The Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) is a collaboration of Australia’s leading experts to create a suite of innovative and targeted measures to help preserve and restore the coral reefs globally. These interventions must have strong potential for positive impact, be socially- and culturally-acceptable, ecologically-sound, ethical and financially-responsible. They would be implemented if, when and where it is decided action is needed – and only after rigorous assessment and testing.

The Ecological intelligence for RRAP sub-program is a cross-cutting program that conducts ecological research to boost the success of RRAP interventions by advising on the what, where and when of interventions, and filling crucial gaps in ecological knowledge for the GBR. EcoRRAP’s objectives are:

(1) Provide location-specific knowledge on natural processes for reef recovery without human interventions, and their limitations.

(2) Deliver knowledge about the natural processes and¿speed of adaptation to a changing environment.

In 2021 EcoRRAP has established 352 permanent plots (6 x 12 m) on 64 reference reef sites, which span from the Torres Straits to the Southern end of the GBR, and from inshore to offshore reefs, including reef slopes and reef lagoons, across gradients of wave exposure and depth. At the Reference Reefs, critical environmental, genetic, population demographic and community data were collected using traditional and cutting-edge tools including 3D-photogrammetry. All sites are visited and surveyed annually, and if massive bleaching events occur further surveys may occur, as one of EcoRRAP’s research interests is to improve our understanding of coral reef adaptation and recovery potential from acute disturbances, especially those driven by climate change.

EcoRRAP data in their entirety will inform RRAP about site-specific limitations in reef recovery in a wide range of reef habitats represented in the GBR. Traditional Owner consent and GBRMPA permits have been obtained to work at all sites. This is the parent EcoRRAP repository, for details on how each dataset was collected, analysed and interpreted please see the specific repositories for each dataset.