Seagrasses thrive in sheltered estuaries and embayments that are also locations where humans like to build coastal ports, towns, and cities. Not surprisingly, seagrasses are often the first coastal communities to exhibit environmental impacts from coastal development. The DPSWR (Driver-Pressure-State-Welfare-Response) model has proved a useful decision tool for coastal resource managers.

Your task for this assessment is to construct a table that lists three different types of anthropogenic pressure on seagrass communities. For each pressure you will need to:
· describe the drivers of the pressure (Drivers),
· discuss the nature of the pressure (Pressure),
· describe how the pressure damages seagrass communities (State change);
· describe how the change in state of the seagrass may influence human welfare (Welfare); and
· list the current management practices that are in use to mitigate the listed impacts (Response).

Cite references you use in your table where appropriate, but you must add a full reference list on the final page of the document you submit. Nine references is the minimum expected for this assignment.

Describe components of seagrass communities and ecosystem functions (30%)
Describe impacts of coastal development on seagrass communities (20%)
List management of seagrass communities (30%)
Clear writing style in correct English, proper sentence construction and the organisation of material into a logical sequence (10%)
Correct format, accurate referencing, and appropriate length (10%)

The word length for this assignment is 1500 words.

Write a media release based on an impact or management approach to coral reef or kelp forest resources that has been published in a recent scientific research journal (2013 till present).

A media release is a brief, punchy, and attention-grabbing form of written communication designed to raise the interest of TV stations, newspapers, magazines, websites etc. If considered “newsworthy”, your discovery will get greater exposure and lead you to fame and fortune!

Your task is to prepare a media release based on a recent (2013 – present) scientific journal article discussing environmental impacts or their management in either coral reefs or kelp forests. You are free to choose the type of impact/management (i.e. natural vs anthropogenic) and its scale (i.e. microscopic to global), but the more universally relevant it is to humans, the more likely it is to be picked up by the media (e.g. the impacts of floods on the Great Barrier Reef is likely to generate more interest than the discovery of a new species of amoeba).

Clear, informative, attention-grabbing title (13 %)
Topic/issue clearly defined and explained (20 %)
Clear summary of the scientific discovery (20 %)
Clear summary of the application of new knowledge to enhanced management of habitat (20 %)
Reference cited appropriately in the text and full citation provided below (7 %)
Spelling and grammar (13 %)
Adhering to word limit (7 %)

Note: The word limit of 500 words will be strictly enforced.
Other assessment criteria (including hints and tips) will be provided on a separate file on the Moodle site. Please check your assignment against these criteria before submitting.

Construct a poster on one inshore or estuarine Australian fish species. The poster should consist of a concept diagram detailing the lifecycle of the fish species and identify potential impacts on the breeding success of this species. Your poster should include details of the following:
· potential management strategies,
· impacts of coastal developments on species numbers,
· impacts of introduced species,
· reproductive strategies,
· roles of the species in coastal ecosystems.

You will not be required to formally present your poster (it will be submitted through Moodle to the examiner), but you should construct your poster as though it was for a scientific conference.  As such, you'll need to balance content with aesthetics to make sure your poster is eye-catching but also informative.  The word limit for this assessment is 1000 words.

• Relevance, comprehensiveness and accuracy of information (40%)
• Identification and critical analysis of impacts and management strategies (30%)
• Visual impact, organisation and readability of poster and conceptual diagrams (30%)

The residential school will require you to synthesize information from a variety of sources and perspectives, ultimately forming the basis for a feasiblity study of a proposed new (hypothetical) tourist resort on North Keppel Island.  You will be required to consider multiple aspects of developing a new resort, such as energy supply, waste management, environmental impacts, and cultural considerations, among others.  Your task is not to pass judgement on whether a tourist resort should or shouldn't be built, but to instead present relevant information from multiple aspects to allow for the most informed decision to be made regarding the construction of a new resort.  Additional helpful information on writing your feasibility study will be provided in the residential school guide and on Moodle during term. 

Assessment of the feasibility report will be based on the following criteria:

• Executive summary (5 %)
• Introduction (15 %)
• Methodology (10 %)
• Data presentation and interpretation (30 %)
• Summary (15 %)
• References cited (5 %)
• Bibliography (5 %)
• Spelling and grammar (10 %)
• Keeping to word limits (5 %)

The report will be limited to 2500 words.