Science of Gamay: a systematic review of current knowledge of Botany Bay

Talia P. Stelling-Wood*, Paul E. Gribben, Paul Adam, Gavin Birch, Melanie J. Bishop, Craig Blount, David J. Booth, Culum Brown, Eleanor Bruce, Ana B. Bugnot, Maria Byrne, Robert (Bob) G. Creese, Katherine A. Dafforn, John Dahlenburg, Martina A. Doblin, Thomas E. Fellowes, Ashley M. Fowler, Mitchell C. Gibbs, William Glamore, Tim GlasbyAmanda C. Hay, Brendan Kelaher, Nathan A. Knott, Anthony William D. Larkum, Laura M. Parker, Ezequiel M. Marzinelli, Mariana Mayer Pinto, Bree Morgan, Shauna A. Murray, Matt Rees, Pauline M. Ross, Moninya Roughan, Neil Saintilan, Elliot Scanes, Justin R. Seymour, Nina Schaefer, Iain M. Suthers, Matthew D. Taylor, Jane E. Williamson, Ana Vila Concejo, Richard Whittington, Will F. Figueira

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Book/ReportCommissioned reportpeer-review

Abstract

Botany Bay, or Gamay as it is called by First Nations people of Gamay, has a long history with humans. First Nations people have lived in the lands around Gamay for thousands of years, and more recently it has been the centre for industrial activity and development (past 200 years). This legacy of human influence means the current day Gamay is significantly different from the Gamay that First Nations people would have inhabited prior to the arrival of European settlers. The bay still hosts a composition of different habitats, some new to Gamay (e.g., hard artificial structures have created novel habitats), others highly modified (e.g., seagrass once covered much of the bay, whereas now it is limited to isolated patches on the northern and southern shorelines), and some that still exist in their original form (e.g., intertidal rocky shore at Cape Banks). Human modification of Gamay intensified in the 1970’s and was comprehensively documented with a series of technical reports produced between 1978 and 1981.

Since then, the bay has, however, continued to be modified by humans and so this review seeks to provide an updated review of Gamay as it stands today. Specifically, this review collates current ecological knowledge of Gamay and its tributaries, by systematically compiling scientific peer-reviewed literature and knowledge from a wide range of stakeholders to produce a comprehensive list of
published biophysical information sources. We focus on the core areas of geology, oceanography, chemistry, ecology and environmental threats to the bay. Historical literature was also included in this review as these early accounts contain some of the only records of Gamay and First Nations people of Gamay prior to British colonisation. In total, 577 different studies were included in this systematic review, including 477 journal articles, 75 reports, 13 books as well as 12 additional resources of other types. This review synthesizes this information into a succinct document accessible to stakeholders, policy makers and the general public. It is produced as a guide to the current state of knowledge of Gamay and readers are directed to references for further information.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationSydney
PublisherSydney Institute of Marine Science
Commissioning bodyNSW Recreational Fishing Trust
Number of pages144
ISBN (Electronic)9780980744521
Publication statusPublished - 2022

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