Palaeoecology: A tool to improve the management of Australian estuaries

Saunders, Krystyna M.; Taffs, Kathryn H

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.03.001

Cited by 37 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…For example, studies of the Baltic Sea (Kauppila et al 2005;Clarke et al 2006;Weckstrom 2006;Tuovinen et al 2010), Chesapeake Bay (Cooper and Brush 1993;Cooper 1995, Cooper et al 2004, Florida Bay (Wachnicka et al 2010(Wachnicka et al , 2011) and the Pearl River estuary in southern China (Zong et al 2010) have produced results that provide information useful to managers. Yet, in the Southern Hemisphere, and in particular Australia, application of palaeolimnological methods in coastal environments remains in its infancy (Saunders and Taffs 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, information on Australian estuaries is urgently required to assist management actions where there are substantial population pressures and multiple conflicting uses of coastal environments (Saunders and Taffs 2009). However, applying palaeolimnological techniques to Australian estuaries is particularly problematic because of the paucity of information on Australian estuary functioning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While this approach is not without limitations, these can be minimised (Saunders and Taffs 2009). For example, site selection within estuaries is critical given their dynamism, particularly in relation to establishing an accurate chronology (Crusius et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Palaeolimnology in eastern and southern Australian estuaries

Tibby

Taffs

2011

J Paleolimnol

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Palaeolimnology in eastern and southern Australian estuaries

Tibby

Taffs

2011

J Paleolimnol

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“…Diatom research in Australia to date has focussed on temperate regions and been conducted in marine and estuarine environments (Blinn and Bailey 2001b, Parr et al 2004, Saunders and Taffs 2009, Grinham et al 2011, Saunders 2011, Logan and Taffs 2013 and freshwater (rivers, lakes and reservoirs) systems (Chessman 1986, Chessman et al 1999, Tibby 2001, Chessman et al 2007, Fluin et al 2010, Hembrow and Taffs 2012, Barr et al 2013, Oeding and Taffs 2015. Chessman et al (2007) developed a diatom species index for Australian rivers (DSIAR) in south eastern Australian Rivers.…”

Section: Diatoms As Bioindicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The timescale at which any of these parameters vary can be less than the monitoring frequency, especially during high inflow events. Water quality sampling results are a snapshot in time and space rather than an integrated sample for the location studied (Saunders and Taffs 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diatoms as indicators of ecological change in freshwater reservoirs of South East Queensland

Gale¹

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Diatoms are powerful bioindicators, as each species has a specific tolerance for environmental variables, they are abundant in aquatic ecosystems and they respond rapidly to change. The use of diatoms as bioindicators is widespread especially in streams, rivers and natural lakes and is increasing in reservoirs. Typically, diatoms utilised in streams and rivers for biomonitoring consist of living benthic communities attached to rocks, while in lakes and reservoirs diatoms collected from the sediments consist of senescent planktonic diatom that have settled out of the water column. The development of diatoms as indicators in reservoirs can be problematic due to the complex hydrology and higher rates of sedimentation associated with these systems. Despite these challenges the use of diatoms in reservoir environments to develop transfer functions to infer historical changes in water quality is increasing. The development of regional datasets is important, as using indicators or transfer functions that have been developed in other areas to quantify changes in water quality does not provide accurate results.The aim of this thesis was to develop diatoms as bioindicators of water quality in freshwater reservoirs of subtropical south east Queensland (SEQ), to complement the traditional water quality monitoring across different sites. This will provide understanding of environmental drivers of diatom assemblages in this region. The diatom assemblages of reservoirs in this region have not been investigated to date and this study will provide the first investigation into their biological diversity and the water quality histories of the reservoirs.This study was undertaken in drinking water reservoirs of subtropical south east Queensland, Australia. Spatial variability of the sediment surface diatom assemblage was investigated in the Lake Wivenhoe, the largest reservoir of the region which supplies over two million people with drinking water. The diatom assemblage of surface sediments was found to vary spatially within a reservoir and aligned with zonation that is typical of reservoir environment, lacustrine, transition and riverine. Three groups of diatoms characterised the reservoir, taxa reported as cosmopolitan were found throughout, higher abundances of planktonic taxa were observed in the lacustrine zone and benthic taxa were reported in the riverine zone. i Sediment samples were collected from 15 reservoirs in south east Queensland. The diatom assemblage and corresponding water quality parameters from each site were used to develop transfer functions specific for the region. Robust models were developed using weighted averaging partial least squares for conductivity and total phosphorus. The optimum and tolerances of these parameters are reported for 116 diatom taxa.Early in 2011, the largest rainfall on record took place in the Wivenhoe dam catchment which resulted in an extreme inflow into the reservoir. One core had been taken in October 2010 to determine historic changes in the diatom assemblage. Following...

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Human‐induced marine ecological degradation: micropaleontological perspectives

Yasuhara

Hunt

Breitburg

et al. 2012

Ecology and Evolution

106

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We analyzed published downcore microfossil records from 150 studies and reinterpreted them from an ecological degradation perspective to address the following critical but still imperfectly answered questions: (1) How is the timing of human-induced degradation of marine ecosystems different among regions? (2) What are the dominant causes of human-induced marine ecological degradation? (3) How can we better document natural variability and thereby avoid the problem of shifting baselines of comparison as degradation progresses over time? The results indicated that: (1) ecological degradation in marine systems began significantly earlier in Europe and North America (∼1800s) compared with Asia (post-1900) due to earlier industrialization in European and North American countries, (2) ecological degradation accelerated globally in the late 20th century due to post-World War II economic growth, (3) recovery from the degraded state in late 20th century following various restoration efforts and environmental regulations occurred only in limited localities. Although complex in detail, typical signs of ecological degradation were diversity decline, dramatic changes in total abundance, decrease in benthic and/or sensitive species, and increase in planktic, resistant, toxic, and/or introduced species. The predominant cause of degradation detected in these microfossil records was nutrient enrichment and the resulting symptoms of eutrophication, including hypoxia. Other causes also played considerable roles in some areas, including severe metal pollution around mining sites, water acidification by acidic wastewater, and salinity changes from construction of causeways, dikes, and channels, deforestation, and land clearance. Microfossils enable reconstruction of the ecological history of the past 102–103 years or even more, and, in conjunction with statistical modeling approaches using independent proxy records of climate and human-induced environmental changes, future research will enable workers to better address Shifting Baseline Syndrome and separate anthropogenic impacts from background natural variability.

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Palaeoecology: A tool to improve the management of Australian estuaries

Cited by 37 publications

References 51 publications

Palaeolimnology in eastern and southern Australian estuaries

Palaeolimnology in eastern and southern Australian estuaries

Diatoms as indicators of ecological change in freshwater reservoirs of South East Queensland

Human‐induced marine ecological degradation: micropaleontological perspectives

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