1.

Defining the audience

User community: Year 8 high school students Persona/scenario: Sasha is a year 8 student living in Sydney. She has never been to rural Australia or experienced its diverse environment. She has to complete a research assignment about Australian wetlands. Bobby is a year 8 student living in Sydney who regularly goes camping with his family in locations all over Australia. He loves spending his time in the great outdoors. He has to prepare a speech educating his classmates about a topic of his choice that the student feels needs recognition and awareness.

2. Editing chunked text

Introduction Wetlands include billabongs, marshes, swamps, shallow lakes and other areas that are covered either temporarily or permanently with shallow water. Australia currently has 53 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with a combined area of 5,249,179 hectares.

Wetlands wildlife Wetlands are areas that are wet for a long enough period that the plants and animals living in or near them are adapted to, and often dependent on, wet conditions for at least part of their life cycle. Wetlands are the habitat for a diverse range of animals including waterbirds, frogs, invertebrates and fish species, as well as water-loving plants such as sedges, rushes and various tree species like river red gum. Wetlands fauna Some of the native fauna found in Australian wetlands are the Banded Landrail, Eastern Tiger Snake, Black Swan, Long-necked Tortoise, Copepod, Shrimp, Lungfish, Yabby, Swamp Harrier, Flying Fox, Freckled Duck, Azure Kingfisher, Albatross Butterfly, White Ibis, Eastern Water Skink, White Necked Heron, Stuttering Frog, Freckled Ducks. Wetlands provide valuable grazing for cattle and sheep. (this could be in a bullet point list) Wetlands birds The abundant food source allows many wetlands to support large numbers of different kinds of birds that may be resident or migratory. Many of the birds that visit Australian wetlands migrate from other parts of the world such as Japan, Siberia and China for the Australian summer. Apart from native fauna, wetlands are used for grazing cattle and sheep and may also support pest species such as pigs, goats, cats, deer, rabbits, foxes and European carp.

Waterplants There are about 600 species of waterplants in Australia. Most of these are uncommon species that play a small but very important part in increasing diversity in a wetland. Waterplants are also important as they can reduce erosion by reducing flow rates and trapping suspended sediments. They add dissolved oxygen to the water and are a direct source of food for aquatic animals. They strip nutrients from the water, and compete with bloom-forming algae for nutrients. They also provide habitat for the breeding of some aquatic animals. Water plants can be divided into groups based upon their habitat (the environment in which a plant grows naturally) and growth form; four groups are commonly used. Emergent plants that tolerate flooding (trees & shrubs), emergent plants, submerged plants, floating plants: free floating & floating attached. Some free-floating aquatic plants that may form scums are sometimes confused with blue-green algal blooms. Common examples are Azolla and duckweeds. Algal blooms By removing nutrients, wetlands decrease the likelihood of algal blooms forming further downstream. Blue-green algal blooms are a natural phenomena and while it is not exactly clear what triggers a bloom, excess nutrients certainly can increase the intensity of blooms (i.e. greater number of algae). Once a blue-green algal bloom occurs, very little can be done to stop it. Unfortunately, there is no easy way of detecting if a bloom is toxic. Algae Algae are generally microscopic organisms. They live in a wide range of aquatic environments and are a natural component of most aquatic ecosystems, including wetlands. Role of wetlands Wetlands improve water quality downstream. As water passes through the wetland it slows down, allowing sediment to settle. Many nutrients and other pollutants in the water or attached to the sediment, are removed as the water passes through the wetland. The quality of both surface and groundwater may be improved as it flows through wetlands. Wetlands detain floodwaters or runoff, reducing downstream flood peaks which could otherwise cause erosion and flood damage in the catchment. Groundwater refers to all water held beneath the ground below the water table. Compared to surface water, groundwater moves very slowly through soils, sediments and rocks. Groundwater and the surface water of wetlands interact in various ways and can influence the characteristics of a wetland. Sometimes groundwater can be the major source of water to a wetland. Likewise, wetlands can be a major source of recharge water to the groundwater system. Significance of wetlands for Aboriginal people Wetlands may be particularly significant to Aboriginal people as a traditional and important source of food and water, as well as being a site of cultural ceremony. Threats to wetlands Over 50% of the worlds wetlands have been lost since 1900. About 80% of the wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain have already been lost through urban and agricultural development. Threats to wetland ecosytems include changes to water levels, changes in water chemistry, physical disturbance and invasion by introduced species (weeds and non-native animals). Some issues and management responses relating to wetlands are grazing, river regulation, wetland water regimes, acid sulphate soils, wetlands and salinity, water quality, and mosquitoes.

During droughts, wetlands provide feed when other areas are depleted. The challenge is to use the grazing benefit without permanently degrading its ecological values. Prolonged intensive grazing on some properties may have adversely affected the ecology of these wetlands. Unfortunately the impact of domestic livestock on the ecological processes in wetlands is poorly understood. Managing potential threats to protect wetlands Of the remaining wetlands, only 15% remain in a relatively untouched state. These precious wetlands are called Conservation Category Wetlands, and protected for their high conservation value. In order to manage wetlands effectively, it is necessary to have adequate knowledge of the major issues that do or have the potential to impact on wetlands, the flora and fauna communities within them, and the people living around them. Friends groups care for wetlands through monitoring, revegetation and weeding, raising public awareness, and assisting Council with long-term management and restoration programs.

3. Analysis
The language style is very factual, objective and informative. This textbook style, and although quite dense, would be useful for students completing an assignment. They would require good reading and understanding skills, however with the text chunked into appropriate categories with clear headings, effective navigation would be possible.