Theory for global biodiversity conservation. Australia's biological diversity underpins much of our economic wealth - for example the remarkable diversity of coral reefs fuels a multibillion dollar tourism industry. We will devise methods to make better decisions about where to invest conservation dollars amongst the biodiversity "hotspots" of the world and Australia to deliver environmental sustainability. We will solve the problem of how much of any environmental budget should be spent on mo ....Theory for global biodiversity conservation. Australia's biological diversity underpins much of our economic wealth - for example the remarkable diversity of coral reefs fuels a multibillion dollar tourism industry. We will devise methods to make better decisions about where to invest conservation dollars amongst the biodiversity "hotspots" of the world and Australia to deliver environmental sustainability. We will solve the problem of how much of any environmental budget should be spent on monitoring conservation actions to make better and more cost-effective decisions. We will create new theory and freely available tools for building systems of marine reserves that allow for threats like coral bleaching and hurricanes.Read moreRead less
Minimum sizes and habitat areas for viable populations. This project will address two critical issues in conservation biology: How large do wildlife populations need to be to ensure long-term persistence? How large an area needs to be preserved? At present, no such estimates exist for most species. I will develop realistic population viability analysis (PVA) models (encompassing all threats to persistence) on many bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, invertebrate and plant species, and estimate the ....Minimum sizes and habitat areas for viable populations. This project will address two critical issues in conservation biology: How large do wildlife populations need to be to ensure long-term persistence? How large an area needs to be preserved? At present, no such estimates exist for most species. I will develop realistic population viability analysis (PVA) models (encompassing all threats to persistence) on many bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, invertebrate and plant species, and estimate the minimum population sizes and habitat areas required for long-term survival. My prior research has validated the predictive accuracy of PVA. This research will deliver practical guidelines for managing threatened species.Read moreRead less
Using ancient DNA to investigate the environmental impacts of climate change and humans through time. This project will provide important information about how climate change and human impact have effected our environment over the past 50,000 years, removing many of the large mammals and altering the landscape. It is critical that the background to our current environment is properly understood if we are to predict the effects of on-going changes such as global warming. The research will concent ....Using ancient DNA to investigate the environmental impacts of climate change and humans through time. This project will provide important information about how climate change and human impact have effected our environment over the past 50,000 years, removing many of the large mammals and altering the landscape. It is critical that the background to our current environment is properly understood if we are to predict the effects of on-going changes such as global warming. The research will concentrate on the effects of climate change on large mammals in North and South America, New Zealand, Australia and Africa over this time period, and will examine the additional impact of humans in each location.Read moreRead less
Effects of ants and ant-mediated dispersal on speciation rates, biogeography and diversity of angiosperms. This work seeks to improve our general understanding of longstanding questions in ecology in evolution, namely what are the processes that have allowed some groups to become diverse and others not, why does dispersal mode vary with geography, and how do speciation and extinction vary across space, time and taxon? In answering these questions, we will address some of the most fundamental que ....Effects of ants and ant-mediated dispersal on speciation rates, biogeography and diversity of angiosperms. This work seeks to improve our general understanding of longstanding questions in ecology in evolution, namely what are the processes that have allowed some groups to become diverse and others not, why does dispersal mode vary with geography, and how do speciation and extinction vary across space, time and taxon? In answering these questions, we will address some of the most fundamental questions in conservation, including what are the factors that make species geographically rare, which species are most at risk for climate change, and what are the factors that have led habitats like the Kwongan Heath and Fynbos to be so exceptionally biodiverse.Read moreRead less
Determining global and regional conservation priorities for biodiversity hotspots. The economic wealth of both Australia and Israel is underpinned by biological diversity - for example the remarkable biological diversity of both countries fuels multimillion-dollar tourism industries. We will devise methods to make better decisions about where to invest conservation dollars amongst the biodiversity 'hotspots' of the Mediterranean ecosystems of the world. We will create and test new theory and to ....Determining global and regional conservation priorities for biodiversity hotspots. The economic wealth of both Australia and Israel is underpinned by biological diversity - for example the remarkable biological diversity of both countries fuels multimillion-dollar tourism industries. We will devise methods to make better decisions about where to invest conservation dollars amongst the biodiversity 'hotspots' of the Mediterranean ecosystems of the world. We will create and test new theory and tools for incorporating into decision making the effect of processes such as climate change and invasion by alien species, which will help reduce the huge detrimental impacts on social, economic, health and human-well being. We will share the results of our work with decision makers and with the public.Read moreRead less