Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program: Inshore seagrass, annual report for the sampling period 1st July 2010 – 31st May 2011

A key component of Reef Rescue is the implementation of a long-term water quality and ecosystem monitoring program in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Fisheries Queensland and James Cook University were contracted to conduct the intertidal seagrass monitoring component and produce this report, which examines the status and trend of Reef intertidal seagrass (detect long-term trends in seagrass abundance, community structure, distribution, reproductive health, and nutrient status from representative inshore seagrass meadows) and identifies response of seagrass to environmental drivers of change

Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program: Inshore seagrass, annual report for the sampling period 1st June 2012 - 31st May 2013

A key component of Reef Rescue is the implementation of a long-term water quality and ecosystem monitoring program in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. James Cook University were contracted to conduct the intertidal seagrass monitoring component and produce this report, which examines the status and trend of Reef intertidal seagrass (detect long-term trends in seagrass abundance, community structure, distribution, reproductive health, and nutrient status from representative inshore seagrass meadows) and identifies response of seagrass to environmental drivers of change

Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program: Inshore seagrass, annual report for the sampling period 1st July 2011 – 31st May 2012

Seagrass monitoring results for 2011-12 from the Marine Monitoring Program, undertaken in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon to assess the long-term effectiveness of the Australian and Queensland Government’s Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (Reef Plan) and the Australian Government’s Reef Rescue initiative

Seagrass communities in the Shoalwater Bay region, Queensland: Spring (September) 1995 and Autumn (April) 1996

The Commonwealth Commission of Inquiry into Shoal water Bay (Commission of Inquiry 1994) recommended equal priority be given to conservation and defence force training use in the Shoalwater Bay area, and that integrated management plans be developed for the terrestrial and marine environments. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) was given responsibility for developing management plans for a special Shoalwater Bay Marine Park. The GBRMPA commissioned a number of studies of marine resource inventories and use patterns in the Shoalwater Bay area for marine park zone planning. The present Spring and Autumn baseline surveys of seagrass resources is one of these studies. Seagrasses have seasonal differences in distribution and abundance, so two baseline surveys Spring (pre-wet) and Autumn (post-wet) - were recommended. This report presents the results of the two surveys conducted September 1995 and April 1996. The objectives were: to map the distribution of seagrass meadows in Shoa/water Bay during the Spring and Autumn periods; to estimate seagrass species biomass for the major seagrass meadows; to identify juvenile prawn and fish species present on selected seagrass areas; and to provide quantitative data 011 seagrass communities of Shoalwater Bay for use as a baseline for future monitoring of seagrass species composition, area or biomass

Baseline survey of Hinchinbrook region seagrasses - October (spring) 1996

Current coastal zone management issues in the Hinchinbrook region include protection of fisheries habitats, dugong habitat areas and increases in aquaculture, agriculture and tourist operations. A regional coastal management plan which is being developed, also requires detailed information on seagrass resources for the coastal zone from Dunk Island in the north, to Cleveland Bay in the south. Decreases in estimates of dugong abundance in the southern half of the Great Barrier Reef region since the 1980's have also prompted the need for detailed baseline and monitoring surveys of seagrasses in this and other regions

Synthesis and aggregation of a porphyrin cored hyperbranched polyglycidol and its application as a macromolecular photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy.

Macromolecules are potentially useful delivery systems for cancer drugs as their size allows them to utilize the enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR), which facilitates selective delivery to (and retention within) tumors. In addition, macromolecular delivery systems can prolong circulation times as well as protecting and solubilizing toxic and hydrophobic drug moieties. Overall these properties and abilities can result in an enhanced therapeutic effect. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) combines the use of oxygen and a photosensitizer (PS), that become toxic upon light-irradiation. We proposed that a PS encapsulated within a water-soluble macromolecule could exploit the EPR effect and safely and selectively deliver the PS to a tumor. In this paper, we describe the synthesis of a porphyrin cored hyperbranched polymer that aggregated into larger micellar structures. DLS and TEM indicated that these aggregated structures had diameters of 45 nm and 20 nm for the solvated and non-solvated species respectively. The porphyrin cored HBP (PC-HBP), along with the non-encapsulated porphyrin (THPP), were screened against EJ bladder carcinoma cells in the dark and light. Both THPP and PC-HBP displayed good toxicity in the light, with LD50 concentrations of 0.5 μM and 1.7 μM respectively. However, in the dark, the non-incorporated porphyrin (THPP) displayed significant toxicity, generating an LD50 of 4 μM. On the other hand, no dark toxicity was observed for the polymer system (PC-HBP) at concentrations of 100 μM or less. As such, incorporation within the large polymer aggregate serves to eliminate dark toxicity, whilst maintaining excellent toxicity when irradiated

Monitoring Oyster Point seagrasses : 1995 to 1999

In the present report, an assessment of changes in seagrass distribution and abundance since the baseline (November 1995) and previous monitoring surveys of December 1997 and November 1998 is included. We provide a quantification of changes between years and comment on the possible impacts of the dredging program

Seagrass and marine resources in the Dugong protection areas of Upstart Bay, Newry Region, Sand Bay, Llewellyn Bay, Ince Bay and the Clairview Region, April/May 1999 and October 1999

The Marine Plant Ecology Group (Queensland Fisheries Service, Queensland Department of Primary Industries) was commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to undertake two (one autumn and one spring) detailed seagrass surveys of the Dugong Protection Areas in Upstart Bay, Newry region, Sand Bay, Llewellyn Bay, Ince Bay, and a reconnaissance survey in the Clairview region. The information gathered from these surveys enhances the understanding and subsequent management of seagrass resources for fisheries and as dugong feeding habitats

Preliminary evaluation of an acoustic technique for mapping tropical seagrass habitats

Seagrass meadows in Queensland are important nursery habitat for commercial species of penaeid prawns and fish. Seagrasses are essential food for dugong, Dugong dugon, and green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus) and act as nutrient and sediment sinks. Seagrasses in coastal regions play important roles in maintaining sediment stability and water clarity. Coastal seagrass meadows are therefore an important resource economically and ecologically. Information on the species composition, abundance and distribution of seagrasses is used by management to zone for protection of seagrass habitats