Anthony Cheshire

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Anthony Cheshire is a scientist and academic living and working in South Australia. Over his professional career he has served as the Head, Department of Botany in the University of Adelaide (1994-1998), as the Chief Scientist of SARDI (South Australian Research and Development Institute) Aquatic Sciences division (2000-2004) and as Director Research and Development of SARDI (2005). Over the course of his career his scientific research has focussed on understanding and measuring human impacts on the natural environment with a particular focus on the development of methods to assess the health and anthropogenic impacts in coastal marine environments.

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Earlier in his career Anthony Cheshire worked as a research scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS 1986-1989) and as an Academic in the Department of Botany at the University of Adelaide (1989-2000). In more recent years he has moved into the private sector although he has held numerous Adjunct, Affiliate and Advisory roles with South Australian Universities and Government Departments (including Adjunct and Affiliate appointments as Professor with both the Flinders University of South Australia and with the University of Adelaide).

His research work has spanned a number of key areas and initiatives including the ecology and ecophysiology of temperate and tropical macro-algae, [1] the ecophysiology of tropical corals and sponges [2] and the impact of aquaculture on coastal systems with a significant focus on the development of the state's Southern bluefin tuna seacage aquaculture sector. [3] [4] He has also participated in various scientific expeditions one of which resulted in the discovery of 8 new species of jellyfish collected from the Great Australian Bight [5] (including the eponymous Amphinema cheshirei [6] which was named after Anthony Cheshire who led a research expedition to the Nuyts archipelago in 2002). [5] [7]

In 2009 Anthony Cheshire led an international team of coastal scientists in a project that developed methods to assess marine litter (marine debris) in both coastal and open ocean environments. This work, funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC), has been published and forms the backbone of many national and trans-national marine debris survey programs. [8]

Ecology and ecophysiology of marine macro-algae

Cheshire and his students worked across a range of macro-algal systems including studies on the southern bull-kelp (Durvillaea potatorum) as well as numerous studies on the production ecology of kelp and fucoid dominated systems in South Australia. [9] This work involved the development of novel technologies for quantifying the in-situ photosynthetic rates by macro-algal including both mixed-fucoid and turf algal communities. [1] In addition the work involved assessing anthropogenic impacts on coastal macro-algal communities from impacts such as beach sand replenishment dredging [10] and degraded coastal water quality. [11]

In more recent years Cheshire has focussed on the improved utilisation of macro-algal resources including the challenges in developing a macro-algal industry in Australia. [12]

Southern bluefin tuna research

A substantial proportion of Cheshire's research work focused on the environmental impacts of tuna farming in Spencer Gulf. Subjects included early investigations of the environmental effect of tuna seacages, [13] measurement and modeling of nitrogen loads, [14] [15] sediment geochemistry, [16] developing a methodology for assessing seabed impacts, [17] nutrient influence on the seabed, [18] waste mitigation, [19] oxygen availability in sea cages, [20] net fouling communities and synthetic anti-fouling treatments, [21] [22] and regional monitoring systems. [23] He also researched means of lowering the cost of environment assessments for the tuna aquaculture sector [24] [25] and helped improve net designs to allow Great white sharks that enter sea-cages by leaping or biting their way in to be released without harm. [26] [27] [28]

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References

  1. 1 2 Cheshire, Anthony C.; Westphalen, Grant; Wenden, Anitra; Scriven, Leonie J.; Rowland, Brian C. (1 November 1996). "Photosynthesis and respiration of phaeophycean-dominated macroalgal communities in summer and winter". Aquatic Botany. 55 (3): 159–170. doi:10.1016/S0304-3770(96)01071-6. ISSN   0304-3770.
  2. ↑ Cheshire, A. C.; Wilkinson, C. R. (February 1991). "Modelling the photosynthetic production by sponges on Davies Reef, Great Barrier Reef". Marine Biology. 109 (1): 13–18. doi:10.1007/BF01320226. ISSN   0025-3162.
  3. ↑ Cheshire, Anthony; Volkman, John (December 2004). "Australians net benefits of sustainable fish farming". Nature. 432 (7018): 671. Bibcode:2004Natur.432..671C. doi: 10.1038/432671a . ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   15592381.
  4. ↑ Cheshire, Anthony C.; Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (Australia); University of Adelaide; South Australian Research and Development Institute, eds. (1996). Investigating the environmental effects of sea-cage tuna farming. Adelaide: The Department of Botany, University of Adelaide. ISBN   978-0-86396-314-8.
  5. 1 2 "New jellyfish species found". www.abc.net.au. 10 December 2003. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  6. ↑ Gershwin, L. & Zeidler (2003). "Encounter 2002 expedition to the Isles of St Francis, South Australia: Medusae, siphonophores and ctenophores of the Nuyts Archipelago". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 127: 205–241, 14 pls.
  7. ↑ Gaut, Alex (6 April 2004). "The Althorpe Islands Group Visit, 2004". Marine Life Society of South Australia Inc. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  8. ↑ Cheshire, Anthony; Ellik Adler; Barbière, Julian; Cohen, Yuval; Evans, Sverker; Srisuda Jarayabhand; Jeftic, Ljubomir; Rho-Taek Jung; Kinsey, Susan; Eng Takashi Kusui; Lavine, Ingrid; Manyara, Peter; Oosterbaan, Lex; Pereira, Marcos; Seba Sheavly (2009). "UNEP/IOC Guidelines on Survey and Monitoring of Marine Litter". doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.14734.08009.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ Cheshire, Anthony C.; Collings, Gregory J. (1998). "Composition of Subtidal Macroalgal Communities of the Lower Gulf Waters of South Australia, with Reference to Water Movement and Geographical Separation". Australian Journal of Botany. 46 (6): 657. doi:10.1071/bt95081. ISSN   0067-1924.
  10. ↑ Anthony Cheshire, Stephen Hall, Jon N Havenhand, David J Miller (1998). Assessing the status of temperate reefs in Gulf St Vincent II: survey results. Publisher: Department of Botany, University of Adelaide, South Australia. Editor: Anthony Cheshire. ISBN 086396631 4 (vII)
  11. ↑ Connell, SD; Russell, BD; Turner, DJ; Shepherd, SA; Kildea, T; Miller, D; Airoldi, L; Cheshire, A (22 May 2008). "Recovering a lost baseline: missing kelp forests from a metropolitan coast". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 360: 63–72. doi: 10.3354/meps07526 . hdl: 2440/53109 . ISSN   0171-8630.
  12. ↑ Roos, Göran; Cheshire, Anthony; Nayar, Sasi; Clarke, Steven M.; Zhang, Wei (2019). Harnessing Marine Macroalgae for Industrial Purposes in an Australian Context: Emerging Research and Opportunities. Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies. IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5577-3. ISBN   978-1-5225-5577-3.
  13. ↑ "Investigating the environmental effects of sea-cage tuna farming II - The effect of sea cages".
  14. ↑ "Dissolved nutrient release from solid wastes of Southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyi aquaculture".
  15. ↑ "Preliminary model of nitrogen loads from Southern bluefin tuna aquaculture".
  16. ↑ "Sediment geochemistry in lower Spencer Gulf, South Australia - Implications for Southern bluefin tuna farming".
  17. ↑ "Investigating the environmental effects of sea-cage tuna farming I - Methodology for investigating seafloor souring".
  18. ↑ "Benthic fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus at Southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyii sea-cages".
  19. ↑ "Southern bluefin tuna aquaculture subprogram - Tuna environment subproject - Evaluation of waste composition and waste mitigation".
  20. ↑ "OXYTUNA - A model for the oxygen dynamics in a Southern bluefin tuna sea-cage system".
  21. ↑ "An investigation into the composition biomass and oxygen budget of the fouling community on a tuna aquaculture farm".
  22. ↑ "Test of an antifouling treatment on tuna fish-cages in Boston Bay, Port Lincoln, South Australia".
  23. ↑ "Towards the development of regional environmental monitoring systems to ensure sustainable development of the aquaculture industry".
  24. ↑ "Development of novel methodologies for cost effective assessment of the environmental impact of aquaculture".
  25. ↑ "Development of rapid environmental assessment and monitoring techniques for application to finfish aquaculture in South Australia".
  26. ↑ "Shark ends cat-and-mouse game with tuna". www.abc.net.au. 24 June 2003. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  27. ↑ "Shark incident sparks aquaculture concerns". www.abc.net.au. 25 June 2003. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  28. ↑ "The World Today - Great White shark inexplicably found in tuna cage". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
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