A COMMONWEALTH SPECIAL RESEARCH CENTRE
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CENTRE FOR RESEARCH ON ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF COASTAL CITIES A COMMONWEALTH SPECIAL RESEARCH CENTRE |
The University of Sydney |
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ACADEMIC STAFF
My research interests encompass various aspects of disturbances (natural and anthropogenic) in coastal benthic assemblages. I have been studying the impact of different anthropogenic disturbances, such as artificial structures, pollution and invasive species, on invertebrate and macroalgal assemblages. In densely populated coastal areas, the various anthropogenic disturbances often occur together affecting biological assemblages concomitantly. In order to evaluate the role of a single source of disturbance, it is of utmost importance to carefully disentangle the various impacts. In the frame of my Ph.D., I studied the invasion impact of an invasive species in the French Mediterranean Sea. The green alga Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea native to south-western Australia has been introduced into the Mediterranean Sea in the early 1990’s. Presently it occurs throughout the entire basin and has even reached the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. My research investigated the effect of the presence of Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea on different macroalgal assemblages. Furthermore an eradication experiment has been carried out to 1) experimentally test the invasion impact and 2) evaluate the possibility of manually controlling this invasive species. During my research; I discovered that Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea highly altered the structure of the different macroalgal assemblages: species numbers and abundance were greatly reduced and the seasonal dynamics of the assemblage were changed. In the French Mediterranean Sea, where pollution and coastal constructions have long been the principal source of anthropogenic disturbance in coastal assemblages, invasive species now seem to play an important role. I am currently working with Prof. Gee Chapman on seawalls in Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson). This research project is partly funded by a Sydney Aquarium Conservation Foundation grant and the Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities. I will investigate competitive interactions between species of limpets on seawalls with regard to food availability, substrate type and structure. For my future research, the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) has awarded me a 2 years research grant. I will be working together with Prof. Tony Underwood on spatial and temporal variance of grazing snails in response to food availability on intertidal rocky shores.To 2008: List of publications by Judith Klein Klein, J. (2007). Impact of Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea (Caulerpales, Chlorophyta) on macrophyte assemblages of the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Aix-Marseilles II, France Klein, J. & M. Verlaque (2008). The Caulerpa racemosa invasion: A critical review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 56, pp. 205-225. Klein, J. & M. Verlaque (2007). Caulerpa racemosa effect on macrophyte assemblages of dead Posidonia beds. Proceedings of the 3rd Mediterranean Symposium on Marine Vegetation, pp.78-82. UNEP RAC-SPA. Klein, J. & M. Verlaque (2005). Laurencia caduciramulosa Masuda et Kawaguchi (Ceramiales, Rhodophyceae), first record on the Mediterranean coast of France. Cryptogamie Algologie, Vol. 26 (2), pp. 209-216. Klein, J., S. Ruitton, M. Verlaque & C.F. Boudouresque (2005). Species introductions, diversity and disturbances in marine macrophyte assemblages of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol. 290, pp. 79-88.
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