Dr Ron West has been working on estuarine wetlands for many years and has a particular interest in seagrass communities along the eastern Australian coast. In the 1980’s he was involved in mapping the estuarine wetlands of the entire SE Australian (NSW) coastline and has since supervised several PhD projects associated with coastal wetlands. He is now developing new projects on phytoplankton and harmful algal communities.
Posidonia australis flower (right)
Some of his publications in this area are listed below.
Collett, L. C., A. J. Collins, P. J. Gibbs, and R. J. West. 1981. Shallow dredging as a strategy for the control of sublittoral macrophytes: a case study in Tuggerah Lakes, New South Wales. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 32:562-571.
Larkum, A. D., and R. J. West. 1990. Long-term changes of seagrass meadows in Botany Bay, Australia. Aquatic botany 37:55-70.
Larkum, A. W. D., and R. J. West. 1983. Stability, depletion and restoration of seagrass beds. Proceedings of the Linnean Society (NSW) 106:201-212.
Meehan, A. J., and R. J. West. 2000. Recovery times for a damaged Posidonia australis bed in south eastern Australia. Aquatic botany 67:161-167.
Meehan, A. J., and R. J. West. 2001. Seagrasses in Southern NSW Estuaries. FRDC Project 97/220, Ocean and Coastal Research Centre, University of Wollongong.
Meehan, A. J., and R. J. West. 2004. Seedling development and patch formation of the seagrass Posidonia australis in a southeast Australian estuary. Aquatic botany 79:1-14.
Rutten, K., R. J. Morrison, and R. J. West. 2004. Macroalgae in Lake Illwarra, New South Wales, Australia. Wetlands (Australia) 21:104-115.
Shepherd, S. A., A. McComb, D. Bulthuis, V. Neverauskus, and R. J. West. 1989. Decline in some Australian seagrass beds. Chapter 15. in Seagrass Ecosystems - an Australian perspective. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam.
West, R. J. 1983. The seagrasses of New South Wales estuaries and embayments. Wetlands (Australia) 3:34-44.
West, R. J. 1985. Mangroves. New South Wales, Department of Agriculture, Sydney.
West, R. J. 1990. Depth related structural and morphological variations in an Australian Posidonia seagrass bed. Aquatic botany 36:153-166.
West, R. J. 2004. Effect of climate and human induced changes on the seagrasses in Lake Illawarra. Wetlands (Australia) 21:125-138.
West, R. J., N. E. Jacobs, and D. E. Roberts. 1990. Experimental transplanting of seagrasses in Botany Bay, Australia. Marine pollution bulletin 21:197-203.
West, R. J., and A. W. D. Larkum. 1979. Leaf productivity of the seagrass Posidonia australis in eastern Australian waters. Aquatic botany 7:57-65.
West, R. J., and A. W. D. Larkum. 1983. Seagrass primary production -a review. Proceedings of the Linnean Society (NSW) 106:213-223.
West, R. J., A. W. D. Larkum, and R. J. King. 1989. Regional studies - seagrasses of south eastern Australia. Pages 23-260 in A. W. D. Larkum, A. J. McComb, and S. A. Shepherd, editors. Biology of Australian seagrasses - a treatise on the biology of seagrasses with special reference to the Australian region. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
West, R. J., C. Thorogood, T. Walford, and J. R. Williams. 1985. An estuarine inventory for New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales, Department of Agriculture, Sydney:140.
West, R. J., and C. A. Thorogood. 1985. Mangrove dieback in Hunter River caused by caterpillars. Australian fisheries 44:27-28.
West, R. J., T. R. Walford, C. A. Thorogood, and R. J. Williams. 1984. Mangrove distribution in New South Wales. Wetlands (Australia) 4:2-6.
West, R. J., and R. J. Williams. 1986. NSW wetland maps aid estuarine management. Australian fisheries 45:27-30.
