Marine heatwaves are occurring more frequently as a consequence of climate change and there is emerging evidence that they are causing outbreaks of pathogenic marine bacteria that can threaten the ecosystem and human health.
Project summary
Increasingly frequent marine heatwaves are making graveyards of Australia's once vibrant coral reefs, mangroves and kelp forests as seawater temperatures around our island continent increase at four times the global average.
Emerging evidence has revealed a more insidious threat – that rising ocean temperatures may favour the spread and growth of a group of pathogenic marine bacteria known as Vibrio, which can have negative impacts on both human and marine ecosystem health.
This consequence of marine heatwaves poses big risks to Australian coastal ecosystems, communities and industries from the tropical north to the temperate south.
Investigating the impacts on public health
Over the next three years, a $599,000 Australian Research Council Discovery Project led by researchers at UTS and Charles Darwin University will investigate the role of marine heatwaves on Vibrio bacteria outbreaks and their impacts on public health, the resilience of temperate corals, and disease outbreaks in oyster hatcheries.
"As marine heat-wave events occur more frequently and with greater intensity, we’re expecting to see blooms of these potential pathogens, and we currently lack information about how this might impact human and environmental health," says Professor Justin Seymour, leader of the Ocean Microbes and Healthy Oceans team at the UTS Climate Change Cluster and lead Chief Investigator on the project.
Several of these bacterial species can cause severe infections and disease in both humans and marine animals, and evidence suggests warmer temperatures not only make them more abundant, but in some cases prompt them to "switch on genes" that make them more virulent.
Bacterial blooms a threat to public health and industry
In Australia, Vibrio bacteria blooms are not routinely monitored in coastal water quality surveys, despite several species causing human diseases such as cholera, shellfish poisoning and flesh-eating skin infections in swimmers. Vibrio bacteria have also been implicated in mass oyster mortality events, threatening Australia’s growing $1.4 billion aquaculture industry.
This project builds upon several years of collaboration between chief investigators at UTS and Charles Darwin University. Through this Discovery Project, the team aims to deliver real-world coastal management and economic outcomes that support the health of Australia's coastal communities and growing aquaculture industry.
Read our news article As the ocean warms, a microscopic threat is blooming for more information.
Project timeframe
2021 - 2024
SDG targets addressed by this project
Life below water:
14.2 - By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans.
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Professor, Climate Change Cluster -
Key collaborators
- Professor Karen Gibb (Charles Darwin University)