Interpreting Long-Term Patterns of Seagrasses Abundance: How Seagrass Variability Is Dependent on Genus and Estuary Type

West, Greg J.; Glasby, Tim M.

doi:10.1007/s12237-021-01026-w

Cited by 12 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Prior to 2012, mapping involved manual onscreen digitising of habitat boundaries from ortho-rectified scanned imagery at a scale of 1:1,500, followed by field validation. Subsequent maps have been produced using Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) in Trimble eCognition TM (see West & Glasby 2021) and field validation. Maps produced using OBIA are more accurate than those prior to 2012, both in terms of spatial alignment and habitat classification.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black summer bushfires caused extensive damage to estuarine wetlands in New South Wales, Australia

Glasby¹,

Gibson²,

Laird³

et al. 2023

Eco Management Restoration

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Summary There is now considerable evidence that, as the climate continues to warm, bushfires are becoming more common and severe, particularly in regions such as south‐eastern Australia. The extraordinary Australian bushfires over the summer of 2019/2020 resulted in the burning of habitats such as highland peat swamps and intertidal estuarine wetlands over unprecedented spatial scales. Across New South Wales, these bushfires affected 183 ha of saltmarshes and 23 ha of mangroves in 19 estuaries. The percentage of fire‐affected saltmarsh ranged from 51% to 81% in the worst impacted estuaries, although typically ≤15% of mapped saltmarsh was damaged. Just over 50% of mangroves were burnt in Wonboyn Lake (although this constituted <0.2 ha), whereas in all other estuaries, ≤5% of mangroves were burnt. At the state‐wide scale, the likelihood of saltmarshes being affected by fire was unrelated to adjacent terrestrial vegetation; however, mangroves adjacent to burnt wet sclerophyll forest were more likely to burn than not. Burnt mangroves were almost exclusively associated with extreme or high severity fires in adjacent terrestrial vegetation, yet saltmarshes were also impacted in some cases by moderate or low‐intensity fires. Many species of saltmarsh plants had re‐sprouted or germinated after 6–24 months, but the extent of any recovery or changes in species composition were not quantified. The majority of fire‐affected mangrove trees appeared to be dead 24 months after the fires, despite observations of epicormic growth on some trees after six months. Bushfire impacts to estuarine wetlands are likely to become more frequent and results from our work can help target hazard reduction burning that might be considered for minimising damage to mangroves. More work is required to better understand potential longer term impacts and the capacity for natural recovery of estuarine wetlands from bushfires.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black summer bushfires caused extensive damage to estuarine wetlands in New South Wales, Australia

Glasby¹,

Gibson²,

Laird³

et al. 2023

Eco Management Restoration

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“…The second array was established to examine fine‐scale movement and habitat use and consisted of an 8‐station Vemco Positioning System (VPS) of VR2AR acoustic receivers (Espinoza et al, 2011). The VPS was located to include both seagrass and sand, which were identified by digitised high‐resolution habitat mapping (NSW Department of Primary Industries, hereafter referred to as DPI; West & Glasby, 2022). An area containing seagrass beds was selected as that is the main structural habitat type in estuaries within which dusky flathead would likely be stocked.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of habitat use and movement of stocked juvenile dusky flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) on stock enhancement release strategies

Becker

Pederson²,

Lowry

et al. 2023

Fisheries Management Eco

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Stocking of marine fish into coastal systems to augment natural recruitment is a growing practice adopted by fisheries managers around the world. Releasing fish directly into well‐resourced nursery grounds greatly increases survival and retention of stocked individuals but requires an understanding of juvenile habitat requirements. In eastern Australia, the dusky flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) is a highly regarded recreationally targeted species and the focus of an emerging stock enhancement programme, although little is known of their specific nursery habitat. Using acoustic telemetry, hatchery‐reared juveniles were monitored in Lake Macquarie to quantify habitat use and dispersal. Sandy areas adjacent to edges of seagrass beds were favoured, likely as foraging habitat. Within 5 weeks after release, fish were detected 5 km from the release site, but only at locations containing seagrass beds, so stocked fish likely disperse around estuaries to regions with suitable habitat. Future releases of dusky flathead should target areas containing patchy seagrass‐sand to optimise stocking outcomes. Beyond fisheries enhancement programmes, our findings highlight the importance of structured habitat, such as seagrass beds, for juvenile fish.

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“…Human population data within the catchment of study estuaries were sourced from the 2016 Australian Census (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). The population data were then standardized by dividing the total resident population by the total populated portion of the catchment area (West & Glasby, 2021).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The catchment area for each estuary was Statistics, 2016). The population data were then standardized by dividing the total resident population by the total populated portion of the catchment area (West & Glasby, 2021).…”

Section: Quantifying Anthropogenic Disturbancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Don't go breaking apart: Anthropogenic disturbances predict meadow fragmentation of an endangered seagrass

Swadling

West

Gibson

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Although it is well established that human activities are linked to the loss of seagrasses worldwide, the influence of anthropogenic disturbances on the habitat fragmentation of seagrass meadows is less understood. This information is essential to identify how humans are modifying seascapes and what disturbances pose the greatest risk to seagrasses, which is pertinent given the rapid urbanization occurring in coastal areas. This study examined how the habitat fragmentation of an endangered seagrassPosidonia australis varied in relation to several anthropogenic disturbances (i.e. human population, marine infrastructure, terrestrial run-off and catchment land-usage) within 10 estuaries across 620 km of coastline in New South Wales, Australia.3. When comparing between estuaries, the fragmentation of P. australis meadows was significantly greater in estuaries adjacent to highly populated metropolitan centresgenerally in the Greater Sydney region. At sites within estuaries, the density of boat moorings was the most important predictor of habitat fragmentation, but there was also evidence of higher fragmentation with increased numbers of jetties and oyster aquaculture leases.4. These results suggest that the fragmentation of seagrass meadows will become more pervasive as the human population continues to grow and estuarine development increases. Strategies to mitigate anthropogenic disturbances on seagrass meadow fragmentation could include prohibiting the construction of boat moorings and other artificial structures in areas where seagrasses are present or promoting environmentally friendly designs for marine infrastructure. This knowledge will support ongoing management actions attempting to balance coastal development and the conservation of seagrasses.

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Interpreting Long-Term Patterns of Seagrasses Abundance: How Seagrass Variability Is Dependent on Genus and Estuary Type

Cited by 12 publications

References 70 publications

Black summer bushfires caused extensive damage to estuarine wetlands in New South Wales, Australia

Black summer bushfires caused extensive damage to estuarine wetlands in New South Wales, Australia

Implications of habitat use and movement of stocked juvenile dusky flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) on stock enhancement release strategies

Don't go breaking apart: Anthropogenic disturbances predict meadow fragmentation of an endangered seagrass

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