Environmental Education and Marine Ecosystem Degradation: The Role of Site-specific Art as Communicative Strategy within Community Awareness-raising Programs. This project investigates a potential application of art as a medium of environmental education. In the context of a World Fish Center sustainable community fisheries project in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, we will deploy works of fine art specifically to communicate ideas and values concerning marine ecosystem degradation. An experienced ecolo ....Environmental Education and Marine Ecosystem Degradation: The Role of Site-specific Art as Communicative Strategy within Community Awareness-raising Programs. This project investigates a potential application of art as a medium of environmental education. In the context of a World Fish Center sustainable community fisheries project in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, we will deploy works of fine art specifically to communicate ideas and values concerning marine ecosystem degradation. An experienced ecological artist will project the issue into the public domain via large-scale video and trans-media installations. Visitor interviews will assess the impact of various modes of visual communication. We believe that visual communication can assist the development of environmental responsibility by shifting perceptions and is, then, of considerable policy value.Read moreRead less
Disease in endangered species: The importance of multiple-host infection and spatial structure. Pathogens are increasingly recognised as threats to endangered species. Managing such threats requires models to assess alternative strategies. Most current models deal with a single host and single pathogen, without spatial structure, although multiple-host pathogens pose the greatest conservation threats. This project develops a new generation of spatially-structured multiple-host models, and applie ....Disease in endangered species: The importance of multiple-host infection and spatial structure. Pathogens are increasingly recognised as threats to endangered species. Managing such threats requires models to assess alternative strategies. Most current models deal with a single host and single pathogen, without spatial structure, although multiple-host pathogens pose the greatest conservation threats. This project develops a new generation of spatially-structured multiple-host models, and applies them to two case studies. The first is the chytrid fungus that is thought to have lead to widespread declines and extinctions of frogs in Australia and overseas. The second is birdpox and malaria that have led to the extinction and endangerment of much of Hawaii's endemic avifauna.Read moreRead less
Managing for persistence of the saproxylic biota in production forest landscapes. The pattern of 'fragmentation' and 'matrix alteration' being examined in this study mirrors not just other areas of Tasmania but also much of south-eastern Australia. The research addresses a conservation biology issue in a new and novel way and has been developed with, and is supported by an industry partner working in multiple-use forest management, so the research provides both immediate applied and strategic o ....Managing for persistence of the saproxylic biota in production forest landscapes. The pattern of 'fragmentation' and 'matrix alteration' being examined in this study mirrors not just other areas of Tasmania but also much of south-eastern Australia. The research addresses a conservation biology issue in a new and novel way and has been developed with, and is supported by an industry partner working in multiple-use forest management, so the research provides both immediate applied and strategic outcomes. These outcomes directly relate to forest sustainability especially the management of the biodiverse dead wood habitat including the harvesting of fuelwood.Read moreRead less