Reef Catchments Science Partnership

The Reef Catchments Science Partnership (RCSP) is a collaboration between The University of Queensland and the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.

Established in July 2021, the RCSP conducts research to generate information to assist in the design and delivery of water quality improvement programs and projects, including the Queensland Government’s environmental compliance, monitoring, and evaluation capabilities associated with the Reef Protection Regulations and the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan.

Our vision

To encourage collaboration across scientists, policymakers, catchment management groups and industry leaders, leading to discoveries, practical solutions and innovative products.

We prioritise the development of future leaders by providing targeted mentoring to Honours and PhD students, with the goal of creating a lasting legacy of evidence-based efforts to enhance catchment and ecosystem resilience and water quality.

We are dedicated to delivering state-of-the-art research and knowledge on water quality trends, risks and best practices, ensuring that interventions are focused on the most impactful areas.

We aim to bridge the divide between academia and government, working with landholders and other important stakeholders to drive meaningful and sustainable change.

Our mission

Building resilience in catchments to improve and safeguard water quality for the future by using our knowledge and data, creating the scientific foundation and capacity to empower impactful, targeted and science-based decisions that will benefit all of Queensland.

Research programs conducted by the RCSP include:

Proactive monitoring and compliance

Developing customised monitoring tools and data products to provide timely information for prioritising compliance and taking proactive compliance action. This involves harnessing the data from remote sensing, modelling, machine learning and in-situ monitoring.

These tools will help allocate compliance resources more efficiently by identifying existing or potential new high-risk areas for water quality due to land management practices (such as over-grazing or new cropping activity). They will also provide information supporting proactive and constructive land manager engagement.

Support for the Behavioural Insights Team in the Office of the Great Barrier Reef and World Heritage

The RCSP will support the Behavioural Insights team in the Office of the Great Barrier Reef and World Heritage (OGBRWH) by reviewing and analysing human dimensions data from water quality projects and programs funded under Australian and Queensland government Great Barrier Reef investment programs.

The RCSP will draft brief reports based on the analysis, providing project and program managers with insights drawn from behavioural science principles. These reports will offer actionable recommendations to inform adaptive management and the ongoing implementation of projects.

Point and diffuse sources compliance for nutrients and sediments

Explore the potential for economic and market mechanisms to meet both current and future demands for point source offsets and enhance the adoption of water quality offsets. Projects include:

  • estimate demand for water quality offsets from sewage treatment plants in South East Queensland by 2050
  • estimate the feasibility of various water quality offset supply options in areas with potential demand from aquaculture in Great Barrier Reef catchments
  • compile up to date cost information on river restoration from across Queensland
  • provide technical water quality economics advice to stakeholders.

Water quality innovations (data analysis and synthesis in water quality and landscape processes)

This program includes the Great Barrier Reef Catchment Loads Monitoring Program (GBRCLMP) which is jointly delivered with the Water Quality & Investigations group of the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.

GBRCLMP is Australia’s largest and most innovative water quality monitoring program that helps track long-term trends in water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon from adjacent catchments along the east coast of Queensland. Its data are also used to validate and calibrate the catchment water quality models that track progress towards the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan 2025 water quality targets.

Explore the sites that we sample in this interactive map

RCSP leaders

RCSP Director
Position vacant

RCSP Interim Deputy Director
Dr Ryan Turner, Senior Research Fellow
Ryan Turner's research profile

Researchers and research fellows

Angela Marsh, Senior Principal Researcher (Data Team Leader)

Candice Meyer, Operations Officer

Eloise Wilson, Data Scientist

Hannah Mitchell, Senior Research Assistant

Dr Joseph McMahon, Research Fellow
Joseph McMahon's research profile

Mika Rowston, Senior Research Assistant

Dr Melanie Shaw, Research Fellow

Richard Gardiner, Principal Research Data Analyst

Steph Atkinson, Research Assistant

Research students

Catherine Neelamraju, PhD candidate

Florina Richard, PhD candidate

Josie (Yee Hang) Yip, Honours student

Nattapat Thonak, Honours student

Payton Te Ngaio, Honours student

Sarah Stephenson, PhD candidate

Honorary and adjunct

Dr Reinier Mann, Honorary Associate Professor

Affiliated researchers

Dr Angela Dean, Lecturer
Angela Dean's research profile

Dr Tracy Schultz, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Tracy Schultz's research profile

Tribute to Michael St. John Warne

The Reef Catchment Science Partnership team at The University of Queensland and the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation acknowledges the significant contribution of the late Associate Professor Michael Warne to the establishment and direction of the partnership.

Michael's leadership and dedication to environmental science and eco-toxicology were influential and have made the world a better place. We continue his legacy through educating and extending science to everyone to improve water quality through catchment resilience.

Condition Reports

Great Barrier Reef Catchment Loads Monitoring Program Condition Reports:


Portals

Tahbil - Water Quality Data Portal

On this portal, you can find:

  • concentration data for various water quality parameters, predominantly sediment, nutrients and pesticides
  • calculated annual and daily Total Suspended Solids and nutrients loads, annual Total Suspended Solids and nutrients yields
  • calculated Pesticide Risk Metric.

Data are available for monitoring locations across the:

  • Great Barrier Reef Catchment Loads Monitoring Program
  • South East Queensland Catchment Loads Monitoring Program.

Access Tahbil - Water Quality Data Portal

Pesticide Reporting Portal

This portal displays pesticide concentrations for water samples collected by Water Quality & Investigations. It includes data for 24 different pesticides, all of which can be viewed on interactive graphs:

  • 10 photosystem II herbicides (e.g., diuron, atrazine)
  • 10 other herbicides (e.g., 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), metolachlor)
  • 4 insecticides (chlorpyrifos, diazinon, fipronil, imidacloprid).

Access the Pesticide Reporting Portal

Pesticide Risk Metric Dashboard

Of the 24 pesticides presented in the Pesticide Reporting Portal, 22 pesticides are currently considered the greatest risk to coastal freshwater and marine aquatic ecosystems in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area.

The combined toxicity risk of these 22 pesticides is estimated by the Pesticide Risk Metric. The risk is expressed as the percentage of species potentially affected (or conversely, protected) by the combined toxicity of the 22 pesticides over a standardised wet season (182 days from the first flush event).

Access the Pesticide Risk Metric Dashboard


Communities of Practice

Pesticide Science Community of Practice (PSCoP)

The PSCoP has been formed as a result of the large volume of pesticide monitoring, risk assessment and reporting within the Great Barrier Reef catchments under the umbrella of the Reef 2050 Plan and Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan.

The science that underpins Reef Plan is unique in Australia, and the PSCoP is a forum to share the science with other individuals, agencies and industries that may benefit from the progress made over the last decade.

Email pestcop@uq.edu.au to join the PSCoP.

National Water Quality Monitoring Community of Practice (WQM-CoP)

Over the years, considerable money has been invested in water quality monitoring initiatives and programs, resulting in the collection of vast amounts of data. However, concerns regarding the standardisation and reliability of this data have been a topic of discussion among practitioners for some time. As a result, the Australian Hydrographers Association has decided to support a community of practice focused on water quality monitoring.

Through sharing information, the latest developments, and experiences, the WQM-CoP aims to build confidence in the capacity and resilience of real-time (in field) water quality monitoring nationally.

Email rcsp.info@uq.edu.au to join the WQM-CoP.


Recent RCSP publications

Neale, P.A., Neelamraju, C., and Warne, M.St.J. (2024). 'Derivation of species sensitivity distributions and ecotoxicity threshold values for 66 pesticide active ingredients and the hazard and risk they pose to freshwater waterways that discharge to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.' Science of The Total Environment 920 170988 1-9. doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170988

Mitchell, Hannah C., Warne, Michael St J., Mann, Reinier M., King, Olivia C., and Turner, Ryan D. R. (2024). 'Ecotoxicity threshold values for 4-hydroxychlorothalonil, carbendazim, dimethoate and methoxyfenozide in fresh and marine waters: Part 1. Derivation of threshold values.' Science of the Total Environment 948 174578 174578. doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174578

Warne, M.St.J., Neelamraju, C., Strauss, J., Turner, R. D.R., Smith, R. A., and Mann, R. M. (2023). 'Estimating the aquatic risk from exposure to up to twenty-two pesticide active ingredients in waterways discharging to the Great Barrier Reef.' Science of the Total Environment 892 164632 1-13. doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164632

McMahon, Joseph, Turner, Ryan, and Warne, Michael (2023). 'Estimates of demand for water quality offsets from sewage treatment plants in the Great Barrier Reef catchments by 2050.' Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland. doi.org/10.14264/5867b37

Browse all RCSP publications on UQ eSpace

Contact us

Get in touch to learn more about our research.