School of Botany
Marine Botany - Seaweeds and Seagrasses

As we humans increase in number, and so many of us live in coastal areas, we place greater and greater demands on coastal seas.  We use the sea as a dumping ground for our wastes, to supply food, and to transport our goods. Many of us also use the sea for recreational activities.  It is essential to both our well-being and that of the seas, that we identify and understand the impacts we have on this environment, and that we do our best to minimise those impacts. Seaweeds and seagrasses are basic structural elements in the assemblage of organisms that inhabit the seabed. Their attached life style makes them particularly susceptible to localised man-made disturbances.

Ou research in the School of Botany focusses on macroscopic algae and seagrasses.  We undertake fieldwork and teach subjects in the unique living laboratory of the intertidal and subtidal habitats of Port Phillip Bay, Western Port, the ocean coast of Victoria and further afield. Our focus is on the dynamics of algal and seagrass communities, their structures and species compositions, and their responses to natural environmental factors and to man-made disturbances.

Current Research

• Optimizing the allocation of resources for defending marine protected areas against invasive species - an ARC Linkage project in collaboration with Parks Victoria (July 2008 - June 2011).  In the past, concern with non-indigenous marine species (NIMS) establishing in Australian waters has largely focussed on ports receiving international shipping. However, such species may subsequently be spread locally by other vectors such as recreational boats. Areas at risk include marine protected areas valued for their diversity of native species. This project will use the Victorian system of marine national parks and marine sanctuaries as a case study to develop a decision support framework to assist in the management of NIMS in marine protected areas. The project aims to identify non-indigenous species, including seaweeds, which are promising candidates for eradication, and the parks to which they have the highest probability of being carried. This information will enable Parks Victoria to focus the limited resources available for surveillance monitoring where there is greatest potential for successful detection and eradication.
  

• A decision support framework for the management of non-indigenous marine species in marine protected areas - Kim Millers (PhD student 2009-2012)
  

• The ecology and ecophysiology of Caulerpa in Port Phillip Bay - Peter Crockett (MPhil student, 2011-2012)
  

• Variation and impacts on biodiversity in kelp holdfast assemblages: a comparison of the introduced Undaria pinnatifida and the indigenous Ecklonia radiata - Simon Howland (part-time Hons student, 2011-2012)

Recent Projects

• An investigation of two introduced species in Swan Bay, Victoria - Carlie Alexander (MSc student, 2009-2010)
  

• Seagrass health in Yaringa Marine National Park - Wei Xin Sue (Honours student, 2008)

• Monitoring the outcomes of an adaptive experimental management program in Victoria's Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries - Jessica Taylor (Honours student, 2007)

• Hazard identification, risk assessment and decision analysis for conservation and management of Australian marine parks - ARC Linkage project in collaboration with Parks Victoria (2004 - 2007)

Teaching

BOTA30001 Marine Botany is a 12.5 point, intensive, field-based subject held over six days in late November / early December each year. Lectures and practical classes are held at the Victorian Marine Science Consortium in Queenscliff, and there are field trips to Swan Bay, Queenscliff beach, and the rock platforms at Point Lonsdale. Weather permitting, there are also opportunities for snorkelling for those who wish to do so. Topics covered include

• the structure, taxonomy and classification of seaweeds and seagrasses
• seaweed reproduction and life histories
• the distribution and ecology of seaweeds and seagrasses
• human impacts on marine plants, and the impacts of marine plants on human affairs
• collection and preservation of marine plants, and production of herbarium specimens
• commercial uses of seaweed and seagrass products
  

EVSC20004 Blue Planet: an Introduction to Marine Science is a 2nd year subject new in 2011. It deals with biological and physical aspects of the marine environment at a range of spatial scales, including of course, a good dollop of marine botany!

BIOL10001 Biology of Australian Flora & Fauna - topics included in this wide-ranging first-year subject include marine ecosystems and seaweeds, seagrasses and mangroves, and seaweeds of coral reefs.

Useful Links

AlgaeBase - listing the world's algae
Phycologia Australica - electronic version of Harvey's 5 volume work on Australian seaweeds (1858 - 1863)

Australasian Society for Phycology and Aquatic Botany
Australian Marine Sciences Association - Australia's major professional association for marine scientists from all disciplines

Tidal predictions for Victoria - Bureau of Meteorology, Oceanographic Services
Victorian weather forcasts, including marine forecasts - Bureau of Meteorology
Point Lonsdale lighthouse web cameras - Port of Melbourne Corporation

Marine and Coastal Community Network - information service for marine and coastal conservation issues
Parks Victoria - Marine National Parks and Sanctuaries - home page for Victoria's sytem of marine protected areas

Contact

Dr Jan Carey Marine Environmental Botanist Room G08B, Natural Philosophy Building phone: 8344 3336 email: janetmc@ unimelb.edu.au web: http://www.botany.unimelb.edu.au/envisci/about/staff/carey.html