ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1457-9039
Current Organisations
James Cook University Cairns Campus
,
James Cook University
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-01-2021
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 07-07-2016
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.2194
Abstract: Dugongs ( Dugong dugon ) are listed as vulnerable to extinction due to rapid population reductions caused in part by loss of seagrass feeding meadows. Understanding dugong feeding behaviour in tropical Australia, where the majority of dugongs live, will assist conservation strategies. We examined whether feeding patterns in intertidal seagrass meadows in tropical north-eastern Australia were related to seagrass biomass, species composition and/or nitrogen content. The total biomass of each seagrass species removed by feeding dugongs was measured and compared to its relative availability. Nitrogen concentrations were also determined for each seagrass species present at the sites. Dugongs consumed seagrass species in proportion to their availability, with biomass being the primary determining factor. Species composition and/or nitrogen content influenced consumption to a lesser degree. Conservation plans focused on protecting high biomass intertidal seagrass meadows are likely to be most effective at ensuring the survival of dugong in tropical north-eastern Australia.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-07-2021
DOI: 10.1111/BTP.13001
Abstract: Angiosperms have co‐evolved with animals over thousands of years leading to an array of mutualistic relationships. Passage of plant seeds through animal intestines leads to an important mutualism providing the animal with food and the plant with seed dispersal and enhanced germination. This phenomenon is well studied in terrestrial angiosperms, but there is less research in aquatic environments. We studied the effect of gut passage in marine mega‐herbivores (green sea turtles and dugongs) on seed germination for a common Australian seagrass, Zostera muelleri . We collected fecal s les likely to contain seeds, as well as seagrass seeds from plants at two coastal seagrass meadows in the central Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia. Seeds collected from feces and plants were subjected to germination trials across different temperature treatments: low (19°C), medium (26°C), and high (32°C). We found excreted seeds had a significantly greater germination probability (two to four times greater) and germinated significantly faster (18–61% faster) than seeds from the plant. Excreted seeds which had not germinated at the end of the experiment were significantly less likely to be viable compared with seeds taken from the plant. Seeds released from the plant have a slow germination and low germination probability compared with excreted seeds, but retain a high percentage of seed viability. Our study is the first record of marine mega‐herbivores enhancing germination of Z . muelleri seeds. By transporting seeds to new locations and enhancing germination, these animals are important in seagrass resilience and connectivity among metapopulations.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-06-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-04421-1
Abstract: Terrestrial plants use an array of animals as vectors for dispersal, however little is known of biotic dispersal of marine angiosperms such as seagrasses. Our study in the Great Barrier Reef confirms for the first time that dugongs ( Dugong dugon ) and green sea turtles ( Chelonia mydas ) assist seagrass dispersal. We demonstrate that these marine mega-herbivores consume and pass in faecal matter viable seeds for at least three seagrass species ( Zostera muelleri , Halodule uninervis and Halophila decipiens ). One to two seagrass seeds per g DW of faecal matter were found during the peak of the seagrass reproductive season (September to December), with viability on excretion of 9.13% ± 4.61% (SE). Using population estimates for these mega-herbivores, and data on digestion time (hrs), average daily movement (km h) and numbers of viable seagrass seeds excreted (per g DW), we calculated potential seagrass seed dispersal distances. Dugongs and green sea turtle populations within this region can disperse ,000 viable seagrass seeds daily, with a maximum dispersal distance of approximately 650 km. Biotic dispersal of tropical seagrass seeds by dugongs and green sea turtles provides a large-scale mechanism that enhances connectivity among seagrass meadows, and aids in resilience and recovery of these coastal habitats.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-04-2018
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.14127
Abstract: The rate of exchange, or connectivity, among populations effects their ability to recover after disturbance events. However, there is limited information on the extent to which populations are connected or how multiple disturbances affect connectivity, especially in coastal and marine ecosystems. We used network analysis and the outputs of a biophysical model to measure potential functional connectivity and predict the impact of multiple disturbances on seagrasses in the central Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA), Australia. The seagrass networks were densely connected, indicating that seagrasses are resilient to the random loss of meadows. Our analysis identified discrete meadows that are important sources of seagrass propagules and that serve as stepping stones connecting various different parts of the network. Several of these meadows were close to urban areas or ports and likely to be at risk from coastal development. Deep water meadows were highly connected to coastal meadows and may function as a refuge, but only for non-foundation species. We evaluated changes to the structure and functioning of the seagrass networks when one or more discrete meadows were removed due to multiple disturbance events. The scale of disturbance required to disconnect the seagrass networks into two or more components was on average >245 km, about half the length of the metapopulation. The densely connected seagrass meadows of the central GBRWHA are not limited by the supply of propagules therefore, management should focus on improving environmental conditions that support natural seagrass recruitment and recovery processes. Our study provides a new framework for assessing the impact of global change on the connectivity and persistence of coastal and marine ecosystems. Without this knowledge, management actions, including coastal restoration, may prove unnecessary and be unsuccessful.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2023
No related grants have been discovered for Samantha Tol.