Soil disturbance in coastal regions could be linked to a variety of deleterious environmental impacts. The existing data are preliminary, but there is sufficient evidence to raise the issue to a higher priority for both research and management.

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Survival and recovery of the seagrass Halophiln ovalis (R.Br.) Hook during and after light deprivation was investigated to assist in the interpretation of recent losses of Halophiln spp. in Queensland, Australia. Light deprivation experiments were conducted in outdoor aquaria and in situ at two water depths. Halophiln ovalis plants were deprived of light for a maximum of 30 days, and recovery processes were investigated for up to 18 days following 15 days of light deprivation.

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Rapid global expansion of the aquaculture industry has prompted the need for development of techniques for effective environmental management. In intensively farmed regions, aquaculture effluent has resulted in environmental degradation of receiving waters. The issues to be addressed include analysis of effluent water quality, determination of the ecological impact of effluent on the ecosystem, and development of remediation strategies to reduce these impacts.

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Microbial nutrient cycling in seagrass sediments

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This book is the proceedings of the Moreton Bay and Catchment conference. It is divided into nine major sections covering the environmental history of the region, geology and geomorphology, catchment rivers and lakes, water quality, marine plants, marine animals, corals, flood effects and management options. The conference was preceded by a relatively small flood, which served as an opportunity to study the impact of flood events on Moreton Bay.

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This book was the second in a series of publications in support of the Healthy Waterways Campaign in Southeast Queensland, Australia. It synthesizes the scientific investigations of Moreton Bay from 17 different studies of the physics, chemistry, geology biology and ecology in the region. It also provided management, research and monitoring recommendations based on the scientific conclusions.

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Moreton Bay Study: A Scientific Basis for the Healthy Waterways Campaign

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Declines in seagrass biomass and growth have been widely reported in response to anthropogenic impacts. In contrast, the distribution and biomass of seagrass in the carbonate sediment around Green Island reef, part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR), has measurably increased during the past 50 yr, possibly due to increases in the availability of nutrients from local and regional anthropogenic sources.

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Seagrasses, marine angiospenns with high rates of primacy productivity, are often hmned by the supply of nutrients or light. We investigated the ambient sedirncnt nutrient availability, biornass, growth and physiological characteristics of five seagrass species common around Rottnest lsland (P. australis, P. sinuosa, A. antarctica, A. griffithii and H. ovalis).

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Pulsed turbidity events caused by factors such as flooding rivers have the potential to seriously impact seagrass communities by depriving the plants of all available light. The effects of light deprivation was investigated on the survival, morphology and physiology of the tropical seagrasses Halodule pinifolia and Halophila ovalis growing in the South-East Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, a region where pulsed flood events are common.

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