Stacey M. Trevathan-Tackett

• PhD
• PostDoc Position at Deakin University

Mangrove forests around the world are under significant pressure from climate change (e.g., rising sea levels), and human-related anthropogenic activities (e.g., coastal infrastructure development). Mangrove restoration projects have increased over the past decades but seedling and propagule survival rates are reportedly low, while many projects ha...

Coastal ecosystems provide critical ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration and coastal protection, yet face continuing global decline. In areas where natural revegetation is impeded (e.g., altered hydrodynamics, substrate instability, erosion), active restoration techniques using artificial structures like Biodegradable Elements for Sta...

Patchy global data on belowground litter decomposition dynamics limit our capacity to discern the drivers of carbon preservation and storage across inland and coastal wetlands. We performed a global, multiyear study in over 180 wetlands across 28 countries and 8 macroclimates using standardized litter as measures of “recalcitrant” (rooibos tea) and...

Seagrass meadows are declining globally at alarming rates due to multiple stressors. Efforts are underway to preserve and restore these valuable ecosystems. Several frameworks for seagrass restoration exist, and some restoration attempts are being made at scale; however, poor outcomes are widespread, suggesting our understanding of the processes th...

Blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), such as mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrasses, are important nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation but are threatened by degradation. Effective BCE restoration requires strategic planning and site selection to optimise outcomes. We developed a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based mu...

Managing coastal wetlands is one of the most promising activities to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases, and it also contributes to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. One of the options is through blue carbon projects, in which mangroves, saltmarshes, and seagrass are managed to increase carbon sequestration and reduce green...

Coastal nitrogen enrichment significantly contributes to the decline of seagrass health and habitat, thereby diminishing its capacity to capture and sequester carbon (i.e., Blue Carbon). However, the consequences to blue carbon stocks due to sublethal changes in chemical recalcitrance of seagrass organic matter (OM) caused by nitrogen enrichment is...

Wetlands are characterised by soils rich in organic matter that accumulate carbon, providing an important pathway for carbon dioxide sequestration. Nevertheless, not all the carbon fixed can be accumulated, and a proportion will decompose through microbial consumption and be partly released into the atmosphere. Rates of organic matter decomposition...

Climate change is fundamentally altering marine and coastal ecosystems on a global scale. While the effects of ocean warming and acidification on ecology and ecosystem functions and services are being comprehensively researched, less attention is directed toward understanding the impacts of human-driven ocean salinity changes. The global water cycl...

Labyrinthula are unicellular protists occupying diverse spatial and functional niches, including various roles in host and ecological function, fatty acid production, pandemic marine disease and saprobic decomposition. Labyrinthula species span tropical and temperate climates and have been isolated from each marine coastal ecosystem tested. Our und...

The capacity of Blue Carbon Ecosystems to act as carbon sinks is strongly influenced by the metabolism of soil-associated microbes, which ultimately determine how much carbon is accumulated or returned to the atmosphere. The rapid evolution of sequencing technologies has facilitated the generation of tremendous amounts of data on what taxa comprise...

The global carbon sequestration and avoided emissions potentially achieved via blue carbon is high (∼3% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions); however, it is limited by multidisciplinary and interacting uncertainties spanning the social, governance, financial, and technological dimensions. We compiled a transdisciplinary team of experts to elu...

Coastal pollution, including nutrient loading, can negatively impact seagrass health and cover and may consequently alter soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation and preservation. Key to understanding how eutrophication impacts SOC cycling in seagrass ecosystems is how nutrient loading changes the sources of carbon being deposited and how these chan...

The restoration of blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangrove forests, is increasingly used as a management tool to mitigate climate change by removing and sequestering atmospheric carbon in the ground. However, estimates of carbon-offset potential are currently based on data from natural mangrove forests, potentially leading to overestimating the ca...

The ratio of isotopes of carbon (¹³C:¹²C or δ¹³C) and nitrogen (¹⁵N:¹⁴N or δ¹⁵N) are common indicators of the flow and storage of organic matter in coastal wetland research. Effective use of these indicators requires quantification and understanding of: (1) the variability of isotope signatures of potential organic matter source materials; and (2)...

Freshwater wetlands are natural sinks of carbon; yet, wetland conversion for agricultural uses can shift these carbon sinks into large sources of greenhouse gases. We know that the anthropogenic alteration of wetland hydrology and the broad use of N-fertilizers can modify biogeochemical cycling, however, the extent of their combined effect on green...

It is global practice to construct wetlands in urban environments to treat pollutants from stormwater and overland runoff. However, constructed wetlands can also trigger climatic consequences by releasing a considerable amount of greenhouse gas emissions via diffusion and ebullition. While diffusive emissions are broadly measured, assessing the ext...

Plant cell wall biomass is composed of a range of different types of carbon-based compounds. The proportions of the primary carbon types affect how cell walls decompose, an important ecosystem process because their decay contributes to soil carbon. Traditionally, these components are estimated using wet chemistry methods that can be costly and degr...

Coastal ecosystems are under increasing pressure from land-derived eutrophication in most developed coastlines worldwide. Here, we tested for 277 days the effects of a nutrient pulse on blue carbon retention and cycling within an Australian temperate coastal system. After 56 days of exposure, saltmarsh and mangrove plots subject to a high-nutrient...

Wetland ecosystems are critical to the regulation of the global carbon cycle, and there is a high demand for data to improve carbon sequestration and emission models and predictions. Decomposition of plant litter is an important component of ecosystem carbon cycling, yet a lack of knowledge on decay rates in wetlands is an impediment to predicting...

Wetlands have a major influence on the global carbon cycle, with capacity to act as carbon 'sinks' or 'sources'. The source-sink capacity of wetlands is governed by microbially-mediated biogeochemical processes, which are furthermore regulated by environmental conditions. With growing interest in nature-based climate solutions, policymakers and res...

Wetlands are among the earth's most efficient ecosystems for carbon sequestration, but can also emit potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) depending on how they are managed. Global management strategies have sought to maximize carbon drawdown by wetlands by manipulating wetland hydrology to inhibit bacterially-mediated emissions. However, it has recently...

More than two-thirds of global biomass consists of vascular plants. A portion of the detritus they generate is carried into the oceans from land and highly productive blue carbon ecosystems—salt marshes, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows. This large detrital input receives scant attention in current models of the global carbon cycle, though fo...

Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE; tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources. Here, we present organic carbon (C) storage in VCE across Australian climate regions and estimate potential annual CO2 emission benefits of VCE conservati...

Viruses are non-living, acellular entities, and the most abundant biological agents on earth. They are widely acknowledged as having the capacity to influence global biogeochemical cycles by infecting the bacterial and archaeal populations that regulate carbon and nutrient turnover. Evidence suggests that the majority of viruses in wetlands are bac...

Vegetated coastal habitats (VCHs), such as mangrove forests, salt marshes and seagrass meadows, have the ability to capture and store carbon in the sediment for millennia, and thus have high potential for mitigating global carbon emissions. Carbon sequestration and storage is inherently linked to the geochemical conditions created by a variety of m...

Seagrass ecosystems are highly productive, and are sites of significant carbon sequestration. Sediment-held carbon stocks can be many thousands of years old, and persist largely due to sediment anoxia and because microbial activity is decreasing with depth. However, the carbon sequestered in seagrass ecosystems may be susceptible to remineralizatio...

Marine heterotrophic protists of the Labyrinthulomycota are of interest for their biotechnological (e.g. thraustochytrid production of lipids) and ecological (e.g. wasting disease and rapid blight by pathogens of the genus Labyrinthula) applications; culture-based laboratory studies are a central technique of this research. However, maintaining suc...

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) represents a significant source of nutrients that supports the microbial-based food web in seagrass ecosystems. However, there is little information on how the various fractions of DOM from seagrass leaves contributed to the coastal biogeochemical cycles. To address this gap, we carried out a 30-day laboratory chamber...

Like both terrestrial plants and other benthic marine organisms, seagrasses host abundant and diverse communities of microorganisms. These microbes fundamentally influence seagrass physiology and health, while also regulating the biogeochemical dynamics of entire seagrass meadows. Discrete populations of bacteria, fungi, microalgae, archaea and vir...

Knowledge of the genetic structure of ecologically important species provides insight into population dynamics and persistence, which is important for decisions concerning ecosystem conservation and management. Seagrass ecosystems are being degraded in China due to coastal anthropogenic disturbances like eutrophication and pollution, but their gene...

Eutrophication can play a significant role in seagrass decline and habitat loss. Microorganisms in seagrass sediments are essential to many important ecosystem processes, including nutrient cycling and seagrass ecosystem health. However, current knowledge of the bacterial communities, both beneficial and detrimental, within seagrass meadows in resp...

Through litter decomposition enormous amount of carbon is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous large-scale decomposition experiments have been conducted focusing on this fundamental soil process in order to understand the controls on the terrestrial carbon transfer to the atmosphere. However, previous studies were mostly based on site-specific litte...

Through litter decomposition enormous amounts of carbon is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous large-scale decomposition experiments have been conducted focusing on this fundamental soil process in order to under-stand the controls on the terrestrial carbon transfer to the atmosphere. However, previous studies were mostly based on site-specific litt...

Seagrass meadows are important global blue carbon sinks. Despite a 30% loss of seagrasses globally during the last century, there is limited empirical research investigating the effects of disturbance and loss of seagrass on blue carbon stocks. In this study, we hypothesised that seagrass loss would reduce blue carbon stocks. Using shading cloth, w...

Mechanistic models rely on specification of parameters representing biophysical traits and process rates such as phytoplankton, zooplankton and seagrass growth and respiration rates, organism sizes, stoi-chiometry, light, temperature and nutrient responses, nutrient-specific excretion rates and detrital stoichiometry and decay rates. Choosing suita...

Seagrasses and macroalgae provide ecosystem services that are imperative to human survival and well-being. The provision of habitat for fisheries species is one of these ecosystem services. Indeed, much of the world's fisheries species depend on seagrasses and macroalgae for food, shelter, protection from predators, and as a nursery ground during t...

Human-induced global change is expected to amplify the disease risk for marine biota. However, the role of disease in the rapid global decline of seagrass is largely unknown. Global change may enhance seagrass susceptibility to disease through enhanced physiological stress, while simultaneously promoting pathogen development. This review outlines t...

Seagrass ecosystems have recently been identified for their role in climate change mitigation due to their globally-significant carbon sinks; yet, the capacity of seagrasses to sequester carbon has been shown to vary greatly among seagrass ecosystems. The recalcitrant nature of seagrass tissues, or the resistance to degradation back into carbon dio...

Seagrass species form important marine and estuarine habitats providing valuable ecosystem services and functions. Coastal zones that are increasingly impacted by anthropogenic development have experienced substantial declines in seagrass abundance around the world. Australia, which has some of the world’s largest seagrass meadows and is home to ov...

To promote the sequestration of blue carbon, resource managers rely on best-management practices that have historically included protecting and restoring vegetated coastal habitats (seagrasses, tidal marshes, and mangroves), but are now beginning to incorporate catchment-level approaches. Drawing upon knowledge from a broad range of environmental v...

Seagrass ecosystems are significant carbon sinks, and their resident microbial communities ultimately determine the quantity and quality of carbon sequestered. However, environmental perturbations have been predicted to affect microbial-driven seagrass decomposition and subsequent carbon sequestration. Utilizing techniques including 16S-rDNA sequen...

In this chapter a range of sediment sampling techniques specifically suited to estuarine conditions are briefly described and discussed. Advice is provided about the selection of appropriate coring sites and techniques for a variety of conditions, including water depth, varying sediment composition, and sample analytical requirements. In the sectio...

Excessive accumulation of plant ‘wrack’ on beaches as a result of coastal development and beach modification (e.g. groin installation) is a global problem. This study investigated the potential for converting beach-cast seagrass wrack into biochar as a ‘climate-friendly’ disposal option for resource managers. Wrack samples from 11 seagrass species...

As a result of anthropogenic influences and global climate change, emerging infectious marine diseases are thought to be increasingly more common and more severe than in the past. The aim of our investigation was to confirm the presence of Labyrinthula, the etiological agent of the seagrass wasting disease, in Southeastern Australia and provide the...

Seagrasses areamong the Earth’smost efficient and long-termcarbon sinks, but coastal development threatens this capacity. We report new evidence that disturbance to seagrass ecosystems causes release of ancient carbon. In a seagrass ecosystem that had been disturbed 50 years ago, we found that soil carbon stocks declined by 72%, which, according to...

Many marine ecosystems have the capacity for long-term storage of organic carbon (C) in what are termed 'blue-carbon' systems. While blue carbon systems (saltmarsh, mangrove and seagrass) are efficient at long-term sequestration of organic carbon (C), much of their sequestered C may originate from other (allochthonous) habitats. Macroalgae, due to...

A new protocol was developed to detach bacteria from seagrass tissue and subsequently enumerate cells using flow cytometry (FCM). A method involving addition of the surfactant Tween 80 and vortexing resulted in maximum detachment efficiency of seagrass attached bacteria, providing a robust protocol for precisely enumerating seagrass-associated bact...

Marine pathogens of the genus Labyrinthula have been identified as the cause of wasting disease in seagrass systems in both temperate and subtropical regions. An understanding of the association between environmental factors and the prevalence of wasting disease in seagrass meadows is important for elucidating plant–pathogen interactions in coastal...

Seagrass meadows are a vital component of coastal ecosystems and have experienced declines in abundance due to a series of environmental stressors including elevated salinity and incidence of disease. This study evaluated the impacts of short-term hypersalinity stress on the early stages of infection in Thalassia testudinum Banks ex König by assess...