The politicisation of science in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia:discussion of ‘Scientific integrity, public policy and water governance’

Many water scientists aim for their work to inform water policy and management, and in pursuit of this objective, they often work alongside government water agencies to ensure their research is relevant, timely and communicated effectively. A paper in this issue, examining 'Science integrity, public policy and water governance in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia’, suggests that a large group of scientists, who work on water management in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) including the Basin Plan, have been subject to possible ‘administrative capture'. Specifically, it is suggested that they have advocated for policies favoured by government agencies with the objective of gaining personal benefit, such as increased research funding. We examine evidence for this claim and conclude that it is not justified. The efforts of scientists working alongside government water agencies appear to have been misinterpreted as possible administrative capture. Although unsubstantiated, this claim does indicate that the science used in basin water planning is increasingly caught up in the politics of water management. We suggest actions to improve science-policy engagement in basin planning, to promote constructive debate over contested views and avoid the over-politicisation of basin science

Long-term seagrass monitoring in the Port of Mourilyan: November 2004

This report details findings of the November 2004 seagrass monitoring survey for the Port of Mourilyan conducted as part of the annual long-term monitoring program. The monitoring program was developed following a baseline survey in December 1993 and examines selected representative seagrass meadows in Mourilyan Harbour. Total area of each monitoring meadow, species composition and seagrass density (above ground biomass) were measured for comparison with previous surveys.\ud \ud In 2004 seagrass meadows had recovered considerably reversing recent declining trends that had occurred in 2002 and 2003. The largest increases in biomass occurred in the intertidal monitoring meadows. The area and biomass of the subtidal Halodule channel meadow remained relatively stable.\ud \ud The observed changes to seagrasses appear to be linked to prevailing climate conditions. The declines in area and biomass in 2002 and 2003 were attributed to atypical regional climate conditions. In 2004 these climatic parameters had returned to more "normal" levels, creating conditions that were likely to be more favourable to seagrass survival and growth. Similar trends have occurred for other north Queensland locations such as Cairns and Karumba where seagrasses are also monitored.\ud \ud The recent increases to seagrass meadows in north Queensland had implications for regional fisheries with evidence of increases in catches for some commercial species coinciding with the increases to seagrass nursery habitats.\ud \ud The seagrass monitoring program is allowing us to separate local and port related causes of environmental change from natural causes, as well as provide an indication of the overall health of the marine environment. Based on the findings to date the marine environment of the Port of Mourilyan appears to be relatively healthy with minimal impacts occurring from current port activities

Port of Weipa long term seagrass monitoring: 2003-2005

Seagrass meadows in the Port of Weipa have changed substantially during the six years of seagrass monitoring. Most of the changes appeared to be in response to regional and local climate and the physical and physiological characteristics of the seagrass meadows, rather than human activities that have occurred in the port. In general terms intertidal seagrass meadows throughout the port area had become more patchy (greater areas of open unvegetated substrate) with substantial reductions in biomass (density) for Enhalus acoroides dominated seagrass meadows. In addition complete Halodule/Halophila meadows were lost in the Pine River Bay area in 2002 and have yet to recover.\ud \ud The most likely cause of changes to intertidal Enhalus meadows was desiccation of Enhalus plants when they were exposed at low tide (i.e. "burning"). Burning was likely to be caused by a combination of high air temperatures, low rainfall and higher solar radiation intensities. Climate data suggests there has been a trend for less rainfall and higher solar radiation over the last five years. Also maximum temperatures measured from intertidal temperature loggers during 2004/2005 have reached 41.5°C which is close to the limit where seagrass cell systems have been shown to be irreparably damaged.\ud \ud Differing responses of subtidal meadows and intertidal meadows of different species such as Halodule and Halophila were likely to be due to the differing susceptibility to desiccation between species and locations. Physical differences in growth form allowed Halophila and Halodule to lie flat on the moist sediment surface during low tide exposure and deeper subtidal Enhalus meadows were protected from low tide exposure.\ud \ud There had still been no recovery of Halodule and Halophila meadows in the Pine River Bay area since their loss in 2002. Seed sampling conducted in 2003 indicated that there were no seed reserves in the sediment which suggested that recruitment and recovery may be slow due to a limited local supply of propagules. Similar meadows in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria that had a seed bank had recovered from the 2002 losses in 2005 and 2006. There was some evidence of an increase in biomass for the remaining Halodule meadows in the Embley River. This may indicate a return to more favourable environmental conditions for Halodule growth.\ud \ud The declines in the Embley River Enhalus meadows and Pine River Bay Halodule/Halophila meadows were likely to have some local fisheries implications. Analysis of fisheries commercial catch data for barramundi, mud crab and grey mackerel have shown declines that corresponded with the recent reductions in seagrass cover and biomass for Weipa.\ud \ud The monitoring program indicates that despite some seagrass declines, the Weipa marine environment is relatively healthy with observed changes likely to be associated with regional and local climatic factors and the nature of the seagrass meadows rather than anthropogenic or port related impacts. The recent decline in the Evans Landing meadow is a concern however, and will be monitored closely in the upcoming 2006 survey. We have established a good understanding of the range of natural changes in seagrass meadows in Weipa through a period of "normal" and "drought" conditions. Through our state wide seagrass monitoring network we have been able to put these changes in a regional perspective and separate local versus regional drivers of seagrass change. This background has placed us in a good position to detect any anthropogenic causes of change to seagrasses beyond this natural background. Future monitoring will continue to enhance this ability and provide port and fisheries management with information on the status of the marine environment and fish habitats within the Weipa area and an early warning of changes to marine environmental health caused by port or other human activities

A commentary on 'Long-term ecological trends of flow-dependent ecosystems in a major regulated river basin', by Matthew J. Colloff, Peter Caley, Neil Saintilan, Carmel A. Pollino and Neville D. Crossman

Colloff et al. in Marine and Freshwater Research, http, dx.doi.org, ., MF, examined time-series data for flow-dependent vegetation, invertebrates, fish, frogs, reptiles and waterbirds in the Murray, Darling Basin, . They concluded that temporal patterns fluctuated, declining during droughts and recovering after floods. They suggested that major changes in land use in the late, th century permanently modified these freshwater ecosystems, irretrievably degrading them before major water diversions. Restoring water to the environment might then be interpreted as not addressing biotic declines. We argue that their conclusions are inadequately supported, although data quality remains patchy and they neglected the influence of hydrology and the timing and extent of water resource development. We are critical of the lack of adequate model specification and the omission of statistical power analyses. We show that declines of native flow-dependent flora and fauna have continued through the, th and early, st centuries, in response to multiple factors, including long-term changes in flow regimes. We argue that flow-regime changes have been critical, but not in isolation. So, returning water to the environment is a prerequisite for sustained recovery but governments need to improve monitoring and analyses to adequately determine effectiveness of management of the rivers and wetlands of the Murray, Darling Basin.Richard T. Kingsford, F, Ralph Mac Nally, Alison King, Keith F. Walker, Gilad Bino, Ross Thompson, Skye Wassens and Paul Humphrie

Multiple reader comparison of 2D TOF, 3D TOF, and CEMRA in screening of the carotid bifurcations: Time to reconsider routine contrast use?

Background and purposeMR contrast-enhanced techniques are undergoing increased scrutiny since the FDA applied a warning for gadolinium-based MR contrast agents due to gadolinium deposition within multiple organ systems. While CE-MRA provides excellent image quality, is it required in a screening carotid study? This study compares 2D TOF and 3D TOF MRA vs. CE-MRA in defining carotid stenosis in a large clinical patient population, and with multiple readers with varying experience.Materials and methods200 consecutive patients had their carotid bifurcations evaluated with 2D TOF, 3D TOF and CE-MRA sequences by 6 board-certified neuroradiologists. Stenosis and quality of examinations were defined for each study. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using two-way random effects intraclass correlation coefficients. Intra-reader reliability was computed via weighted Cohen's κ. Weighted Cohen's κ were also computed to assess agreement in stenosis ratings between enhanced images and unenhanced images.ResultsAgreement between unenhanced and enhanced ratings was substantial with a pooled weighted κ of 0.733 (0.628-0.811). For 5 of the 6 readers, the combination of unenhanced 2D TOF and 3D TOF showed better agreement with contrast-enhanced than either 2D TOF or 3D TOF alone. Intra-reader reliability was substantial.ConclusionsThe combination of 2D TOF and 3D TOF MRA showed substantial agreement with CE-MRA regarding degree of carotid stenosis in this large outpatient population across multiple readers of varying experience. Given the scrutiny that GBCA are undergoing due to concerns regarding CNS and soft tissue deposition, it seems prudent to reserve CE-MRA for cases which are not satisfactorily answered by the nonenhanced study or other noninvasive examinations

The influence of sampling design on spatial data quality in a geographic citizen science project

Geographic citizen science has much potential to assist in wildlife research and conservation, but the quality of observation data is a key concern. We examined the effects of sampling design on the quality of spatial data collected for a koala citizen science project in Australia. Data were collected from three samples—volunteers (n\ua0=\ua0454), an Internet panel (n\ua0=\ua0103), and landowners (n\ua0=\ua035)—to assess spatial data quality, a dimension of citizen science projects rarely considered. The locational accuracy of koala observations among the samples was similar when benchmarked against authoritative data (i.e., an expert-derived koala distribution model), but there were differences in the quantity of data generated. Fewer koala location data were generated per participant by the Internet panel sample than the volunteer or landowner samples. Spatial preferences for land uses affecting koala conservation were also mapped, with landowners more likely to map locations for residential and tourism development and volunteers less likely. These spatial preferences have the potential to influence the social acceptability of future koala conservation proposals. With careful sampling design, both citizen observations and land use preferences can be included within the same project to augment scientific assessments and identify conservation opportunities and constraints