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Acid Sulphate Soil
When exposed to air, waterlogged soil, common in coastal lowlands of South-east Queensland, is converted into acid and releases metals such as iron.
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Algae
A very broad group of simple plants including phytoplankton, and benthic microalgae and macroalgae that live in fresh or salt water and are capable of photosynthesis
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Alluvium
Sediment that has been eroded, transported and deposited by water
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Ammonium
A form of nitrogen easily absorbed by aquatic plants
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Aquifer
Underground storages of water or ‘dams’
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Bacteria
Microscopic, single celled life forms that are so diverse, they can be found living virtually everywhere on earth
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Benthic Microalgae (BMA)
Microscopic plants that live in the sediment (mud or sand) and which are an important food source for animals such as prawns
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Billabong
A body of water which remains from a sealed off bend of a river
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Catchment
An area of land bounded by natural features such as hills, from which rain falls and flows to a common point, usually ending in a river or creek and eventually the sea
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Chlorophyll a
Pigment that captures light for photosynthesis, found in plants and bacteria
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Coral
Soft polyps containing a plant and animal, many of which secrete a limestone cement that builds up in various patterns over years (Check this entry)
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Crustacean
Animals such as crabs, prawns and shrimps which generally have a hard shell
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Cyanobacteria
Often called blue-green algae; a primitive life form that grows in fresh and seawater and which may contain toxins
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Denitrification
Conversion of biologically available nitrogen to biologically unavailable nitrogen gas, by specialised bacteria.
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Deposition
Settling of particles on the sediment bed
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Dissolved oxygen
Oxygen (from the atmosphere or from a bi-product of metabolic processes) dissolved in the water and available for animal and plant uptake
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Dugong
Sea mammal that feeds on seagrass
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Ecological Health
Describes how healthy an eco- system is in terms of the ability of a system to be productive, biologically diverse and resilient to change
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Ecosystem
The environment and the plants and animals that depend on it
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Embayment
A small bay with a wide opening such as Deception, Bramble and Waterloo Bay
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Estuary
The tidal section of a river which is influenced by inputs of freshwater and tidal movements
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Eucalypt
A gum tree; group of trees native to Australia
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Eutrophication
Over-enrichment of a waterway with nutrients, which can lead to excess algal growth and sometime algal blooms
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Floodplain
The area of land on either side of a creek or river which can be naturally covered with water when the waterway gets too full
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Flushing
Exchange of water from one location to another, generally referring to a pulse of rain water flowing through a river or creek or to tidal exchange
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Groundcover
Low growing plants covering the ground which stabilise soil and help reduce erosion
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Groundwater
Water that has soaked into the soil and moves through the ground in close interaction with surface water
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Habitat
The environment, including physical and biological features, in which an animal or plant lives
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Heathland
A type of vegetation generally found on poor quality soils in coastal lowlands
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Hydrogen sulphide
A compound found in acid sulphate soils, which, when exposed to the air and water, produce sulphuric acid
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Iron
An element essential in small quantities, to all biota
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Longshore drift
The northwards movement of sand along the east coast Australia
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Lyngbya
A toxic marine cyanobacteria which blooms annually in Moreton Bay
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Macroalgae
Multicellular plants with a leafy appearance that grow in water and are visible to the human eye
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Mangrove
Salt-tolerant trees or shrubs that have their lower trunk and roots in the water usually in the intertidal zone
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Meandering
Winding, as a river winds through the floodplain
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Microalgae
Small plants that live in the water and can’t be seen by the naked eye
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Nitrogen
A nutrient which is essential to all biota, including plants, animals and bacteria; needed to form proteins and genetic material
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Nitrogen fixation
Conversion of gaseous nitrogen (in the air that we breathe) into a form which can be taken up by plants, carried out by only certain bacteria and cyanobacteria
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Nutrients
Essential elements required by biota
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Oxidation
The addition of oxygen to a compound
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Phosphorescence
Luminescence produced by certain groups of marine phytoplankton and animals
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Phosphorus
A nutrient which is essential to all biota, including plants, animals and bacteria, found in energy molecules and membranes of cells
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Photosynthesis
Conversion of light and carbon dioxide into organic molecules carried out by plants, algae and some bacteria
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Pine Plantation
Forests of pine tree grown for timber, generally the northern hemisphere exotics Pinus elliotti and Pinus caribaea
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Pneumatophores
Mangrove roots which poke out of the mud enabling the tree roots to soak up oxygen when the tide is out
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Point Source
A single point discharge of, for example, nutrients or sediments rather than run-off from the land
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Pollutant
A substance which may naturally occur but be present at harmful levels (e.g. sediment or nutrients) or which may be unnatural in the environment (e.g. pesticides)
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Productivity
The rate that organic molecules are formed from photosynthesis
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Rainforest
Forests that develop in areas with high rainfall
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Residence time
The amount of time that water or substances in the water stay in an area
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Riparian Vegetation
Vegetation/plants along a waterway or on land which adjoins and influences a waterway
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Saltmarsh
Herbs or small shrubs which grow behind mangroves at the upper limit of the tidal range
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Sea lettuce
Ulva lactuca; a green macroalgae with ‘sheets’ of green cells radiating from one point, resembles a lettuce
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Seagrass
Marine flowering plant that grows submersed in seawater
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Secchi depth
A black and white plate sized disc is lowered into the water column, the depth in the water that it can no longer be seen is the secchi depth, used for measuring water clarity
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Sediment
Sand or mud that are generally derived from the land and can be found suspended in the water column or on the waterway bottom
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Sewage
Wastewater from toilets, showers, the kitchen sink, laundries and industrial discharge and has entered the sewerage system
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Sewage Treatment Plant
(STP); the place where sewage is treated, and many of the solids and nutrients removed before the left-over liquid is discharged into the waterways
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Southern Oscillation
Climatic variation, particularly rainfall, caused by changes in air pressure and sea pressure in the Pacific Ocean; also known as El Niño-La Nina
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Sponge
Simple animals which look like sponges under water, covered in small openings
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Stormwater
Water, often containing pollutants, that runs off roofs, roads and other urban surfaces and drains directly into waterways
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Stream order
Refers to the relative size of the streams in the catchment, with the lowest stream order at the headwaters and the highest stream order is the main river trunk
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Sulfuric acid
An acid that is released when acid sulphate soils are exposed
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Tea tree
A group of trees and shrubs (including paper barks, genus name melaleuca) which secrete organic substances (tannins) which stain water a tea colour
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Turbidity
The amount of sediment in the water
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Vegetation
A general term for the plant cover in an area
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Wallum
Heathland that grows in sandy, low nutrient, acidic soils on the lowlands and offshore islands of South-east Queensland
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Water cycle
The cycle of water through the environment including rain, flow over and under the land and transpiration back into the atmosphere
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Water quality
Physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the water column, including nutrients, sediment and chlorophyll a.
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Waterway
A passage for water including any stream, river or bay which sometimes or always contains water
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Weir
Dam across a river or stream to control flow
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Wetland
An area of vegetation, either temporarily or permanently flooded with fresh or salt water, including mangrove, marsh and melaleuca wetlands
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| Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program |
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