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Australian shellfish ecosystems: past distribution, current status and future direction
Citation
Gillies, CL and McLeod, IM and Alleway, HK and Cook, P and Crawford, C and Creighton, C and Diggles, B and Ford, J and Hamer, P and Heller-Wagner, G and Lebrault, E and Le Port, A and Russell, K and Sheaves, M and Warnock, B, Australian shellfish ecosystems: past distribution, current status and future direction, PLoS ONE, 13, (2) Article 0190914. ISSN 1932-6203 (2018) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2018 Gillies et al. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
DOI: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190914
Abstract
We review the status of marine shellfish ecosystems formed primarily by bivalves in Australia, including: identifying ecosystem-forming species, assessing their historical and current extent, causes for decline and past and present management. Fourteen species of bivalves were identified as developing complex, three-dimensional reef or bed ecosystems in intertidal and subtidal areas across tropical, subtropical and temperate Australia. A dramatic decline in the extent and condition of Australia’s two most common shellfish ecosystems, developed by Saccostrea glomerata and Ostrea angasi oysters, occurred during the mid-1800s to early 1900s in concurrence with extensive harvesting for food and lime production, ecosystem modification, disease outbreaks and a decline in water quality. Out of 118 historical locations containing O. angasi-developed ecosystems, only one location still contains the ecosystem whilst only six locations are known to still contain S. glomerata-developed ecosystems out of 60 historical locations. Ecosystems developed by the introduced oyster Crasostrea gigas are likely to be increasing in extent, whilst data on the remaining 11 ecosystem-forming species are limited, preventing a detailed assessment of their current ecosystem-forming status. Our analysis identifies that current knowledge on extent, physical characteristics, biodiversity and ecosystem services of Australian shellfish ecosystems is extremely limited. Despite the limited information on shellfish ecosystems, a number of restoration projects have recently been initiated across Australia and we propose a number of existing government policies and conservation mechanisms, if enacted, would readily serve to support the future conservation and recovery of Australia’s shellfish ecosystems.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | oyster reef, shellfish ecosystem, habitat restoration, marine conservation |
| Research Division: | Environmental Sciences |
| Research Group: | Environmental management |
| Research Field: | Conservation and biodiversity |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Terrestrial systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems |
| UTAS Author: | Crawford, C (Dr Christine Crawford) |
| ID Code: | 124616 |
| Year Published: | 2018 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 59 |
| Deposited By: | Fisheries and Aquaculture |
| Deposited On: | 2018-03-01 |
| Last Modified: | 2022-12-06 |
| Downloads: | 10 View Download Statistics |
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