More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full s ....More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full suite of benefits derived from protected areas. The framework will provide a robust evidence base for the range of benefits provided by private protected areas. This will be vital to manage and grow Australia’s protected area network to reduce biodiversity and environmental declines, and meet international commitments.Read moreRead less
Upscaling genetic management of wildlife populations. Earth’s biodiversity is in crisis: many species are threatened with extinction and need our help. Genetic management helps to stop extinctions and promotes the health and continued existence of our wildlife. This project aims to understand how to use genome science to support preservation of four endangered species in changing climates and apply these learnings to help other species to survive and thrive. Anticipated outcomes include innovati ....Upscaling genetic management of wildlife populations. Earth’s biodiversity is in crisis: many species are threatened with extinction and need our help. Genetic management helps to stop extinctions and promotes the health and continued existence of our wildlife. This project aims to understand how to use genome science to support preservation of four endangered species in changing climates and apply these learnings to help other species to survive and thrive. Anticipated outcomes include innovative approaches to aid conservation decision-making, automated analyses of genome data, and improved conservation training. The expected benefits include larger, healthier populations of four species, new ways of saving other species, and the provision of important resources for conservation managers.Read moreRead less
Saving our Species: Creating Systemic Change in Regional Communities. Australia is facing a crisis of species extinction. The Dept of Planning and Environment has identified a serious problem; a lack of effective communication with environmentally disengaged communities located with threatened species. To address this, our aim is to research 5 regional communities, run a series of targeted events with them and, through effective communication, build community stewardship of the identified specie ....Saving our Species: Creating Systemic Change in Regional Communities. Australia is facing a crisis of species extinction. The Dept of Planning and Environment has identified a serious problem; a lack of effective communication with environmentally disengaged communities located with threatened species. To address this, our aim is to research 5 regional communities, run a series of targeted events with them and, through effective communication, build community stewardship of the identified species. This is significant as it addresses an important problem for conservation managers worldwide. The expected outcome will be a change in community attitude. The benefits to Australians will be an expansion of knowledge of how communities can be successfully communicated with to encourage environmental sustainability.Read moreRead less
Transforming museum industry to cryopreserve Australia’s diverse wildlife. This project aspires to develop methods for collecting, culturing and cryopreserving cells from wildlife in line with museum industry practice. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the collection of live cells from animals under field conditions and their long-term maintenance in museum collections. Expected outcomes of the project include enhanced capacity of museums to build live cell collections and to s ....Transforming museum industry to cryopreserve Australia’s diverse wildlife. This project aspires to develop methods for collecting, culturing and cryopreserving cells from wildlife in line with museum industry practice. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the collection of live cells from animals under field conditions and their long-term maintenance in museum collections. Expected outcomes of the project include enhanced capacity of museums to build live cell collections and to support and collaborate with cellular biologists. Growth of live cell collections in Australian museums will fuel innovation in cellular technologies, advance fundamental biological knowledge, and shift museums from the role of documenting losses of genetic variation to preserving that genetic variation in living form.
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Tackling land degredation: which policy, where, when, and why? This project aims to tackle the global problem of land degradation with approaches to policy design that combine qualitative and quantitative impact evaluations. By 2050 more than 90% of the Earth’s land area will be affected by human exploitation. Timely action is imperative in order to avoid, reduce, and reverse degradation, especially through land clearing. Intended outcomes include evidence-based policy recommendations to curtail ....Tackling land degredation: which policy, where, when, and why? This project aims to tackle the global problem of land degradation with approaches to policy design that combine qualitative and quantitative impact evaluations. By 2050 more than 90% of the Earth’s land area will be affected by human exploitation. Timely action is imperative in order to avoid, reduce, and reverse degradation, especially through land clearing. Intended outcomes include evidence-based policy recommendations to curtail land degradation: which interventions to apply, where, when, and why. Among expected benefits are enhancements to how we design and implement environmental interventions, improve wildlife habitats, conserve biodiversity, and ensure continued provision of nature’s benefits in Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less
Experimental translocations to understand and combat eastern quoll declines. The project aims to understand the causes of observed declines of the eastern quoll in Tasmania, and develop tools to safeguard this species in their last wild stronghold. The project will test the innovative approach of undertaking a series of experimental translocations at an early stage of a population decline. This approach will provide reliable information on the causes of observed declines, while simultaneously te ....Experimental translocations to understand and combat eastern quoll declines. The project aims to understand the causes of observed declines of the eastern quoll in Tasmania, and develop tools to safeguard this species in their last wild stronghold. The project will test the innovative approach of undertaking a series of experimental translocations at an early stage of a population decline. This approach will provide reliable information on the causes of observed declines, while simultaneously testing the effectiveness of translocations of captive-bred animals as a management tool for the species. It will also develop evidence-based protocols for undertaking captive-bred translocations, to improve the outcomes of eastern quoll recovery efforts as well as promoting early intervention for other declining species. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100477
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$449,592.00
Summary
Quantifying climate change impacts for wetlands in agricultural landscapes. This project aims to quantify the impacts of changed water availability on wetland biodiversity. Research will focus on high conservation value wetlands in agricultural regions, which face significant climatic risk. Novel integration of biodiversity theory with hydroecological and spatial modelling is expected to generate new understanding of how water availability drives wetland diversity. Intended outcomes include new ....Quantifying climate change impacts for wetlands in agricultural landscapes. This project aims to quantify the impacts of changed water availability on wetland biodiversity. Research will focus on high conservation value wetlands in agricultural regions, which face significant climatic risk. Novel integration of biodiversity theory with hydroecological and spatial modelling is expected to generate new understanding of how water availability drives wetland diversity. Intended outcomes include new techniques to model wetland biodiversity, building of international collaborations and enhanced ability to support policy development to ameliorate climate-related wetland impacts. This should promote sustainable management of water and biodiversity in farmlands, benefitting productive capacity and environmental amenity.Read moreRead less
Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100441
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$474,443.00
Summary
Sounds of change: using ecological knowledge to advance acoustic monitoring. To recover biodiversity, conservation actions must be informed by robust ecological data. In partnership with Bush Heritage Australia, this project aims to transform ecological monitoring with eco-acoustic technologies by developing new acoustic metrics to measure biodiversity at various levels, from individual species through to whole communities. This project will combine advanced computer methods with theories of ani ....Sounds of change: using ecological knowledge to advance acoustic monitoring. To recover biodiversity, conservation actions must be informed by robust ecological data. In partnership with Bush Heritage Australia, this project aims to transform ecological monitoring with eco-acoustic technologies by developing new acoustic metrics to measure biodiversity at various levels, from individual species through to whole communities. This project will combine advanced computer methods with theories of animal sounds and communities to generate metrics that are informed by animal ecology and directly address monitoring needs of conservation organisations. By experimentally testing the metrics on long-duration real-world sound data, this project will provide new tools to measure conservation impact and prioritise actions.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100085
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$440,954.00
Summary
Forensic genomic toolkit for tracking the illegal wildlife trade. This project aims to analyse the illegal parrot trade by utilising conservation genomic approaches. The project will reveal wildlife trade routes in South-east Asia by developing cutting-edge forensic genomic techniques and criminological methods. Expected outcomes of this project include new field-deployable sequencing technology to provide in-situ genetic information for identifying the taxonomy and provenance of confiscated spe ....Forensic genomic toolkit for tracking the illegal wildlife trade. This project aims to analyse the illegal parrot trade by utilising conservation genomic approaches. The project will reveal wildlife trade routes in South-east Asia by developing cutting-edge forensic genomic techniques and criminological methods. Expected outcomes of this project include new field-deployable sequencing technology to provide in-situ genetic information for identifying the taxonomy and provenance of confiscated specimens, and a first ever genetic database of traded wildlife. The project will facilitate important countermeasures to the illegal wildlife trade including confiscation, reintroduction, improved law enforcement, and education for better biodiversity outcomes in our region.Read moreRead less
Hotspots of endemism for invertebrate conservation in south-east Australia. The project aims to identify and predict hotspots of species endemism to guide conservation and restoration efforts. This work is significant in the current extinction crisis because endemic species (those unique to a region) are at higher risk of extinction due to human causes. The project will model the relationship of narrow range endemic species with contemporary and past environments, estimate the historical loss of ....Hotspots of endemism for invertebrate conservation in south-east Australia. The project aims to identify and predict hotspots of species endemism to guide conservation and restoration efforts. This work is significant in the current extinction crisis because endemic species (those unique to a region) are at higher risk of extinction due to human causes. The project will model the relationship of narrow range endemic species with contemporary and past environments, estimate the historical loss of species through land-clearing and fire, and predict future responses to climate change, to inform conservation planning. Lastly, it will test the efficacy of habitat transplants in restoring local invertebrate assemblages. Benefits include better informed conservation planning and new restoration approaches.Read moreRead less