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March 22, 2013

Change of science and management in ecosystems along size gradient

How does ecosystem size affect different environmental management actions? To some extent, a difference in the system scale means variety in the environmental status, research directions, public attention, and management efforts. Therefore, the way of approaching certain management objectives varies based on different size scales. In this blog, we compare five cases along an increasing [...]

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March 6, 2013

Testimony to the Maryland General Assembly in support of compulsory soil phosphorus testing by farmers

Yesterday, I provided testimony to the Maryland General Assembly in support of a bill that would require Maryland farmers to conduct soil testing for phosphorus levels and to report their findings. The bill was sponsored by Senator Pinsky and my testimony was to the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs committee, chaired by Senator Joan Carter [...]

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February 18, 2013

The Chesapeake Bay and the Changing Times: Beyond Science and Management

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States, defined by a wide range of ecological and physical features. It supports a diverse and dynamic ecosystem which displays not only remarkable evolutionary traits but also a reflection of human history. The Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, once populated with submerse aquatic vegetation (SAV) [...]

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March 5, 2012

Innovations in Environmental Synthesis, Reporting and Governance: Part 2 – Innovations in Synthesis

The synthesis I want to talk about is that synthesis that leads to environmental outcomes, so this isn’t just writing books and papers for colleagues, it is taking that next step to generate environmental outcomes in terms of policy, in terms of planning, in terms of implementation and in terms of directing our resources towards [...]

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July 2, 2011

Queenscliff, Bellarine peninsula and Victoria embayments

At the invitation of Dr. Andy Longmore, Victoria Department of Primary Industries, Kate Moore and I traveled to Queenscliff on the Bellarine peninsula at the mouth of Port Phillip Bay. We stayed in a wonderful, cosy bed and breakfast in Queenscliff called the Athelstane House and worked in the Department of Primary Industries Queenscliff Centre [...]

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June 12, 2011

Natural gas, live cattle, algal blooms & crocodiles: Darwin Harbour field trip

On June 1, I boarded the ‘Beaglet’, a Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport (NRETA) boat for a Darwin Harbour field trip. I enjoyed the naming reference to the famous ship ‘Beagle‘ that Charles Darwin sailed around the world, including his famous visit to the Galapagos Islands. The boat skipper was Matt Majid and [...]

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April 29, 2011

Mackay field trip #1: Lagoons, champions and mangroves

Uncovering a lost lagoon The Sandringham lagoon case study was described by Tim Marsden from the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI). Standing in front of the lagoon, Tim showed before and after photos and described the process of clearing the weeds that completely choked the lagoon. The lagoon had become completely [...]

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April 18, 2011

TERN workshop

I was asked by Prof. Stuart Phinn from the University of Queensland to give a keynote lecture at the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) Symposium 2011 in Melbourne, Victoria. There were approximately 100 scientists and resource managers at the symposium held at a conference center near the University of Melbourne. The other keynote speaker was [...]

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March 25, 2011

Discussion following Andrew Muller and Diana Muller seminar on Emerging hypoxia trends in the South River

This blog post discusses the seminar given by Andrew and Diana Muller at the IAN Seminar Series on August 31, 2010. Pierre Henkart noted that the Severn River had persistent anoxia between June and September which includes noticeable hydrogen sulfide and asked why the South River anoxia was not as pronounced or persistent. Andrew and [...]

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February 25, 2011

Two Guys and a Tinny: Conducting estuarine assessments

I had the opportunity to catch up with Steven Walker, the Executive Dean of the newly formed Faculty of Science at the University of Queensland. Years ago, Steven and I worked on an interesting project which was to assess the health of the 1000+ Australian estuaries as part of the National Land and Water Resources [...]

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