Macroalgae charophytes and bryophytes
- Capon, Samantha, James, Cassandra, Reid, Michael
- Authors: Capon, Samantha , James, Cassandra , Reid, Michael
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Vegetation of Australian Riverine Landscapes Chapter 5 p. 67-87
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Sphagnum bogs in alpine headwaters, moss gardens near waterfalls, leafy mats of liverworts, great skeins of filamentous green algae, beds and clumps of Chara and Nitella with bright orange reproductive organs, delicate, feathery red algae, the amazing emergence of life in once-desolate saltpans after a flood and the slime on rocks that makes keeping your footing in a stream so difficult – macroalgae, charophytes and bryophytes are found in all parts of Australia’s riverine landscapes. Bryophytes are essentially terrestrial; however, many species require the presence of free water only for transport of motile sperm cells and fertilisation of the gametangia borne on the haploid gametophyte. Algae (macroalgae and charophytes), in contrast, usually require free water, or at least a humid environment, for all stages of their life cycle. Bryophytes and algae are highly water dependent, and as such have the potential to be good indicators of water regime, water chemistry and the physical consequences of flow and water presence in riverine systems. Despite this reliance on water, these groups are also great survivors. Some groups of algae are characterised by desiccation-resistant spores or resting cells and some mosses and liverworts can be revived from the smallest shrivelled scrap of tissue through the addition of water. In Australia’s riverine ecosystems there are over 400 species of macroalgae. These species are confined to flowing or still water or, in the case of charophytes, as oospores when systems are dry ( Day et al . 1995 ; Casanova 2007 , 2009a ). Twenty species of Australian bryophytes occur either wholly or partly under water, a further 24 species in boggy headwaters or marshes and an additional 40–50 species near streams in forests ( Meagher and Fuhrer 2003 ). The study of these taxa in riverine systems has been hindered by their inconspicuous nature as most are small and noticeable only in large populations. Until quite recently there has been a lack of accessible taxonomic treatments of these taxa and a paucity of interest and expertise in their recognition and identification. Despite this, bryophytes and macroalgae play a significant role in many riparian systems and have great potential as indicators of riverine health, connectivity and resilience. Copyright © 2016. CSIRO Publishing. All rights reserved
- Capon, Samantha, Lynch, Jasmyn, Bond, Nick, Chessman, Bruce, Davis, Jenny, Davidson, Nick, Finlayson, C. Max, Gell, Peter, Hohnberg, David, Humphrey, Chris, Kingsford, Richard, Nielsen, Daryl, Thomson, James, Ward, Keith, Mac Nally, Ralph
- Authors: Capon, Samantha , Lynch, Jasmyn , Bond, Nick , Chessman, Bruce , Davis, Jenny , Davidson, Nick , Finlayson, C. Max , Gell, Peter , Hohnberg, David , Humphrey, Chris , Kingsford, Richard , Nielsen, Daryl , Thomson, James , Ward, Keith , Mac Nally, Ralph
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. , no. (2015), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The concepts of ecosystem regime shifts, thresholds and alternative or multiple stable states are used extensively in the ecological and environmental management literature. When applied to aquatic ecosystems, these terms are used inconsistently reflecting differing levels of supporting evidence among ecosystem types. Although many aquatic ecosystems around the world have become degraded, the magnitude and causes of changes, relative to the range of historical variability, are poorly known. A working group supported by the Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS) reviewed 135 papers on freshwater ecosystems to assess the evidence for pressure-induced non-linear changes in freshwater ecosystems; these papers used terms indicating sudden and non-linear change in their titles and key words, and so was a positively biased sample. We scrutinized papers for study context and methods, ecosystem characteristics and focus, types of pressures and ecological responses considered, and the type of change reported (i.e., gradual, non-linear, hysteretic or irreversible change). There was little empirical evidence for regime shifts and changes between multiple or alternative stable states in these studies although some shifts between turbid phytoplankton-dominated states and clear-water, macrophyte-dominated states were reported in shallow lakes in temperate climates. We found limited understanding of the subtleties of the relevant theoretical concepts and encountered few mechanistic studies that investigated or identified cause-and-effect relationships between ecological responses and nominal pressures. Our results mirror those of reviews for estuarine, nearshore and marine aquatic ecosystems, demonstrating that although the concepts of regime shifts and alternative stable states have become prominent in the scientific and management literature, their empirical underpinning is weak outside of a specific environmental setting. The application of these concepts in future research and management applications should include evidence on the mechanistic links between pressures and consequent ecological change. Explicit consideration should also be given to whether observed temporal dynamics represent variation along a continuum rather than categorically different states.
- Davis, Jenny, O'Grady, Anthony, Dale, Allan, Arthington, Angela, Gell, Peter, Driver, Patrick, Bond, Nick, Casanova, Michelle, Finlayson, C. Max, Watts, Robyn, Capon, Samantha, Nagelkerken, Ivan, Tingley, Reid, Fry, Brian, Page, Timothy, Specht, Alison
- Authors: Davis, Jenny , O'Grady, Anthony , Dale, Allan , Arthington, Angela , Gell, Peter , Driver, Patrick , Bond, Nick , Casanova, Michelle , Finlayson, C. Max , Watts, Robyn , Capon, Samantha , Nagelkerken, Ivan , Tingley, Reid , Fry, Brian , Page, Timothy , Specht, Alison
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 534, no. (2015), p. 65-78
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Intensification of the use of natural resources is a world-wide trend driven by the increasing demand for water, food, fibre, minerals and energy. These demands are the result of a rising world population, increasing wealth and greater global focus on economic growth. Land use intensification, together with climate change, is also driving intensification of the global hydrological cycle. Both processes will have major socio-economic and ecological implications for global water availability. In this paper we focus on the implications of land use intensification for the conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems using Australia as an example. We consider this in the light of intensification of the hydrologic cycle due to climate change, and associated hydrological scenarios that include the occurrence of more intense hydrological events (extreme storms, larger floods and longer droughts). We highlight the importance of managing water quality, the value of providing environmental flows within a watershed framework and the critical role that innovative science and adaptive management must play in developing proactive and robust responses to intensification. We also suggest research priorities to support improved systemic governance, including adaptation planning and management to maximise freshwater biodiversity outcomes while supporting the socio-economic objectives driving land use intensification. Further research priorities include: i) determining the relative contributions of surface water and groundwater in supporting freshwater ecosystems; ii) identifying and protecting freshwater biodiversity hotspots and refugia; iii) improving our capacity to model hydro-ecological relationships and predict ecological outcomes from land use intensification and climate change; iv) developing an understanding of long term ecosystem behaviour; and v) exploring systemic approaches to enhancing governance systems, including planning and management systems affecting freshwater outcomes. A major policy challenge will be the integration of land and water management, which increasingly are being considered within different policy frameworks. © Published by Elsevier B.V.
Transdisciplinary synthesis for ecosystem science, policy and management : The Australian experience
- Lynch, Jasmyn, Thackway, Richard, Specht, Alison, Beggs, Paul, Brisbane, S., Burns, E. L., Byrne, M., Capon, Samantha, Casanova, Michelle, Clarke, Philip, Davies, J. M., Dovers, Stephen, Dwyer, R. G., Ens, Emilie, Fisher, Diana, Flanigan, M., Garnier, Eric, Guru, Siddeswara, Kilminster, Kieryn, Locke, John, Mac Nally, Ralph, McMahon, Kathryn, Mitchell, Paul, Pierson, Jennifer, Rodgers, Essie, Russell-Smith, Jeremy, Udy, James, Waycott, Michelle
- Authors: Lynch, Jasmyn , Thackway, Richard , Specht, Alison , Beggs, Paul , Brisbane, S. , Burns, E. L. , Byrne, M. , Capon, Samantha , Casanova, Michelle , Clarke, Philip , Davies, J. M. , Dovers, Stephen , Dwyer, R. G. , Ens, Emilie , Fisher, Diana , Flanigan, M. , Garnier, Eric , Guru, Siddeswara , Kilminster, Kieryn , Locke, John , Mac Nally, Ralph , McMahon, Kathryn , Mitchell, Paul , Pierson, Jennifer , Rodgers, Essie , Russell-Smith, Jeremy , Udy, James , Waycott, Michelle
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 534, no. (2015), p. 173-184
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Mitigating the environmental effects of global population growth, climatic change and increasing socio-ecological complexity is a daunting challenge. To tackle this requires synthesis: the integration of disparate information to generate novel insights from heterogeneous, complex situations where there are diverse perspectives. Since 1995, a structured approach to inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary. 11Transdisciplinary: A theory, methodology, point of view or perspective that transcends entrenched categories and engages both researchers and practitioners in formulating problems in new ways to address real-world problems (e.g. eco-health, ecosystem services). collaboration around big science questions has been supported through synthesis centres around the world. These centres are finding an expanding role due to ever-accumulating data and the need for more and better opportunities to develop transdisciplinary and holistic approaches to solve real-world problems. The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS <. http://www.aceas.org.au>) has been the pioneering ecosystem science synthesis centre in the Southern Hemisphere. Such centres provide analysis and synthesis opportunities for time-pressed scientists, policy-makers and managers. They provide the scientific and organisational environs for virtual and face-to-face engagement, impetus for integration, data and methodological support, and innovative ways to deliver synthesis products.We detail the contribution, role and value of synthesis using ACEAS to exemplify the capacity for synthesis centres to facilitate trans-organisational, transdisciplinary synthesis. We compare ACEAS to other international synthesis centres, and describe how it facilitated project teams and its objective of linking natural resource science to policy to management. Scientists and managers were brought together to actively collaborate in multi-institutional, cross-sectoral and transdisciplinary research on contemporary ecological problems. The teams analysed, integrated and synthesised existing data to co-develop solution-oriented publications and management recommendations that might otherwise not have been produced. We identify key outcomes of some ACEAS working groups which used synthesis to tackle important ecosystem challenges. We also examine the barriers and enablers to synthesis, so that risks can be minimised and successful outcomes maximised. We argue that synthesis centres have a crucial role in developing, communicating and using synthetic transdisciplinary research. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.
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