Alexandra Campbell

When seaweeds grow, they strip pollutants such as heavy metals, excess nutrients, and oil residue from the water, which is a potentially useful trait around waterways bordering cities or industrialised areas – where even decontaminated material can possess higher levels of nutrients than is normal for the receiving environment.

With this in mind, my team from UniSC's Seaweed Research Group and I investigated whether growing seaweeds on an oyster farm in Moreton Bay might help mitigate some of the nutrients that enter this incredible waterway from Brisbane and surrounding areas upstream of the Brisbane River.