Environmental management is not practiced in a vacuum. Effective stewardship of natural resources requires the adoption of multiple objectives set forth by diverse groups of stakeholders with varied perspectives and interests. Within this management landscape, integrated environmental assessments provide a useful framework for evaluating resources and directing management efforts.

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Seagrasses, marine flowering plants, have a long evolutionary history but are now challenged with rapid environmental changes as a result of coastal human population pressures. Seagrasses provide key ecological services, including organic carbon production and export, nutrient cycling, sediment stabilization, enhanced biodiversity, and trophic transfers to adjacent habitats in tropical and temperate regions.

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This is a practical handbook on how to communicate science effectively. The first part is an introduction to the principles of science communication-what effective science communication is, why it is important, and how effective science communication can change societal paradigms and make one a better scientist.

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Large-scale blooms of Lyngbya majuscula (Gomont) have occurred throughout Moreton Bay (south-east Queensland) and have been documented since 1997. L. majuscula is a toxic cyanobacteria which fixes nitrogen and is found attached to: seagrass, algae and coral. The toxic and smothering nature of L. majuscula has affected human and environmental health in sensitive coastal ecosystems.

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Subtropical estuaries have received comparatively little attention in the study of nutrient loading and subsequent nutrient processing relative to temperate estuaries. Australian estuaries are particularly susceptible to increased nutrient loading and eutrophication, as 75% of the population resides within 200 km of the coastline.

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The role of connectivity in Australian conservation

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Southwest Australia has warm temperate water with a mixture of tropical influences from the Leeuwin Current and cool southern waters. This mixing of tropical and temperate water results in diverse seagrass communities occurring in a wide variety of coastal habitats. Almost half of the world's ~60 seagrass species can be found along this 1,500 km of coast. Seagrasses are important to the marine environment as they stabilise sediments and trap nutrients, helping to maintain water quality.

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Estuaries are transition zones where rivers meet the ocean, creating an environment with large seasonal fl uctuations in temperature, salinity, and light. These difficult growing conditions provide some unique challenges for seagrasses. In southwest Australia, estuaries are usually closed by a sand bar at the mouth, cutting them off from the ebb and fl ow of the tide for long periods. Winter rains flow down-river into the estuaries, raising the water level until it breaks through the sand bar.

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On the south coast, a diverse range of seagrasses grow in habitats protected from the full force of waves by islands and headlands. South coast seagrasses grow on silica sand to a depth of about 30 m and on carbonate sand beyond 30 m depth. Many seagrasses grow in these sheltered zones, including most of the species found on the west coast. Beyond the shelter of the headlands, waves roll in from the open ocean and seagrasses are subjected to very high wave action.

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Along some 600 km of the west coast, a line of offshore islands and submerged reefs provides protection from the full force of ocean swell and zones of sand deposition. The longitudinal reef and islands remain from former coastlines drowned by rising sea levels - the most recent rise was about 6,000 - 12,000 years ago.

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