An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water, and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.
The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and Eyre Peninsula in the west to Cape Spencer and Yorke Peninsula in the east.
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is a United States 2,650-acre (10.7 km2) environmental research and educational facility operated by the Smithsonian Institution. It is located on the Rhode and West Rivers near Edgewater in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, near the western shore of Chesapeake Bay. The center's focus of study is the ecosystems of coastal zones, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay estuary and nearby wetlands.
Hydrobiology is the science of life and life processes in water. Much of modern hydrobiology can be viewed as a sub-discipline of ecology but the sphere of hydrobiology includes taxonomy, economic and industrial biology, morphology, and physiology. The one distinguishing aspect is that all fields relate to aquatic organisms. Most work is related to limnology and can be divided into lotic system ecology and lentic system ecology.
The giant cuttlefish, also known as the Australian giant cuttlefish, is the world's largest cuttlefish species, growing to 50 cm (20 in) in mantle length and up to 100 cm (39 in) in total length. They can be over 10.5 kg (23 lb) in weight. Using cells known as chromatophores, the cuttlefish can put on spectacular displays, changing color in an instant. The giant cuttlefish is native to temperate and subtropical waters of Australia, from Brisbane in Queensland to Shark Bay in Western Australia and Tasmania to the south. It occurs on rocky reefs, seagrass beds, and sand and mud seafloor to a depth of 100 m (330 ft). In 2009 the species was listed at Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to an observed declining trend at that time.
CSIRO Publishing is an Australian-based science and technology publisher. It publishes books, journals and magazines across a range of scientific disciplines, including agriculture, chemistry, plant and animal sciences, natural history and environmental management. It also produces interactive learning modules for primary school students and provides writing workshops for researchers.
Bonne Bay Marine Station is a marine ecology research and teaching facility on Bonne Bay along Newfoundland's west coast. It offers services to students, researchers, educators and the general public. The station is within Gros Morne National Park, a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site. The aquarium portion of the facility is open to visitors. Interactive aquariums tours are provided to walk-ins, as well as school and community groups. The tour offers exhibits the latest research while showcasing marine flora and fauna in the station's aquaria and touch tank. Officially opened on 6 Sept, 2002, the Bonne Bay Marine Station is operated by Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Gros Morne Co-operating Association. Funding was provided by Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Government.
Port Bonython is the location of a deepwater port, gas fractionation plant and diesel storage facility west of Point Lowly in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia. It lies 16 km east-northeast of Whyalla, South Australia and approximately 370 km north-west of the State's capital city, Adelaide. The existing wharf is 2.4 kilometres long and is capable of berthing small Capesize ships with a maximum capacity of 110,000 tonnes. The wharf was established in 1982 and named after John Bonython, the founding chairman of Santos. The structure is leased to Santos by the Government of South Australia and is used for the export of hydrocarbon products. An oil spill at Port Bonython in 1992 resulted in loss of bird life and damage to mangrove habitats to the west and southwest of Port Pirie.
The yellowfin whiting, also known as the western sand whiting or fine-scaled whiting, is a species of inshore marine fish in the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae. The species is endemic to the eastern Indian Ocean, ranging from Dampier, Western Australia to Gulf St Vincent in South Australia, with an apparent division in the populations of the two states. Yellowfin whiting inhabit relatively shallow waters for their entire life, often found on tidal flats and creeks, as well as large estuaries. It is one of the largest members of the smelt-whiting family, growing to 42 cm, and can be distinguished by a number of anatomical and colour related features. Yellowfin whiting are benthic carnivores, preying predominantly on polychaete worms, with minor amounts of copepods, amphipods and bivalves also commonly taken. The species shows a change in diet with age, and also dietary differences with other sillaginids presumably to minimize competition. Reproduction occurs at different times throughout its range, generally focused around summer, with up to 217,000 eggs produced per season. Yellowfin whiting reach sexual maturity at around 20 cm, with each individual spawning more than once. The species forms the basis of major fisheries in both Shark Bay, Western Australia and the two Gulfs of South Australia, with around 260 tonnes of fish taken each year. They are also a popular target for shore based anglers, with a reputation as a very good table fish.
The Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide brings together research groups in fields of science, engineering and economics relating to the management and use of natural resources and infrastructure. Research undertaken within the Institute aims to contribute to improvements in the management of natural resources including water, soil, land and native flora and fauna, particularly under changing climate and economic conditions. It was launched on the eve of World Environment Day, 4 June 2009.
The Olympic Dam mine is a large poly-metallic underground mine located in South Australia, 550 km (340 mi) NNW of Adelaide. It is the fourth largest copper deposit and the largest known single deposit of uranium in the world. Copper is the largest contributor to total revenue, accounting for approximately 70% of the mine's revenue, with the remaining 25% from uranium, and around 5% from silver and gold. BHP has owned and operated the mine since 2005. The mine was previously owned by Western Mining Corporation.
Established in 1976, the Marine Life Society of South Australia is a long-standing incorporated association which aims to foster the study and appreciation of marine life and encourage marine conservation engagement in South Australia. The society's most notable recent achievement was the statewide protection of all Syngnathidae under the State's Fisheries Management Act. This was driven by concerns that the animals could become targeted by aquarium keepers and poachers looking to exploit the species for the aquarium trade.
Emma Letitia Johnston is the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney. She was former, Dean of Science at the University of New South Wales and President of Science & Technology Australia. She is an authority in marine ecology and a former Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at UNSW.
Richard Yeeles in an English-born Australian businessman and former senior South Australian public servant with interests in the resources sector, particularly uranium mining and processing.
Stephen Charles Donnellan is the Chief Research Scientist of the Evolutionary Biology Unit at the South Australian Museum. He is also an Affiliate Professor at the University of Adelaide. Donnellan moved from New South Wales to South Australia in 1985 to undertake research recovering the evolutionary history of Australia's lizards. This work led to the establishment of a comprehensive collection of reptile and frog tissues from Australia and New Guinea. In 1990 Donnellan joined the South Australian Museum's staff and established the DNA laboratory there. His research since has focused on the evolution and biogeography of Australasian fauna. Donnellan has used molecular genetic methods to examine issues in the population genetics, phylogeography and phylogenetic relationships of vertebrates and selected invertebrate groups. Many of his research projects have been supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC). His work has been published in numerous scientific journals, including Biological Conservation, Evolution, International Journal for Parasitology, PLOS One, Restoration Ecology, Zoologica Scripta and Zootaxa.
The Australian Society for Fish Biology (ASFB) is a professional organisation of fish and fisheries researchers. Founded in 1971, the society describes itself as a "professional, independent, non-profit, non-commercial and non-aligned organisation." The Australian Society for Fish Biology holds annual conferences for its members, sometimes in partnership with related organisations such as the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society and the Australian Society for Limnology. Former presidents of the society include Hamar Midgley (1977–79), Gerry Allen (1979–81), Julian Pepperell (1991–93) and Bronwyn Gillanders (2012–13).
Gordon Pennington Gunter was an American marine biologist and fisheries scientist. He is noted for his pioneering study of fisheries in the northern Gulf of Mexico, a topic to which he devoted his entire professional life over a career spanning 60 years. His own research, and that of the scientists under his direction, established an understanding of the ecology, comparative physiology of the plant and animal life, and commercial fisheries of the region, and he coined the phrase "fertile fisheries crescent" to refer to Mississippi Sound and adjacent waters along the United States Gulf Coast. He also pioneered the study of the comparative physiology of shellfish and fish.
Vanacampus phillipi, also known as the Port Phillip pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found inhabiting seaweed and seagrass beds along the southern coast of Australia from Perth to Jervis Bay, New South Wales including the coast of Tasmania. Their diet consists of small crustaceans such as copepods, amphipods, and mysid shrimps. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth to 50 or less offspring.
The K. Radway Allen Award is the highest honour awarded by the Australian Society for Fish Biology. It recognises individuals who have made an "outstanding contribution in fish or fisheries science." The award, inaugurated in 1995, is named for New Zealand fisheries biologist Kenneth Radway Allen.
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 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.
