作者
Joost Wijtze Van Dam
发表日期
2012
机构
PhD thesis; University of Queensland
简介
The focus of this project was to determine the susceptibility of key symbiotic relationships on the Great Barrier Reef to the combined effects of agrochemical pollution and elevated sea surface temperatures (SSTs). While effects from recurring or chronic pollution are likely to combine with other environmental stressors such as elevated SSTs, these interactions remain poorly understood. In the tropics, summer monsoonal rainfall and river floodings occur when SSTs approach tolerance threshold levels for many species, simultaneously exposing sensitive species to combinations of low salinity, high turbidity, nutrients and agrochemical residues during episodes of thermal stress. Despite this, water quality guidelines are based on known thresholds and impacts of single stressors. Both dissolved herbicides and elevated SSTs are cause for concern as they have been shown to disrupt the fragile symbiotic relationship of …