Kelp Ecology

Our work on the ecology of kelp forests (across southern Australia) spans a longitude of equivalent latitudinal distance from Moscow to the Tropic of Cancer. This work incorporates broader-scale phenomena (eg. biogeography and history) in an effort to understand the regional context of local interactions. Local variation is massive and an overwhelming feature of spatial patterns at scales up to 10s to 100s of kilometres. Yet, there are clear regional differences (1000s of kilometres) in functional groups of consumers (predators and herbivores) and biogeochemical cycles (nutrients) that lead to contrasting outcomes of overfishing (local depletion of consumers) and pollution (reduced water quality).

Understanding regional responses in ecological resistence and resilence provides us with a framework needed to understand the effectiveness of policy whose governance operates at regional scales. The task for us now is to understand where and how projected changes in coastal development may bring environmental change; e.g. the recent obliteration of kelp forests from the Adelaide Metropolitan coast.

Coastal planning

The views and decisions made by managers to bring change, or make no change, to costal governance are potentially costly. Without sound ecological knowledge their work has uncertain outcomes. Managers are faced with the enormous task of achieving our state government's aim to improve coastal governance.

We have felt a responsibility to undertake research that is not only of value to the discipline of marine ecology, but is also relevant to local economic and social benefits. Of its nature, this responsibility requires us to work at spatial scales relevant to governance. Its also requires us to benchmark experimental manipulations in justifiable ways; e.g. to understand history and lost baselines (past human activities) and consequences of contemporary and future human activities. This philosophy shapes the skills of our post-graduates, their motivation to ensure their work is used (scientific publication and industry partnerships) and employment as critical thinkers and positive contributors to marine science.

Three selected reviews of this work (n > 50 papers):

• Connell SD & AD Irving 2009. The subtidal ecology of rocky coast: local-regional-biogeographic regional patterns and their experimental analysis.in J. D. Witman and R. Kaustuv, editors. Marine Macroecology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
• Connell SD 2007. Water quality and the loss of coral reefs and kelp forests: alternative states and the influence of fishing. Chapter 21 in Marine Ecology. Oxford University Press.
• Connell SD 2007. Subtidal temperate rocky habitats: habitat heterogeneity at local to continental scales. Chapter 14 in Marine Ecology. Oxford University Press.