Dynamic networks in a patchy landscape: will species interactions adjust to increased climatic extremes? This project addresses pressing questions on how increased climatic extremes will affect species diversity in arid Australia, building on the longest ecological dataset available for the continent's vast but fragile inland landscapes. Our tests of key ideas about strong interactions among species, their role in building resilient communities and conserving biodiversity, will generate consider ....Dynamic networks in a patchy landscape: will species interactions adjust to increased climatic extremes? This project addresses pressing questions on how increased climatic extremes will affect species diversity in arid Australia, building on the longest ecological dataset available for the continent's vast but fragile inland landscapes. Our tests of key ideas about strong interactions among species, their role in building resilient communities and conserving biodiversity, will generate considerable international interest, while our focus on interactions of species at water sources will address knowledge gaps to inform best practice in managing converted pastoral lands. The results will contribute to retaining healthy functioning ecosystems, and the vital production systems they support, as the global climate changes.Read moreRead less
Fish ear stones for monitoring changes in environmental conditions. The ear-stones (=otoliths) of territorial reef fish could provide environmental records over a great latitudinal range. Important environmental variation includes upwelling, riverine input, the southern oscillation and climate change. Laser mass-spectrometry will be used to resolve spatial and temporal variation in environmental conditions experienced in tropical and temperate waters over periods of up to 50 years. Experiments ....Fish ear stones for monitoring changes in environmental conditions. The ear-stones (=otoliths) of territorial reef fish could provide environmental records over a great latitudinal range. Important environmental variation includes upwelling, riverine input, the southern oscillation and climate change. Laser mass-spectrometry will be used to resolve spatial and temporal variation in environmental conditions experienced in tropical and temperate waters over periods of up to 50 years. Experiments will be done to determine the duration of events (ie changes in water chemistry) that are reliably recorded. Environmental variation is known to influence fish populations, including commercial species, but data on frequency and spatial extent of these impacts are few.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing the historical frequency and intensity of Australian droughts: A multi-species dendrochronological approach. Drought directly and indirectly impacts every Australian. Severe droughts devastate rural communities, lead to increased water restrictions and bushfire activity, slows the national economy and threatens diverse ecosystems. Our research will improve understanding of where, when, and how intensely droughts have occurred across eastern Australia in the past. The results will ....Reconstructing the historical frequency and intensity of Australian droughts: A multi-species dendrochronological approach. Drought directly and indirectly impacts every Australian. Severe droughts devastate rural communities, lead to increased water restrictions and bushfire activity, slows the national economy and threatens diverse ecosystems. Our research will improve understanding of where, when, and how intensely droughts have occurred across eastern Australia in the past. The results will provide unique insights into the processes that generate Australian droughts and how future droughts might be anticipated. The results will provide farmers, hydrologists, and policy-makers with better data on long-term variability in water supplies to improve local, regional, and national water planning initiatives and infrastructure development.Read moreRead less
The historical environment of Angkor: an investigation of synergy between people and landscape. Understanding the complex inter-relationship between humans and the natural environment is of critical importance. The use of geo-scientific techniques to interpret historical environmental records provides a useful tool for obtaining this knowledge. Using the medieval city of Angkor, Cambodia, as a case study, the proposed research will employ well-established analytical techniques in a new and innov ....The historical environment of Angkor: an investigation of synergy between people and landscape. Understanding the complex inter-relationship between humans and the natural environment is of critical importance. The use of geo-scientific techniques to interpret historical environmental records provides a useful tool for obtaining this knowledge. Using the medieval city of Angkor, Cambodia, as a case study, the proposed research will employ well-established analytical techniques in a new and innovative manner to reconstruct environmental change and cultural adaptation. This research, the first of its kind undertaken at Angkor, will revolutionise our understanding of this World Heritage site, and contribute to a better understanding of the synergy between human culture and its environmental context.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the developme ....A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the development of groundwater resources, the relative dependency of ecosystems on groundwater versus soil and surface water, and an assessment of the likely impacts of altered hydrology, especially dewatering and salinisation, on ecosystems. In addition, they will also be used to extend our knowledge of climate variability in the recent past and increase understanding of critical marine resources.Read moreRead less
Sustainable development in southwestern Victoria: construction of a baseline palaeoecological record for assessment of past and future human-environment interactions. A detailed, continuous, sediment-based, multi-proxy palaeoenvironment record, will be constructed to contribute to the goals of the innovative, community-based Lake Condah Sustainability Development Project that are informed management and heritage listing of the Mt Eccles lava flow region, southwestern Victoria. The record, coveri ....Sustainable development in southwestern Victoria: construction of a baseline palaeoecological record for assessment of past and future human-environment interactions. A detailed, continuous, sediment-based, multi-proxy palaeoenvironment record, will be constructed to contribute to the goals of the innovative, community-based Lake Condah Sustainability Development Project that are informed management and heritage listing of the Mt Eccles lava flow region, southwestern Victoria. The record, covering at least the last 20,000 years, is designed to (a) provide a dated framework for understanding past human-environment relationships, especially the development of a unique Aboriginal complex hunter-gatherer society based on aquaculture, (b) an historical basis for fire management of a nationally important vegetation community and (c) the provision of a palaeoclimate record of global significance.Read moreRead less