The impact and recovery from exposure to the herbicide diuron [DCMU; 3-(3′,4′-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea] was assessed for three tropical seagrasses, maintained in outdoor aquaria over a 10-day period. Photosynthetic stress was detected using chlorophyll a fluorescence, measured with a Diving-PAM (pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer).

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Water samples were collected within river mouths, at river plume sites and at well flushed ocean-influenced sites within Moreton Bay, a shallow subtropical embayment in south-eastern Queensland. Rates of inorganic nitrogen (NH4+ and NO3-) and carbon uptake were determined across temporal and spatial scales by use of N-15 and C-14 incorporation. Phytoplankton productivity, measured as CO2 uptake, was highest at the river mouths.

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Several coastal areas in southeast Queensland, Australia have been affected by blooms of the cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula Gomont ("Mermaid hair"). Lyngbya majuscula blooms have caused respiratory irritation, eye inflammation and severe contact dermatitis in fisherman and swimmers as well as causing reduced fish catch, seagrass loss and localized inputs of nitrogen through nitrogen fixation.

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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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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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