Precious time-capsule: discovery of fossil-rich amber from Australia. Cape York's natural attributes are already of national and global significance. Our research, which focuses on the world's most recently discovered, fossil-rich amber deposit will significantly increase this value. In addition to discovery of hundreds of stunningly-well preserved fossil organisms, analysis of trapped bubbles of ancient air will enable us to reconstruct their prehistoric environment. This should improve ability ....Precious time-capsule: discovery of fossil-rich amber from Australia. Cape York's natural attributes are already of national and global significance. Our research, which focuses on the world's most recently discovered, fossil-rich amber deposit will significantly increase this value. In addition to discovery of hundreds of stunningly-well preserved fossil organisms, analysis of trapped bubbles of ancient air will enable us to reconstruct their prehistoric environment. This should improve ability to anticipate biotic responses to future climate change. The amber industry globally contributes to national wealth. Increasing understanding about the geology and palaeontology of this amber deposit will maximise commercial and scientific benefits to the nation.Read moreRead less
Time frame for the evolution of Australia's extraordinary mammals. This Project will refine a national biostratigraphic framework integrating growing understanding about the history of Australia's unique mammals, climate change and geological events. Increasing precision in correlating Australia's phylogenetic, palaeoecological and palaeoclimatological events will clarify how these act synergistically to change environments and biodiversity. Increased precision in the biostratigraphic framework ....Time frame for the evolution of Australia's extraordinary mammals. This Project will refine a national biostratigraphic framework integrating growing understanding about the history of Australia's unique mammals, climate change and geological events. Increasing precision in correlating Australia's phylogenetic, palaeoecological and palaeoclimatological events will clarify how these act synergistically to change environments and biodiversity. Increased precision in the biostratigraphic framework will also serve evolutionary genetics which needs age data to calculate molecular rates of divergence, economic geologists needing to know the age of Cainozoic sediments, biologists trying to understand the origins and nature of biodiversity and conservationists using divergence dates and relative branch lengths to help determine conservation priorities. Read moreRead less
Unravelling the last great Gondwanan mystery: the first land vertebrate fauna from the Tertiary of New Zealand. This project will dramatically increase knowledge about Australia's and New Zealand's shared biodiversity and the history of trans-Tasman dispersals. By comparing Australian and New Zealand fossil records, it will be possible to assess the speed at which evolving vertebrates of one landmass invade another, as well as the biotic consequences of such events, and provide data important fo ....Unravelling the last great Gondwanan mystery: the first land vertebrate fauna from the Tertiary of New Zealand. This project will dramatically increase knowledge about Australia's and New Zealand's shared biodiversity and the history of trans-Tasman dispersals. By comparing Australian and New Zealand fossil records, it will be possible to assess the speed at which evolving vertebrates of one landmass invade another, as well as the biotic consequences of such events, and provide data important for predicting and responding to future potentially-damaging events of this kind. Developing understanding about the timing and intensity of antipodean faunal response to past climate change will improve ability to anticipate and manage processes that threaten ecosystem resilience in both lands.Read moreRead less
Sustaining practice: The theory and development of educational practice/praxis in the context of education for sustainability (EfS). This project investigates educational practice in ten Education for Sustainability initiatives, to characterise exemplary practice in schools and the community. It contributes to environmental, economic, cultural and social and dimensions of sustainability through improved educational practice, with implications for theory, policy and practice in sustainability, te ....Sustaining practice: The theory and development of educational practice/praxis in the context of education for sustainability (EfS). This project investigates educational practice in ten Education for Sustainability initiatives, to characterise exemplary practice in schools and the community. It contributes to environmental, economic, cultural and social and dimensions of sustainability through improved educational practice, with implications for theory, policy and practice in sustainability, teacher education and education for the professions. It will also contribute directly to sustainability through enhancing the work of Education for Sustainability Initiatives in communities and schools. It will provide enhanced tools for understanding practice/praxis to assist policy makers, especially those concerned with sustainability, Education for Sustainability, teacher education and education for the professions.Read moreRead less
The skin of commerce: the role of plastic packaging in the construction of food security, waste and consumer activism in Australia. Plastic packaging has been important to ensuring food security in Australia, however it is also a major waste burden. This project will critically assess new approaches to reducing plastic packaging in food markets and waste streams and will produce key insights into how sustainable food systems can be organised with less reliance on plastic.
Australia's mammalian carnivore diversity in space and time. To more effectively address the current extinction crisis we need to understand past diversity. This research program will comprehensively investigate the diversity of mammalian carnivores on three continents over geological time. Results will provide insight into whether the evolution of Australia's mammal carnivores differs fundamentally from those of other continents, as has often been suggested but not quantitatively demonstrated. ....Australia's mammalian carnivore diversity in space and time. To more effectively address the current extinction crisis we need to understand past diversity. This research program will comprehensively investigate the diversity of mammalian carnivores on three continents over geological time. Results will provide insight into whether the evolution of Australia's mammal carnivores differs fundamentally from those of other continents, as has often been suggested but not quantitatively demonstrated. Studies focused in the present are important, but often miss critical factors that can only be clarified through analyses with deep time perspectives. The findings will translate into an improved understanding of what makes Australia unique and better-informed decisions regarding wildlife management.Read moreRead less
Distributed Data Processing for Wireless Sensor Networks. This project falls within the national research priorities of Frontier Technologies for building and transforming Australian Industries, and will provide Australian companies with state-of-the-art technology in wireless sensor networks (WSN). Australia's priorities are mainly in sustainable environment, health maintenance, and home-land security. Any application in these priority areas that uses our system will have less maintenance costs ....Distributed Data Processing for Wireless Sensor Networks. This project falls within the national research priorities of Frontier Technologies for building and transforming Australian Industries, and will provide Australian companies with state-of-the-art technology in wireless sensor networks (WSN). Australia's priorities are mainly in sustainable environment, health maintenance, and home-land security. Any application in these priority areas that uses our system will have less maintenance costs and a significantly longer lifetime.
This project will generate numerous articles in first-class journals and conferences and will contribute to the strength of Australian Research in sensor technologies and ICT. Read moreRead less
Fostering pro-environment consciousness and practice: environmentalism, environmentality and environmental education in Indonesia. This project aims to foster environmental awareness in Indonesia by investigating how some people have become environmentally aware, and by evaluating various environmental education and activism projects. This project will also identify types of education that have proven effective, analyse the reasons for their efficacy and make recommendations accordingly.
Bubbles on the surface: a place pedagogy of the Narran Lakes. The project will provide Aboriginal, ecological humanities, and pedagogical input into the problem of environmental sustainability in the Murray-Darling Basin, complementing current physical science initiatives. It will have immediate national benefit in the production of educational resources based on alternative and previously invisible stories of water in the Narran Lakes area, an icon site in the Murray-Darling Basin. The finding ....Bubbles on the surface: a place pedagogy of the Narran Lakes. The project will provide Aboriginal, ecological humanities, and pedagogical input into the problem of environmental sustainability in the Murray-Darling Basin, complementing current physical science initiatives. It will have immediate national benefit in the production of educational resources based on alternative and previously invisible stories of water in the Narran Lakes area, an icon site in the Murray-Darling Basin. The findings will have longer term national benefit by identifying the elements of a general pedagogy of place, drawn from the specific local case study of the Narran Lakes, which will be applied in adult and community education.Read moreRead less
Impact of the male germ line on the mutational load carried by mammalian embryos. This project examines whether a man's age or exposure to lifestyle factors (alcohol, cigarette smoke and mobile phone radiation) can have a major effect on the health of his children. The project is particularly relevant to the safety of assisted conception procedures used to treat the 1 in 20 Australian men suffering from infertility.