786 research outputs found
The loss of natural habitats and the addition of artificial substrata
No full textLaura Airoldi, Sean D. Connell and Michael W. Bec
Context-dependency in the effects of nutrient loading and consumers on the availability of space in marine rocky environments
No full textBackground: Enhanced nutrient loading and depletion of consumer populations interact to alter the structure of aquatic plant communities. Nonetheless, variation between adjacent habitats in the relative strength of bottom-up (i.e. nutrients) versus top-down (i.e. grazing) forces as determinants of community structure across broad spatial scales remains unexplored. We experimentally assessed the importance of grazing pressure and nutrient availability on the development of macroalgal assemblages and the maintenance of unoccupied space in habitats differing in physical conditions (i.e. intertidal versus subtidal), across regions of contrasting productivity (oligotrophic coasts of South Australia versus the more productive coasts of Eastern Australia). Methodology/Principal findings: In Eastern Australia, grazers were effective in maintaining space free of macroalgae in both intertidal and subtidal habitats, irrespective of nutrient levels. Conversely, in South Australia, grazers could not prevent colonization of space by turf-forming macroalgae in subtidal habitats regardless of nutrients levels, yet in intertidal habitats removal of grazers reduced unoccupied space when nutrients were elevated. Conclusions/Significance: Assessing the effects of eutrophication in coastal waters requires balancing our understanding between local consumer pressure and background oceanographic conditions that affect productivity. This broader-based understanding may assist in reconciling disproportionately large local-scale variation, a characteristic of ecology, with regional scale processes that are often of greater relevance to policy making and tractability to management.Fabio Bulleri, Bayden D. Russell, Sean D. Connel
The subtidal ecology of rocky coasts: Local-Regional-Biogeographic patterns and their experimental analysis
No full textSean D. Connell and Andrew D. Irvinghttp://trove.nla.gov.au/work/3519579
Draft Article with suggested Edits "The People Versus Frank Smiley: Investigating an 1894 Sodomy Crime in Territorial Utah"
No full textText document "The People Versus Frank Smiley: Investigating an 1894 Sodomy Crime in Territorial Utah" article written by Randell Hoffman, proof read and edit suggestions by Connell "Rocky" O\u27Donovan. gives back grounds of Frank Smiley\u27s arrest and detention for "Buggary" for his relations with Willis Clark. LGBTQ History through arrest records.Converted from .docx to .pdf for compatibilit
Acid dulls the senses: impaired locomotion and foraging performance in a marine mollusc
No full textAbstract not availableJonathan Y. S. Leung, Bayden D. Russell, Sean D. Connell, Jenny C. Y. Ng, Mavis M. Y. L
Ecological performance of construction materials subject to ocean climate change
No full textAbstract not availableKay L. Davis, Melinda A. Coleman, Sean D. Connell, Bayden D. Russell,
Bronwyn M. Gillanders, Brendan P. Kelahe
Recovering a lost baseline: missing kelp forests from a metropolitan coast
No full text© 2008 AuthorThere is concern about historical and continuing loss of canopy-forming algae across the world’s temperate coastline. In South Australia, the sparse cover of canopy-forming algae on the Adelaide metropolitan coast has been of public concern with continuous years of anecdotal evidence culminating in 2 competing views. One view considers that current patterns existed before the onset of urbanisation, whereas the alternate view is that they developed after urbanisation. We tested hypotheses to distinguish between these 2 models, each centred on the reconstruction of historical covers of canopies on the metropolitan coast. Historically, the metropolitan sites were indistinguishable from contemporary populations of reference sites across 70 km (i.e. Gulf St. Vincent), and could also represent a random subset of exposed coastal sites across 2100 km of the greater biogeographic province. Thus there was nothing ‘special’ about the metropolitan sites historically, but today they stand out because they have sparser covers of canopies compared to equivalent locations and times in the gulf and the greater province. This is evidence of wholesale loss of canopy-forming algae (up to 70%) on parts of the Adelaide metropolitan coast since major urbanisation. These findings not only set a research agenda based on the magnitude of loss, but they also bring into question the logic that smaller metropolitan populations of humans create impacts that are trivial relative to that of larger metropolitan centres. Instead, we highlight a need to recognise the ecological context that makes some coastal systems more vulnerable or resistant to increasing human-domination of the world’s coastlines. We discuss challenges to this kind of research that receive little ecological discussion, particularly better leadership and administration, recognising that the systems we study out-live the life spans of individual research groups and operate on spatial scales that exceed the capacity of single research providers.Sean D. Connell, Bayden D. Russell, David J. Turner, Scoresby A. Shepherd, Timothy Kildea, David Miller, Laura Airoldi, Anthony Cheshir
Shifts in abiotic variables and consequences for diversity
No full textChristopher D.G. Harley and Sean D. Connel
Restoring coastal plants to improve global carbon storage: Reaping what we sow
No full textLong-term carbon capture and storage (CCS) is currently considered a viable strategy for mitigating rising levels of atmospheric CO2 and associated impacts of global climate change. Until recently, the significant below-ground CCS capacity of coastal vegetation such as seagrasses, salt marshes, and mangroves has largely gone unrecognized in models of global carbon transfer. However, this reservoir of natural, free, and sustainable carbon storage potential is increasingly jeopardized by alarming trends in coastal habitat loss, totalling 30–50% of global abundance over the last century alone. Human intervention to restore lost habitats is a potentially powerful solution to improve natural rates of global CCS, but data suggest this approach is unlikely to substantially improve long-term CCS unless current restoration efforts are increased to an industrial scale. Failure to do so raises the question of whether resources currently used for expensive and time-consuming restoration projects would be more wisely invested in arresting further habitat loss and encouraging natural recovery.Andrew D. Irving, Sean D. Connell and Bayden D. Russel
Sustainability in Near-shore Marine Systems: Promoting Natural Resilience
No full textAccumulation of atmospheric CO₂ is increasing the temperature and concentration of CO₂ in near-shore marine systems. These changes are occurring concurrently with increasing alterations to local conditions, including nutrient pollution and exploitation of selected biota. While the body of evidence for the negative effects of climate change is rapidly increasing, there is still only limited recognition that it may combine with local stressors to accelerate degradation. By recognizing such synergies, however, it may be possible to actively manage and improve local conditions to ameliorate the effects of climate change in the medium-term (e.g., by reducing nutrient pollution or restoring populations of herbivores). Ultimately, however, the most effective way to increase the sustainability of near-shore marine systems into the future will be to decrease our reliance on carbon-based sources of energy to reduce the negative effects of climate change.Laura J. Falkenberg, Owen W. Burnell, Sean D. Connell and Bayden D. Russellhttp://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/2/8/2593
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