by Rian J. Meginley. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader. / The gorgonian Briareum asbestinum is widely studied because it possesses highly oxygenated novel structures, many of which exhibit useful biological activities. Recently, two new briarane diterpenoids, briareolate esters J and K, together with two known briareolate esters have been isolated from a specimen of Briareum asbestinum collected off the coast of Boca Raton, Florida. The method used was a 96-well plate real-time cell electronic sensing (RT-CES) system to discover compounds that impact human embryonic stem cell growth. The compounds were isolated using reversed phase polystyrene divinylbenzene chromatographic support HP20ss followed by normal phased HPLC using a luna silica column. The structures of the compounds were established though the interpretation of spectroscopic data. Activity testing was conducted against hESCs (BG02) with briareolate ester J showing no inhibition activity and briareolate ester K showing mild activity with an EC50 value of 25 (So(BM. These results confirm that the exact confirmation and existence of the (E,Z)-dienone is related to the activity that was observed with the previously isolated briareolate esters L and M.

Orientador: Marcia Regina Selpa Heinzle. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Educação) - Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação, Centro de Ciências da Educação, Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Blumenau.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-09-27T12:27:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula Guimarães Silva.pdf: 985455 bytes, checksum: f7ec26beeb5bd429ba54e6b04df23b3c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-27T12:27:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula Guimarães Silva.pdf: 985455 bytes, checksum: f7ec26beeb5bd429ba54e6b04df23b3c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Introduction: in considering that 90% of the choirs in the world are amateurs and that most of the time they do not receive guidance from a vocal coach, in most cases, only the conductor is responsible for the vocal preparation of the choristers and the attribution of a collective sound. Objective: to verify the strategies used by a group of amateur choir conductors to construct the sonorities of their choirs. Method: This is a descriptive cross-sectional observational study. A survey was prepared for the study based on the literature and the experience of the researchers, divided into three parts: identification and characterization of the sample, characterization of the analyzed amateur choir and investigation on the choral sonority. The selection of the subjects was given by the snowball technique and the inclusion criteria was to be at least 18 years older, to be regent of amateur choir with minimum experience of two years and to be ruling the group for at least six months. For the answers on the form of work with the sonority were created five categories with the most recurrent terms. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed using absolute and relative frequencies. Results: the sample was finalized with 65 regents, 58.5% male and 41.5% female, with a mean age of 42.2 years and 64.6% of them had ten or more years of career. About the characteristic of the amateur choir, the majority were popular music (70.8%), with 10 to 20 members (38.5%) and age group between 31 to 40 years old (30.8%). In the construction of the sonority, the category of technical aspects was highlighted, with 42.4%, followed by tunes with 19.2% aspects related to the interpretation and aspects of musical perception, and lastly, aspects related to body / breathing with 10.1%. The majority (70.8%) of the regents reported difficulties to achieve the desired sonority. Conclusion: the group of regents analyzed used as strategies to work sound mainly technical aspects: vocalizes; vocal technique; warm-ups and resonance / Introdução: ao considerar que 90% dos coros no mundo são amadores e que na maioria das vezes esses não recebem orientação de um professor de canto, cabe, na maioria dos casos, apenas ao regente a conduta do preparo vocal dos coralistas e a atribuição de uma sonoridade coletiva. Objetivo: verificar as estratégias utilizadas por um grupo de regentes de coro amador para a construção da sonoridade de seus coros. Método: trata-se de uma pesquisa observacional transversal descritiva. Foi elaborado um questionário para o estudo com base na literatura e na experiência das pesquisadoras, dividido em três partes: identificação da amostra, caracterização do coro amador analisado e investigação a respeito da sonoridade. A seleção dos sujeitos aconteceu por meio da técnica snowball e o critério de inclusão foi: ter mais de 18 anos, ser regente de coro amador com experiência mínima de dois anos e estar em atividade de regência no grupo escolhido por no mínimo seis meses. Para as respostas sobre a forma de trabalho com a sonoridade foram criadas cinco categorias com os termos mais recorrentes. Foi realizada análise estatística descritiva dos dados por meio de frequências absolutas e relativas. Resultados: a amostra foi finalizada com 65 regentes, 58.5% do sexo masculino e 41.5% do feminino, com a média de idade de 42.2 anos e desses 64.6% possuíam dez ou mais anos de carreira. Sobre a característica do coro amador, a maioria eram de música popular (70.8%), com 10 a 20 integrantes (38.5%) e faixa etária entre 31 a 40 anos (30.8%). Na construção da sonoridade destacou-se a categoria de aspectos técnicos com 42.4%, na sequência empatadas com 19.2% aspectos relacionados a intepretação e aspectos de percepção musical, e por último, aspectos relacionados ao corpo/ respiração com 10.1%. A maioria (70.8%) dos regentes relataram dificuldades para conseguir a sonoridade desejada. Conclusão: o grupo de regentes analisados utilizou como estratégias para trabalhar sonoridade majoritariamente aspectos técnicos: vocalizes; técnica vocal; aquecimento e ressonância

As flutuações nos níveis dos hormônios sexuais, ao longo da vida do ser humano, trazem modificações anátomo-fisiológicas. Esses hormônios exercem papéis determinantes no desenvolvimento anatômico da laringe e na fisiologia vocal diferindo significativamente entre os sexos o que torna a voz uma característica sexual secundária. Estudos já documentaram a presença e, mais especificamente a localização dos receptores dos hormônios sexuais na laringe e pregas vocais, evidenciando que estes órgãos podem ser responsivos aos hormônios sexuais e sofrerem as conseqüências das flutuações hormonais. Existem algumas divergências quanto ao efeito hormonal sobre a qualidade vocal. Alguns estudos afirmam que ocorrem mudanças na voz relacionadas à menopausa, enquanto outros divergem desses resultados. Tal fato nos leva a questionar se as metodologias utilizadas foram realmente as mais adequadas, uma vez que existem evidências clínicas destas mudanças. São freqüentes as queixas entre as mulheres de alterações vocais após a menopausa, particularmente entre as mulheres cantoras, que enfatizam perdas dos tons agudos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar se há influência dos hormônios sexuais sobre a qualidade vocal da voz cantada de mulheres menopausadas cantoras de coral, através da avaliação da tessitura e do tempo máximo de fonação (TMF). A tessitura corresponde ao número de notas da mais grave até a mais aguda que o indivíduo consegue produzir com qualidade vocal. O tempo máximo de fonação (TMF) avalia a habilidade do paciente em forças aerodinâmicas da corrente pulmonar e as forças mioelásticas da laringe. As voluntárias foram divididas em dois grupos. Grupo jovem (n=8) mulheres com idade entre 20 e 40 anos, que apresentavam ciclos menstruais regulares que não estivessem grávidas ou amamentando durante o estudo. Grupo menopausada (n=22) mulheres com idade de 45 a 60 anos, menopausadas há no mínimo 2 anos que não faziam uso de terapia hormonal (TH). Para mensuração do TMF, foi dada a instrução de inspirar e produzir isoladamente as vogais /a/, /i/ e /u/ e as consoantes fricativas /s/ e /z/ em altura e tons habituais de fala. Para avaliar a tessitura foi escolhida uma música conhecida do folclore brasileiro que exigia as variações de freqüência da mais grave a mais aguda. Os valores de cada nota musical e sua freqüência correspondente em hertz (Hz) foram escritos manualmente. Foram comparados para o grupo jovem e menopausada os valores máximos (F2) e os valores mínimos (F1) e a diferença entre o valor máximo e mínimo (F2-F1) entre os grupos medidos em freqüência (Hz) e em semitons (St), e foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os grupos. Não foi encontrada diferença significativa entre o grupo jovem e menopausada quando foram comparados o tempo máximo de fonação das vogais /a/, /i/, /u/ e as consoantes /s/ e /z/. Os resultados do presente estudo demonstraram haver diferença significativa na tessitura da voz cantada entre mulheres cantoras de coral jovens e pós-menopausa. Estes resultados sugerem que as alterações na tessitura da voz cantada podem ser decorrentes de modificações fonatórias da articulação, respiração e fonação realizadas durante o canto, influenciadas pelos hormônios sexuais. E não serem atribuídas às alterações nas pregas vocais como edemas, espessamentos e a hiperemia, as quais não foram encontradas ao exame videolaringoscópico e tampouco no TMF quando comparados os grupos jovem e menopausada. / Fluctuations in the levels of sexual hormones, throughout the life of the human being, bring anatomic physiological modifications. These hormones exert determinative papers in the anatomical development of the larynx and in the vocal physiology differing significantly between the sexes becoming the voice a secondary sexual characteristic. Studies already had registered the presence and, more specifically the vocal localization of the receivers of sexual hormones in the larynx and vocal folds, evidencing that these agencies can be responsive to sex hormones and suffer the consequences of the hormonal fluctuations. Some divergences how much the hormonal effect exist on the vocal quality. Some studies affirm that changes in the voice related to the menopause occur, but others had demonstrated different results. Such fact takes in them to question if the used methodologies really had been adjusted a time that exist practical clinical evidences of these changes. The complaints between the women of vocal alterations are after the menopause, particularly between the women singers, who emphasize losses of the acute tones. In literature, however, we do not find references to this fact that are of clinical comment and stories, and for this reason we decide to study this phenomenon. The objective of this work was to verify if it has influence of sexual hormones on the vocal quality of the sung voice of menopausadas women chorale singers, through the evaluation of the tessitura and the maximum phonation time (MPT). The vocal tessitura corresponds to the number of notes from the lowest to the highest that an individual is able to produce with vocal quality. Maximum phonation time (MPT) is used to assess clinically the respiratory and phonatory components of the mechanism of speech production and to demonstrate the efficiency of vocal fold vibration. The volunteers had been divided in two groups. Young group (n=8) women aged 20 to 40 years, with regular menstrual cycles who were not pregnant or breast-feeding during the study. Menopausal group (n=22) women aged 45 to 60 years, who had been in menopause for at least 2 years and who did not use hormonal therapy. For MPT measurement, the women were instructed to inspire and to produce separately the vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/ and the fricative consonants /s/ and /z/ at habitual speech loudness and tones. The voice tessitura profile was obtained evaluation a well known Brazilian folk song which required variations in frequency from the lowest to the highest. The values of each musical note and its corresponding frequency in Hertz (Hz) and semitones (St) were written manually. The maximum (F2) and minimum (F1) values and the difference between them (F2-F1) were compared for the two groups in frequency (Hz) and semitones (St) and significant difference was detected between them. No significant difference was observed between groups when they had been compared for the vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/ and the consonants /s/ and /z/. The results of the present study had demonstrated with there was significant difference in tessitura between young and menopausal women. These results suggest that the alterations in the tessitura of the sung voice can be decurrently of phonatory modifications of the joint, breath and phonation during the sing influenced for sexual hormones. And not attributed to the alterations in the vocal folds as edemas, thicken and the hyperemia, which had not been found to the otorhinolaryngologic evaluation and neither in the MPT when compared young and menopausal women.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T18:12:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Salvatico de Aquino.pdf: 487458 bytes, checksum: 140a5614e6266087eb973d935b013e5c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-16 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Purpose: To analyze the spoken voice characteristics of elderly women with choir singing practice. Methods: The subjects of this study were 75 elderly women aged in between 63 and 82 years, 50 of which participated in senior choirs (choir group CG) and 25 participated in activities that did not involve singing (non-choir group NCG). The groups were paired according to age, with a mean age of 71 (standard deviation of 5.22). A questionnaire with questions on sociodemographic data (age, past and present professional activity), daily life habits and vocal well-being (hydration, physical activities alcohol intake, cough, phlegm, speaking loudly and yelling) and vocal aspects (difficulties, tiredness and changes throughout time) was used in order to characterize the subjects, who were also asked to define their own voices in one word. In addition, the CG answered questions regarding for how long they had been singing, hours of weekly practice and difficulties perceived. Then, both groups had speech samples collected (sustained vowel /a/, sentence repetition and spontaneous speech), that were evaluated by three Speech- Language Pathologists, experienced in the field of voice using the CAPE-V auditory perceptive analysis tool. The assessment results considered were those from the judge that had the greatest agreement among the answers. Results: 90% of the choir singing subjects and 88% of the non-singing subjects reported having worked in the past, and 24% in both groups still work. Specifically for the CG, the time of choir participation varied between five years and eight months and 58 years (sd=8.7), with mean weekly practice of three and a half hours, varying between two and tem hours (sd = 1.9) and 16% of them reported difficulties in their singing practices. As far as habits, there was a significant difference in the comparison of the groups in regard to water intake and physical activity practice, both in greater numbers in the CG. There were no differences in the vocal aspects and perception of changes over time. In the definition of their own voice in one word, the term low-pitched was significantly more reported by the group of choir singers. In the auditory perceptive analysis, the NCG had significant differences in the scores related to the general grade and presence of roughness and tension. Conclusion: The analysis of the spoken voice characteristics of elderly women with choir singing practice, when compared to those who do not have it, showed better voice quality in general due to lower degrees of roughness and tension. In subject characteristics, the reports of higher water intake and physical activity practices differentiated the groups, in favor of the choir singing elderly women / Objetivo: Analisar as características da voz falada de mulheres idosas com prática de canto coral. Métodos: Fizeram parte deste estudo 75 idosas de 63 a 82 anos, sendo 50 participantes de corais de terceira idade (grupo de coristas GC) e 25 participantes de atividades que não envolvessem o uso da voz cantada (grupo de não coristas GNC). Os grupos foram pareados quanto à idade, com média de 71 anos (desvio padrão de 5,22). Para caracterização das idosas, foi aplicado um questionário com perguntas sobre dados sociodemográficos (idade, atividade profissional realizada anteriormente e atualmente), hábitos de vida e referentes ao bem estar vocal (hidratação, prática de atividades físicas, etilismo, tossir, pigarrear, falar alto e gritar) e aspectos vocais (dificuldades, cansaço e modificação ao longo do tempo), além da solicitação para definir a própria voz em uma palavra. Em especial para o GC, foram apresentadas ainda perguntas referentes ao tempo que canta, às horas de prática semanal e às dificuldades percebidas. A seguir, foi coletada dos dois grupos a amostra de fala (emissão da vogal /a/ sustentada, repetições de sentenças e um trecho de fala espontânea), que foram avaliadas por três fonoaudiólogas com experiência na área de voz pelo instrumento de análise perceptivo-auditiva denominado CAPE-V. Foram utilizados os resultados apontados pela juíza que apresentou maior concordância entre as respostas. Resultados: 90% das idosas coristas e 88% das não coristas relataram ter exercido profissões no passado e 24% de ambos os grupos ainda as realizam. Especificamente para o GC, o tempo de participação em coros variou entre cinco anos e oito meses a 58 anos (dp=8,7), com média de prática semanal de três horas e meia, variando entre duas e dez horas (dp=1,9) e 16% delas referiram dificuldades em relação à prática do canto. Quanto aos hábitos, apresentaram diferença significativa na comparação dos grupos a ingestão de água e a prática de atividades físicas, em maior número para o GC. Não foram observadas diferenças nos aspectos vocais e na percepção de modificação ao longo do tempo. Na definição da própria voz em uma palavra o termo grave foi significativamente mais referido pelo grupo de coristas. Na análise perceptivo-auditiva, o GNC apresentou diferenças significativas nos escores relacionados a alteração do grau geral e presença de rugosidade e tensão. Conclusão: A análise das características da voz falada de idosas com prática de canto coral, quando comparada àquelas que não a realizam, apontou para melhor qualidade vocal no aspecto geral, em decorrência de menor grau de rugosidade e tensão. Na caracterização dos sujeitos, o registro de hábitos de maior consumo de água e prática de atividade física diferenciou os grupos, a favor das idosas coristas. Descritores: Envelhecimento; Voz; Idoso

Nesta tese, irei investigar as implicações que o uso consistente que Píndaro e Baquílides fazem do termo têm para a ocasião de performance dos epinícios. Irei argumentar, do ponto de vista da Linguística e da Poética Cognitivas, que, através de uma análise das passagens relevantes da literatura grega, de Homero ao drama do século V, o termo sempre implica algum tipo de celebração, seja móvel ou não, e que ele nunca é usado para denotar canção ou coro. Também irei argumentar que implica um frame dentro de um Modelo Cognitivo Idealizado para CELEBRAÇÃO DE VITÓRIA, dentro do qual referências às odes devem ser entendidas. Baseando-me nesta análise irei discutir as implicações dos resultados e reexaminar a pressuposição, atualmente tida como não problemática, segundo a qual as odes eram sempre executadas por um coro em sua première. Além disso, irei discutir também o problema da identificação da persona loquens nos poemas e irei propor que, na maioria dos casos, ela nunca parece se referir a um coro. Finalmente, discutirei alguns cenários de transmissão das odes, propondo que a escrita não precisa ser proposta para a transmissão do texto até uma data bem tardia e que uma tradição de reperformances orais dos poemas deve ter tido um papel essencial na preservação do texto. / In this thesis I shall investigate the implications of the consistent use Pindar and Bacchylides make of the term to the occasion of the performance of the epinikia. I shall argue, from the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics and Poetics, that, through the 9 analysis of the relevant passages in Greek literature from Homer to the V century drama, the term always implies some sort celebration, either mobile or not, and that it is never used to denote either song or chorus. Most importantly I shall argue that implies a frame in an Idealized Cognitive Model for VICTORY CELEBRATION within which references to the victory ode must be understood. Based on this, I shall discuss the implications of these results and try to reexamine the assumption, held as unproblematic by the majority of critics, that the victory odes were always performed chorally on its premiere. Additionally I shall also discuss the problems of identifying the persona loquens in the poems and I shall propose that in most cases it never seems to refer to a chorus. Finally, I shall discuss some scenarios of transmission of the odes, proposing that writing needs not be assumed for the transmission of the text until a fairly late date and that a continuous tradition of oral reperformances must have played an essential role in the preservation of the text.

Soundscape Ecology, the physical combination of sounds at a particular time and place, is a rapidly growing field. As acoustic technology advances, several possible future uses of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), such as biodiversity counts and monitoring of habitat health, are being explored. This thesis is divided into two chapters; each is a stand-alone paper. The first chapter provides a review of soundscape ecology, ambient sound, current recording methods and data analysis used in PAM studies, and identifies several major future recommendations for the field. One of these recommendations is to standardize recording methods and indices used during analysis in long-term studies. The second chapter analyzes a 55-minute continuous recording on a coral reef in Tunicate Cove, Belize in 1996 by Professor P. Lobel. This recording was then subsampled with several intermittent recording schedules to explore the amount of acoustic information lost as periods of active and inactive recording vary. The continuous recording consisted of a high frequency band (3-4 kHz), which may correspond to abiotic sounds, and a low frequency band (0.1-0.5 kHz), which generally corresponds to biotic sounds. Two recording schedules, 30 seconds every 4 minutes and 2 minutes every 10 minutes, were significantly correlated with the continuous recording. The statistical significance of the other five recording schedules varied among the three parameters tested in this study (average power (dB), average entropy, and aggregate entropy).

Dans la première partie de ma thèse, je fournis un programme informatique qui permet aux utilisateurs de déterminer dans quelles circonstances ils doivent mesurer le mouvement des particules. J’explique comment ces mesures peuvent être effectuées et fournissent un programme pour analyser ce type de données. La partie principale de ma thèse comprend des expériences portant sur l'impact de l'exposition répétée au bruit du trafic, la source anthropique la plus courante de bruit dans l'environnement marin, sur les poissons et les invertébrés pendant leur développement. Je démontre qu’une variété de comportements a été touchée par le bruit. J’ai aussi trouvé que le bruit prévisible peut conduire à des impacts différents sur le développement par rapport au bruit imprévisible, mais que certaines espèces de poissons peuvent être en mesure de s'habituer au bruit du trafic, tandis que d'autres non. En outre, je trouve que le développement et la survie des limaces de mer peuvent être impactés négativement par le bruit des bateaux. Les poissons et les invertébrés constituent une source de nourriture vitale pour des millions de personnes et constituent des liens essentiels dans de nombreux réseaux trophiques. L'étude de leur comportement, de développement et de remise en forme peut nous donner un aperçu des impacts de la population et le niveau de bruit de la communauté qui sont pertinents pour la survie des espèces et l'évolution. Le développement de certaines des nouvelles idées et techniques abordées dans cette thèse nous permettra de faire progresser ce domaine vital de la recherche. / As the first part of my thesis, I provide a computer program which allows users to determine under what circumstances they should measure particle motion; I explain how these measurements can be made and provide a program for analysing this type of data. The main part of my thesis comprises experiments investigating the impact of repeated exposure to traffic noise, the most common anthropogenic source of noise in the marine environment, on fishes and invertebrates during development. In all three chapters involving experiments on fish in tanks and in the field, I found that a variety of behaviours were impacted by traffic noise playback. I also found that predictable noise can lead to different impacts on development compared to unpredictable noise, but that some species of fish may be able to habituate to traffic noise, while others suffer lower survival. Further, I found that the development and survival of seahares can be negatively impacted by traffic-noise playback. Fishes and invertebrates provide a vital food source to millions of people and form crucial links in many food webs; studying their behaviour, development and fitness can give us an insight into population and community level impacts of noise that are relevant to species survival and evolution. Developing some of the novel ideas and techniques discussed in this thesis will enable us to advance this vital area of research.

No ponto de intersecção entre música e literatura na construção da unidade de uma obra musical que faz uso de texto canção, música coral etc. reside um artesanato cuja abordagem do processo criativo é tão antigo quanto a própria expressão verbal da qual podese hipoteticamente afirmar como originária da música quanto arte: observa-se a forte presença da voz na música antiga (ars antiqua, ars nova). Tal aproximação racional com os formantes sígnicos do texto semantizado pela música levou a um senso comum entre os compositores na teoria (ou doutrina) dos afetos em voga desde o período barroco e nos posteriores. A música de Gilberto Mendes em seu itinerário pode nos mostrar como as ferramentas da composição musical podem ir além das configurações elementares da música (melodia, harmonia, ritmo, timbre, dinâmica) como forma de semantizar o texto. Compositor em estreito relacionamento com a literatura, cinema, com a arte de um modo geral, Gilberto Mendes nos oferece uma ampla gama de exemplos que extrapola a uma criação restrita e se abre a uma pluralidade cultural, servindo assim, como reflexo criativo da arte do século XX XXI. Através da análise do texto literário e da análise musical, tanto no seu âmbito formal quanto estética, foi possível detectar os elementos que conjugam a unidade da obra. / At the intersection point between music and literature in creation of the unity of a musical work with text song, choral etc. resides a craft whose approach to a creative process as old as original verbal expression of music as art: there is a strong presence of the voice in early music (ars antiqua, ars nova). Such a rational approach to the formants signic text signified for music led to a common sense among composers in theory of the affects in vogue since the Baroque period and in subsequent. The music of Gilberto Mendes on your itinerary can show us how the tools of musical composition can go beyond the basic settings of music (melody, harmony, rhythm, tone-color, dynamic) as a way to create a semantic field of the text. A close composer to literature, cinema, to the art generally, Gilberto Mendes offers us a wide range of examples which extrapolates to a restricted setting and opens to the cultural plurality, thus serving as a reflection of the creative art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Through the literary and musical analysis, both in the formal and aesthetic scope, it was possible to detect elements that conjugate the works unity.

Understanding how coral reefs have developed in the past is crucial for placing contemporary ecological and environmental change within appropriate reef-building timescales (i.e. centennial to millennial). On Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR), coral reefs situated within nearshore settings on the inner continental shelf are a particular priority. This is due to their close proximity to river point sources, and therefore susceptibility to reduced water quality as the result of extensive modification of adjacent river catchments following European settlement in the region (ca. 1850 CE). However, the extent of water quality decline and its impact on the coral reefs of the GBR’s inner-shelf remains contentious and is confounded by a paucity of long-term (> decadal) datasets. Central to the on-going debate is uncertainty related to the impact of increased sediment loads, relative to the natural movement and resuspension of terrigenous sediments, which have accumulated on the inner-shelf over the last ~6,000 years. The main aim of this thesis was to characterise and investigate the vertical development of turbid nearshore coral reefs on the central GBR. This aim was achieved through the recovery of 21 reef cores (3 - 5 m in length) from five proximal turbid nearshore reefs, currently distributed across the spectrum of reef ‘geomorphological development’ within the Paluma Shoals reef complex (PSRC). The recovered reef cores were used to establish detailed depositional and palaeoecological records for the investigation of the (1) internal development and vertical accretionary history of the PSRC; and (2) compositional variation in turbid nearshore coral and benthic foraminiferal assemblages during vertical reef accretion towards sea level. Established chronostratigraphic and palaeoecological records were further used to assess the impact of post-European settlement associated water quality change in a turbid nearshore reef setting on the central GBR. Radiocarbon dating (n = 96 dates) revealed reef initiation within the PSRC to have occurred between ~2,000 and 1,000 calibrated years before present, with subsequent reef development occurring under the persistent influence of fine-grained (< 0.063 mm) terrigenous sediments. The internal development of the PSRC was characterised by discrete reef facies comprised of a loose coral framework with an unconsolidated siliciclastic-carbonate sediment matrix. A total of 29 genera of Scleractinian coral and 86 genera of benthic foraminifera were identified from the palaeoecological inventory of the PSRC. Both coral and benthic foraminiferal assemblages were characterised by distinct assemblages of taxa pre-adapted to sediment stress (i.e. low light availability and high sedimentation). At the genus level, no discernable evidence of compositional change in either coral or benthic foraminiferal assemblages was found, relative to European settlement. Instead, variations in assemblage composition were driven by intrinsic changes in prevailing abiotic conditions under vertical reef accretion towards sea level (e.g. hydrodynamic energy, light availability, and sedimentation rate). These findings therefore highlight the importance for considering reef ‘geomorphological development’ when interpreting contemporary reef ecological status. Furthermore, this research emphasises the robust nature of turbid nearshore reefs and suggests that they may be more resilient to changes in water quality than those associated with environmental settings where local background sedimentary conditions are less extreme (e.g. towards the inner/mid-shelf boundary). To this end, this thesis presents new baseline records with which to assess contemporary ecological and environmental change within turbid nearshore settings on the central GBR.