Ningaloo collaboration cluster: Ningaloo cluster coordination and management

Neil Loneragan; Irene Abraham; Bill de la Mare; Wendy Steele

Objectives This aim of this project was to coordinate research in the Ningaloo Cluster and to integrate and coordinate research across the Cluster and the WA Marine Science Institution on Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Planning (Node 3). Outcomes Work in this project focused initially on providing oversight of the research in the Ningaloo Cluster, and coordinating and enhancing activities with other research activities at Ningaloo, particularly those in the WA Marine Science Institution on Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Planning. In the last 18 months of the project, the focus shifted to developing ways of best communicating the results of the project to government agencies and the community in Exmouth. The Ningaloo Cluster Collaboration project provided opportunities for training and building research capacity. A total of nine PhD students completed research as part of the Ningaloo Collaboration Cluster. Three of these students have completed their studies, one has submitted her Thesis and the research of the remaining five students is in progress. Five projects by Masters students, one by an Honours student and one by a third year Bachelor of Science student were completed as part of the Ningaloo Cluster. Non-technical summary This project was responsible for coordinating research in the Ningaloo Cluster and integrating and coordinating research across the Cluster and the WA Marine Science Institution Node on Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Planning (Node 3). A Cluster Management Committee (CMC), with representatives from the research organisations and CSIRO, was established as part of the contractual agreement with CSIRO and Murdoch University. This committee reviewed progress on the Cluster research and provided guidance and advice on research directions, communication of the research findings and the implications of the research to researchers within the Cluster and different groups external to the Cluster e.g. managers, industry and the community in both Perth and the region. In collaboration with the WAMSI Node 3 leadership team, a Ningaloo Research Coordinating Committee was established to ensure good coordination, communication, collaboration, and data sharing was achieved across both major programs of research on Ningaloo. The activities of both committees have been successful in jointly funding, planning and running: three Symposia on the findings of the research, three student symposia, a number of joint workshops as well as establishing a web site for information on the research (http://www.ningaloo.org.au/). The establishment of the Cluster was instrumental in attracting additional funding from BHP Billiton, coordinated through the Australian Institute of Marine Science, to obtain and analyse remotely sensed data to map the depth, habitats and access points for the whole of the Ningaloo lagoon to a depth of 20 m, at very high spatial resolution (3.5 m). Additional funding and collaborations were also made with the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism for developing models to evaluate future development scenarios for tourism in the region. These models for tourism, and those developed for the marine ecosystem and resource use, provided a mechanism for integrating and coordinating research activities and for discussing research, and the implications of the research, with researchers, managers, industry and the community in the region and Perth.

Ningaloo collaboration cluster: Ningaloo cluster coordination and management

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