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Palaeoecological tools for improving the management of coastal ecosystems: a case study from Lake King (Gippsland Lakes) Australia
Citation
Saunders, KM and Hodgson, DA and Harrison, J and McMinn, A, Palaeoecological tools for improving the management of coastal ecosystems: a case study from Lake King (Gippsland Lakes) Australia, Journal of Paleolimnology, 40, (1) pp. 33-47. ISSN 0921-2728 (2008) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
Official URL: http://www.springerlink.com
DOI: doi:10.1007/s10933-007-9132-z
Abstract
Since European settlement began over
200 years ago, many southeast Australian coastal
lakes and lagoons have experienced substantial human
impacts, including nutrient enrichment. Present day
management and conservation efforts are often hampered
by a lack of data on pre-impact conditions. We
used a palaeoecological approach at Lake King,
Gippsland Lakes, southeast Australia in order to
determine its pre-impact condition and to establish
the nature and direction of subsequent environmental
changes, including responses to the construction of a
permanent entrance to the sea in 1889. A 120 cm
sediment core was analysed for diatoms, chlorophyll
a, total carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, and dated using
210Pb. Past phosphate and salinity concentrations were
reconstructed using diatom-phosphate and diatomsalinity
transfer functions developed from a calibration
set based on 53 sites from 14 southeast Australian
coastal lakes and lagoons. Results show changes in the
diatom assemblage that record a shift from a brackishwater
to marine diatom flora since construction of
the permanent entrance. Phosphate concentrations
increased at the same time and experienced major
peaks in the 1940s and 1950s to[100 lg/l. Chlorophyll
a concentrations were generally below 24 lg/l/
gTOC in the core, but there has been a clear increase
since the 1980s, peaking at 120 lg/l/gTOC, likely
associated with a recorded increase in the frequency of
nuisance algal blooms. These results indicate that the
Lake King environment is now very different to that
present during early European settlement. We conclude
that by identifying the nature and direction of
environmental change, palaeoecological studies can
contribute towards developing realistic and wellinformed
management, conservation and restoration
strategies in Australian coastal ecosystems.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | Diatoms Human impacts Coast Nutrients Radionuclide dating 210Pb |
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Ecology |
Research Field: | Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Coastal and estuarine systems and management |
Objective Field: | Measurement and assessment of estuarine water quality |
UTAS Author: | Saunders, KM (Dr Krystyna Saunders) |
UTAS Author: | McMinn, A (Professor Andrew McMinn) |
ID Code: | 54362 |
Year Published: | 2008 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 25 |
Deposited By: | IASOS |
Deposited On: | 2009-02-18 |
Last Modified: | 2009-06-03 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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