Temperate ecosystems worldwide are at a tipping point as mounting cumulative impacts threaten habitat quality and biodiversity. Among these threats, ocean warming is one of the most significant, facilitating the range extension of species into regions where they did not previously exist, disrupting ecological balances and causing catastrophic shifts in ecosystem composition. In southeast Australia, the longspined sea urchin, Centrostephanus rodgersii, has undergone a poleward range extension from native subtropical waters of New South Wales to the cooler Tasmanian waters, simplifying rocky reef habitats to ‘barrens’ habitat. This shift ultimately devastates kelp forests, threatening the viability of commercial fisheries and recreational industries. However, management interventions for C.rodgersii currently vary across states, creating difficulties in combating barren formation over larger ecological scales. By reconstructing the historical range extension of C.rodgersii through modelling metapopulation dynamics combined with larval connectivity pathways, and evaluating both current and novel management strategies at different spatial scales, we aim to identify the most effective approach to managing the species across its range. Here, we present progress in developing a metapopulation model for C. rodgersii along the eastern Great Southern Reef and demonstrate its application in assessing potential management strategies.