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AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION of Posidonia Australis (R AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF Posidonia australis (R. Br.) Hook f. RESTORATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA: DEVELOPMENT OF A DECISION-BASED RESTORATION FRAMEWORK by Marnie Lyn Campbell This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Biological and Environmental Science Murdoch University, Western Australia. 2000 Declaration This dissertation is my own account of research I carried out from 1993 to 1999 and has not previously been submitted for the award of any degree at a tertiary institution. Marnie Lyn Campbell ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are a number of people and organisations that I would like to thank. Firstly, I wish to thank my supervisor, Dr Eric Paling, whose guidance has made this thesis what it is today. I would also like to thank my funding company Cockburn Cement Ltd, who made this project possible through a generous scholarship and the provision of valuable resources. At Cockburn Cement Ltd, I’m particularly indebted to Mr Roger Wilson, Mr Richard Peters, Mr Pieter Tencate, Eric, Alan and all the guys at the Woodman Point plant who helped to maintain the laboratory. I also wish to thank the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority for a grant, which was awarded to me in 1993. To the Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diving Team IV, I extend my thanks for the seagrass transplanting work they gladly helped by providing man and vessel power. Thanks to all my dive buddies, Ian, Troy, Jannette, Helen, Blair, Malcolm, Richard and Miriam, who’ve always been there no matter what the weather was like. To Troy Sinclair, special thanks for keeping the mesocosms going when I was in Tasmania. I am extremely grateful to Dr Chad Hewitt (CSIRO, CRIMP) and Dr Louise Goggin (CSIRO, CRIMP) for providing useful criticism of my dissertation. Last but not least, my sincerest thanks to all the people who have kept me sane: The “Campbell’s” (Jenny, Doug, Jodi, Keong, Tiggy, Nathan, Bret, Julie, Scott, Jaimi and Kate), Jannette Nowell, Helen Astill, Kim Benjamin, Troy Sinclair and the CSIRO CRIMP team. A special thanks to Ian Nelson, for all the constant encouragement, helpful suggestions, tireless help in the field, and most importantly for laughing when I needed it most. ii ABSTRACT The loss of biodiversity is currently recognised as one of the greatest threats to continued ecosystem function. In terrestrial habitats this has been well researched and publicised resulting in active restoration and mitigation efforts. However, in marine environments the current efforts are less effective. Seagrasses are widely recognised as fundamental species in forming the basis of marine trophic food webs, binding sediments, providing habitat structure, shelter, and nurseries for fish and crustaceans and increasing the activity and movement of several active molecules and nutrients. Despite this crucial role, seagrass losses world-wide continue due to land reclamation, building of marinas and port facilities, eutrophication due to rural and urban runoff, inshore dumping of pollutants and dredging. While nations have legislated seagrass mitigation, no effective means of establishing new seagrass or restoring damaged meadows exist at present. This dissertation examines current efforts world-wide to elucidate a common framework for identifying the crucial elements of a restoration plan, which include site selection, transplant unit and technique and habitat enhancement. Posidonia australis was identified as one of the dominant meadow forming species in Western Australia and therefore was selected to investigate the utility of this framework. An empirical examination of site selection was undertaken to determine a potential transplant site for Posidonia australis. Critical factors examined were light requirements, burial and handling disturbance and substrate preference. Based upon this evidence, Success Bank was found to be optimal, with high light levels (> 5% surface irradiance), fair water quality, no burial period, low- mid water movement and a sand substrate. Sites at Carnac Island and Woodman Point were rejected because they did not meet these fundamental criteria. Transplant unit and technique were evaluated for Posidonia australis. This species produces large numbers of seed that have a high viability (91%) but few seedlings actually establish (< 3%). During the course of this project, natural vegetative recruitment was observed in the field with 31% of natural vegetative propagules settling and growing (0.78 mm d-1). Field rhizomes were also observed to extend at rates of 1.04 mm d-1. Based upon these findings P. australis vegetative propagules (plugs) were selected as the most appropriate transplant unit. Habitat enhancement techniques are an optional component of a restoration activity and may significantly increase transplant success. In order to reduce water movement at the selected transplant site, the use of artificial seagrass mats was experimentally evaluated. Artificial seagrass mats were found to increase plug survival and rhizome elongation. In addition artificial seagrass mats reduced the variability in accretion and erosion of sediments. In the presence of habitat enhancement, up to 50% of seagrass plugs survived, with 39% exhibiting rhizome extension. Based on these findings a decision-based framework for seagrass restoration is presented with a discussion of future applications. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page Declaration i Acknowledgments ii Abstract iii Table of Contents iv List of Figures vi List of Tables viii Preface Biodiversity and human impacts on seagrass communities 1 Chapter 1 A review of seagrass restoration efforts and the development of a 5 restoration framework 1.1 The marine environment – seagrasses 5 1.2 Mitigation and mitigation banking 8 1.2.1 Mitigation 8 1.2.2 Mitigation banking 9 1.3 Seagrass transplantation: examples 11 1.3.1 Worldwide examples 11 1.4 Why do seagrass transplants fail? 15 1.5 Stage I: site selection 17 1.6 Stage II: transplant unit 18 1.7 Stage III: habitat enhancement methodology 20 1.7.1 Anchors 20 1.7.2 Artificial barriers 21 1.7.3 Mesh 21 1.7.4 Artificial seagrass mats 22 1.8 Conclusions and Aims 24 Chapter 2 Optimising the process of site selection for Posidonia australis 26 transplantation in Western Australia 2.1 Introduction 26 2.1.1 Light levels 26 2.1.2 Disturbance: erosion and accretion 28 2.1.3 Substrate type 29 2.1.4 Optimal and sub-optimal sites 30 2.1.5 Aims 31 2.2 Materials and methods 32 2.2.1 Mesocosm establishment 32 2.2.2 Fruit and rhizome collection 32 2.2.3 Pilot studies 36 2.2.4 Manipulation experiments 37 2.2.5 Statistical analyses 40 2.3 Results 40 2.3.1 Pilot studies 40 2.3.2 Manipulation experiments 40 2.4 Discussion 47 2.4.1 Pilot studies 48 2.4.2 Manipulation experiments 48 2.4.3 Variation between sites 54 2.4.4 Mesocosms as an experimental tool 55 2.4.5 Conclusions 56 Chapter 3 Posidonia australis propagation: selection of transplant unit and technique 58 for restoration 3.1 Introduction 58 3.1.1 Seagrass reproductive strategies 58 3.1.2 Dispersal mechanisms of seagrasses 60 iv 3.1.3 Life history strategies 61 3.1.4 Posidonia colonisation and meadow expansion 62 3.1.5 Aims 63 3.2 Materials and methods 64 3.2.1 Site descriptions 64 3.2.2 Meadow measurements 69 3.2.3 Seed viability and fruit longevity 70 3.2.4 Seedling growth 72 3.2.5 Rhizome elongation over depth and between species on Success Bank 72 3.2.6 Vegetative propagule recruitment 72 3.2.7 Statistical analyses 72 3.3 Results 73 3.3.1 Sexual reproduction 73 3.3.2 Vegetative reproduction 81 3.4 Discussion 82 3.4.1 Sexual reproduction 82 3.4.2 Vegetative reproduction 88 3.4.3 Meadow maintenance and choice of transplant unit 92 Chapter 4 Evaluating vegetative transplant success in Posidonia australis: a field trial 94 with habitat enhancement 4.1 Introduction 94 4.1.1 Restoration and mitigation 94 4.1.2 Aims 99 4.2 Materials and methods 99 4.2.1 Site selection 99 4.2.2 Habitat enhancement 100 4.2.3 Seagrass transplantation 100 4.2.4 Statistical analyses 102 4.3 Results 103 4.3.1 Habitat enhancement 103 4.3.2 Seagrass transplantation 109 4.4 Discussion 112 4.4.1 Habitat enhancement 113 4.4.2 Seagrass transplantation 115 4.4.3 Conclusions: success of enhancement and transplantation 119 Chapter 5 General discussion: the development of a decision based framework for 122 restoration planning 5.1 Introduction 122 5.2 Decision-based framework for restoration planning 125 5.3 Summary of findings 129 5.4 Future considerations 132 References 136 Appendix A 162 Appendix B 168 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1 IUCN world bioregions from Kelleher et al (1995) (1 Antarctic; 2 Arctic; 3 7 Mediterranean; 4 North West Atlantic; 5 North East Atlantic; 6 Baltic; 7 Wider Caribbean; 8 West Africa; 9 South Atlantic; 10 Central Indian Ocean; 11 Arabian Sea; 12 East Africa; 13 East Asian Seas; 14 South Pacific; 15 North East Pacific; 16 North West Atlantic; 17 South East Pacific; 18 Australia/New Zealand) and regions (shaded grey) where published seagrass restoration efforts have occurred (based on Appendix A). 1.2 A framework developed to aid seagrass transplantation 17 2.1 Mesocosm laboratory at Woodman Point, Western Australia. 32 2.2 A tagged Posidonia australis rhizome. A cable tie marks the last shoot on the rhizome 34 prior to the apical meristem. 2.3 Sand gravity filters used to stop excessive silt and biological debris from entering the 35 mesocosms. 2.4 Ozomatic® ozone generator used to sterilise the water before it entered the 36 mesocosms. 2.5 Rhizome growth measured as a) increase in rhizome length beyond the tagged region; 37 b) necrosis encroaching past the tagged region resulting in a decrease in growth and; c) necrosis at the apical end of the rhizome resulting in a decrease in growth.
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