The DPSWR (Driver-Pressure-State-Welfare-Response) model discussed in lecture has proved a useful decision tool for resource managers. Drivers are largely economic and socio-political; Pressures are the result of the way in which Drivers change the environment; State change is a measure (or proxy) of the consequences of Pressures on species or ecosystems; human Welfare changes are measures of the ‘costs’ to society as a result of State changes; and Responses are how society attempts to reduce the Welfare impact or compensate for it through policies. Responses can be directed toward the Driver, Pressure, State and/or human Welfare Impacts.

Your task for this assessment is to construct a table that lists three different types of macroplastic and/or microplastic pollution pressure on coastal 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 coastal communities (State change);

• describe how the change in state of coastal ecosystems may influence human welfare (Welfare); and

• list the current management practices that are in use to mitigate the listed impacts (Response).

The structure of the table is up to you but placing “Drivers”, “Pressure”, “State Change”, “Welfare” and “Response” either as rows or column headings seems to work best. Dot points under your table headings are usually a good way to organise and present your information. 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 are the minimum expected for this assignment.

Additional helpful details about this assignment will be provided on Moodle, including an exemplar.

This assignment will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Describe the components of coastal communities and their ecosystem functions (30%)
• Describe the impacts of plastic pollution on coastal communities (20%)
• List management options for plastics on coastal 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%)

This task requires you to write a media release based on an impact or management approach to coral reef or kelp forest ecosystems that has been published in a recent scientific research journal (2014 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”, the discovery you write about will get greater exposure (and maybe lead to fame and fortune!)

Your task is to prepare a media release based on a recent (2014 – 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).

Further information, hints and tips about this assignment will be provided on Moodle, including an exemplar. 

This assignment will be assessed against the following criteria:

• 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.  One of the challenges of writing a media release is to keep the text short on length but heavy on highly relevant information.  Succinct writing in this fashion is a valuable skill to learn, so please see the exemplar provided on Moodle as a guide.

Other assessment criteria (including hints and tips) will be provided on a separate file on the Moodle page. Please check your assignment against these criteria before submitting.

Australia has long enjoyed access to a wide variety of high-quality seafood, but there are many examples where particular fisheries have not been managed well and ultimately resulted in environmental impacts as well as economic and social distress (e.g. the collapse of a commercial fishery).  Good management of a fishery requires an ongoing synthesis of knowledge from multiple areas, including a basic understanding of the biology of the species (especially their reproductive potential) and their population structure, species movement patters and catch rate data, and economic profitability and license numbers.

Your task in this assessment is to construct a poster describing one inshore or estuarine Australian fish, mollusc or crustacean species that is subject to commercial fishing.

NOTE: Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) cannot be selected as the species for the poster.

The poster should consist of a concept diagram detailing the life cycle of the chosen species and identifying potential impacts on the recruitment success of this species at various stages in the life cycle. Your poster should include details of the following:

• Biology, distribution and reproductive strategies of the species,
• current management strategies,

• impacts of coastal developments, poor water quality and habitat degradation on the species and the fishery, and

• role/s of the species in coastal ecosystem/s.

Additional information about this assessment will be provided on Moodle during term, including an exemplar.  Submission will be done online via Moodle, using an appropriate program to construct your poster (e.g. Word, PDF, Powerpoint, Publisher).

Your poster will be assessed according to the:

• Relevance, comprehensiveness and accuracy of information (including citation of appropriate scientific literature) (40%)
• Identification and critical analysis of impacts and management strategies (30%)
• Visual impact, organisation and readability of the poster and its conceptual diagrams (30%)

For this assessment you will be required to synthesize information from a variety of sources and perspectives to develop a feasiblity study of a proposed new (hypothetical) tourist resort on North Keppel Island. You will be provided with a broad range of materials (via Moodle) that will require you to develop and practice practical skills for quantifying coastal habitats and impacts.  Additionally, readings will be provided that you'll need to synthesise in order 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 perspectives to allow for the most informed decision to be made regarding the construction of a new resort.

Additional helpful information on how to write your feasibility study will be provided on Moodle during term, including an exemplar. Additionally, you will be provided with an online study pack that will contain readings, tutorial videos, practical resources, as well as links to useful external web pages where you can gain additional relevant information and skills to help complete this assignment.

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

Executive summary (5 %)
Background (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.