Nutrients, palaeolimnology and cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Wallace, Western Victoria

The basic limnology, nutrient and hydraulic budgets and recent history (using fossil remains in the sediments) of Lake Wallace have been studies to determine factors that predispose the lake to the development of potentially toxic algal blooms.

Sexual abuse in 'Disgrace' and 'Cereus Blooms at Night': the case for hope

Abuse is rife in Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee and Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo. Sexual violence is in both narratives, part of their richly textured social, emotional and political worlds. Fiction involving various traumas seems bleak, almost hopeless, perhaps weighted by sadness. Yet both these novels, even through depictions of rupturing, disruptive rape, trigger a recognition of possibility and potential among characters and perhaps readers. It is in this open ended potential for betterment of some kind that hope lies. What is the nature of hope and to what extent is it present in these novels? In this paper, I explore the emotion of hope in relation to the notion of becoming as elaborated on by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari particularly in A Thousand Plateaus. They expound on Remy Chauvin‟s term “aparallel evolution” in relation to becoming (Deleuze and Guattari, 11). Deleuze also states that becoming is not a “phenomena of imitation or assimilation”. Rather, it is an encounter, “a double capture” (Deleuze and Parnet 2) between heterogeneous elements. There is no end or destination in becoming; it is constant change. I examine the transformative potential of becoming to elicit signs of hope in these novels. David Lurie, the self-absorbed womaniser and arguably rapist, becomes-dog by the end of Disgrace. How does this contribute to any sense of redemption and consequently hope? And how does hope emanate from the beaten, broken, brutally raped Mala Ramchandin in Cereus Blooms at Night? At heart, this paper is an acknowledgment of the unique relation literature has with life and the enriching insight that it may provide into the expression of hope.

Population-level perspectives on global change : genetic and demographic analyses indicate various scales, timing, and causes of scyphozoan jellyfish blooms

Whether a perceived increase in the abundance of jellyfishes is related to changing marine environments has been considered primarily using large-scale analyses of multi-species assemblages. Yet jellyfish blooms-rapid increases in the biomass of pelagic coelenterate species-are single-species demographic events. Using published and new genetic analyses and population surveys, we investigate whether there may be a critical knowledge gap between the scales of recent analyses and the scales of natural phenomena. We find that scyphomedusae may show population genetic structure over scales of tens to hundreds of kilometers, that environments vary regionally and locally, and that populations of medusae can display uncorrelated dynamics on these scales. These findings suggest genetic differences between populations and/or environmental differences between sites are important determinants of population dynamics in these jellyfishes. Moreover, the local abundance of medusae may be most strongly correlated with preceding rather than current local environmental conditions, indicating there is a cumulative time-course to the formation of 'blooms'. Broad-scale macro-ecological analyses will need to build from coordinated, long-term, fine-grained studies to synthesize, rather than mask, population-level phenomena in larger-scale analyses. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.

The right tool for the job? Use of the multiple intelligences and Bloom's taxonomy grid

This article explores the tacit understanding of teachers in the field of gifted educational practices after their participation in gifted education professional development. The data for this article are drawn from a single-case qualitative study where semi-structured interviews were held with teachers, administrators and support staff in a metropolitan Victorian primary school. The findings lead to two main arguments: first, that some teachers preserved their deeply entrenched beliefs and assumptions about the gifted, the talented and intelligence[s]; and second, that teachers, without critical examination, eagerly adopted and adapted Gardner's Multiple Intelligences theory, overlaid with Bloom's Revised Taxonomy of Thinking as a means for addressing individual differences in the classroom. The article argues that teachers welcomed the Gardner/Bloom matrix for its 'tick-the-box' simplicity, with little insight into the theoretical models. Whilst the matrix had an immediate value in the mixed ability classrooms, in the long term it did not support the learning needs of gifted students. [Author abstract]

The use of artificial biofilms to strip nutrients from an industrial smelters waste water under conditions of low temperature and high pH

The Victorian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has identified Alcoa’s Point Henry aluminium smelter as being a major source of recognized pollutant input due to its disposal of effluent into Corio Bay. Historically, the water quality parameters that have most often exceeded Point Henry’s EPA limits have been pH and suspended solids from the smelter’s discharge points. These waste water discharges also experience high nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations which result in algal blooms that occur at the onset of warm weather. The main hypothesis of this study was that “prevention of algal blooming with the onset of warm weather by removal of nutrients during the cooler months, and continued removal thereafter, is better than curing the problems chemically”. Biofilms have been used to remove nutrients from waste waters, but not under the conditions experienced at Point Henry. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine if significant biofilm growth would be observed on floating structures suspended in the Point Henry waste water stream during the cooler, winter months of the year. Statistically significant biofilm growth occurred on all suspended structures in all discharge ponds during the winter and early spring of 2000. The use of suspended structures, such as AquaMatTM, as an artificial substrate to attract and support periphyton and bacterial communities (biofilms), which are then able to out-compete phytoplankton communities for available nutrients, is therefore a viable option for the Point Henry smelter. However, further research on the competitive performance of biofilms in the Point Henry ponds during the summer months is required before adequate biofilm management strategies can be developed.

Nutrient contribution to hyper-eutrophic wetlands in Perth, Western Australia

This thesis investigates nutrient contribution to six hyper-eutrophic lakes located within close proximity of each other on the Swan Coastal Plain and 20 kilometres south of the Perth Central Business District, Western Australia. The lakes are located within a mixed land use setting and are under the management of a number of state and local government departments and organisations. These are a number of other lakes on the Swan Coastal Plain for which the majority are less than 3 metres in depth and considered as an expression of the groundwater as their base is below the regional groundwater table throughout most of the year. The limited amount of water quality data available for these six lakes and the surface water and groundwater flowing into them has restricted a thorough understanding of the processes influencing the water quality of the lakes. Various private and public companies and organisations have undertaken studies on some of the individual wetlands and there is a wide difference in scientific opinion as to the major source of the nutrients to those wetlands. These previous studies failed to consider regional surface water and groundwater effects on the nutrient fluxes and they predominantly only investigated single wetland systems. This study attempts for the first time to investigate the regional contribution of nutrients to this system of wetlands existing on the Swan Coastal plain. As such, it also includes new research on the nutrient contribution to some of the remaining wetlands. The research findings indicate that the lake sediments represent a considerable store of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). These sediments in turn control the nutrient status of the lake's water column. Surface water is found to contribute on an event-basis load of nutrients to the lakes whilst the groundwater surprisingly appears to contribute a comparatively low input of nutrients but governs the water depth. Analysis of the regional groundwater shows efficient denitrifying abilities as a result of denitrifying bacteria and the transport is localised. Management recommendations for the remediation of the social and environmental value of the lakes include treatment of the lake’s sediments via chemical bonding or atmospheric oxidation; utilising the regional groundwater’s denitrifying abilities to ‘treat’ the surface water via infiltration basins; and investigating the merits of managed or artificial aquifer recharge (MAR).

An integrated observation network for the Gippsland Lakes, Victoria, Australia : balancing the needs of science and management

The Gippsland Lakes region in eastern Victoria is a partially flushed coastal lake system within a diverse catchment of rural and urban communities. Pressure from lakeside developments, re-occurring blue-green algal blooms, declining fisheries, sedimentation and infilling of the ocean entrance, has borne several decades of focussed studies and routine monitoring programs, along with a variety of engineering and management solutions. A recent review recommended that these disparate studies should be enhanced to formulate a coordinated monitoring network that could improve both spatial and temporal coverage, develop a capacity to trigger responsive investigations and was able to serve the needs of system management. Through a series of partnerships an integrated network was developed that comprises event and baseline monitoring of catchment loads, local meteorological forcing and an array of water quality sampling sites within the lakes system. A majority of these sites are incorporated with real-time telemetry that provides up to the minute information to stakeholders via a web-based information management system and vital operational status to technical system management.

Comparative effects of the blue green algae Nodularia spumigena and a lysed extract on detoxification and antioxidant enzymes in the green lipped mussel (Perna viridis)

Nodularia spumigena periodically proliferates to cause toxic algal blooms with some aquatic animals enduring and consuming high densities of the blue green algae or toxic lysis. N. spumigena contains toxic compounds such as nodularin and lipopolysaccharides. This current work investigates physiological effects of exposure from bloom conditions of N. spumigena cells and a post-bloom lysis. Biochemical and antioxidative biomarkers were comparatively studied over an acute 3-day exposure. In general, a post-bloom N. spumigena lysis caused opposite physiological responses to bloom densities of N. spumigena. Specifically, increases in glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and decreases in glutathione S-transferase (GST) were observed from the N. spumigena lysis. In contrast, N. spumigena cell densities decreased GSH and increased GST and lipid peroxidation (LPO) in mussels. Findings also suggest that at different stages of a toxic bloom, exposure may result in toxic stress to specific organs in the mussel.

Nutrient and phytoplankton status of Lakes Purrumbete and Bullen Merri, western Victoria

The thesis investigates two adjacent volcanic maar lakes, with differences in chemical and biological properties. Lake Bullen Merri a brackish, phosphorous-limited lake that suffers from nuisance algal blooms and Lake Purrumbete a fresh, nitrogen-limited lake with diverse phytoplankton assemblage. Nutrient fluxes for both lakes are dominated by internal cycling.

Innovative reuse options for water treatment plant sludges

Reuse options were investigated for drinking water sludge. Research found sludges could be included with raw materials in brick and cement manufacturing with minimal impact. Poly-aluminium chloride sludge was found to an excellent adsorbent of phosphorus from wastewaters thus indirectly reducing potential algal blooms in our rivers.

Hydrodynamics, nutrients and algae of Fitzroy and Merri River estuaries

Various physical, biological and chemical attributes were investigated for the Fitzroy and Merri River estuaries. This research found algal communities were most influenced by high nitrogen concentrations at times of low flow. Mangement of nutrients within each catchment is therefore of high importance to reduce the possibility of future blooms.

Nutrient cycling in Lagoon of Islands, Tasmania : management to control

This research identified the causes of poor water quality and algal blooms in Lagoon of Islands, a small shallow lake in Tasmania. The findings of this research identified options for rehabilitation and remediation of the lake.