Australia Cuts Coral Research Reef-Science Centre Set to Lose Government Funding

IN FOCUS NEWS

ENVIRONMENT Australia cuts coral research Reef-science centre set to lose government funding.

BY ADAM MORTON

cean researchers around the world are dismayed that an Australian research institute that has become Oan international authority on the declining health of reef ecosystems will lose most of its government funding after 2021. Papers by scientists at the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, based at James Cook University in Townsville, were cited almost 40,000 times in 2017 — the most citations for any institute in the world doing reef science. But in late The invasive ant Linepithema humile disrupts seed dispersal in indigenous South African plants. October, it emerged that the Australian Research Council (ARC), an independent Across the world, invasive species — Linepithema humile, from Argentina, which government agency, had not shortlisted the organisms that have been introduced into disrupts seed dispersal in indigenous plants; centre to receive a share of the latest round ecosystems beyond their natural habitats, and the North American small-mouth bass of funding. The ARC has funded the centre that spread over large distances on their own (Micropterus dolomieu), which has outcom- since its inception 13 years ago. — are considered a major threat to biodiversity, peted indigenous fish; and the water hyacinth The centre will lose 37% of its current human health and economies. Climate change (Eichhornia crassipes), from South America, annual budget of about Aus$12 million is expected to further their global spread, in part which chokes the country’s waterways. (US$8.7 million), and its title as an ARC by reducing the resilience of native ecosystems. As well as their cost and toll on biodiversity, centre of excellence. James Cook University To create the report, in 2015, 37 research- the report explores the pressure that invasive says it is committed to delivering world-class ers from 14 national organizations, led by the species put on the water supply. This year, coral-reef research into the future, but has MARK MOFFETT/MINDEN PICTURES/ALAMY MARK MOFFETT/MINDEN National Biodiversity Institute and the Centre Cape Town almost became the first major not explained how the centre will be sup- of Excellence for Invasion Biology at Stellen- city in the world to run out of water. In May, ported. The centre’s director, Terry Hughes, bosch University, began collating data from researchers argued that alien plants, which declined to comment on the decision. institutions around the country. often use more water than do indigenous ones, Scientists fear job losses and a reduced consumed more than 100 million litres of research capacity are to come. They say MAJOR IMPACTS water a day — about one-fifth of the city’s daily the centre’s work is important to people The researchers report that 7 new species are usage — and that water losses due to invasive living alongside reefs across the tropics. “It introduced into South Africa each year, and species could triple by 2050. The report esti- is deeply stupid for Australia not to fund, that about 775 invasive species have been mates that invasive trees and shrubs, if left or even consider funding, its world-leading introduced so far. This contrasts with the unchecked, could threaten up to one-third of coral-reef research,” says Garry Peterson, an 556 invasive species previously reported by the water supply to cities such as Cape Town, environmental scientist at the Stockholm the government. Most of the species identi- and consume up to 5% of the country’s mean Resilience Centre. fied by the latest report are plants, with insects annual rainfall run-off. The coral-reef centre employs about the next most common. (For comparison, Despite enacting the 2014 regulations and 300 scientists. Its most celebrated work, the United Kingdom says that it has 184 non- spending at least 1.5 billion rand a year to curb which established the extent of recent native invasive species.) The report’s authors invasive species, the country is not keeping up, bleaching along the Great Barrier Reef consider 107 of the species in South Africa to says the report. “The most concerning find- (T. P. Hughes et al. Nature 543, 373–377; have major impacts on biodiversity or human ing was how ineffective we have been,” says co- 2017), involved aerial surveys and 100 divers. well-being. author Brian van Wilgen, an applied ecologist Some researchers link the ARC’s decision Invaders of note include trees in the Prosopis at Stellenbosch University. to the Australian government’s failure to genus, such as honey mesquite (P. glandulosa), But the authors also note that their con- adequately address climate change, which is which damages animal grazing areas, out- fidence in almost all their estimates is low, the greatest threat to coral reefs. “A different competes local plants and, according to a because of poor monitoring and evaluation government with a different outlook would 2017 study in Mali, seems to encourage the data — and that more research into impacts have found a way to support that centre,” growth of populations of the malaria-carry- and monitoring techniques is needed. says physicist Bill Hare, chief executive of ing Anopheles mosquito, among other effects Jasper Slingsby, an ecologist with the South the climate-research and policy institute (G. C. Muller et al. Malar. J. 16, 237; 2017). African Environmental Observation Network Climate Analytics in Berlin. Others include the Sirex wasp (Sirex in Cape Town, agrees. “We need better funding But ARC chief executive Sue Thomas noctilio), which threatens South Africa’s and concerted research effort in this space as a says that the decision was based on a 16-billion-rand forestry industry; the ant national priority,” he says. ■ standard competitive process. ■