Assessing linkages across arid zone estuarine landscapes

我们的目标是了解澳大利亚干旱热带地区陆地环境和河口之间的连通性程度。我们将调查陆地-河口联系对近岸食物网的影响，其中包括多种动物，其中一些具有重要的商业价值。陆地-海洋界面的人类活动必须有能力极大地改变从流域到河口输入的时间、数量和组成，从而极大地改变河口的功能。该项目的结果将填补我们对干旱区河口功能的认识空白，并将有助于制定维持河口生产力所需的管理策略。

We aim to understand the degree of connectivity between the terrestrial environment and estuaries in the arid tropics of Australia. We will investigate the impact of terrestrial-estuarine linkages on near shore food webs, which include a diverse fauna, some of which are commercially important. Human activities in the land-ocean interface have to have the capacity to alter greatly the timing, magnitude, and composition of inputs from watersheds to estuaries, thereby greatly altering the function of estuaries. The results of this project will fill a gap in our knowledge of how arid zone estuaries function, and will contribute to developing management strategies needed to maintain estuary productivity.