ORCID Profile
0000-0003-3478-4723
Current Organisations
NSW Department of Primary Industries
,
Southern Cross University
Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the Feedback Form.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2022.07.067
Abstract: Warming seas, marine heatwaves, and habitat degradation are increasingly widespread phenomena affecting marine bio ersity, yet our understanding of their broader impacts is largely derived from collective insights from independent localized studies. Insufficient systematic broadscale monitoring limits our understanding of the true extent of these impacts and our capacity to track these at scales relevant to national policies and international agreements. Using an extensive time series of co-located reef fish community structure and habitat data spanning 12 years and the entire Australian continent, we found that reef fish community responses to changing temperatures and habitats are dynamic and widespread but regionally patchy. Shifts in composition and abundance of the fish community often occurred within 2 years of environmental or habitat change, although the relative importance of these two mechanisms of climate impact tended to differ between tropical and temperate zones. The clearest of these changes on temperate and subtropical reefs were temperature related, with responses measured by the reef fish thermal index indicating reshuffling according to the thermal affinities of species present. On low latitude coral reefs, the community generalization index indicated shifting dominance of habitat generalist fishes through time, concurrent with changing coral cover. Our results emphasize the importance of maintaining local ecological detail when scaling up datasets to inform national policies and global bio ersity targets. Scaled-up ecological monitoring is needed to discriminate among increasingly erse drivers of large-scale bio ersity change and better connect presently disjointed systems of bio ersity observation, indicator research, and governance.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-02-2021
DOI: 10.3390/D13020079
Abstract: In recent decades, the transplantation of corals has been a primary focus of restoration strategies in areas where coral populations have declined [...]
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-04-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-09-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2016
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-11-2022
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.3895
Abstract: The temperate soft coral Dendronephthya australis has been listed as Endangered in NSW, Australia, owing to its restricted geographic range, rapidly declining populations, and a number of escalating threats. Research to assess practical methods for aquarium cultivation of D. australis for rehabilitation of wild populations is considered a high priority. Previous attempts at restoration by transplanting D. australis fragments have had limited success, but identified key challenges, which included achieving attachment to substrates and identifying appropriate foods to maximize survival. This study presents the results of experiments promoting the attachment of cuttings (nubbins) removed from donor colonies to moveable substrates (small concrete discs). Using a balanced orthogonal experimental design, three feeding regimes were tested: live artemia, live rotifers and dry powdered zooplankton. Donor colony survival and growth were also monitored over a 6 month period in the field. An overall nubbin survival rate of 100% was achieved under all three feeding regimes. Attachment rates were similar across feeding treatments, although nubbin behavioural responses (percentage of open polyps before feeding) suggested some preference for live rotifers. The cutting removal process had no significant effect on donor colonies in the wild, indicating that this is a sustainable approach for restoration. Overall, this study substantially advances the methodology for maintaining an Endangered azooxanthellate soft coral in aquaria and provides valuable input for management programmes aimed at implementing transplantation into the wild to aid species recovery.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-03-2023
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1071/RS20002
Abstract: The distribution of heterobranch sea slugs is generally poorly documented at a regional scale. Thus, it is currently difficult to quantify bio ersity, identify endemic and invasive species, and track range shifts at scales relevant to conservation management. For Lord Howe Island, which lies ~600 km east of the New South Wales (NSW) mid-north coast, data from a range of taxa indicate high bio ersity and endemism, but this has not been examined for heterobranch sea slugs. To address this deficit, we collated occurrence data on sea slugs from both private and public sources, including museum records, scientific literature, field guides and citizen science activities. A total of 186 nominal (formally described) species in 82 genera and 31 families were identified from intertidal and subtidal habitats. Of these, two species are endemic to Lord Howe Island, two have not been recorded elsewhere in Australia, and 28 have not been recorded on the mainland coast of NSW. These results support studies of other taxa suggesting that the relative isolation of the island has facilitated the development of erse and unique assemblages. However, this isolation is moderated by larval transport from surrounding regions, resulting in considerable overlap of the species pool with the mainland coast of NSW and tropical areas to the north.
No related grants have been discovered for Meryl Larkin.