Skip past navigation to main part of page
 
Faculties : A-Z Directory : Library
---

Dr Jan Carey

 

Research Fellow, Environmental Science

 

Location
Natural Philosophy Building
Phone +61 3 8344 3336
Fax +61 3 9348 1620
Email janetmc@ unimelb.edu.au

 

For 18 years I worked on monitoring programs and impact assessments in marine environments, both in Australia and overseas, with the Melbourne-based environmental consultancy Marine Science & Ecology. During this time, a number of issues relating to the application of  hypothesis testing and power analysis to impact assessment caught my attention. In 1995, I returned to university to devote more time to these particular forms of number crunching, using case studies of marine infauna around wastewater discharges to ocean collected during my previous life as a consultant. (thesis abstract)

After completing my PhD in late 2001, I moved to the Env Sci research group, splitting my time between teaching environmental science subjects, and various research projects with Parks Victoria. A three year project on ecological risk assessment in Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries concluded at the end of 2007, and we're now about to embark on a new ARC Linkage project to develop an optimal surveillance program for non-indigenous marine species in those same parks and sanctuaries. See  below for more details.

As you may have guessed by now, there are three major threads to my research:

  • marine ecology - particularly benthic ecology where the sessile or sedentary nature of many species makes them particularly susceptible to localised man-made disturbances
  • quantitative methods - particularly those used to address ecological questions
  • detecting impacts and monitoring the effectiveness of management actions taken to reduce those impacts

Since July 2007, I've also been contributing to the marine macroalgal component of several Botany subjects. Follow the teaching link below or go to the Marine Lab web site for more details.

Current Research

Teaching

Environmental Consulting - 1977 to 1995

Publications

Other Links


Current Research

In November 2002, a system of highly protected marine national parks and sanctuaries was declared in Victoria. This generated a unique opportunity to develop a formal program for ecological risk assessment tailored to the needs of the new and extensive system, but also applicable to marine parks around Australia and overseas. In an ARC Linkage project with Parks Victoria (2005-2007), I facilitated risk assessment workshops for individual parks and sanctuaries, and undertook a state-wide synthesis of the hazards to identify management priorities and research needs for the entire system. Information from the project has been used to inform both the management plans of Parks Victoria and the agency's strategy for future research. It has generated new spin-off projects such as adaptive experimental management program by Parks Victoria focused on the effects of trampling by park visitors on intertidal assemblages. An Honours student monitored the effectiveness of the agency's actions to reduce the effects of trampling on the brown alga Hormosira banksii and associated taxa. Another student is currently studying the effects of catchment-sourced contaminants on seagrass and associated biota.

One of the potential threats to marine biodiversity identified in the risk assessment process was the presence of non-indigenous marine species. To date, concern with these species in Australian waters has largely focussed on ports receiving international shipping. There is however, a growing realisation that such species may subsequently be spread locally by vectors such as recreational boats. Clearly, marine protected areas valued for their diversity of native species are areas where such secondary incursions would be a major concern. In a new Linkage collaboration with Parks Victoria starting in July 2008, we aim to identify the non-indigenous species currently present in Victorian ports which pose the greatest threat to park values and are also promising candidates for eradication, and the parks to which they have the highest probability of being carried. This will allow the agency to focus the limited resources available for surveillance monitoring where there is greatest potential for successful detection and eradication.

top of page

Teaching

From July 2007, I will be contributing to the macroalgal components of Marine Botany and Phytoplankton and Seaweeds of Australia.

I will also be responsible for the marine botany component of Biology of Australian Flora & Fauna and will continue to contribute to Environmental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists.
Brown alga Macrocystis angustifolia

From 2000 to 2007, I was involved in teaching of the following environmental science subjects:

During my PhD, I taught in the following ecology or zoology subjects with an emphasis on practical skills:

  • Invertebrate Zoology (654-201)
  • Animal Ecology (654-204)
  • Experimental Marine Ecology (654-302)
  • Marine Invertebrate Zoology (654-313)
  • Marine Ecological Methods (654-312/315)
top of page

Environmental Consulting - 1977 to 1995

Marine Science & Ecology was a specialist consultancy undertaking ecological assessments of the marine environment in relation to disturbances such as waste discharges and development projects. I joined MSE in 1977 for four weeks casual work as a technical assistant. And stayed for nearly two decades! Over the years, my responsibilities came to include the design and management of field studies, statistical analysis, and the supervision and training of junior staff.





Jan with underwater video






















Jan in intertidal


During my time at MSE, we undertook projects of the following types:
  •         port and industrial developments
  •         marinas and small boat facilities
  •         environmental impact assessments
  •         monitoring programs for wastewater discharges
  •         ecotoxicological and bioaccumulation studies
  •         general ecological assessments 

A detailed list of projects in which I participated is available here, but note that most of the reports on these projects are unpublished, and copies may be difficult to obtain.

top of page

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Carey, J.M. & Burgman, M.A. (2008) Linguistic uncertainty in qualitative risk analysis and how to minimize it. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1128: 13-17. (abstract)
  • Carey, J.M., Beilin, R., Boxshall, A., Burgman, M.A.& Flander, L. (2007) Risk-based approaches to deal with uncertainty in a data-poor system: stakeholder involvement in hazard identification for marine national parks and marine sanctuaries in Victoria, Australia. Risk Analysis. 27: 271-281.  Winner of the Society for Risk Analysis BEST PAPER AWARD - ECOLOGICAL for 2007 (abstract)
  • Carey, J.M., Burgman, M.A., Miller, C. & Chee, Y.E. (2005) An application of qualitative risk assessment in park management. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management. 12: 6-15. (abstract)
  • Carey, J.M. & Keough, M.J. (2002) Compositing and subsampling to reduce costs and improve power in benthic infaunal monitoring programs. Estuaries. 25(5): 1053-1061. (abstract)
  • Carey, J.M. & Keough, M.J. (2002) The variability of estimates of variance, and its effect on power analysis in monitoring design. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 74(3): 225-241. (abstract)
  • Carey, J.M. & Watson, J.E. (1992) Benthos of the Muddy Bottom Habitat of the Geelong Arm of Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia. The Victorian Naturalist 109(6):196-202.

top of page

Book Chapters

  • Carey, J.M. (2004) The variability of estimates of variance: how it can affect power analysis in monitoring design. In: Environmental Monitoring. Wiersma, G.B. (Ed.) CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, Florida. (a more general version of the Environ. Monit. Assess. paper, with additional material on dealing with variability; click here for information from the publisher)
  • Hinwood, J.B., Potts, A.E., Dennis, L.R., Carey, J.M., Houridis, H., Bell,   R.J., Thompson, J.R., Boudreau, P. & Ayling, A.M. (1994) Drilling activities. In: Environmental Implications of Offshore Oil and Gas Development in Australia - the Findings of an Independent Scientific Review. Swan, J.M., Neff, J.M. & Young, P.C. (Eds). Australian Petroleum Exploration Association, Sydney. pp 123-207.

top of page

Technical Reports

  • Carey, J.M., Boxshall, A., Burgman, M.A., Beilin, R. & Flander, L. (2007) State-wide Synthesis of Threats to Natural Values in Victoria’s Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries. Parks Victoria Technical Series No. 34. Parks Victoria, Melbourne.
  • Carey, J.M., Burgman, M.A., Boxshall, A., Beilin, R., Flander, L., Pegler, P. & White, A. (2007) Identification of Threats to Natural Values in Victoria’s Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries. Parks Victoria Technical Series No. 33. Parks Victoria, Melbourne.
  • Fox, D., Molloy, R., Rixon, A., Tjandraatmadja, G. & Carey, J. (2006) Review and Statistical Assessment of Trade Waste Data in Victoria. Report to Department of Sustainability and Environment. Australian Centre for Environmetrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne.
  • Carey, J., Fox, D., Burgman, M., Chee, Y., Hart, B.T., Pollino, C., Chan, T., White, A., Grace, M., Henderson, B. and Bui, E. (2006) Guidelines for Quantifying the Ecological Risks from Contaminants in Catchments, LWA/MDBC Project UMO43 - Report No 1, Land & Water Australia, Canberra.   
  • Carey, J. (2005) Review of the likely ecological effects of increased water temperatures in Allans Creek and Port Kembla Harbour. Report to BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd.
  • Hart, B., Burgman, M., Webb, A., Allison, G., Chapman, M., Duivenvoorden, L., Feehan, P., Grace, M., Lund, M., Pollino, C., Carey, J. & McCrea, A. (2005) Ecological Risk Management Framework for the Irrigation Industry. Report to National Program for Sustainable Irrigation (NPSI) by Water Studies Centre, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria.
  • Carey, J.M., Burgman, M.A. & Chee, Y.E. (2004) Risk Assessment and the Concept of Ecosystem Condition in Park Management. Parks Victoria Technical Series No. 13. Parks Victoria, Melbourne.

top of page

Conference Proceedings

  • Carey, J.M., Hinwood, J.B. & Watson, J.E. (1993) An integrated ecological-physical study of a port. Proceedings of 11th Australasian Conference on Coastal and Ocean Engineering. The Institute of Engineers, Australia. (abstract)

top of page

In Preparation

  • Taylor, J.L., Carey, J.M. & Boxshall, A. Monitoring outcomes of an Adaptive Experimental Management program in marine protected areas. To be submitted to Ocean and Coastal Management.
  • Wintle, B.A., Chisholm, R., Carey, J., Duncan, D., Kavanagh, R.P., Keith, D. & Burgman, M.A. Detecting declines in populations of rare and threatened species; designing a powerful sampling strategy. To be submitted to Austral Ecology.
  • Carey, J.M., Burgman, M.A., Boxshall, A., Beilin, R. & Flander, L. Patterns of threats to valued attributes across a network of marine protected areas. To be submitted to Ocean and Coastal Management.
  • Carey, J.M., Beilin, R., Boxshall, A., Flander, L. & Burgman, M.A. Stakeholder Involvement in Hazard Identification in Victoria’s Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries. Technical report to Parks Victoria.
  • Carey, J.M. & Keough, M.J. The effect of lack of balance on the statistical power of an anova interaction under both heterogeneity and homogeneity of variance. To be submitted to Environmental and Ecological Statistics.

top of page

Other Links

If I don’t seem to be the Jan Carey you were looking for, you could try the one at the University of Adelaide. (Yes, there are two of us!)

top of page

---
top of page

Contact us

Contact the University : Disclaimer & Copyright : Privacy : Accessibility