title: Assessing the impacts of sediments from dredging on corals.
abstract: There is a need to develop water quality thresholds for dredging near coral reefs that can relate physical pressures to biological responses and define exposure conditions above which effects could occur. Water quality characteristics during dredging have, however, not been well described. Using information from several major dredging projects, we describe sediment particle sizes in the water column/seabed, suspended sediment concentrations at different temporal scales during natural and dredging-related turbidity events, and changes in light quantity/quality underneath plumes. These conditions differ considerably from those used in past laboratory studies of the effects of sediments on corals. The review also discusses other problems associated with using information from past studies for developing thresholds such as the existence of multiple different and inter-connected cause-effect pathways (which can confuse/confound interpretations), the use of sediment proxies, and the reliance on information from sediment traps to justify exposure regimes in sedimentation experiments.
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Perth, Australia; Western Australian Marine Science Institution, Perth, Australia. Electronic address: r.jones@aims.gov.au.
authors.forename: Ross
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Perth, Australia; Centre of Microscopy, Charaterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; Western Australian Marine Science Institution, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Pia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bessell-Browne
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Perth, Australia; Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, Australia; In situ Marine Optics, Bibra Lake, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Klonowski
authors.affiliation: Curtin University, Bentley, Perth, Australia; In situ Marine Optics, Bibra Lake, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slivkoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D057894:Coral Reefs; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D014867:Water; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D014873:Water Pollutants; D014867:Water
keywords: Corals; Dredging; Light; Thresholds; Turbidity; Water quality