Using innovative coastal restoration practices – the role of biopolymers in ecological restoration As global efforts intensify to restore our rapidly declining coastal ecosystems, the search for innovative, sustainable solutions becomes paramount. Coastal wetlands, such as mangrove forests and saltmarshes, provide various benefits including protection from storm surges and climate change mitigation. While coastal wetlandsRead more
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A unique opportunity to explore bug diversity Avalon Coastal Complex – just north of Geelong, Victoria – was historically full of thriving coastal wetlands, with vast saltmarshes, natural mudflats and seagrass meadows just offshore. However, many of these coastal ecosystems were lost due to the construction of a large-scale salt works, when much of theRead more
It has not been until recently that seaweeds, also known as macroalgae, are getting greater consideration as a substantial source of blue carbon. They have been previously overlooked because they grow on hard surfaces, and therefore don’t facilitate the accretion of carbon within their habitat, like accreting coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass meadows, andRead more
Master’s students from the Blue Carbon Lab are investigating the impacts of tidal restriction and tidal reinstatement on saltmarsh sediments. Saltmarshes are unique intertidal systems that serve as important habitat for native biodiversity, while also sequestering significant amounts of carbon. Due to their carbon sequestration ability, saltmarshes are vital nature-based assets in the fight againstRead more
Dr Frank Gleason – Passionate Scientist and Philanthropist BCL is fortunate to call Dr Frank Gleason a collaborator and honourary lab member. His career over the past 50 years in eukaryotic microbiology has been highly productive, with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and 20 book chapters. Frank is particularly passionate about animal and plantRead more
For the last six months the BCL has been surrounded by enthusiastic volunteers, both current students and graduates, who have given us a hand with Blue Carbon research. Some volunteers helped Pawel collect hundreds of soil cores. There was a lot of sinking mud, Victoria heat, and rolling thunderstorms. Some of them, Miles and Sam,Read more
From the 8th to the 20th of December, the Blue Carbon Lab was honoured by the visit of Dr Kasper Brodersen – a microsensor expert from the University of Copenhagen. Dr Brodersen trained staff from the Blue Carbon lab in the use of microsensors and collaborated in several research projects using microprofiling techniques on sedimentsRead more
Do you want to submerge yourself into research on Blue Carbon? Well, you can in the lab and/or in the field! Come along and join the coring campaign around Melbourne (Victoria) and help with the processing of samples in the lab. What is it all about? Removal of atmospheric CO2 through biosequestration is necessary toRead more
PhD students Sarah Treby & Katy Limpert are running a mesocosm experiment with freshwater #MUSSELS! They are testing whether mussels have the capacity to improve the water conditions from the inland wetlands they inhabit. Freshwater mussels were collected from West Gippsland and have been exposed to the murky water and sediments provided by Ballerine LandcareRead more
I’ve been a bit quiet on the InSite/Out front for the past few months. I found myself having a light summer field season, which consisted only of a pleasant day trip to collect the 1 year samples for TeaComposition H2O. While I enjoy fieldwork, as an early career researcher, I am noticing that my researchRead more
