B Science (Hons)
Contact details for Paul Maxwell P.Maxwell@griffith.edu.au
Thesis
Modelling the influence of Marine Protected Areas on ecosystem resilience
Description
Ecosystem resilience refers to the capacity of an ecosystem to remain ecologically functional after disturbance, retaining much the same organisation and ecological processes that were present before. In Marine Protected Areas, it has been suggested that improved biodiversity results in an increase in resilience against larger scale impacts, thereby justifying the considerable resources dedicated to implementing them. My research will identify the key processes and feedbacks that support resilience in important habitats and ecosystems in Moreton Bay with an emphasis on identifying threshold values for those key processes. I am also interested in how the structure of food webs in key marine habitats change across a gradient of impact in an effort to assess the resistance capacity of Moreton Bay.
Supervisors
- Prof Rod Connolly
- Dr Kylie Pitt
Research expertise
- Ecosystem Resilience
- Estuarine Ecological Health
Publications
- Lennox, S., Wang, Y-G, Maxwell, P., Johnson, S., Harch, B., Udy, J. Water quality assessments for reservoirs using spatio-temporal data from balanced/unbalanced monitoring designs. (In press 2010).
- Kehoe, M., O’ Brien, K., Rissik, D, Grinham A., Ahern, K.S. and Maxwell, P. Simple machine learning models of complex physical factors relevant to the development of blooms of Lyngbya majuscula in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. (In press 2010).
- Pitt KA, Connolly RM, Maxwell P (2009) Redistribution of sewage-nitrogen in estuarine food webs following sewage treatment upgrades. Marine Pollution Bulletin 58:573-580.
- Roelfsema, C.M., Phinn, S.R., Udy, N., and Maxwell, P. (2009) An Integrated Field and Remote Sensing Approach for Mapping Seagrasses Cover and Species in an Complex Estuary, Moreton Bay, Australia. Journal of Spatial Science, 54(1): 1-25.