The Marine chapter of the 2021 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "State and Trend of microbial communities and processes".
A PDF of the full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided) is downloadable in the "On-line Resources" section of this record as "EXPERT ASSESSMENT 2021 - microbial communities and processes"
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES/HABITAT/COMMUNITY/PROCESS FOR EXPERT ASSESSMENT
Australian marine waters typically contain 10^5-10^7 microbial (bacteria, archaea and unicellular algae) cells/ml, belonging to tens of thousands of different species (Brown et al 2018). This highly diverse and abundant community sensitively and rapidly responds to changes in environmental conditions and is hence a valuable indicator of ecosystem status and health. Microbes also shape the marine environment by playing a central role in biogeochemical cycles, supporting phytoplankton primary productivity, contributing to the ocean carbon pump, and removing a wide range of chemical pollutants.
DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT
The assessment is based on >5000 pelagic water samples, collected during marine voyages (sparsely covering most of Australia’s coastal waters) and at the 7 IMOS National Reference Stations (3 of which have been sampled since July 2012; the other 4 since July 2015).
2021 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details]
• 2021 •
Assessment grade: Good
Assessment trend: Deteriorating
Confidence grade: Limited
Confidence trend: Limited
Comparability: Not assessed in 2016
• 2016 •
Assessment grade: Unclear
Assessment trend: Unclear
Confidence grade: Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment
Confidence trend: Evidence and consensus too low to make an assessment
Comparability: Grade and trend are not comparable to the 2011 assessment
• 2011 •
Assessment grade: Very good
Assessment trend: Stable
Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus
Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus
CHANGES SINCE 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT
Not applicable