A. David McKinnon

Tropical Marginal Seas: Priority Regions for Managing Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function

Tropical marginal seas (TMSs) are natural subregions of tropical oceans containing biodiverse ecosystems with conspicuous, valued, and vulnerable biodiversity assets. They are focal points for global marine conservation because they occur in regions where human populations are rapidly expanding. Our review of 11 TMSs focuses on three key ecosystems-coral reefs and emergent atolls, deep benthic systems, and pelagic biomes-and synthesizes, illustrates, and contrasts knowledge of biodiversity, ecosystem function, interaction between adjacent habitats, and anthropogenic pressures. TMSs vary in the extent that they have been subject to human influence-from the nearly pristine Coral Sea to the heavily exploited South China and Caribbean Seas-but we predict that they will all be similarly complex to manage because most span multiple national jurisdictions. We conclude that developing a structured process to identify ecologically and biologically significant areas that uses a set of globally agreed criteria is a tractable first step toward effective multinational and transboundary ecosystem management of TMSs.

The Coral Sea: Physical Environment, Ecosystem Status and Biodiversity Assets

The Coral Sea, located at the southwestern rim of the Pacific Ocean, is the only tropical marginal sea where human impacts remain relatively minor. Patterns and processes identified within the region have global relevance as a baseline for understanding impacts in more disturbed tropical locations. Despite 70 years of documented research, the Coral Sea has been relatively neglected, with a slower rate of increase in publications over the past 20 years than total marine research globally. We review current knowledge of the Coral Sea to provide an overview of regional geology, oceanography, ecology and fisheries. Interactions between physical features and biological assemblages influence ecological processes and the direction and strength of connectivity among Coral Sea ecosystems. To inform management effectively, we will need to fill some major knowledge gaps, including geographic gaps in sampling and a lack of integration of research themes, which hinder the understanding of most ecosystem processes.

Seacage aquaculture in a World Heritage Area: the environmental footprint of a Barramundi farm in tropical Australia.

The fate of aquaculture wastes from a seacage farm within a pristine mangrove environment was studied. Seasonal and tidal differences were most important in determining water quality within receiving waters and obscured any nutrient enrichment effect by the farm. Farm wastes added significantly to the N budget status of the creek system, but overall water quality conformed to Queensland EPA Water Quality standards. Mangrove trees throughout the creek system contained (15)N signatures traceable to aquaculture feeds, but the footprint of the farm itself was best indicated by the ratio of Zn:Li in sediments. The creek became hypoxic (<2 mgl(-1)) during wet season low tides. Consequently, we recommended monitoring of water-column oxygen concentrations to warn of hypoxic conditions threatening to fish health, as well as Zn:Li ratios in sediment accumulation zones to determine the area of influence of the farm.

Workshop on the ecosystem and fisheries of the Coral Sea: an Australian perspective on research and management

This report summarizes a workshop on the Coral Sea to determine key research findings and identify the research gaps needed to support sustainable management of a proposed Coral Sea Marine Reserve. Key research questions included determining the connectivity of apex predators with the broader southwest Pacific Ocean, and assessing the regions’ biodiversity in relation to seabed topography and oceanographic processes. The workshop concluded noting the importance of engaging surrounding countries in maintaining the sustainability and uniqueness of the Coral Sea.

Zooplankton Growth, Respiration and Grazing on the Australian Margins of the Tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The specific activity of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (spAARS), an index of growth rate, and of the electron transport system (spETS), an index of respiration, was measured in three size fractions (73–150 μm, >150 μm and >350 μm) of zooplankton during five cruises to tropical coastal waters of the Kimberley coast (North West Australia) and four cruises to waters of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR; North East Australia). The N-specific biomass of plankton was 3–4-fold higher in the Kimberley than on the GBR in all 3 size classes: Kimberley 1.27, 3.63, 1.94 mg m-3; GBR 0.36, 0.88 and 0.58 mg m-3 in the 73–150 μm, >150 μm and >350 μm size classes, respectively. Similarly, spAARS activity in the Kimberley was greater than that of the GBR: 88.4, 132.2, and 147.6 nmol PPi hr-1 mg protein -1 in the Kimberley compared with 71.7, 82.0 and 83.8 nmol PPi hr-1 mg protein -1 in the GBR, for the 73–150 μm, >150 μm and >350 μm size classes, respectively. Specific ETS activity showed similar differences in scale between the two coasts: 184.6, 148.8 and 92.2 μL O2 hr-1 mg protein-1 in the Kimberley, against 86.5, 88.3 and 71.3 μL O2 hr-1 mg protein-1 in the GBR. On the basis of these measurements, we calculated that >150 μm zooplankton grazing accounted for 7% of primary production in the Kimberley and 8% in GBR waters. Area-specific respiration by >73 μm zooplankton was 7-fold higher in the Kimberley than on the GBR and production by >150 μm zooplankton was of the order of 278 mg C m-2 d-1 in the Kimberley and 42 mg C m-2 d-1 on the GBR. We hypothesize that the much stronger physical forcing on the North West shelf is the principal driver of higher rates in the west than in the east of the continent.

Over 75 years of zooplankton data from Australia

Zooplankton are the key trophic link between primary producers and fish in pelagic ecosystems. Historically, there are few zooplankton time series in Australia, with no data sets longer than two years prior to 2008. Here we compile 98 676 abundance records of more than 1000 zooplankton taxa from unpublished research cruises, student projects, published literature, and the recent Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). This data set covers the entire coastal and shelf region of Australia and dates back to 1938. Most records are for copepods, but there are also data for other taxa such as decapods, chaetognaths, thaliaceans, appendicularians, and cladocerans. Metadata are provided for each record, including dates, coordinates, and information on mesh size and sampling methods. To facilitate analysis across the multiple data sets, we have updated the species names according to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and converted units to abundance per cubic meter. These data will be valuable for studies of biodiversity, biogeography, impacts of climate change, and ecosystem health. We encourage researchers holding additional Australian zooplankton data to contact us and contribute their data to the data set so we can periodically publish updates.

The Australian Monstrilloida (Crustacea: Copepoda) I. Monstrillopsis Sars, Maemonstrilla Grygier & Ohtsuka, and Australomonstrillopsis gen. nov.

Monstrilloid copepods were collected during zooplankton surveys in reef and coastal areas of Australia. Representatives of all four genera of the Monstrilloida (Monstrilla Dana, Monstrillopsis Sars, Cymbasoma Thompson, and Maemonstrilla Grygier & Ohtsuka) were recorded. In this contribution a taxonomic analysis of specimens belonging to the latter two genera is provided, and a new genus described. The genus Monstrillopsis was represented exclusively by male specimens, on the basis of which three new species are described: Mon. hastata sp. nov., Mon. boonwurrungorum sp. nov., and Mon. nanus sp. nov. These are distinguished from each other and previously described species of this genus by details of the genital complex (or genital apparatus), body size, ornamentation of the cephalic surface, number of caudal setae, and characteristic modifications of the fifth antennular segment. All have distinctive characters not associated with sexual modifications, which will ease the task of matching females collected in future studies. Australomonstrillopsis gen. nov. is proposed to accommodate a male specimen with a unique combination of characters including massively developed caudal rami, cephalic perioral protuberances, and absence of an inner seta on the first exopodal segment of legs 1-4, among other characters. The new genus is monotypic and contains A. crassicaudata sp. nov. Three of the four new species of Maemonstrilla (Mae. ohtsukai sp. nov., Mae. hoi sp. nov., and Mae. protuberans sp. nov.) belong to the Mae. hyottoko species group, and the remaining one, Mae. crenulata sp. nov., belongs to the Mae. turgida group. Each of the new species of Maemonstrilla from Australia can be distinguished from its known congeners by a unique combination of characters including the type of body reticulation, body size, antennule and body proportions, distinctive characters of the swimming legs, details of the antennular armature, and the presence/absence of a posteroventral process on the genital compound somite. With the addition of the four new species of Monstrillopsis and the four of Maemonstrilla described herein, the number of species in these genera has increased to 13 and 11 species, respectively. In no case did congeneric species co-occur, hinting that there may be a rich species diversity yet to be discovered within the Australian Monstrilloida.

The Australian Monstrilloida (Crustacea: Copepoda) II. Cymbasoma Thompson, 1888

Monstrilloid copepods collected during the past two decades from zooplankton surveys in reef and coastal areas of Australia were analyzed. A first contribution included the taxonomic analysis of three genera of the Monstrilloida, Monstrillopsis Sars, 1921, Maemonstrilla Grygier & Ohtsuka, 2008, and the newly described Australomonstrillopsis Suárez-Morales & McKinnon, 2014. In this document a taxonomic analysis of the species belonging to the genus Cymbasoma Thompson, 1888 is provided. A total of 28 species were found, most of them being undescribed. Seventeen species were described based on females only and eight on male specimens while three species were described from both sexes. Males of Australian species of Cymbasoma are distinguished by details of the genital complex, body size and proportions, ornamentation and processes of the cephalic region, number of caudal setae, and the characteristic structure or ornamentation of the genital lappets. Two main groups of males were distinguished on the basis of the number of caudal setae (3 or 4). As for the females, 20 of the 25 new species of Cymbasoma have fifth legs with an unarmed inner lobe and three setae on the outer lobe; one of these species (C. jinigudira sp. nov.) belongs to the C. longispinosum species-group (sensu Üstün et al. 2014). Another group, consisting of five species, has only two setae on the outer (exopodal) lobe. There were no Australian species of Cymbasoma with a single lobe. A species group, named after C. agoense, is proposed to include species sharing a globose body and a female fifth leg with a large endopodal lobe and an outer (exopodal) lobe with two setae. The females of the new species of Cymbasoma from Australia can be distinguished from their known congeners by unique combinations of characters including the type of body ornamentation, body size and shape, antennule armature and proportions, the presence of distinctive features of the legs 1-4, the presence/absence of processes on the genital compound somite, and the presence/absence of a constriction of the anal somite. We report the occurrence of two previously described species, C. agoense Sekiguchi, 1982 from Japan and C. bali Desai & Krishnaswamy, 1962 from India in Australian waters. Considering the addition of the 25 new species here described, the number of nominal species of the genus is now 66. A key to the Australian species of Cymbasoma (males and females) and a map showing their occurrence in Australia are also provided.

AN ESTUARINE ECOHYDROLOGY MODEL OF DARWIN HARBOUR, AUSTRALIA

Throughout human history, the coastal plains and lowland river valleys have usually been the most populated areas over the world (Wolanski et al., 2004a). This is degrading estuarine and coastal waters through pollution, eutrophication, increased turbidity, overfishing, and habitat destruction (Lindeboom, 2002). The pollutant supply does not just include nutrients, but also includes mud from eroded soil, heavy metals, radionuclides, hydrocarbons, and a number of chemicals including new synthetic products. Darwin Harbour (Figure 1) is no exception. Taking the Harbour to include all waters inshore of Gunn and Charles Points, it covers 3,227 km, and the drainage is 2,417 km. The harbour is an estuary with three arms, each of which drains a seasonal river with negligible flow in the dry season. Several pollution sources exist in this estuary, mainly on the east side. Urbanization, industrialisation, dredging, dredge spoil discharge, sewage discharge, shipping, agriculture (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides), aquaculture wastes, two harbours and several marinas, all represents threats to Darwin Harbour. By comparison, the west side is the least disturbed. To prevent major environmental degradation as happened in the other harbours described in this book, there is a need for a science-based integrated management plan that considers the whole Darwin Harbour catchment as the fundamental planning unit. For science to help in this process, it must provide useful data and tools. One such scientific tool is a model to quantify the human impact on the ecosystem health of the harbour. The health of an estuary or a coastal water body needs to include a number of potentially conflicting variables (Balls, 1994), requiring the use of modelling tools. This chapter describes such a model for Darwin Harbour. The model is kept as simple as possible to be practical while remaining realistic. In the model, flushing and mixing processes (that are readily measured in the field

Australopsyllus fallax gen. et sp. nov., the third known species of the family thaumatopsyllidae (Copepoda: cyclopoida)

Abstract The copepod family Thaumatopsyllidae is remarkable in that its members lack antennae and mouthparts, characters that occur in only one other copepod family, the Monstrillidae. Juveniles are found in the stomachs of brittle stars (Bresciani & Lutzen 1962) and adults in the plankton, where they presumably reproduce. On the basis of the absence of mouthparts, SARS (1913: 4) placed the Thaumatopsyllidae within the Monstrilloida, though he regarded this designation as provisional, being ‘inclined to believe, that in phylogonetical [sic] respect there is no closer connection between this form and the true Monstrilloida’. Sars (1913: 4) erected a separate section, the Monstrilloida Cyclopimorpha, to accomodate the Thaumatopsyllidae. WILSON (1924) erroneously replaced the name Thaumatopsyllus with Thespesiopsyllus, but Bowman & Abele (1982) reinstated the earlier name. Despite this, the use of the names Thespesiopsyllus and Thespesiopsyllidae persisted in the work of Huys & Boxshall (1991). Authors subse...