Its mostly about seagrasses...
Its mostly about seagrasses...
Ecosystem resilience of Shark Bay under changing ocean climate
This project aims to investigate the resilience of the Shark Bay World Heritage Site to projected climate change. This project will generate new knowledge for marine conservation through analyses of habitat loss on nutrient budgets and productivity in seagrass and microbialite ecosystems. Expected outcomes are an improved understanding of climate-driven shifts on ecosystem processes in Shark Bay, incorporating science-based evidence for better conservation and management. This will provide significant benefits by contributing to the future-proofing of Shark Bay's World Heritage values to climate change, and more broadly by demonstrating the consequences of the continued tropicalisation of Australia's coastline.
Australian Research Council - Linkage
INDUSTRY PARTNERS:
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation, and Attractions
INVESTIGATORS:
Dr Matthew Fraser, University of Western Australia
Prof. Gary Kendrick, University of Western Australia
Prof. Euan Harvey, Curtin University
B. Saunders,
Ass. Prof. Brendan Burns, University of New South Wales
Dr Greg Skrzypek, University of Western Australia
Prof. Simon Jarmon, University of Western Australia
Dr Shaun Wilson, DBCA
Dr Rebecca Spindler, Bush Heritage Australia
OUTCOMES:
Fraser MW, Martin BC, Wong HL, Burns BP, Kendrick GA (2023) Sulfide intrusion in a habitat forming seagrass can be predicted from relative abundance of sulfur cycling genes in sediments. Science of The Total Environment 864: 161144