Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
I head the Coastal Research Group at the School of Earth Atmosphere and Environment
Our principal research interest is in understanding how marine and coastal vegetated habitats function and how they are impacted by natural disturbance, anthropogenic impacts, and climate change. The insights gained from our research provide important guidance for the effective management of these habitats into the future.
Coastal habitats will play a vital role in mitigating the effects of sea level rise, through increasing sediment accretion rates and thus surface elevation. In Australia, saltmarshes, mangroves and coral reefs are the primary coastal habitat and are widely distributed along the Australian coastline. Both geological evidence from the Holocene, when sea levels rose quickly and significantly, and models of contemporary sea level rise suggest that coral reefs and vegetated foreshores are able to keep pace with sea level rise when sediment supply is sufficient (including the production of biogenic sediment sources), thus protecting inland habitats from inundation. coral reefs and vegetated foreshores are also very effective at attenuating wave energy during storm surges and are important carbon stores. These habitats are vital for a plethora of species, including dramatically declining migratory shore bird populations.
Our research group has a range of underwater sensors, current meters, plankton and vegetation sampling equipment, UAVs and a range of airborne sensors. We have access to boating and diving equipment at Monash, and access to the school’s extensive field work and sample analysis facilities and 4WD vehicles. We also have a well equipped molecular lab for environmental DNA studies and a lab for coral, vegetation, sediment and water analyses.
Link to Ruth’s Google Scholar publications: Ruth Reef
Specific Research Interests:
1) The coastal dynamics of coral reefs, vegetated foreshores and shallow water ecosystems
Biophysical interactions between vegetation, corals, topography, wind & wave energy and sediment transport
The response of coasts and the continental shelf to sea level rise
Using biological markers to identify sources of sediment in coastal zones
2) Using environmental DNA to reconstruct sediment and water transport, to measure biodiversity and to reconstruct historic sea levels
Measuring agricultural runoff into the Great Barrier Reef
Identifying and quantifying sources of blue carbon sequestration
Quantifying fish species diversity in penguin feeding grounds
Reconstructing past sea levels and shoreline positions
3) The biogeographic response of marine and coastal ecosystems to climate change
Modelling wetland area loss and expansion due to sea level rise
Coral bleaching studies
Species distribution modelling (mechanistic and correlative approaches)
Measuring the impact of previous land use on the growth of coastal vegetation following the introduction of inundation regimes (e.g. following sea level rise or coastal realignment)
Ecosystem services provided by temperate mangroves (fishery focus)
4) Greenhouse gas exchange and productivity of coastal and marine vegetation
Eddy covariance
The impacts of nutrient availability and heavy metal contamination on coastal plants
Monash teaching commitment
Teaching:
EAE1022: Earth, Atmosphere and Envrionment 2 (teaching physical geography, oceanography and palaeo-envrionmental reconstruction)
EAE2011: Environmental Problem Solving and Visualisation (unit coordinator)
EAE2322: Environmental Earth Science
EAE3051: Palaeoclimate
EAE3311: Oceans and Coasts (unit coordinator)
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Network
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Improving coastal erosion assessments for Victoria – Embayments and Living Shorelines
Wong, V., Reef, R., Rogers, K., Saintilan, N. & Kennedy, D.
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) (Victoria)
15/12/18 → 30/05/22
Project: Research
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Integrating UAV multi-sensor data and machine learning for Earth and Environment
Micklethwaite, S. & Reef, R.
1/01/19 → 31/12/20
Project: Research
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The role of vegetated foreshores in stabilising Australia's shorelines
Reef, R., Kennedy, D., Wong, V., Spencer, T., Brooks, S. & Moller, I.
1/08/18 → 30/07/21
Project: Research
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An elemental hypothesis for sub-tropical refugee in reef corals
Reef, R., Pandolfi, J. & Lovelock, C.
1/01/16 → 31/12/18
Project: Research
Research output
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Characterizing the spatial distribution of coral reefs in the South-Central Coast region of Viet Nam using Planetscope imagery
Nguyen, K. V., Duong, V. C., Kieu, K. T., Tran, T. V., Huang, C. Y., Reef, R. & Hoang, T. M., 2 Nov 2021, In: PeerJ. 9, 22 p., e12413.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Coastal wetland management in the Great Barrier Reef: Farmer perceptions
Oza, T. M., Lane, R., Adame, M. F. & Reef, R., Nov 2021, In: Geographical Research. 59, 1, p. 537-553 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
2 Citations (Scopus) -
Mangroves in arid regions: Ecology, threats, and opportunities
Adame, M. F., Reef, R., Santini, N. S., Najera, E., Turschwell, M. P., Hayes, M. A., Masque, P. & Lovelock, C. E., 5 Jan 2021, In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 248, 9 p., 106796.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
25 Citations (Scopus) -
Modelling mangrove forest structure and species composition over tidal inundation gradients: The feedback between plant water use and porewater salinity in an arid mangrove ecosystem: The feedback between plant water use and porewater salinity in an arid mangrove ecosystem
Bathmann, J., Peters, R., Reef, R., Berger, U., Walther, M. & Lovelock, C. E., 15 Oct 2021, In: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 308-309, 10 p., 108547.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
2 Citations (Scopus) -
Organic carbon fractions in temperate mangrove and saltmarsh soils
Wong, V. N. L., Reef, R. E., Chan, C. & Goldsmith, K. S., Jan 2021, In: Soil Research. 59, 1, p. 34-43 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus)