This dataset contains results from a series of laboratory and field experiments on local grazer communities to determine the parameter values required by the COASEC (Coastal Ocean Ecology) model. These experiments are part of the second stage of the Perth Coastal Waters Study. These parameters were delta, the grazing demand (biomass of food eatern per biomass of grazer per day; beta, the assimilation constant (the difference between the food consumed and defecated as a percentage of the food consumed); micron, the mortality constant (the turnover rate of the community), and kg, the ratio of food available to food demand to satisfy 50% of maximum potential growth of grazer communities. Empirically derived parameter values for the main grazers, crustaceans and gastropods were very different from each other and from the default values in the model. Experiments indicated that both types of grazers primarily fed on periphyton and grazing rates varied between summer and winter. Grazing impacts on larger epiphytes are dependent upon the type of grazer and the species of epiphyte.

We attempted to asses the potential for using stable isotopes as a tool for rapid assessment of trophic interactions in a nearshore benthic ecosystem in Western Australia. The information gained from this experiment will help us to refine our use of stable isotopes, and contribute to efforts to develop "sharper" tools to achieve the ultimate goal of providing accurate characterisation of food webs, information sorely needed by managers of marine resources. A controlled laboratory scale feeding experiment with the gastropod, Turbo torquatus was conducted to assess the suitability of stable isotope analyses for diet inference. Seventy eight T.torquatus were fed enriched macroalgae (Ulva lactuca) to alter their natural isotopic profile (ä13C and ä15N) and then fed three locally occurring macroalgae (Ulva lactuca, Carpopeltis phyllophora, and Ecklonia radiate) over 17 weeks to assess how their isotopic profile reflected that of their diet. Feeding the enriched macroalgae (Ulva lactuca) to Turbo torquatus increased their carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios to very high levels after just 72 hours. Unfortunately even after 17 weeks of feeding on natural macroalgae (not enriched) the heavier isotope for both carbon and nitrogen was still retained in the muscle tissue of the gastropods. This suggests that the enrichment of Ulva lactuca appears to have been for too long or the concentration of 98% ä13C NaHCO3 and 98% ä15N NH4Cl was much too high.

This dataset contains seagrass productivity and distribution data from Jervis Bay, NSW. The data were obtained between October 1988 and July 1991. Aerial photographs and ground truthing data were used to map the boundaries and distribution of the seagrass meadows. Digitised seagrass maps have been merged with the mangrove and saltmarsh maps (Chapter 2) to create 13 maps of the marine and estuarine habitats of Jervis bay. Taxa identified two species that form large meadows and two other species that occur in Jervis Bay. Experiments on seagrass restoration were conducted and also at the CSIRO Marine Laboratories in Marmion, Western Australia. The data are part of the Jervis Bay Marine Ecological Study. NB - As the database has been lost, the only data still available are those published in the JERVIS BAY BASELINE STUDIES Final Report.

Dataset contains data from both laboratory and field experiments on the impacts of European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in Tasmanian coastal waters from January 1996 onwards. Impacts of primary interest are those on benthic infauna and native crabs. Most of the experiments were done inside the green crab's range in NE Tasmania (including Henderson Lagoon and Georges Bay), but also at some control sites in SE Tasmania (e.g. Norfolk Bay, Upper Pitwater). Studies included both inclusion and exclusion caging experiments, in which green crabs were included and excluded from caged areas, respectively, and the impacts over time on other fauna inside the cages determined. Infaunal surveys were done at several sites both inside and outside the crab's range in Tasmania, with particular emphasis on bivalves and gastropods. Infaunal surveys at several SE Victorian sites were later included for comparison. Studies were done in collaboration with scientists from the Smithsonian Environmental Reseach Centre in Maryland, USA, and Honours students from Department of Zoology, University of Tasmania. Subsets of the data are held at Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre, Maryland, and at Dept. Zoology, University of Tasmania.