Marine Natural Values Study Summary - Parks Victoria

It also protects feeding areas for seveninternationally important migrant birdspecies, including the glossy ibisPlegadis falcinellus and ruddyturnstone Arenaria interpres.The red algae Bonnemaisonia australisand the swimming crab Ovalipescatharus are believed to be at theirdistributional limits within thesanctuary. The southern hooded shrimpAthanopsis australis is presumedendemic to the sanctuary.Major ThreatsMeasures to address or minimisethreats identified for Ricketts PointMarine Sanctuary form part of thepark management plan. Parks Victoriaalso uses an adaptive managementapproach which includes periodicreviews of priority natural values andthreats through processes such as theState of the Parks evaluation andsetting of desired conservationoutcomes. Through these processesParks Victoria has identified emergingthreats and developed appropriatemanagement responses.Serious threats include trampling,nutrients from discharges, increasedsedimentation, disturbance of birdsand invasive marine pests.Several introduced species have beenfound in the sanctuary including theJapanese kelp Undaria pinnatifida,The nudibranch Ceratosoma brevicaudatum is foundon the subtidal reefs in Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary.Photo by Julian Finn, Museum Victoria.green algae Codium fragile subspeciesfragile, Northern Pacific SeastarAsterias amurensis and green shorecrab Carcinus maenas.There have also been reports of thepurple urchin Heliocidariserythrogramma increasing inabundance and forming barrens(usually devoid of macroalgae) in thenorthern part of the bay, includingin Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary.It is unclear whether the recentincreases in abundance are partof a natural cycle or a persistentincrease in this native species.Climate change also poses a seriousmedium to long term threat to naturalvalues. Parks Victoria will use anadaptive management approach todevelop responses and actions thatfocus on priority climate change issuessuch as extreme weather events andexisting risks that are likely to beexacerbated by climate change.Research and MonitoringParks Victoria has establishedextensive marine research andmonitoring programs that addressimportant management challengesfor the marine national parks andsanctuaries. These focus on improvingbaseline knowledge, as well as appliedmanagement questions.Since the establishment of theparks in 2002 our knowledge andunderstanding of natural values andthreats for the system have improvedsignificantly through the marine scienceprogram. Much of the research has beenundertaken as part of the ResearchPartners Program involvingcollaboration with variousresearch institutions.There are six ongoing research projects,and one habitat mapping project thatare relevant to Ricketts Point MarineSanctuary, while nine research projectsand two habitat mapping projectshave already been completed.The sanctuary has ongoing intertidaland shallow subtidal reef monitoringprograms. Several community basedmonitoring programs have beenimplemented in the sanctuaryincluding Reef Life Survey andSea Search, as well as a numberof other research and monitoringprograms conducted by an activevolunteer group.While recognising there are stillknowledge gaps Parks Victoriawill continue to focus on addressingthe information needs that willassist management.For more information, includingmarine habitat mapping products,please see the full versions of theMarine Natural Values reportson www.parks.vic.gov.au.51