Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100599
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Forecasting ecosystem collapse and recovery by tracking networks of species. This project aims to assess and predict ecosystem decline by measuring change in networks of interacting species. Efforts to prevent ecosystem collapse are failing. A focus on managing individual species ignores the fact that ecosystems function because species have complex associations with one another and the environment. This project will use methods from social networks, food-web theory and web-searching behaviour, ....Forecasting ecosystem collapse and recovery by tracking networks of species. This project aims to assess and predict ecosystem decline by measuring change in networks of interacting species. Efforts to prevent ecosystem collapse are failing. A focus on managing individual species ignores the fact that ecosystems function because species have complex associations with one another and the environment. This project will use methods from social networks, food-web theory and web-searching behaviour, to discover symptoms of declining ecosystems and find robust metrics that diagnose change in networks of co-occurring species. The intended outcome is to clarify the relationship between species interactions, co-occurrence and ecosystem decline, knowledge critical to ecosystem recovery.Read moreRead less
A balancing act: Resolving coastal wetland water, carbon and solute fluxes. Coastal wetlands offer an impressive capacity to regulate the Earth’s climate by altering the way carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere and stored while simultaneously influencing the water cycle, thus providing ecosystem services such as carbon storage, abating flood waters, improving water quality and protecting the coastline from sea level rise. This project aims to address the current gaps in understanding .... A balancing act: Resolving coastal wetland water, carbon and solute fluxes. Coastal wetlands offer an impressive capacity to regulate the Earth’s climate by altering the way carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere and stored while simultaneously influencing the water cycle, thus providing ecosystem services such as carbon storage, abating flood waters, improving water quality and protecting the coastline from sea level rise. This project aims to address the current gaps in understanding the critical exchanges of water and greenhouse gases (GHGs) combining field methodologies and hydrological models, under different climatic conditions. The intended outcomes will benefit management of GHG emissions, coastal flooding and vulnerable groundwater dependent habitats.Read moreRead less
Reintroduction of ecosystem engineers as a woodland restoration tool. Can we help restore woodlands by reintroducing extinct native mammals? Through a strategic partnership combining innovative research and conservation action, this project will investigate how returning extinct 'ecosystem engineers' could be used as a tool for restoring healthy temperate woodland ecosystems.
Utilising plant-sediment-feedbacks to enhance seagrass restoration. This project aims to investigate the role of sediment microbes in promoting the health of threatened seagrass species across Australia. This project expects to create new knowledge for enhancing restoration success for seagrasses by integrating macro and micro-ecology, environmental genomics, plant ecology and ecosystem function (e.g. nutrient and biogeochemistry cycling). Expected outcomes are new knowledge to enhance seagrass ....Utilising plant-sediment-feedbacks to enhance seagrass restoration. This project aims to investigate the role of sediment microbes in promoting the health of threatened seagrass species across Australia. This project expects to create new knowledge for enhancing restoration success for seagrasses by integrating macro and micro-ecology, environmental genomics, plant ecology and ecosystem function (e.g. nutrient and biogeochemistry cycling). Expected outcomes are new knowledge to enhance seagrass restoration utilising sediment microbes that can be integrated into management and policy. This project should provide significant benefits, such as the development of key strategic alliances to enhance management of seagrasses, and the ecosystem services, and economic and social benefits they provide.Read moreRead less
Ecosystem risk assessment. This project aims to develop a type-based framework for the world's ecosystems, and undertake the first broad-scale global risk assessment for ecosystems. It will include detailed Australian risk assessments and scenario analyses to develop sustainable management of ecosystem services and climate adaptation strategies. The outcomes include a global-scale framework for classifying terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, the first global Red List of Ecosystems and ....Ecosystem risk assessment. This project aims to develop a type-based framework for the world's ecosystems, and undertake the first broad-scale global risk assessment for ecosystems. It will include detailed Australian risk assessments and scenario analyses to develop sustainable management of ecosystem services and climate adaptation strategies. The outcomes include a global-scale framework for classifying terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, the first global Red List of Ecosystems and identified priorities for protecting remaining wild ecosystems and restoring those that have suffered degradation. This will help meet UN Sustainable Development Goals to improve human well-being globally.Read moreRead less
Assessing the ecosystem-wide risks of threatened species translocation. Assessing the ecosystem-wide risks of threatened species translocation. This project aims to develop the first quantitative risk assessment framework to improve decisions about moving threatened species to new places. Moving threatened plants and animals to new environments, or reintroducing them where they previously persisted, is a growing focus of conservation. Moving species can have unanticipated effects on other specie ....Assessing the ecosystem-wide risks of threatened species translocation. Assessing the ecosystem-wide risks of threatened species translocation. This project aims to develop the first quantitative risk assessment framework to improve decisions about moving threatened species to new places. Moving threatened plants and animals to new environments, or reintroducing them where they previously persisted, is a growing focus of conservation. Moving species can have unanticipated effects on other species in the ecosystem. Although the International Union for Conservation of Nature deems ecosystem-wide risk assessments essential for conservation translocations, no framework exists to assess these risks and inform these decisions. New tools for assessing the risks of conservation translocations are expected to improve global and local conservation outcomes.Read moreRead less
Adaptive management of arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Australia’s arid zones contain some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Management must begin immediately, but our understanding of these fragile species and ecosystems is currently very limited. This project will develop and apply new research in Adaptive Management (“learning by doing”) to ensure the persistence of these rare places.
Global change and food web structure: synergistic effects of multiple drivers of global change on species interaction networks. This project addresses the two great challenges facing scientists trying to predict the effects of global change on Australia's ecosystems: i) What factors most exacerbate the total impact of global change? ii) How do the complex responses of so many interacting species actually translate into altered structural properties of the web of life?
Developing a framework for effective oyster reef restoration. This project aims to investigate ecological barriers to the recovery of functionally extinct Sydney Rock Oyster reefs on Australia’s east coast, and restoration methods to reinstate their key ecosystem services. This project expects to create new knowledge for designing functional reefs by integrating physiology, population, community and landscape ecology. Expected outcomes are an ecological decision framework for effective oyster re ....Developing a framework for effective oyster reef restoration. This project aims to investigate ecological barriers to the recovery of functionally extinct Sydney Rock Oyster reefs on Australia’s east coast, and restoration methods to reinstate their key ecosystem services. This project expects to create new knowledge for designing functional reefs by integrating physiology, population, community and landscape ecology. Expected outcomes are an ecological decision framework for effective oyster reef restoration that can be integrated into management and policy. This project should provide significant benefits, such as the development of key strategic alliances to enhance management of estuaries, and reestablish the environmental, economic and social benefits of oyster reefs.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies. The overarching aim of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary for sustaining ecosystem goods and services of the worlds coral reefs, which support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in the tropics. The Centre will enhance Australia's global leadership in coral reef science through three ambitious research programs addressing the future of coral ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies. The overarching aim of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary for sustaining ecosystem goods and services of the worlds coral reefs, which support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in the tropics. The Centre will enhance Australia's global leadership in coral reef science through three ambitious research programs addressing the future of coral reefs and their ability to adapt to change. A key outcome of the research will be providing tangible benefits to all Australians by building bridges between the natural and social sciences, strengthening capacity, and informing and supporting transformative changes in coral reef governance and management.Read moreRead less