Nocturnal sampling reveals usage patterns of intertidal marsh and subtidal creeks by penaeid shrimp and other nekton in south-eastern Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Becker ◽  
Matthew D. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Penaeid Shrimp ◽  
Coastal Environments ◽  
Focal Species ◽  
Nekton Community ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Isotope Studies ◽  
Intertidal Habitats ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Fyke Nets

The life cycle of most penaeid prawns includes a juvenile phase in protected coastal environments such as estuaries and embayments. In the tropics, some penaeids are known to utilise intertidal habitats, yet in temperate regions of Australia the use of marshes has not been investigated. We focused on determining the extent to which Melicertus plebejus and Metapenaeus macleayi directly utilise intertidal marsh habitat using fyke nets. Using cast nets, we also assessed the abundance of the two focal species in middle and edge habitat of adjacent subtidal creeks. Despite collecting 8300 crustaceans and 4259 teleosts, only 8M. plebejus were sampled on the marsh. Abundances of M. macleayi were greater with 90 individuals collected. Within the subtidal creeks larger M. macleayi were collected in the middle habitat and the abundance of both penaeids varied among different creeks. The nekton community as a whole also differed among creeks within marshes. This study has demonstrated that juvenile M. plebejus and M. macleayi do not directly utilise intertidal marsh habitats. Despite this, marshes may provide important resources for prawns through the export of carbon. Future isotope studies would provide valuable information in this regard, providing a broader understanding of penaeids and specific estuarine habitats.

scholarly journals BARRON RIVER DELTA INVESTIGATION

1980 ◽  
Vol 1 (17) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.A. Robinson ◽  
D.J. Cook ◽  
J.G. Barff
Keyword(s):  
Beach Sand ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Electric Power Station ◽  
River Flows ◽  
Farm Land ◽  
Main River ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Sand And Gravel ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Resort Towns

The Barron River flows to sea through a 50 km2 alluvial Delta on the narrow coastal plain near Cairns, Queensland in north eastern Australia. The Delta is in the tropics at 17 degrees south latitude. Most of the 2175 km2 catchment lies above 450 m above sea level. The coastal portion of the catchment has an average annual rainfall in excess of 2000 mm. River flows are highly variable with peak flood flows of over 4000 m3s"', and dry season flows of less than 15 m3s"'. The Delta is tidal with ocean tides having a range of 1.8 m at Spring Tides. There are three water storages on the catchment, one on the upper catchment having an ungated spillway and a capacity of 407 x 106 m3 for irrigation purposes and the other two just upstream of the Delta, are a small weir of 1.7 x 106 m3 capacity to regulate water supply to the Barron Gorge Hydro-electric Power Station, and Copperlode Falls Dam on Freshwater Creek, a 45 x 106 m3 ungated storage to provide water to Cairns City and the nearby Mulgrave Shire. The Delta consists of alluvial soils which support 3600 hectares of sugar cane farm land. The beaches in the Delta are being developed as resort towns and dormitory suburbs. Sand and gravel is reularly dredged from the lower reaches of the main river in the Delta at the rate of 50,000-80,000 m3 per year. Increasing scarcity of sand sources, and the concern that dredging and dam construction is threatening beach sand sources have raised conflicting pressures on the Authority which licences the extraction of sand and gravel from the river. This, coupled with regular flooding of the Delta and the cutting of major highways, and the continuing erosion of cane farm land has initiated a major data collection programme as a prerequisite to formulating solutions for the flooding and erosion problems.

Patterns of Distribution of Acacia in Australia

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
BR Maslin ◽  
L Pedley
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Patterns Of Distribution ◽  
The North ◽  
Geographic Patterns ◽  
South West ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Semiarid Areas ◽  
The Tropics

Patterns of distribution are described for the three subgenera and nine sections that make up the Australian Acacia flora. Subgenus Phyllodineae (833 species) is widespread and contains 99% of the species; subgenus Acacia (six species) and subgenus Aculeiferum (one species) are poorly represented and virtually confined to the north of the continent. The geographic patterns of species-richness are strongly influenced by sections Phyllodineae (352 species), Juliflorae (219 species) and Plurinerves (178 species). Section Phyllodineae has centres of richness south of the Tropic of Capricorn in temperate and adjacent semiarid areas of eastern, south-eastern and south-western Australia. The section is poorly represented in the tropics. The closely related sections Juliflorae and Plurinerves predominate in the north of the continent, semiarid areas of the south-west, many rocky tablelands of the Arid Zone and along the Great Dividing Range and adjacent inland riverine lowland areas in eastern Australia. The remaining four sections contribute little to the overall patterns of species-richness. The principal speciespoor areas are sandy and fluvial lowland regions of the Arid Zone. In eastern Australia, sections Botrycephalae, Juliflorae, Phyllodineae and Plurinerves show discontinuous patterns of species-richness along the Great Dividing Range. All sections have species whose ranges terminate in the area of the McPherson-Macleay Overlap region.

Mangrove Litter Fall in North-Eastern Australia. I. Annual Totals by Component in Selected Species

1981 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 547 ◽  
Author(s):  
NC Duke ◽  
JS Bunt ◽  
WT Williams
Keyword(s):  
Mean Value ◽  
Litter Fall ◽  
Bruguiera Gymnorrhiza ◽  
Rhizophora Apiculata ◽  
Sonneratia Alba ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Annual Total ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Tropics

Annual totals of the components of litter fall (leaves, reproductive parts, stipules, wood and residual debris) are presented for Rhizophora apiculata, R. lamarckii and R. stylosa as well as for Sonneratia alba, Avicennia sp., Ceriops tagal, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and B. parviflora from a large number of sites at Hinchinbrook Island (lat. 18°15'S.; long. 146°15'E.). Annual total litter fall among all species ranged from 3.8 to 19.6 Mg ha-1. The mean value among the Rhizophora spp., the most extensively sampled was 9.6 Mg ha-1 yr-1. Leaves, generally, made up the most important component of all litter materials. The results are compared with records in the literature for tidal as well as non-tidal forests elsewhere in the tropics.

Reef and Rainforest

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael McCoy
Keyword(s):  
Solomon Islands ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Terrestrial Life ◽  
Visual Impact ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Tropics

Reef and Rainforest is a photographic portrayal of marine and terrestrial life in one of the world's most biodiverse regions – the tropics of north-eastern Australia, together with the South Pacific nations of Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. The photographs were taken over a period of more than 30 years while the author was living in the Solomon Islands and northern Australia. They depict life on the coral reefs, in the rainforests and in adjacent tropical savannahs. From detailed macro studies to sweeping scenics and aerials, the photographs are impressive for both their technical/compositional expertise and the unique insight they provide into the behavioural nuances of marine and terrestrial wildlife. Almost all the wildlife images are of free-living, non-posed subjects, photographed as they were encountered. Along with the stunning photography, the detailed and reflective captions are drawn from the author’s experiences. Reef and Rainforest conveys the richness and diversity of the natural world with maximum visual impact.

Recent evolution of stratospheric aerosol load from ground-based lidars and satellites: impact of volcanic eruptions and wildfires.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Khaykin ◽  
Sophie Godin-Beekmann ◽  
Ghassan Taha ◽  
Artem Feofilov ◽  
Adam Bourassa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Background Level ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Stratospheric Aerosol ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Stratospheric Circulation ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Global Mean

<p>    During the last 2 years (2018-2019) a series of volcanic eruptions led to remarkable enhancements in stratospheric aerosol load. These are eruptions of <strong>Ambae</strong> (July 2018, Vanuatu), <strong>Raikoke</strong> (June 2019, Russia) and <strong>Ulawun</strong> (July 2019, Papua New Guinea). In this study we examine the evolution of the stratospheric aerosol bulk optical properties following these events in consideration of large-scale stratospheric circulation. We use long-term aerosol records by <strong>ground-based lidars</strong> in both hemispheres together with global observations by various satellite missions (<strong>OMPS-LP, SAGE III, OSIRIS, CALIOP</strong>) and discuss the consistency between these datasets.  In addition, we evaluate the preliminary lower stratosphere aerosol product by ESA <strong>Aeolus</strong> mission through intercomparison with ground-based lidars.</p><p>   The 28-yr Observatoire de Haute Provence (<strong>OHP) lidar record</strong> shows that<strong> Raikoke eruption has led to the strongest enhancement of stratospheric aerosol optical depth (SAOD) in the northern extratropics since Pinatubo eruption</strong>. Satellite observations suggest that the stratospheric plume of Raikoke has dispersed throughout the entire Northern hemisphere and ascended up to 27 km altitude. The eruption of Ulawun in the tropics has further boosted the stratospheric aerosol load and by Fall 2019, the <strong>global mean SAOD was a factor of 2.5 higher than its background level</strong>.</p><p>    At the turn of the year 2020, while both Raikoke and Ulawun aerosols were still present in the stratosphere, a dramatic bushfire event accompanied by vigorous fire-induced thunderstorms (PyroCb) in eastern Australia caused a massive injection of smoke into the stratosphere. The early detections of stratospheric smoke by OMPS-LP suggest that the zonal-mean SAOD perturbation caused by this event<strong> exceeds the previous record-breaking PyroCb-related perturbation</strong> after the British Columbia fires in August 2017. We use satellite observations of aerosol and trace gases (H2O, CO) to characterize the stratospheric impact of the wildfires and contrast it with that of volcanic eruptions.</p>

A snapshot of the limnology of eastern Australian water bodies spanning the tropics to Tasmania: the land-use, climate, limnology nexus

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Christine Chang ◽  
Craig Woodward ◽  
James Shulmeister
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Saline Lakes ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Residence Times ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Artificial Water Bodies ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Artificial Water

The present study investigates 45 natural and artificial water bodies extending across the whole of eastern Australia from the tropics to Tasmania. A broad variety of physio-chemical, land-use and climatic parameters were measured. Reservoirs and other artificial water bodies responded to stressors in their catchments in a similar fashion to natural lakes, but tended to be less nutrient rich, possibly because of shorter residence times and active management. Salinity and pH were strongly correlated in the dataset. Bedrock had a strong influence on pH in freshwater lakes, whereas all highly saline lakes were alkaline, irrespective of bedrock. High concentrations of anions in saline lakes precluded the existence of acid conditions by binding available hydrogen ions. Almost all lakes fell on salinity axes that indicated marine origin for their salts. An assessment of the total nitrogen to total phosphorus molar ratios from the lakes in the present dataset indicated that productivity in Australian lakes could be limited by both nitrogen and phosphorus. Future research using macro-nutrient enrichment experiments should be pursued to confirm this preliminary observation. There was a strong positive correlation between regional aridity and lake eutrophication. This is typical of semi-arid and seasonally arid environments and reflects the concentration of nutrients owing to evaporative flux in shallow basins with high residence times.

scholarly journals Coherent Potential Vorticity Maxima and Their Relationship to Extreme Summer Rainfall in the Australian and North African Tropics

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 424
Author(s):  
Lam P. Hoang ◽  
Michael J. Reeder ◽  
Gareth. J. Berry ◽  
Juliane Schwendike
Keyword(s):  
Potential Vorticity ◽  
West African Monsoon ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Horizontal Wind ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
North African ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
The Tropics

Extreme rainfall in the tropics is frequently linked with coherent synoptic-scale potential vorticity (PV) disturbances. Here, an objective technique is used to identify coherent synoptic-scale cyclonic PV maxima with a focus on those that occur during summer over the African and Australian tropics. These two regions are chosen for comparison because of their geographical and climatological similarities. In particular, in both regions oceans lie equatorward and extensive deserts lie pole-ward, a juxtaposition that produces a reversal in the mean north-south temperature gradient and, through thermal wind, a low level easterly jet.In general, in the lower troposphere there are more coherent PV maxima in the tropics in the summer hemisphere than the winter hemisphere. These coherent PV maxima generally move with the background flow in the lower troposphere. The largest meridional flux of coherent PV maxima lies along eastern Australia with about half of the coherent PV maxima generated through the filamentaton and eventual isolation of midlatitude PV. In contrast, in the north African tropics, coherent PV maxima are generated mostly in the tropics and move westward through the west African monsoon region.Composites based on the extreme rainfall days for two regions are broadly similar with large, statistically significant PV maxima to the east of the maximum positive rainfall anomalies. The vertical structures of the PV fields in the two regions reveal a cyclonic PV maximum in the mid-troposphere collocated with the maximum of diabatic heating. The composite horizontal wind structures in the Australian tropics show structures similar to mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), whereas in the African tropics, they are similar to easterly waves.

scholarly journals A vertical wind structure that leads to extreme rainfall and major flooding in southeast Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 380
Author(s):  
Jeff Callaghan ◽  
Scott B. Power
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Atmospheric Moisture ◽  
Southeastern Australia ◽  
Wind Structure ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Atmospheric Moisture Content

Here we examine winds associated with extreme rainfall and major flooding in coastal catchments and more broadly over southeastern Australia. Both radio-sonde and re-analysis data are examined. In every case (i) atmospheric moisture content is high and (ii) the low-level winds are onshore, and in almost every case (iii) the wind-direction turns anti-cyclonically with increasing height up to 500 hPa. Data from Brisbane extending back more than 50 years is consistent with this behavior: winds turn anti-cyclonically with increasing height on days with heavy rainfall, whereas winds turn cyclonically with increasing height on days with light or no rainfall. In the coastal zone, extreme rainfall rarely occurs without (i), (ii) and (iii). In eastern Australia beyond the coastal zone, conditions (i) and (iii) are also associated with extreme rainfall. We found very few cases where such conditions were not associated with extreme rainfall in this broader region. This study extends previous work by showing that the link between turning winds and rainfall exists in both the tropics and subtropics, and the link applies in cases of extreme rainfall and associated major flooding.

Beach narrowing on prograding coasts: Examples from the tropics to subtropics of eastern Australia

Geomorphology ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 108110
Author(s):  
D. Cowley ◽  
D.L. Harris ◽  
P.T. Moss ◽  
J. Shulmeister
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Australia ◽  
The Tropics
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