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Saltmarsh breeding mosquitoes are an important source of vectors for arboviral transmission. In southern Australia, the most prominent vector borne disease, Ross River virus (Togaviridae: Alphavirus) (RRV), is transmitted by the saltmarsh mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Aedes camptorhynchus (Thomson). However, the factors driving the abundance of this mosquito within and among saltmarshes are poorly understood. To predict the abundance of this mosquito within saltmarshes, the environmental conditions and aquatic invertebrate ecology of three temperate saltmarshes habitats were monitored over two seasons. Up to 44% of first‐instar mosquito numbers and 21% of pupal numbers were accounted for by environmental variables. Samphire vegetation cover was a common predictor of first‐instar numbers across sites although, between saltmarshes, aquatic factors such as high salinity, temperatures less than 22 °C and water body volume were important predictors. The identified predictors of pupal numbers were more variable and included high tides, waterbody volume and alkalinity. The composition of invertebrate functional feeding groups differed between saltmarshes and showed that an increased diversity led to fewer mosquitoes. It was evident that apparently similar saltmarshes can vary markedly in invertebrate assemblages, water availability and conditions through tidal inundations, rainfall or waterbody permanency. The present study advances insight into predictors of vector mosquito numbers that drive the risk of RRV outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phylogenetic analyses imply that monocots were a key group in the early radiation of angiosperms, yet they are much rarer than other major clades in the Early Cretaceous macrofossil record. Here we describe a well-preserved leaf and several inflorescences related to the near-basal monocot family Araceae and abundant monocot leaves of uncertain affinities from two latest Albian localities in north-eastern Spain. Orontiophyllum ferreri sp. nov. has a multistranded midrib, several orders of parallel-pinnate veins, two orders of transverse veins, and paracytic-oblique stomata. This suite of characters (but with both anomocytic and paracytic-oblique stomata) is characteristic today of Orontium in the near-basal araceous subfamily Orontioideae, and later Cretaceous and early Cenozoic leaves assigned to Orontiophyllum have similar architecture. Sedimentology and anatomy suggest a (semi)aquatic ecology. Other monocot leaves at the same locality are linear and parallel-veined but have similar stomata. Although anomocytic stomata have been proposed as ancestral in monocots, O. ferreri, the associated linear leaves, Albian–Cenomanian cuticles from Australia and Portugal, and extant data are consistent with the hypothesis that variable paracytic-oblique stomata are ancestral. Turolospadix bogneri gen. et sp. nov., from the other locality, includes spadices of ebracteate flowers with four tepals, a central gynoecium, and a long stipe (vs a spathe attached just below the fertile zone as in most Araceae). Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the character combinations seen in O. ferreri and T. bogneri are ancestral for Araceae, and they could be either sister to Araceae or nested within a basal grade of the family. Together with fossils from the Aptian–Albian of Brazil and Portugal, the Spanish fossils indicate that Araceae are among the oldest extant monocot families, but they were associated with diverse linear-leaved monocots of uncertain affinities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Juvenile southern bluefin tuna (SBT) undertake seasonal migrations to and from the coastal waters of southern Australia until around age 5. In particular, they are present in the waters of the Great Australia Bight (GAB) over the summer months, where they are targeted by a commercial purse seine fishery. Arrival to and departure from the GAB represent important constraints on the valuable fishery, and this information is also now seen as essential for managing other activities within the GAB. As such, understanding the general patterns of the distribution of juvenile SBT and the environmental factors might be driving their distribution is valuable for establishing a baseline against which any future changes to population arrival or departure may be assessed. As part of a large investigation into the ecosystem of the GAB, data from a multi-year archival tagging program focused on juvenile SBT were used to construct statistical models of spatial usage within the residence areas of the GAB. Climatological data describing mixed-layer-depth, sea-surface temperatures, along with distance to the shelf break and coast, spatial position and time of year were used as predictor variables. Generalized additive models were fit which accounted for the seasonal progression of SBT into the GAB throughout their annual cycle and predicted the broad scale environmental features associated with their average distribution. The statistical models predicted habitat use by juvenile SBT in the proximity of the continental shelf break, with a preference for warmer waters in conjunction with deeper mixed layers. The model-generated annual distribution climatology can be used to plan the timing for a range of activities such as fishing, shipping, oil and gas exploration, and also inform development of forecasting applications. The predictions are also useful for determining large scale variation from the typical usage patterns of SBT in the GAB into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Great Australian Bight Research Program has generated extensive new knowledge about the Great Australian Bight (GAB) system. Integrating disparate datasets (including old and new knowledge) is a challenge for any location, but is increasingly important given the expansion of the marine industries constituting the blue economy. This is particularly so when industries operate in frontier, or remote regions with high conservation significance. Ecosystem models are an integration tool that can give insight into the structure and function of marine systems and act as a testbed for exploring scenarios of development for the region. Two of the most widely used ecosystem models (Atlantis and Ecopath with Ecosim) were implemented for the GAB, to allow an exploration of development scenarios and to provide tools in support of future management of the GAB's socio-ecological systems. The models were used to evaluate the vulnerability of key species, food webs, habitats and animal groupings to ecosystem stressors such as climate change, fisheries, disease, changing spatial management, aquaculture and oil spills. The models' responses to cessation of fishing indicate that the anthropogenic signature is not 'untouched', but is not yet substantially degraded. The complexity and confined area of much of the natural and anthropogenic activity in the region, which is highly concentrated in the gulfs and along the shoreline, means the system is sufficiently interlinked for cumulative nonlinear outcomes to occur if the system is sufficiently stressed. Scenarios of increased fishing pressure had the greatest impacts on individual functional groups, while scenarios of ocean warming had the greatest influence on ecosystem structure and integrity. Oil spill scenarios (e.g. caused by potential off-shore shipping accidents) had potential impacts on seabirds, pelagic fishes and marine mammals, with flow-on effects to the whole ecosystem, but only in a confined area immediately around the incident's footprint. These results give scientists and managers insights into how expanding the blue economy could impact ecosystem services and the societies currently dependent on them. This work also provides a set of tools for the GAB that can act as a launch point for systems analysis and can facilitate future assessments or planning for the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rivers and streams that dry up are found on every continent, and can form a large proportion of river networks. When rivers are dry, traditional indicators of river health – such as aquatic macroinvertebrates, fish or water quality – cannot be measured. Aquatic health indicators are widely used to assess wetted habitats, but currently no universally applicable indicators have been developed or applied to assess dry riverbed health. Dry riverbeds are often the ‘typical’ state of many intermittent rivers and streams; however, the ecological health of these habitats is rarely, if ever, assessed in monitoring programs. Resource managers have called for indicators of intermittent river health during the dry phase. The use of terrestrial invertebrate biota (e.g. ants, beetles, and spiders) as indicators in this study provides a novel solution to assessing rivers when they are dry. We developed a conceptual model of human-induced stressors (i.e. disturbance by livestock and feral mammals) on dry riverbed biota, which guided the selection of potential health indicators. Livestock and feral mammals are one of the most significant stressors on riverine ecosystems in Queensland, and impact riverbeds by altering the substrate through compaction, rooting and pugging. We trialled the use of metrics of terrestrial invertebrate assemblages as indicators of dry riverbed health in four Australian dryland catchments: Bulloo, Paroo, Warrego and Nebine. We used quantile regression and found that terrestrial invertebrate communities responded negatively (and significantly, p < 0.05) to a gradient of disturbance, defined by on-the-ground field measurements of livestock and feral mammal impacts. This response to stressors was predicted by the initial conceptual model. We conclude that terrestrial invertebrates in this study are suitable indicators of dry riverbed health, as they are impacted by disturbance from livestock and feral mammals. They can be used in the same way that indicators, such as aquatic macroinvertebrates, are traditionally used to assess river health. We also successfully combined indicators of wet and dry habitats to provide a holistic assessment of the health of intermittent river ecosystems incorporating all sections of the river network. We suggest that this approach should be adopted by other river health monitoring programs in rivers around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater aquatic ecosystems are in decline due to intensifying land use, salinisation, water abstraction and climate change. Understanding compositional patterns in aquatic biota is a useful step towards better management of aquatic ecosystems., We used generalised dissimilarity modelling (GDM) to predict compositional turnover in riverine invertebrate fauna (primarily insects) as a function of environment. Conceptual understanding of major drivers of aquatic invertebrate species distribution helped decide which predictor variables to source and include. Five groups of environmental variables-waterscape, local habitat, climate, landscape and disturbance-were derived from either spatial layers or in situ (site) measurements., Predictive models and variance partitioning tests of variable groups demonstrated the importance of representing all conceptual drivers of ecological pattern and process. As expected, waterscape variables were independently the most important group, followed by local habitat and landscape variables; with complex interactions between groups. Climate variables independently contributed the least., To determine the information content for mapping patterns, we investigated the independent and combined contribution of site-measured and spatial predictors. Even though predictive models developed using only site-measured variables or only spatial variables explained around the same amount of deviance (DE), combined they increased explained model DE by 11.2%. Compositional dissimilarities between the 51 surveyed site pairs predicted by the model using only spatial variables were highly correlated ( r2 = .85) with dissimilarities predicted using site and spatial variables. These results support the use of the spatial model for conservation decisions., The spatial model was used to evaluate representativeness of both the conservation reserve network and biological monitoring locations. The location of aquatic monitoring sites was uneven, with comprehensive coverage south and coastward, and less representative of inland environments. Proportional protection of ecological environments (scaled by riverine invertebrate taxa) was found to vary between 20% and 30%, being higher in southern parts where more land has been allocated to reserves and less in northern and inland parts. This demonstrated local progress towards achieving the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Target 11 for inland waters., These results provide a focus for improving the robustness of information used in decisions affecting the conservation of aquatic biodiversity, including places to target to fill gaps in the reserve network and additional aquatic monitoring locations (supporting Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Target 19). The GDM-based approach to characterising ecological environments, provided a first quantitative foundation for comprehensively evaluating the conservation status of freshwater ecosystems in south-western Australia. Potential future applications include assessing the ecological implications of land use and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gully erosion in the seasonally wet tropics of Australia is a major source of sediment in rivers. Stabilization of gullies to reduce impacts on aquatic ecosystems and water storages is a focus for management. However, the cause of the gully erosion is poorly understood and so a critical context for soil conservation is missing. It is uncertain if they are the result of post-European cattle grazing or are they much older and related to non-human factors. The causes of riparian gully erosion along a reach of the Victoria River in the semi-arid tropics of Australia were investigated using several methods. Gully complexes were described and characterised by two major components: a Flood Drainage Channel (FDC) and upslope of this an Outer Erosion Feature (OEF) characterised by badlands set within an amphitheatre. The OEF is likely to be a major source of sediment that appears to be of recent origin. A review of historical records, combined with Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating, showed that the FDCs were well established prior to the introduction of domestic stock. It also showed that the badlands began to develop about 90 years ago; that is, about 40 years after the arrival of domestic stock. In addition, an analysis of aerial photos coupled with an on-ground survey and analysis of fallout radionuclides revealed that erosion processes are still active within the gully complexes. While the FDCs are natural drainage channels, cattle grazing probably triggered the badland formation, with the expansion aided by increased rainfall in the past 40 years. Therefore, the OEFs are of human origin and protection from grazing of the riparian zone should slow badland erosion and reduce sediment input to the river. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of microcontaminants in aquatic environments raises concerns about their potential to exert ecotoxicological effects and impact human health. In contrast to freshwater habitats, little information is available on environmental concentrations in urban estuarine and marine environments. This study investigated an extensive range of organic and inorganic microcontaminants in the Darwin Harbour catchment, a tropical estuary in northern Australia undergoing rapid urbanisation and industrial development. We sampled wastewater effluent and surface water from seven sites in Darwin Harbour for pharmaceuticals and personal care products, alkylphenols, hormones, pesticides, herbicides and metals. In vitro bioassays were used to estimate the (anti)estrogenic and (anti)androgenic activities of samples. Seventy-nine of 229 organic microcontaminants analysed were detected at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 20 μg/L, with acesulfame, paracetamol, cholesterol, caffeine, DEET and iopromide detected at the highest concentrations in wastewater effluent (20 μg/L, 17 μg/L, 11 μg/L, 11 μg/L, 10 μg/L and 7.6 μg/L, respectively). Levels of estrogenic activity ranged from estradiol equivalency quotients (EEQs) of < 0.10 to 6.29 ± 0.16 ng/L while levels of androgenic activity ranged from dihydrotestosterone equivalency quotients (DHTEQs) of < 3.50 to 138.23 ± 3.71 ng/L. Environmental concentrations of organic microcontaminants were comparable to ranges reported from aquatic environments worldwide with sewage effluent discharges representing the dominant source of entry into Darwin Harbour. The measured concentration range of DEET was higher than ranges reported in previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, environmental conservation directives are mandating greater inclusion of Indigenous people and their knowledge in the management of global ecosystems. Colonised countries such as the United States of America, New Zealand and Australia have responded with an array of policy and programs to enhance Indigenous involvement; however, balancing Indigenous and non-Indigenous priorities and preferred management methods is a substantial challenge. Using Australia as a case study, we investigate past documentation and use of Indigenous biocultural knowledge (IBK) and assess the main contributions to ecosystem science and management. Focussing on the terrestrial environment, this innovative paper presents an integrated review of IBK documentation (IBKD) by conducting a spatial, temporal and content analysis of the publically available literature. A spatial analysis of the place-based documents identified Australian IBKD hotspots, gaps and opportunities for further collaboration. Sixty percent of IBKD has occurred off the Indigenous estate with only 19% of the total coinciding with current Indigenous Protected Areas. We also found that IBKD hotspots were different to Australia’s biodiversity hotspots suggesting opportunity for development of integrated biological and cultural hotspots. A temporal analysis of IBKD showed exponential growth since the 1970s and typical involvement of non-Indigenous researchers. Indigenous authorship remained negligible until the 1990s when there was an obvious increase, although only 14% of IBKD to date has acknowledged Indigenous authorship. Working through Australia’s broad biological conservation priorities, we demonstrate how IBK has and can be used to inform research and management of biodiversity, threatened species, aquatic ecosystems, fire, invasive species, and climate change. We also synthesise documented suggestions for overcoming cross-cultural awareness and communication challenges between Indigenous people and biologists, environmental managers and policy makers. Lastly, we suggest that inclusion of both tangible and philosophical engagement of Indigenous people in national conservation agendas may promote more holistic socio-ecological systems thinking and facilitate greater progress towards addressing the Indigenous engagement directive of international conservation agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous acoustic telemetry monitoring systems have been deployed in aquatic ecosystems around the globe - from under ice sheets in the Arctic to coral reefs in Australia - to track animals. With tens of thousands of tagged aquatic animals from a range of tax a, vast amounts of data have been generated. As data accumulate, it is useful to reflect on how this information has advanced our understanding of aquatic animals and improved management and conservation. Here we identify knowledge gaps and discuss opportunities to advance aquatic animal science and management using acoustic telemetry monitoring. Current technological and analytical shortfalls still need to be addressed to fully realize the potential of acoustic monitoring. Future interdisciplinary research that relies on transmitter-borne sensors and emphasizes hypothesis testing will amplify the benefits of this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2012, the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) concluded a 12 year review of the PSII herbicide diuron. One of the primary concerns raised during the review was the potential impact on aquatic ecosystems, particularly in the catchments draining to the Great Barrier Reef. The environmental risk assessment process used by the APVMA utilised a runoff risk model developed and validated under European farming conditions. However, the farming conditions in the sugarcane regions of the Great Barrier Reef catchments have environmental parameters beyond the currently validated bounds of the model. The use of the model to assess environmental risk in these regions is therefore highly inappropriate, demonstrating the pitfalls of a one size fits all approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gold Coast City is the tourist center of Australia and has undergone rapid and massive urban expansion over the past few decades. The Broadwater estuary, in the heart of the City, not only offers an array of ecosystems services for many important aquatic wildlife species, but also supports the livelihood and lifestyles of residents. Not surprisingly, there have been signs of imbalance between these two major services. This study combined a waterway hydraulic and pollutant transport model to simulate diffuse nutrient and sediment loads under past and future proposed land-use changes. A series of catchment restoration initiatives were modeled in an attempt to define optimal catchment scale restoration efforts necessary to protect and enhance the City's waterways. The modeling revealed that for future proposed development, a business as usual approach to catchment management will not reduce nutrient and sediment loading sufficiently to protect the community values. Considerable restoration of upper catchment tributaries is imperative, combined with treatment of stormwater flow from intensively developed sub-catchment areas. Collectively, initiatives undertaken by regulatory authorities to date have successfully reduced nutrient and sediment loading reaching adjoining waterways, although these programs have been ad hoc without strategic systematic planning and vision. Future conservation requires integration of multidisciplinary science and proactive management driven by the high ecological, economical, and community values placed on the City's waterways. Long-term catchment restoration and conservation planning requires an extensive budget (including political and societal support) to handle ongoing maintenance issues associated with scale of restoration determined here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nationally framed assessment and planning assists coordination of resource management activities across jurisdictional boundaries and provides context for assessing the cumulative effects of impacts that can be underestimated by local or regional studies. However, there have been significant shortcomings in the existing spatial frameworks supporting national assessment and planning for Australia's rivers and streams. We describe the development of a new national stream and nested catchment framework for Australia that includes a fully connected and directed stream network and a nested catchment hierarchy derived using a modified Pfafstetter scheme. The directed stream network with associated catchment boundaries and Pfafstetter coding respect all distributary junctions and topographically driven surface flow pathways, including those in the areas of low relief and internal drainage that make up over half of the Australian continent. The Pfafstetter coding facilitates multi-scale analyses and easy tracing and query of upstream/downstream attributes and tributary/main stem relationships. Accompanying the spatial layers are 13 lookup tables containing nearly 400 attributes describing the natural and anthropogenic environment of each of the 1.4M stream segments at multiple spatial scales (segment, sub-catchment and catchment). The database supplies key spatial layers to support national water information and accounting needs and assists a wide range of research, planning and assessment tasks at regional and continental scales. These include the delineation of reporting units for the Australian Water Resources Assessment, the development of an ecohydrological environment classification for Australian streams and the identification of high conservation value aquatic ecosystems for northern Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying landscape patterns that allow native fauna to coexist with human land use is a global challenge. Riparian vegetation often persists in anthropogenic environments as strips of natural or semi-natural vegetation that provide habitat for many terrestrial species. Its relative contribution to landscape-scale conservation is likely to change as environments become increasingly modified. We used a 'whole of landscape' approach to test the hypothesis that riparian vegetation offers disproportionate benefits, relative to non-riparian vegetation, for the conservation of woodland birds in highly modified agricultural landscapes., We selected 24 landscapes, each 100 km2, along a gradient of landscape change represented by decreasing cover of native vegetation (from 60% to <2%), in an agricultural region in SE Australia. Bird species were systematically surveyed at three riparian and seven non-riparian sites in wooded vegetation in each landscape., Riparian sites supported a greater richness of woodland-dependent species, a group of conservation concern, than did non-riparian sites. The composition of assemblages also differed between site types., At the landscape scale, the pooled richness of bird assemblages at riparian and non-riparian sites, respectively, decreased with overall loss of tree cover despite constant sampling effort. Within landscapes, the β-diversity of woodland species among non-riparian sites increased (composition became less similar) as landscape tree cover declined. In contrast, riparian assemblages were relatively stable with no change in β-diversity. Importantly, as landscape tree cover declined, the proportion of woodland species uniquely present at riparian sites increased and made a greater contribution to overall landscape diversity., Synthesis and applications. Landscape-scale richness of woodland species declines as landscape tree cover is lost. In highly depleted landscapes, riparian vegetation retains a relatively rich, stable assemblage compared with that in heterogeneous remnants of non-riparian vegetation and consequently contributes disproportionately to landscape-scale diversity. These observations, together with the diverse benefits of riparian vegetation for aquatic ecosystems, mean that protection and restoration of riparian vegetation is a high priority in anthropogenic environments. Importantly, such actions are directly amenable to individual land managers, and the benefits will accumulate to enhance the persistence and conservation of species at landscape and regional scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide ( CO2) and methane ( CH4) diffusive emissions were measured during two field surveys in Queensland and Tasmania, Australia, using the floating chamber method. Bubbling and degassing emissions in 2010 were estimated in Koombooloomba Dam reservoir using only inverted funnels and gas concentrations, respectively. A total of 14 reservoirs and 16 rivers and lakes were sampled from 2006 to 2010. Spatial variation was substantial within each water body, as well as between them. The main drivers of diffusive emission variation were physiographic region and climate, with a clear demarcation being observed between diffusive emissions from tropical Queensland and temperate Tasmania, and between the humid West Coast Range ( Tasmania) and dry Central Plateau ( Tasmania). Higher CO2 and CH4 diffusive emissions were observed during the dry season, when long water residence times would promote organic matter degradation. Estimated total gross emissions, including diffusive, bubbling and degassing emissions, for Koombooloomba Dam reservoir were about 1.5 × 106 t CO2eq km2 per year, or 24 × 106 t CO2eq per year. This corresponds to a plant emission factor of 3.18 kg CO2eq MWh−1. Using an estimate of terrestrial emissions derived from literature data for the Tully River catchment area, rough estimated net emissions from the catchment area are about 44 kt CO2eq per year, or 5.83 kg CO2eq MWh−1, which is in the lower range of the studied reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms all provide essential ecosystem services in urban environments. However, the services provided by each realm are often considered independently, which ignores the synergies between them and risks underestimating the benefits derived collectively. Greater research collaboration across these realms, and an integrated approach to management decisions can help to support urban developments and restoration projects in maintaining or enhancing ecosystem services. The aim of this paper is to highlight the synergies and trade-offs among ecosystem services provided by each realm and to offer suggestions on how to improve current practice. We use case studies to illustrate the flow of services across realms. In our call to better integrate research and management across realms, we present a framework that provides a 6-step process for conducting collaborative research and management with an Australian perspective. Our framework considers unifying language, sharing, and understanding of desired outcomes, conducting cost-benefit analyses to minimise trade-offs, using multiple modes of communication for stakeholders, and applying research outcomes to inform regulation. It can be applied to improve collaboration among researchers, managers and planners from all realms, leading to strategic allocation of resources, increased protection of urban natural resources and improved environmental regulation with broad public support., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Environmental monitoring is an essential feature of environmental assessment and natural resource management. Whilst the focus of monitoring programs is often on the response of chosen variables to a disturbance of particular concern, it is also important to consider the variability of disturbance pressures in relation to the variability of the ecosystem state. In this paper, we discuss the need to relate environmental variability to disturbance variability in small-scale monitoring programs designed to assess the impact of short-term pulses of visitors on the condition of aquatic ecosystems in protected areas. We use data from protected areas from six Koppen climate zones in Australia to highlight the fact that peaks in visitation do not always coincide with existing monitoring protocols or with optimal times for monitoring on the basis of environmental variability, particularly in relation to rainfall and temperature and, hence, likely biological activity. We highlight how recognising the interaction between disturbance variability and environmental variability will greatly enhance the power of monitoring programs and substantially improve our capacity to detect responses to temporally pulsed disturbances. Analyses of this type, undertaken before the establishment of monitoring programs, will yield higher quality information and a better return on monitoring investment for natural resource managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Unmitigated forestry operations have the potential to impact upon suspended sediment yields within headwater catchments. Best Management Practices (BMPs) are therefore required to reduce the effects on downstream users and to protect the integrity of aquatic ecosystems. Accordingly, in New South Wales, Australia, harvesting and roading activities on multiple use State forests must comply with Environment Protection Licences (EPLs) that require BMPs to be used to protect the aquatic environment from water pollution. The BMPs include soil conservation measures for the design of bridges, culverts and causeways; appropriate drainage spacings on roads and skid trails; seasonal harvesting restrictions; slope restrictions for harvesting and road construction activities; wet weather restrictions on the use of roads and log landings; and protection of all drainage features, including zero order streams, by the use of filter strips and/or buffer strips from where harvesting is excluded. In this study, conducted between 2001 and 2009 in Kangaroo River State forest, a replicated paired catchment experimental design was utilised to assess the effects of forestry activities on suspended sediment yields within three catchments selectively harvested using EPL-compliant BMPs. We hypothesised that harvesting within three treated catchments would increase suspended sediment yields but that the BMPs would reduce the magnitude and persistence of any measured effects. Harvesting during 2007 resulted in an increase in streamflow equivalent to 25.2mmy−1 to 46.4mmy−1 for each 10% of the area harvested in two of the three treated catchments, which is consistent with previous studies worldwide. Mean monthly concentrations of suspended sediment did not change following harvesting; however, the suspended sediment yield of one catchment, I-3, was significantly increased by 25.2% in the immediate post-harvest period. The overall suspended sediment yields remained low with monthly yields ranging from 0kgha−1 during cease-to-flow conditions in all catchments to a high of 116.1kgha−1 during February 2009 in the I-2 catchment. The measured increase in suspended sediment yield due to selective harvesting in the I-3 catchment was limited to a few post-harvest flow events and had subsided within 12months of the cessation of harvesting. The BMPs utilised during the harvesting operations, the ridge-top location of roads and log landings, and the high degree of groundcover retained on skid trails and the General Harvest Area in the absence of a regeneration burn contributed to the minimal impacts measured during this study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the visual and acoustic census of cetaceans in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary during a forty-day travel from Hobart in Australia to Haifa in Australia. It mentions that during the census, one hundred and sixty three sightings were made of which 150 occurrence were in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary. It adds that twelve species were identified including Sperm whales, spinner dolphins, bottlenose dolphins. Moreover, it mentions that most of the sightings that happened during the census occurred West North West (WNW) of Seychelles, east of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden as well as in the Red Sea. It adds that cetaceans were also cited in 78% of the listening stations. The survey also reveals the importance of opportunities for analyzing pelagic communities of cetaceans.

Summary 1. Interactions between primary producers and consumers (i.e. grazers) are of fundamental importance to the successful functioning of ecological communities. Plant-herbivore interactions have been extensively studied, and herbivory has been accepted as an important process contributing to the structure of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In contrast, the functional importance of the ecologically equivalent interaction between scleractinian reef corals and polyp-feeding fishes is largely untested, but has generally been dismissed as unimportant. 2. This study quantified the amount of tabular acroporid coral tissue biomass consumed at the population level by corallivorous butterflyfishes and determined the proportion of both the standing biomass and productivity that is consumed annually at three exposed reef crest sites at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef and Australia. 3. Total daily coral consumption ranged from 18·6 (±1·6) to 27·4 (±1·5) g 200 m−2 day−1 with 61-68% of this consumption directed towards tabular acroporid corals. This selective feeding resulted in an annual consumption of between 8·9-13·5% of the total available tissue biomass and between 52-79% of the annual productivity of these tabular acroporid corals. 4. The proportion of standing coral tissue biomass removed by corallivorous butterflyfishes is similar to that removed from terrestrial plants by herbivores. However, the proportion of primary productivity consumed is considerably greater on coral reefs for both corallivorous and herbivorous fishes compared with terrestrial systems. 5. In terrestrial systems, even relatively low levels of defoliation can have significant effects on plant growth rates, seed production and overall fitness. Considering the high proportion of productivity that is consumed by polyp-feeding fishes, it would seem incongruous that these grazing fishes do not have similar effects on coral community structure and population dynamics. Our findings highlight the need to revisit previously held assumptions regarding the functional importance of corallivorous fishes to coral reef ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Acorn worms (Enteropneusta), which were previously thought to be a missing link in understanding the evolution of chordates, are an unusual and potentially important component of many deep-sea benthic environments, particularly for nutrient cycling. Very little is known about their distribution, abundance, or behaviour in deep-sea environments around the world, and almost nothing is known about their distribution within Australian waters. In this study, we take advantage of two large-scale deep-sea mapping surveys along the eastern (northern Lord Howe Rise) and western continental margins of Australia to quantify the distribution, abundance and trail-forming behaviour of this highly unusual taxon. This is the first study to quantify the abundance and trail behaviour of acorn worms within Australian waters and provides the first evidence of strong depth-related distributions. Acorn worm densities and trail activity were concentrated between transect-averaged depths of 1600 and 3000m in both eastern and western continental margins. The shallow limit of their depth distribution was 1600m. The deeper limit was less well-defined, as individuals were found in small numbers below 3000 down to 4225m. This distributional pattern may reflect a preference for these depths, possibly due to higher availability of nutrients, rather than a physiological constraint to greater depths. Sediment characteristics alone were poor predictors of acorn worm densities and trail activity. High densities of acorn worms and trails were associated with sandy-mud sediments, but similar sediment characteristics in either shallower or deeper areas did not support similar densities of acorn worms or trails. Trail shapes varied between eastern and western margins, with proportionally more meandering trails recorded in the east, while spiral and meandering trails were both common in the west. Trail shape varied by depth, with spiral-shaped trails dominant in areas of high acorn worm densities (2000–3000m water depth) while meandering trails were common over a much broader depth range and were the only trails recorded in deep environments >3000m. While species-specific patterns may in part explain these differences, evidence suggests that nutrient availability is also likely to be an important driving factor, supporting the hypothesis put forward by that acorn worms meander when searching for food and form a spiral when feeding in a nutrient-rich area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

1. A common goal of many environmental flow regimes is to maintain and/or enhance the river’s native fish community by increasing the occurrence of successful spawning and recruitment events. However, our understanding of the flow requirements of the early life history of fish is often limited, and hence predicting their response to specific managed flow events is difficult. To overcome this uncertainty requires the use of adaptive management principles in the design, implementation, monitoring and adjustment of environmental flow regimes. 2. The Barmah-Millewa Forest, a large river red gum forest on the Murray River floodplain, south-east Australia, contains a wide variety of ephemeral and permanent aquatic habitats suitable for fish. Flow regulation of the Murray River has significantly altered the natural flood regime of the Forest. In an attempt to alleviate some of the effects of river regulation, the Forest’s water regime is highly managed using a variety of flow control structures and also receives targeted Environmental Water Allocations (EWA). In 2005, the largest environmental flow allocated to date in Australia was delivered at the Forest. 3. This study describes the adaptive management approach employed during the delivery of the 2005 EWA, which successfully achieved multiple ecological goals including enhanced native fish spawning and recruitment. Intensive monitoring of fish spawning and recruitment provided invaluable real-time and ongoing management input for optimising the delivery of environmental water to maximise ecological benefits at Barmah-Millewa Forest and other similar wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin. 4. We discuss possible scenarios for the future application of environmental water and the need for environmental flow events and regimes to be conducted as rigorous, large-scale experiments within an adaptive management framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The decay rate of leaves of five Australian tree species, Acacia melanoxylon R. Br., Atherosperma moschatum Labill., Eucalyptus regnans F.Muell., Lomatia fraseri and Nothofagus cunninghamii (Hook.) Oerst., was quantified to determine whether differences in decay rates influence leaf fossilization potential. Decay rates were determined under 4 sets of conditions that mimicked the main ecological settings where a leaf could come to rest after abscission: the forest floor; buried in terrestrial forest sediments; the sediment–water interface of a stream or lake; and buried in stream sediments. Leaf physiochemisty was characterized to identify the chemical constraints that may affect decay rates, and leaf decay (measured as loss of mass and change in leaf lamella area) was examined to determine whether leaves lost area (a quantity often measured by palaeobotanists) at the same rate as they lost mass (the quantity often measured by limnologists). A. moschatum decayed rapidly regardless of treatment conditions, whilst N. cunninghamii not only decayed more slowly than the other taxa but decayed significantly more slowly when buried than when on the sediment surface. Differences in decay rates across the 5 species were similar when expressed as mass loss or as loss of leaf area, indicating that species that undergo rapid mass loss also undergo rapid area loss and thus become rapidly unrecognizable in the leaf fossil record. An important predictor of decay rates was lignin-to-nitrogen ratio; species with high lignin-to-nitrogen ratios had the lowest decay rates and, by implication, the best chances of entering the fossil record. Published leaf-decay rates in the soil ecology and limnological literature thus can be used to indicate which species could be over or under represented in the leaf fossil record using nearest living relative analysis; such an approach may enhance the accuracy of palaeobotanical reconstructions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the implementation of a multidisciplinary Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) and the first operational global and regional ocean forecasting system in the Southern Hemisphere (BLUElink) aimed at exploring oceans around Australia. IMOS, a 40 million dollar Australian initiative is expected to provide value-added products as well as free, open, and timely access to marine data. IMOS activities are split into bluewater and coastal components. BLUElink is an Australian national ocean modeling effort that focuses on phenomena of smaller scale and shorter duration than typical climate models.

1. Growing recognition of the ecological significance and biodiversity of groundwater fauna in Australia has led to statutory requirements for monitoring these communities prior to resource development. However, the efficiency of methods for assessing community composition and taxa richness remains untested, hampering the collection of reliable data for compliance. 2. We assessed the efficiency of two commonly-used methods to sample groundwater fauna (net hauls and pumping) in bores in two contrasting regions (Dubbo and upper Hunter Valley) of eastern Australia. Repeated sets of seasonal samples from the upper Hunter Valley bores were used to test whether once-off sampling was sufficient for compliance purposes. 3. All taxa collected by the net method were also captured in pump samples. In addition, pumping yielded more taxa, higher total abundances, and higher numbers of the two most common taxa (syncarids and copepods) than the net. Ten net hauls in the upper Hunter Valley bores collected, on average, 64% of the taxa and 44% of total abundance. When combined with the first 100 L from pumping, cumulative totals rose to 92.5% and 74.5% respectively. Similar trends occurred in bores near Dubbo, indicating that net hauls alone under-sampled groundwater faunal communities. Multivariate analyses revealed substantial differences in community composition as each incremental subsample was added. 4. Temporal changes in community composition in the Hunter Valley aquifer were marked yet inconsistent across the bores. Initial once-off sampling collected 30–87% of the total taxa from each bore and new taxa were still being collected after four sampling periods in over half the bores. This shows that more than one sampling occasion is needed for comprehensive assessments of groundwater biodiversity. 5. Successful compliance monitoring of groundwater fauna requires cost-effective sampling that will not overlook potentially vulnerable taxa or miss ecologically relevant changes in community composition. Currently, a lack of suitable bores seems to be the main constraint on accurate assessment of groundwater invertebrate community composition in these two areas of eastern Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article gives information on ecological management at the Margaret river in Australia. Plans are being formulated to restore the ecological connectivity of the river. A study was conducted to know whether the fishways are helpful in restoring the connectivity of the rivers through fish migrations. Various methods of fishway monitoring have been mentioned, which occurred in July, August, September and November 2006. The outcome of the study is presented. A table of mean downstream and upstream movement of different fish is also presented.

1. We investigated the distribution of chironomid taxa in urban wetlands in the greater Melbourne area, Australia, to test if their distribution was influenced by sediment pollution and other environmental variables. 2. For identification of the Chironomidae, DNA markers generated via polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism of cytochrome c oxidase sub unit I (COI) were validated against morphology and reference specimens for more than 5000 chironomids representing over 80 species. DNA-based identification generally concurred with morphological separation, but also indicated the existence of cryptic diversity in some genera. 3. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed chironomid assemblages were structured among wetlands and could be linked to several habitat characteristics. However, Chironomidae assemblages were only weakly linked to sediment pollution. 4. Logistic regressions identified potential bioindicators of sediment pollution. Riethia stictoptera, Tanytarsus inextentus, Coelopynia and Chironomus ‘februarius’ were negatively associated and Chironomus duplex was positively associated with sediment pollution. Thresholds for the pollution sensitivities of specific species were mostly similar to those established with previous microcosm tests. 5. Several other environmental factors influenced the distribution of specific chironomid taxa. Salinity, substratum type and submerged and riparian vegetation were particularly important. 6. We conclude that specific chironomid taxa rather than assemblages have potential as bioindicators of sediment pollution provided their ecological preferences are considered and their pollution sensitivities are characterized using multiple methods. The integration of DNA-based techniques should facilitate accurate and rapid identification of bioindicators species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the pattern of connectivity among populations is crucial for the development of realistic and spatially explicit population models in marine systems. Here we analysed variation at eight microsatellite loci to assess the genetic structure and to infer patterns of larval dispersal for a brooding coral, Seriatopora hystrix, at an isolated system of reefs in northern Western Australia. Spatial autocorrelation analyses show that populations are locally subdivided, and that the majority of larvae recruit to within 100 m of their natal colony. Further, a combination of F- and R- statistics showed significant differentiation at larger spatial scales (2–60 km) between sites, and this pattern was clearly not associated with distance. However, Bayesian analysis demonstrated that recruitment has been supplemented by less frequent but recent input of larvae from outside the local area; 2–6% of colonies were excluded from the site at which they were sampled. Individual assignments of these migrants to the most likely populations suggest that the majority of migrants were produced at the only site that was not decimated by a recent and catastrophic coral bleaching event. Furthermore, the only site that recovered to prebleaching levels received most of these immigrants. We conclude that the genetic structure of this brooding coral reflects its highly opportunistic life history, in which prolific, philopatric recruitment is occasionally supplemented by exogenously produced larvae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]