| | This special issue focusses on the science needed for responsible management of subtropical bays. It brings together multidisciplinary scientific approaches with an analysis of the scientific needs of ecosystem managers. The impetus for this special issue was a workshop held at the University of Western Australia in March 2011 that was partly funded by the Oceans Institute at UWA and the US National Science Foundation. At that workshop, we explored the state of knowledge about the status and functioning of Shark Bay, and explored what new knowledge could be gained by comparing Shark Bay with Florida Bay, a more well-studied but similar ecosystem.
There are many reasons for making such comparisons: both bays lie at the same latitudes (albeit one north and one south of the equator), and are carbonate-sediment, P-limited, hypersaline, seagrass-dominated large bays with special marine zoning and management in place. Florida Bay is part of Everglades National Park, Shark Bay is a Terrestrial and Marine Park and Sanctuary, and both bays have been designated World Heritage sites.
The aim for this collection of papers is to catalyse an integration of science and management in Shark Bay, in much the same way that two special journal issues helped define the state of knowledge and management science needs for Florida Bay [Bulletin of Marine Science in 1989 (volume 44, 1989) followed by a special issue of the journal Estuaries in 1999 (volume 22(2B)].
Click here to visit the Marine and Freshwater Research home page.
Online edition now available.
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