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
Restoring resilience in wildlife populations. This project will be the first to develop landscape models of habitat quality for wildlife that are based on a mechanistic, animal-centric approach to quantifying habitat. This will be an important step in understanding the habitat elements that wildlife need to live in altered landscapes, with implications central to restoration and revegetation.
An elemental hypothesis for sub-tropical refugia in reef corals. This project aims to discover the underlying traits that permit Australian reef corals to live near the edges of their ranges in relatively cool water. As ocean temperatures warm, novel communities are expected to develop in high latitude ecosystems, which might become important as thermal refugia for low latitude coral reefs. The project aims to test the role of elemental composition (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) in coral host ....An elemental hypothesis for sub-tropical refugia in reef corals. This project aims to discover the underlying traits that permit Australian reef corals to live near the edges of their ranges in relatively cool water. As ocean temperatures warm, novel communities are expected to develop in high latitude ecosystems, which might become important as thermal refugia for low latitude coral reefs. The project aims to test the role of elemental composition (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) in coral host and symbiont response to changing water temperature along a latitudinal gradient. The intended outcome of the project is to provide knowledge to support predictions of likely species migrations from tropical to subtropical waters, enabling managers to anticipate the future response of coral communities to seawater warming.Read moreRead less
Using pollinators to optimise plant conservation translocation. This project aims to address the low success rate of conservation translocations of threatened orchids. While pollinators are critical for plant reproduction, they are very rarely considered when establishing new populations of endangered species. Our innovative approach to conservation translocation involves using pollinators in site selection, developing strategies to mitigate risks of hybridisation, and optimising plant reproduct ....Using pollinators to optimise plant conservation translocation. This project aims to address the low success rate of conservation translocations of threatened orchids. While pollinators are critical for plant reproduction, they are very rarely considered when establishing new populations of endangered species. Our innovative approach to conservation translocation involves using pollinators in site selection, developing strategies to mitigate risks of hybridisation, and optimising plant reproduction through planting design. The key outcome will be best-practice protocols to fast-track the establishment of self-sustaining populations. Due to their novelty, the approaches we develop will benefit plant translocations worldwide, and lead to enhanced conservation outcomes at reduced financial cost. Read moreRead less
Developing Assisted Reproductive Technologies for the Conservation of Critically Endangered Australian Amphibians. Unprecedented rates of species extinction are of global concern. Although high extinction rates are reported for all vertebrate classes, amphibians are the most severely affected. Captive-breeding programs play a key role in maintaining populations of endangered amphibian species, but in most cases reproductive rates are too low to support long term re-introduction programmes. This ....Developing Assisted Reproductive Technologies for the Conservation of Critically Endangered Australian Amphibians. Unprecedented rates of species extinction are of global concern. Although high extinction rates are reported for all vertebrate classes, amphibians are the most severely affected. Captive-breeding programs play a key role in maintaining populations of endangered amphibian species, but in most cases reproductive rates are too low to support long term re-introduction programmes. This study aims to develop sophisticated Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) to enhance the propagation and genetic management of endangered Australian frog species. ART is a powerful new approach to ex situ conservation that, if integrated into existing captive breeding programs, will ensure the preservation of Australia’s unique amphibian biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Biotic connectivity within the temperate Australian marine protected area network at three levels of biodiversity, communities, populations and genes. Project outcomes will improve management of coastal biodiversity through a multi-state collaboration of managers, marine ecologists, population geneticists and taxonomists. Sites most needed within marine protected area (MPA) networks for maintaining resilience of populations across seascapes will be identified, including sites with exceptional en ....Biotic connectivity within the temperate Australian marine protected area network at three levels of biodiversity, communities, populations and genes. Project outcomes will improve management of coastal biodiversity through a multi-state collaboration of managers, marine ecologists, population geneticists and taxonomists. Sites most needed within marine protected area (MPA) networks for maintaining resilience of populations across seascapes will be identified, including sites with exceptional endemism or key roles in dispersal of larvae. The ecological efficacy of the temperate Australian MPA network will be assessed through analysis of long-term ecological datasets and further development of a novel 'remote sensing' methodology, whereby surveys are undertaken by volunteer divers across much greater spatial and temporal scales than could be studied by dedicated scientific dive teams.Read moreRead less
Explaining biodiversity. Why are there many species in some places and not in others? The aim of this project is to understand this in order to protect species, understand invasion and restore ecological systems. Using published food webs, this project will determine what factors underlie biodiversity, then use experiments to understand effects of habitat loss and climate change on food web structure.
Genetic rescue of Australian wildlife. Genetic rescue of Australian wildlife. This project aims to test genetic rescue as an efficient recovery technique for threatened plants and animals. Genetic rescue is under-utilised, even though it is overwhelmingly beneficial. This project will convert management actions on five Endangered/Critically Endangered species into rigorous experiments that measure the fitness benefits of genetic rescue, and demonstrate genome-wide consequences. Anticipated outco ....Genetic rescue of Australian wildlife. Genetic rescue of Australian wildlife. This project aims to test genetic rescue as an efficient recovery technique for threatened plants and animals. Genetic rescue is under-utilised, even though it is overwhelmingly beneficial. This project will convert management actions on five Endangered/Critically Endangered species into rigorous experiments that measure the fitness benefits of genetic rescue, and demonstrate genome-wide consequences. Anticipated outcomes include innovative genetic rescue protocols, a framework for genetic rescue, and leading-edge conservation training. Expected benefits are increased persistence of species that are otherwise unresponsive to management, and a new path to saving endangered species.Read moreRead less
Onsets not offsets for real biodiversity gains. This project addresses the profound challenge of reconciling development and biodiversity conservation by developing an alternative to the pervasive, yet unsuccessful, biodiversity offsetting approach. It will generate new knowledge in the areas of novel ecosystem function, land use optimisation and conservation attitudes. Key project outcomes will be a new framework for biodiversity onsetting, tested against environmental and social feasibility me ....Onsets not offsets for real biodiversity gains. This project addresses the profound challenge of reconciling development and biodiversity conservation by developing an alternative to the pervasive, yet unsuccessful, biodiversity offsetting approach. It will generate new knowledge in the areas of novel ecosystem function, land use optimisation and conservation attitudes. Key project outcomes will be a new framework for biodiversity onsetting, tested against environmental and social feasibility metrics, and new biodiversity evaluation methods for novel habitats. The project will provide environmental and economic benefits by reversing the ongoing decline in biodiversity from habitat loss and driving innovation in environmentally destructive industries that are vulnerable to climate change.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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