Eva Abal

Chapter 19 – Measurement of light penetration in relation to seagrass

Seagrasses require light for photosynthesis, however, they live in a low and variable light environment. Seagrasses have higher light requirements than phytoplankton, macroalgae, and some terrestrial plants as they have to support a larger proportion of nonphotosynthetic tissue and are rooted in anoxic sediments. This chapter discusses five approaches to measure light in aquatic habitats: Secchi disc, seagrass maximum depth limit, instantaneous photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), continuous PPFD, and spectral distribution. The relative benefits and limitations of each, as well as the information that can and cannot be provided by the different methodologies are discussed. The examples of two situations relevant to seagrass biologists are also discussed, measuring light in high tidal ranges where the water is highly turbid and measuring light captured by the seagrass canopy. Measuring light quality has been only recently applied to seagrass biology. The lack of research in the past may in part be attributed to the high cost and complexity of the instruments. Although high quality instruments are becoming less expensive and easier to use, in comparison to measuring PAR, spectroradiometry is still more costly and complex. Measuring light quality allows for many new questions of seagrass ecology and physiology to be addressed. Caution must be used in the application of this technique and clear objectives should be established before measuring light quality.

The ReFuGe 2020 Consortium—using “omics” approaches to explore the adaptability and resilience of coral holobionts to environmental change

Human-induced environmental changes have been linked directly with loss of biodiversity. Coral reefs, which have been severely impacted by anthropogenic activities over the last few decades, exemplify this global problem and provide an opportunity to develop research addressing key knowledge gaps through ‘omics’-based approaches. While many stressors, e.g. global warming, ocean acidification, overfishing and coastal development have been identified, there is an urgent need to understand how corals function at a basic level in order to conceive strategies for mitigating future reef loss. In this regard, availability of fully sequenced genomes has been immensely valuable in providing answers to questions of organismal biology. Given that corals are metaorganisms comprised of the coral animal host, its intracellular photosynthetic algae, and associated microbiota (i.e. bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses), these efforts must focus on entire coral holobionts. The Reef Future Genomics 2020 (ReFuGe 2020) consortium has formed to sequence hologenomes of ten coral species representing different physiological or functional groups to provide foundation data for coral reef adaptation research that is freely available to the research community.

Communicating science effectively : a practical handbook for integrating visual elements

This is a practical handbook on how to communicate science effectively. The first part is an introduction to the principles of science communication and what effective science communication is, why it is important, and how to do it. The principles in these chapters include how effective science communication can change societal paradigms and make one a better scientist. General principles relating to all science communication products include providing synthesis, visualisation, and context, assembling self-contained visual elements such as photos, maps, conceptual diagrams and data, formatting content to define and simplify terms, and eliminating jargon and acronyms. Formatting of these visual elements is also discussed. This introduction is followed by chapters outlining techniques and principles for communicating in different media & desktop publishing (including posters and newsletters), presentations and websites. Techniques in these chapters include image, colour, and font formats, resolution and design tips for different media. Finally, a case study is presented to illustrate how effective science communication has become an integral part of a successful environmental science, monitoring, planning, and implementation program. The book is accompanied by extensive internet resources, including interactive software tutorials for the different software programs commonly used in communication, discussion forums for science communication issues, and links to other websites of interest. This book will be a valuable resource for scientists, working in government, research, management agencies, and education. Although environmental scientists are the primary audience, the principles and techniques discussed are applicable to scientists from all fields. This title belongs to Water Research Foundation Report Series ISBN: 9781843391258 (Print) ISBN: 9781780402208 (eBook)

Using Ontologies to Relate Resource Management Actions to Environmental Monitoring Data in South East Queensland

The Health-e-Waterways Project is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between the University of Queensland, Microsoft Research and the South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership (SEQ-HWP). This project develops the underlying technological framework and set of services to enable streamlined access to the expanding collection of real-time, near-real-time and static datasets related to water resource management in South East Queensland. More specifically, the system enables water resource managers to access the datasets being captured by the various agencies participating in the SEQ HWP Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program (EHMP). It also provides online access to the statistical data processing tools that enable users to analyse the data and generate online ecosystem report cards dynamically via a Web mapping interface. The authors examine the development of ontologies and semantic querying tools to integrate disparate datasets and relate management actions to water quality indicators for specific regions and periods. This semantic data integration approach enables scientists and resource managers to identify which actions are having an impact on which parameters and adapt the management strategies accordingly. This paper provides an overview of the semantic technologies developed to underpin the adaptive management framework that is the central philosophy behind the SEQ HWP.

Healthy waterways: healthy catchments – an integrated research/management program to understand and reduce impacts of sediments and nutrients on waterways in queensland, australia

The Moreton Bay Waterways and Catchments Partnership, now branded the Healthy Waterways Partnership, has built on the experience of the past 15 years here in South East Queensland (SEQ). It focuses on water quality and the ecosystem health of our freshwater, estuarine and marine systems through the implementation of actions by individual partners and the collective oversight of a regional work program that assists partners to prioritise their investments and address emerging issues. This regional program includes monitoring, reporting, marketing and communication, development of decision support tools, research that is directed to problem solving, and maintaining extensive consultative and engagement arrangements. The Partnership has produced information-based outcomes which have led to significant cost savings in the protection of water quality and ecosystem resources by its stakeholders. This has been achieved by: – providing a clear focus for management actions that has ownership of governments, industry and community; – targeted scientific research to address issues requiring appropriate management actions; – management actions based on a sound understanding of the waterways and rigorous public consultation; and, – development and implementation of a strategy that incorporates commitments from all levels of stakeholders. While focusing on our waterways, the Partnership’s approach includes addressing catchment management issues particularly relating to the management of diffuse pollution sources in both urban and rural landscapes as well as point source loads. We are now working with other stakeholders to develop a framework for integrated water management that will link water quality and water quantity goals and priorities.

Ocean acidification: Linking science to management solutions using the Great Barrier Reef as a case study.

Coral reefs are one of the most vulnerable ecosystems to ocean acidification. While our understanding of the potential impacts of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems is growing, gaps remain that limit our ability to translate scientific knowledge into management action. To guide solution-based research, we review the current knowledge of ocean acidification impacts on coral reefs alongside management needs and priorities. We use the worlds largest continuous reef system, Australias Great Barrier Reef (GBR), as a case study. We integrate scientific knowledge gained from a variety of approaches (e.g., laboratory studies, field observations, and ecosystem modelling) and scales (e.g., cell, organism, ecosystem) that underpin a systems-level understanding of how ocean acidification is likely to impact the GBR and associated goods and services. We then discuss local and regional management options that may be effective to help mitigate the effects of ocean acidification on the GBR, with likely application to other coral reef systems. We develop a research framework for linking solution-based ocean acidification research to practical management options. The framework assists in identifying effective and cost-efficient options for supporting ecosystem resilience. The framework enables on-the-ground OA management to be the focus, while not losing sight of CO2 mitigation as the ultimate solution.

From Science to Management: Using Bayesian Networks to Learn about "Lyngbya"

Toxic blooms of Lyngbya majuscula occur in coastal areas worldwide and have major ecological, health and economic consequences. The exact causes and combinations of factors which lead to these blooms are not clearly understood. Lyngbya experts and stakeholders are a particularly diverse group, including ecologists, scientists, state and local government representatives, community organisations, catchment industry groups and local fishermen. An integrated Bayesian network approach was developed to better understand and model this complex environmental problem, identify knowledge gaps, prioritise future research and evaluate management options.

The Health-e-Waterways Project - Data Integration for Smarter, Collaborative, Whole-of-Water Cycle Management

The Health-e-Waterways Project is a collaboration between the University of Queensland, Microsoft Research and the South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership (SEQ-HWP) (a consortium of over 60 local government, state agency, universities, community and environmental organizations). The aim of the project is to develop a highly innovative framework and set of services to enable streamlined access to a collection of real-time, near-real-time and static datasets acquired through ecosystem health monitoring programs (EHMP) in South East Queensland. This paper describes the underlying water information management system and Web Portal that we are developing to enable the sharing and integration of the high quality data and models for SEQ water resource managers. In addition we will describe the interactive and dynamic ecosystem reporting services that we have developed and the WaterWiki that is being established to enable knowledge exchange between the online community of Queenslandpsilas water stakeholders.