WAMSI Symposium Node 1 Overview

Transcription

1 WAMSI Symposium Node 1 Overview Strategic research on Western Australian marine ecosystems Dr John Keesing Leader WAMSI Node 1

2 WAMSI Node 1 Overview Outline Vision High level Science questions Objectives / Outputs Outcomes Applications

3 Vision for WAMSI Node 1 WAMSI Node 1 will undertake strategic research on Western Australian coastal marine environments to characterise marine ecosystem structure and function, and enhance our shared capacity to understand, predict and assess ecosystem response to anthropogenic and natural pressures.

4 Vision for WAMSI Node 1 WAMSI Node 1 will undertake strategic research on Western Australian coastal marine environments to characterise marine ecosystem structure and function, and enhance our shared capacity to understand, predict and assess ecosystem response to anthropogenic and natural pressures. Outcomes from Node 1 will contribute strongly to ecosystem-based multiple-use management of Western Australia s marine environment.

5 WAMSI Node 1 Projects and PhD Students WAMSI 1.1 Southwest Australian Coastal Biogeochemistry Partners:CSIRO, UWA, Murdoch, Curtin, Edith Cowan, WA Museum, WA Chemistry Centre, WA Fisheries, IMOS, Geosciences Australia PhD Students: Thibaut de Bettignies (ECU), Cecile Rousseaux (UWA), Charulata Singh (ECU), Thisara Welhena (UWA), Sharon Yeo (Murdoch) WAMSI 1.2 Coastal ecosystem characterisation, benthic ecology, connectivity and client delivery module Partners: CSIRO, Edith Cowan, UWA PhD Students: David Rivers (UWA), Adam Gartner (ECU) WAMSI 1.3 Benthic habitat surveys of potential LNG hub locations in the Kimberley region Partners: CSIRO, AIMS, DEC

6 High level science questions southwest WA 1. What are the large scale influences on the southwestern Australian coastal environment? 2. How can we account for the highly productive characteristics of the south-western Australian coastal ecosystem in an oligotrophic environment? 3. How does the south-western Australian coastal marine ecosystem respond to potential anthropogenic forcing? 4. What physical and ecological interactions are important determinants of south-western Australian coastal marine benthic habitats?

7 Objectives / Outputs for WAMSI Node 1 1. Downscaled hydrodynamic models to explore influences on benthic habitat, and the cross-shore and longshore exchange of water, nutrients and particles between the lagoon and shelf regions. 2. Coupled hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models and a quantitative nutrient budget for coastal waters at shelf and lagoon scales. 3. Improved descriptions and conceptual biogeochemical models for shelf and lagoon waters incorporating seasonal and interannual variability and improved representation of benthic primary production and bentho-pelagic coupling 4. Simple models for assessing and predicting impacts of physical forcing factors, primarily nutrients, on key benthic functional groups/habitats informed by experiments and observations conducted across a range of naturally varying and anthropogenically altered gradients related to nutrient enrichment 5. An assessment of the importance of physical forcing and ecological interactions among key functional groups in determining patterns of spatial mosaics in benthic habitats. 6. An assessment of ecosystem processes with particular relevance to contrasting fished and non-fished areas. 7. An assessment of likely dispersal patterns for marine organisms based on hydrodynamic and population genetic models. 8. Electronic delivery of data and models to management agencies, building on the development of Data Interrogation and Visualisation Environment (DIVE)

8 Objectives / Outputs for WAMSI Node 1 1. Downscaled hydrodynamic models to explore influences on benthic habitat, and the cross-shore and longshore exchange of water, nutrients and particles between the lagoon and shelf regions. 2. Coupled hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models and a quantitative nutrient budget for coastal waters at shelf and lagoon scales. 3. Improved descriptions and conceptual biogeochemical models for shelf and lagoon waters incorporating seasonal and interannual variability and improved representation of benthic primary production and bentho-pelagic coupling 4. Simple models for assessing and predicting impacts of physical forcing factors, primarily nutrients, on key benthic functional groups/habitats informed by experiments and observations conducted across a range of naturally varying and anthropogenically altered Zhang gradients related to nutrient enrichment 5. An assessment of the importance of physical forcing and ecological interactions among key functional groups in determining patterns of spatial mosaics in benthic habitats. 6. An assessment of ecosystem processes with particular relevance to contrasting fished and non-fished areas. 7. An assessment of likely dispersal patterns for marine organisms based on hydrodynamic and population genetic models. 8. Electronic delivery of data and models to management agencies, building on the development of Data Interrogation and Visualisation Environment (DIVE) Zhong (CSIRO)

9 Objectives / Outputs for WAMSI Node 1 1. Downscaled hydrodynamic models to explore influences on benthic habitat, and the cross-shore and longshore exchange of water, nutrients and particles between the lagoon and shelf regions. 2. Coupled hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models and a quantitative nutrient budget for coastal waters at shelf and lagoon scales. 3. Improved descriptions Modelled and conceptual surface biogeochemical current vectors models for shelf and lagoon waters incorporating and chlorophyll seasonal concentration and interannual (mg mvariability -3 ) and improved representation of benthic primary production and bentho-pelagic coupling 4. Simple models for assessing and predicting impacts of physical forcing factors, primarily nutrients, on key benthic functional groups/habitats informed by experiments and observations conducted across a range of naturally varying and anthropogenically altered gradients related to nutrient enrichment 5. An assessment of the importance of physical forcing and ecological interactions among key functional groups in determining patterns of spatial mosaics in benthic habitats. Geraldton An assessment of ecosystem processes with particular relevance to contrasting fished and non-fished areas. 7. An assessment of likely dispersal patterns for marine organisms based on hydrodynamic and population genetic models. Perth 8. Electronic delivery of data and models to management agencies, building on the development of Data Interrogation and Visualisation Environment (DIVE) Greenwood, Zhong (CSIRO)

10 Outcomes sought from WAMSI Node 1 1. Improved understanding of the importance of offshore/onshore exchange, longshore transport, and upper ocean physical processes on nutrient supply to the shelf 2. Improved understanding of hydrodynamic influences on benthic habitat, and the exchange of water, nutrients and particles between the lagoon and outer shelf. 3. Improved quantification of the nutrient budget for coastal waters and representation of benthic primary production and bentho-pelagic coupling at both lagoon and shelf scales. 4. Improved prediction of the impact of hydrodynamics and nutrient enrichment on benthic habitats. 5. Improved understanding of physical and anthropogenic impacts on ecological interactions. 6. Better understood key ecosystem processes across gradients of human use or disturbance 7. Improved access by management agencies to data and model outputs building on the development of Data Interrogation and Visualisation Environment (DIVE)

11 1. Improved understanding of the importance of offshore/onshore exchange, longshore transport, and upper ocean physical processes on nutrient supply to the shelf What is the source of the nitrogen to fuel the autumn phytoplankton bloom? Lourey et al 2006 Annual elevated chlorophyll event

12 1. Improved understanding of the importance of offshore/onshore exchange, longshore transport, and upper ocean physical processes on nutrient supply to the shelf Offshore advection Eddy transport Deepening of mixed layer through seasonal strengthening of the Leeuwin current Feng et al 2007, Waite et al 2007

13 1. Improved understanding of the importance of offshore/onshore exchange, longshore transport, and upper ocean physical processes on nutrient supply to the shelf Seasonal chlorophyll peaks match wave patterns waves stimulate nutrient resupply from sediments Greenwood 2010

14 1. Improved understanding of the importance of offshore/onshore exchange, longshore transport, and upper ocean physical processes on nutrient supply to the shelf low dissolved oxygen and high nitrate being entrained into the Leeuwin Current during autumn

15 1. Improved understanding of the importance of offshore/onshore exchange, longshore transport, and upper ocean physical processes on nutrient supply to the shelf High retention rate along the shelf Scallop fisheries boundaries Feng, Slawinski, Beckley, Keesing 2010

16 2. Improved understanding of hydrodynamic influences on benthic habitat, and the exchange of water, nutrients and particles between the lagoon and outer shelf. During high wave events (>1.5m) wave forcing dominates over wind in driving currents in Marmion lagoon Lagoon may flush in 15 hours or less Symonds (CSIRO) Measurement array Model output wave forcing only

17 3. Improved quantification of the nutrient budget for coastal waters and representation of benthic primary production and bentho-pelagic coupling at both lagoon and shelf scales. Nitrogen Budget for Primary Production on the southwest WA continental shelf depends on 80-90% N recycling High levels of benthic primary production and benthic-pelagic coupling water-column cycling 8 Onto shelf plankton 9 17 detritus Off shelf 3 NO sediment after Feng and Wild Allen (2010) Loss 2 gn m -2 y -1

18 4. Improved prediction of the impact of hydrodynamics and nutrient enrichment on benthic habitats. Sediment Habitat Ecosystem Parameters Physical attributes Anaerobic layer depth Sand ripple height Sediment grain size Light attenuation Modelled wave climate Nutrient load Water column nutrients Sediment Total Organic Carbon Sediment dcarbon 13 isotope Sediment Total Nitrogen Sediment dnitrogen 15 isotope Sediment Total Organic content MPB and microbial community Integrated water column chlorophyll a Sediment chlorophyll a and phaeopigments Other phytopigments (HPLC) Nitrifier/Denitrifier abundance (AOA real time PCR) Nirifier/Denitrifier composition (T-FRLP) Animal diversity and biomass Benthic macrofauna counts and biomass Infauna to 0.5 mm biomass Infauna to 0.5 mm counts Polychaete indicator species abundance (qpcr) Primary production and sediment community metabolism Oxygen production and community respiration Pmax, Ik, alpha Secondary production Infaunal secondary production (to 0.5mm)

19 5. Improved understanding of physical and anthropogenic impacts on ecological interactions Wave climate plays important role in habitat structure and dynamics Seagrass in sheltered areas Algae in high energy areas, gaps in kelp canopy larger in high wave energy areas Mean significant wave heigh ht (meters) Mullaloo Pt Seagrass Mullaloo Pt Low relief reef Algae dominated Algae in high energy Seagrass in low energy Mean gap in kelp canopy (m meters) Symonds (CSIRO) Habitat map courtesy of WA Dept of Environment and Conservation Babcock (CSIRO)

20 6. Better understood key ecosystem processes across gradients of human use or disturbance Small sanctuaries are ineffective and even large sanctuaries take a long time to become effective 8 10 Targetted species biomass Fished Sanctuary_Zone 4 5 Total lobster biomass Vanderklift (CSIRO) Fished Sanctuary_Zone Biomass: kg 125 m Biomass: kg 150 m Large Small Large Small

21 7. Improved access by management agencies to data and model outputs building on the development of Data Interrogation and Visualisation Environment (DIVE) Carroll, Rosebrock (CSIRO)

22 Many thanks to WAMSI HQ and all WAMSI partners and researchers who contributed to Node and all those who were there at the beginning Strategic research on Western Australian marine ecosystems Dr John Keesing Leader. WAMSI Node 1 john.keesing@csiro.au