Chapter 18: Vulnerability of pelagic systems of the Great Barrier Reef to climate change

Abstract

This review focuses on pelagic environments. The oceanography of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is dynamic and is the physical template to which organisms respond. Planktonic assemblages are the basis of pelagic food chains and they provide a rich supply of food for high trophic groups (eg fishes, birds and whales) as well as the larvae and adults of benthic assemblages (Figure 18.1). Changes in pelagic systems, therefore, cannot be viewed in isolation from other habitats (such as coral reefs). Plankton ranges from tiny viruses (less than 1 micron) and bacteria, to larger plant (phytoplankton) and animal plankton (zooplankton).