Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Applying paleolimnological techniques in estuaries: a cautionary case study from Moreton Bay, Australia

Brendan Logan A C , Kathryn H. Taffs A and Laura Cunningham B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Environmental Science and Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.

B Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9AL, Scotland.

C Corresponding author. Email: brendan.logan@scu.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 61(9) 1039-1047 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09277
Submitted: 2 November 2009  Accepted: 9 March 2010   Published: 23 September 2010

Abstract

Paleoecological techniques are useful tools to identify restoration targets and natural variability for natural resource management programs. However, despite recent advances, caution is required when employing paleoecological techniques in estuaries, due to their dynamic nature relative to lake environments where these techniques were pioneered. This study used a novel combination of chronological, diatom, geochemical and isotopic data to assess the effectiveness of using these techniques in estuaries, and to develop an understanding of environmental changes within Moreton Bay, an open estuarine environment in subtropical east Australia. Results indicated mixed success, with 210Pb results indicating only background unsupported 210Pb levels, 14C results indicating sediment deposition from mixed sources, no diatom preservation and inconsistencies between geochemical and isotope proxies. Evidence did exist that the Moreton Bay sediments have been derived from different sources over the past 10 000 years. However, isotope records were not able to identify the likely sources of these sediments. Problems with diatom preservation were most probably due to the high salinity and temperatures associated with subtropical open embayment estuaries. Future studies attempting to identify environmental histories of estuaries should incorporate river-influenced locations rather than marine-dominated sites to ensure better diatom preservation and more definitive geochemical signals.

Additional keywords: dating, diatom dissolution, geochemistry, isotope, paleolimnology, sediments, subtropical.


Acknowledgements

We thank Tristan Jones, Steve Logan and Rod Latimer for their assistance with field work; Bradley Eyre and Melissa Bautista for help with stable isotope analyses; Geraldine Jacobsen for assistance with 14C analyses and Atun Zawadski for 210Pb analyses; Brad Pillans for his help with the paleomagnetic analysis; Dr Ivan Ratchev for his assistance with the LOI results. We also thank the journal editor and two anonymous referees for their comments, which have improved the final manuscript.


References

Anderson, N. J. , and Vos, P. (1992). Learning from the past: diatoms as paleoecological indicators of changes in marine environments. Netherlands Journal of Aquatic Ecology 26, 19–30.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Bengtsson L., and Enell M. (1986). Chemical analysis. In ‘Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology’. (Ed. B. E. Berglund.) pp. 423–449. (John Wiley and Sons Ltd: Caldwell, N.J., USA.)

Bidle, K. D. , and Azam, F. (1999). Accelerated dissolution of diatom silica by marine bacterial assemblages. Nature 397, 508–512.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Cohen A. S. (2003). ‘Paleolimnology: The History and Evolution of Lake Systems.’ (Oxford University Press: New York.)

Dennison W. C., and Abal E. G. (1999). ‘Moreton Bay Study.’ (South East Queensland Regional Water Quality Management Strategy: Brisbane.)

Douglas, G. , Palmer, M. , and Caitcheon, G. (2003). The provenance of sediments in Moreton Bay, Australia: a synthesis of major trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic geochemistry, modelling and landscape analysis. Hydrobiologia 494, 145–152.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Hurd D. C. (1983). Physical and chemical properties of the siliceous skeletons. In ‘Silicon Geochemistry and Biogeochemistry’. (Ed. S. R. Aston.) pp. 187–244. (Academic Press: London.)

Jiang, H. , Seidenkrantz, M. , Knudsen, K. L. , and Eiriksson, J. (2002). Late-Holocene summer sea-surface temperatures based on a diatom record from the north Icelandic shelf. The Holocene 12, 137–147.
Juggins S. (1992). ‘Diatoms on the Thames Estuary, England: Ecology, Palaeoecology, and Salinity Transfer Function.’ (Gebruder Borntraeger: Berlin.)

Kamatani, A. (1982). Dissolution rates of silica from diatoms decomposing at various temperatures. Marine Biology 68, 91–96.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Moreton Bay Waterways and Catchment Partnership (2004). ‘Lyngbya Update, May 2004.’ Available at http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/register/p01425aa.pdf [Verified 27 October 2009].

Natori, Y. , Heneda, A. , and Suzuki, Y. (2006). Vertical and seasonal differences in biogenic silica dissolution in natural seawater in Suruga Bay, Japan: Effects of temperature and organic matter. Marine Chemistry 102, 230–241.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Sancetta C. (1999). Diatoms in marine paleoceanography. In ‘The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences’. (Eds E. F. Stoermer and J. Smol.) pp. 374–386. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

Santisteban, J. I. , Mediavilla, R. , Enrique Lopez-Pamo, E. , Dabrio, C. J. , and Zapata, M. B. R. , et al. (2004). Loss on ignition: a qualitative or quantitative methods for organic matter and carbonate mineral content in sediments? Journal of Paleolimnology 32, 287–299.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Saunders, K. M. , and Taffs, K. H. (2009). Palaeoecology: a tool to improve the management of estuaries. Journal of Environmental Management 90, 2730–2736.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Siver, P. A. (1999). Development of paleolimnological inference models for pH, total nitrogen and specific conductivity based on planktonic diatoms. Journal of Paleolimnology 21, 45–60.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Struck, U. , Emeis, K. C. , Voss, M. , Christiansen, C. , and Kunzendorf, H. (2000). Records of southern and central Baltic Sea eutrophication in δ13C and δ15N of sedimentary organic matter. Marine Geology 164, 157–171.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Stuiver, M. , and Reimer, P. J. (1993). Extended 14C database and revised CALIB radiocarbon calibration program. Radiocarbon 35, 215–230.


Sutherland, R. A. (1998). Loss on ignition estimates of organic matter and relationships to organic carbon in fluvial bed sediments. Hydrobiologia 389, 153–167.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Taffs, K. H. , Farago, L. J. , Heijns, H. , and Jacobsen, G. (2008). A diatom-based Holocene record of human impact from a coastal environment: Tuckean Swamp, eastern Australia. Journal of Paleolimnology 39, 71–82.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Tibby, J. , and Reid, M. A. (2004). A model for inferring past conductivity in low salinity waters derived from Murray River (Australia) diatom plankton. Marine and Freshwater Research 55, 597–607.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Tréguer, P. , Nelson, D. M. , Vanbennekom, A. J. , Demaster, D. J. , and Letnaert, A. , et al. (1995). The silica balance in the world ocean – a re-estimate. Science 268, 375–379.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Ulanova, A. , and Snoeijs, P. (2006). Gradient responses of epilithic diatom communities in the Baltic Sea proper. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 68, 661–674.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Usui, T. , Nagao, S. , Yamamoto, M. , Suzuki, K. , and Kudo, I. , et al. (2006). Distribution and sources of organic matter in surficial sediments on the shelf and slope off Tokachi, western North Pacific, inferred from C and N stable isotopes and C/N ratios. Marine Chemistry 98, 241–259.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Veres, D. S. (2002). A comparative study between loss on ignition and total carbon analysis on minerogenic sediments. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai. Geologia, XLVII 1, 171–182.


Vogel, H. , Rosen, P. , Wagner, B. , Melles, M. , and Persson, P. (2008). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, a new cost-effective tool for quantitative analysis of biogeochemical properties in long sediment records. Journal of Paleolimnology 40, 689–702.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Weckström, K. (2006). Assessing recent eutrophication in coastal waters of the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea) using subfossil diatoms. Journal of Paleolimnology 35, 571–592.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Wilson, G. P. , Lamb, A. L. , Leng, M. J. , Gonzalez, S. , and Huddart, D. (2005). δ13C and C/N as potential coastal palaeoenvironmental indicators in the Mersey Estuary, UK. Quaternary Science Reviews 24, 2015–2029.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Wu, Y. , Zhang, J. , Cho, K. W. , Hong, G. H. , and Chung, C. S. (2004). Origin and transport of sedimentary organic matter in the Yalujiang Estuary, North China. Estuaries 27, 583–592.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |