Output list
Book chapter
The greening of the land – plant diversity Part II
Published 2009
Environmental biology
This chapter covers the phylum of plants that dominates the worlds land surface, phylum Anthophyta (the angiosperms). The main features of their morphology, internal structure, nutrition and reproduction are described to help explain the basis of their success. We also consider some of their special adaptations to the Australian environment.
Book chapter
The greening of the land – plant diversity Part I
Published 2009
Environmental biology
In this chapter we introduce you w the characteristics shared by all land plants and the phyla that include rnosses and liverworts, ferns, and gymnosperms (cycads and conifers). We describe how the morphology and life cycle of each group determines its interactions with the environment, as well as the diversity of each group in Australia and its conservation status.
Book chapter
Published 2009
Coastal Wetlands: an Ecosystem Integrated Approach, 687 - 713
Book chapter
Fluid dynamics in seagrass ecology - from molecules to ecosystems
Published 2006
Seagrasses : biology, ecology and conservation, 193 - 226
Fluid dynamics is the study of the movement of fluids. Among other things, it addresses velocity, acceleration, and the forces exerted by or upon fluids in motion (Daugherty et al.. 1985; White. 1999: Kundu and Cohen, 2002). Fluid dynamics affects every aspect of the existence of seagrasses from the smallest to the largest scale: from the nutrients they obtain to the sediment they colonize; from the pollination of their flowers to the import/export of organic matter to adjacent systems; from the light that reaches their leaves to the organisms that live in the seagrass habitats. Therefore, fluid dynamics is of major importance in seagrass biology, ecology, and ecophysiology. Unfortunately, fluid dynamics is often overlooked in seagrass systems (Koch, 2001). This chapter provides a general background in fluid dynamics and then addresses increasingly larger scales of fluid dynamic processes relevant to seagrass ecology and physiology: molecules (μm), leaves and shoots (mm to cm), seagrass canopies (m), sea- grass landscapes (100—1.000 m), and seagrasses as part of the biosphere (>1.000 m). Although gases are also fluids, this chapter is restricted to water (i.e. compressed fluids), how it flows through seagrasses, the forces it exerts on the plants, and the implications that this has for seagrass systems. Seagrasses are not only affected by water in motion, they also affect the currents, waves and turbulence of the water masses surrounding them. This capacity to alter their own environment is referred to as “ecosystem engineering” (Jones et al.. 1994, 1997; Thomas et al., 2000). Readers are also encouraged to consult a recent review by Okubo et al. (2002) for a discussion on flow in terrestrial and aquatic vegetation including freshwater plants, seagrasses, and kelp.
Book chapter
Published 2006
Seagrasses: Biology, Ecology and Conservation, 441 - 462
In all aquatic environments, available surfaces are rapidly colonized by a variety of organisms. If these organisms grow on plants they are called epiphytes. Seagrasses provide an excellent substratum for epiphytic organisms and these organisms are an integral component of seagrass ecosystems. The ecology and physiology of seagrass epiphytes have been reviewed previously (Harlin, 1980; Borowitzka and Lethbridge, 1989) and this chapter focuses primarily on new developments in our understanding of seagrass epiphyte biology and ecology that have occurred since then.