Heterogeneity and ecosystem function: The role of microphytobenthos and macrofauna in inducing spatial variability in biogeochemical processes and fluxes.

富营养化（营养物富集）等人为干扰日益威胁到澳大利亚沿海海洋的可持续利用。对富营养化等威胁的管理通常基于大空间尺度的观测，但支撑营养动态的生态过程发生在小得多的尺度上。这项多学科的研究将探讨由小型生物（微观藻类和穴居动物）介导的过程之间的关系，和大规模的营养动态模式的庇护海岸。现代技术将用于监测微观尺度的过程，使模型的建立有利于科学家和决策者。

Human disturbances such as eutrophication (nutrient enrichment) increasingly threaten the sustainable use of Australia's coastal seas. Management of threats such as eutrophication are usually based on observations at large spatial scales, but ecological processes underpinning nutrient dynamics occur at much smaller scales. This multi-disciplinary study will examine the relationship between processes mediated by small organisms (microscopic algae and burrowing animals), and large-scale nutrient dynamics pattern on sheltered coasts. Modern technologies will be used for monitoring the micro-scale processes, allowing models to be constructed to benefit both scientists and policy-makers alike.