Professor Paul Lavery
Professor in Marine Ecology
Co-Principal, Centre for Marine Ecosystems
Research
Teaching Areas
Coastal and Marine Management Aquatic Ecology Pollution
General Research Interests
The ecology and management of benthic marine ecosystems, especially seagrass, ecosystems and the estuarine/coastal lagoon systems of S-W Australia. As an ecologist, my research attempts to bring together the biology, chemistry and physics of these ecosystems to understand how they function, the ecosystem services they provide and how they might respond to a variety of potential disturbances. Since nutrients are one of, if not the, major management issues in relation to these systems, much of my research is applied to understanding how nutrients affect these ecosystems and applying this understanding to develop monitoring and management protocols that target nutrient pollution.
Current Research Projects
- Influence of transported kelp on nearshore marine foodwebs – trophic subsidies in the marine environment.
- Ecophysiological responses of seagrasses to light limitation and their application to environmental quality criteria
- Monitoring Seagrass Ecosystem Health
- Seagrasses habitat use by the dugong
- The influence of Marine Park Sanctuary Zones on fish assemblages and trophic interactions or coral reef ecosystems.
- Nutrient flux across seagrass canopies
- The role of hydrodynamics in controlling macrophyte growth
Honours/Postgraduate Students
CURRENT
- Mr Tibaut deBettignes (PhD). Source and supply of seaweed wrack to adjacent ecosystems
- Mr Adam Gartner (Ph.D) Trophic consequences of seagrass loss due to light reduction
- Mr Gary Choney (MSc). Effects of swan grazing on ecosystems
PAST
- Ms. Rebekah Kenna (PhD) The return of ecological function to transplanted seagrass meadows
- Ms. Catherine Collier (PhD) Characterising responses of the seagrass Posidonia sinuosa to chages in light availability
- Dr Mark Westera (PhD) The effect of recreational fishing on targeted fishes and trophic structure in a coral reef marine park
- Dr Helen Astill: 'The role of benthic macroalgae in sediment-water nutrient cycling in the Swan-Canning Estuarine Systems, Western Australia'.
- Dr Julia Wilson (Ph.D) In vitro propogation of some Western Australian seagrasses
- Mr. John Eyres (MSc) Impact of low density mussel aquaculture on Posidonia sinuosa seagrass meadow
- Mr. David Holley (M.Sc) Habitat use and movement patterns of the Dugong in Shark Bays
- Sofie Harrison (M.Sc) The influence of seabird-derived nutrients on island ecosystems surrounded by oligotrophic marine waters in south-western Australia
- Ms Lea McQuillan (M.Sc) pecies richness, density and cover of sponge assemblages on temperate reefs off Perth, Western Australia
Suggested Honours/Postgraduate Topics for future students
Please contact me directly, by e-mail or phone, to discuss honours and post-graduate projects related to the above areas of research.
Abbreviated CV
Education
B.Sc. (Hons) Botany, The University of Western Australia. 1984
Ph.D. (Botany), The University of Western Australia. 1990
Employment
| 2008-Present | Associate Dean, (Research and Higher Degrees), Faculty of Computing, Health and Science |
| 2006-Present | Professor in Marine Ecology, School of Natural Sciences and Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University |
| 2003 -2006 | Associate Professor in Coastal & Marine Management, School of Natural Sciences and Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University |
| 1997-2003 | Senior Lecturer: School of Natural Sciences and Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University |
| 1994-1997 | Lecturer in Coastal & Marine Management School of Natural Sciences and Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University |
| 1993-1994 | Marine Ecologist, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Boston USA |
| 1992 -1993 | Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Botany Dept., University of Western Australia |
| 1990-1992 | Environmental Officer, The Water Authority of Western Australia. |
| 1990 | Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia |
Publications (2007 - onwards)
Eklöf JS, McMahon K and Lavery PS (2009) Effects of multiple disturbances in seagrass meadows: shading decreases resilience to grazing. Marine & Freshwater Research (in press)
Doropoulos C Hyndes GA, Lavery PS, Tuya F (2009) Dietary preferences of two seagrass inhabiting gastropods: allochthonous vs autochthonous resources. Estuarine, Coastal & Shelf Science 83: 13-18
Vanderklift MA, Lavery PS, Waddington KI (2009) Intensity of herbivory on kelp by fish and sea urchins differs between inshore and offshore reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series 376:203-211.
Collier CJ, Lavery PS, Ralph PJ, Masini RJ, (2009) Shade-induced response and recovery of the seagrass Posidonia sinuosa. Journal Experimental Marine Biology & Ecology 370:89-103.
Prado P, Collier CJ and Lavery PS (2008) Within-shoot and among-shoot 13C and 15N translocation in two Posidonia species from Western Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 361: 69-82.
Collier CJ, Lavery PS, Masini RJ, Ralph PJ (2008) Physiological characteristics of the seagrass Posidonia sinuosa along a depth-related gradient of light availability. Marine Ecology Progress Series 353:65-79.
Cambridge ML, How JR, Lavery PS & Vanderklift MA (2007) Retrospective analysis of epiphyte assemblages in relation to seagrass loss in a eutrophic coastal embayment. Marine Ecology Progress Series 346: 97-107.
Svensson CJ, Hyndes GA and Lavery PS (2007) Food web analysis in two permanently open temperate estuaries: Consequences of saltmarsh loss? Marine Environmental Research 64: 286-304.
Ince R, Hyndes GA, Lavery PS & Vanderklift MA (2007) Marine macrophytes directly enhance abundances of sandy beach fauna through provision of food and habitat. Estuarine Coastal & Shelf Science 74:77-86
Mackey P, Collier CA and Lavery PS (2007) Effects of experimental reduction of light availability on the seagrass Amphibolis griffithii. Marine Ecology Progress Series 342:117-138
Lavery, PS, Reid, T, Hyndes, GA, van Elven, BR. (2007) Effect of leaf movement on the standing crop of algal epiphytes on seagrasses. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 338: 97-106
Collier CJ, Lavery PS, Masini RJ, Ralph PJ (2007) Morphological, growth and meadow characteristics of the seagrass Posidonia sinuosa along a depth-related gradient of light availability. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 337:103-115
