title: Multi-Temporal Mapping of Seagrass Cover, Species and Biomass: A Semi-Automated Object Based Image Analysis Approach. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.05.001

    Title: A Multi-date seagrass species and percentage cover field data set, derived from georeferenced photo transects for the Eastern Banks, Moreton Bay https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2015.40

    Title: Challenges of Remote Sensing for Quantifying Changes in Large Complex Seagrass Environments https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2013.01.015

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Remote sensing, Field methods, Habitat mapping and monitoring, Water quality, Coral reefs, Seagrass, Algae, global

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

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ResearcherID: B-1591-2015

ORCID: 0000-0003-0182-1356

Scopus ID: 7801369850

Google Scholar ID: BKfjTj4AAAAJ

Personal Profile: Link

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