Climatic forcing of ecological function in temperate marine habitats: bridging the gaps. This project will use novel approaches to integrate work on past, present and future ecological change in response to climatic forcing in temperate marine ecosystems. This will facilitate continued conservation and sustainable use of valuable ecosystem services in a changing world.
Understanding the impact of heat stress on cognition in a changing world. Our research will determine how anthropogenic climate change effects the ability of animals to process information in their environment. This research is significant because it directly addresses the growing issue of wildlife adaptation to climate change. If heat stress, reported widely in wildlife both in Australia and globally, impairs an animal's ability to respond to stimuli in its surrounding environment, then this ma ....Understanding the impact of heat stress on cognition in a changing world. Our research will determine how anthropogenic climate change effects the ability of animals to process information in their environment. This research is significant because it directly addresses the growing issue of wildlife adaptation to climate change. If heat stress, reported widely in wildlife both in Australia and globally, impairs an animal's ability to respond to stimuli in its surrounding environment, then this may cause lower reproductive success (eg lower predator detection rates) and population declines. We aim to identify critical temperature points beyond which the cognitive responses of animals decline rapidly - a significant finding for effective wildlife management priorities in the face of rapid climate change. Read moreRead less
Seagrass adaptation and acclimation responses to extreme climatic events. This project aims to advance our understanding of how temperate marine plants in their northern limit will respond to the effects of synergistic stressors from extreme events combined with climate change. The project will study Shark Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where a semi-permanent, salinity gradient maintained by shallow seagrass banks has resulted in unique ecosystems like stromatolites to persist. Expected outc ....Seagrass adaptation and acclimation responses to extreme climatic events. This project aims to advance our understanding of how temperate marine plants in their northern limit will respond to the effects of synergistic stressors from extreme events combined with climate change. The project will study Shark Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where a semi-permanent, salinity gradient maintained by shallow seagrass banks has resulted in unique ecosystems like stromatolites to persist. Expected outcomes include practical solutions for building resilience to climate change mitigation in marine ecosystems. This will benefit the broader Australian community through changing how we manage significant resources and services these systems support, such as fisheries, coastal protection.Read moreRead less
Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si a ....Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si alleviates stress in wheat, from gene to farm scale, providing cost-benefit analysis and a best–practice toolbox for implementation by farmers. Outcomes are anticipated to provide a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable solution to issues of water scarcity and yield losses to pests in Australia’s leading crop.Read moreRead less
Ecological responses of native fishes to dynamic water flows in northwest arid Australia. This project will investigate the biological adaptations and ecology of native fishes of northwest Australia in order to assess their resilience to altered water flows due to mining activities and changing climate. The project findings will contribute to sustainable management of water and biodiversity in arid environments.
Resolving the role of kelp in blue carbon cycles to enable management. We aim to uncover how kelp forests contribute to carbon storage, biodiversity enhancement and nutrient mitigation in Australia. We will combine mapping and modelling to identify local variation in kelp carbon stocks and sequestration potential and verify kelp carbon export to deep ocean sinks through genetic tracing in seawater and sediments. Co-benefits will be identified through nutrient experiments and reef surveys. We wil ....Resolving the role of kelp in blue carbon cycles to enable management. We aim to uncover how kelp forests contribute to carbon storage, biodiversity enhancement and nutrient mitigation in Australia. We will combine mapping and modelling to identify local variation in kelp carbon stocks and sequestration potential and verify kelp carbon export to deep ocean sinks through genetic tracing in seawater and sediments. Co-benefits will be identified through nutrient experiments and reef surveys. We will also assess the risk that calcification and production of halogenic gas within the kelp forest could offset its climate mitigation potential. Project outcomes will enable management to consider kelp ecosystem services broadly and optimize our capacity to meet current emission reduction and biodiversity commitments.Read moreRead less
A novel top-down approach to ecosystem management using multivariate foraging strategies of an iconic marine top-predator. Understanding predator aggregation patterns in relation to marine productivity is critical in designing ecosystem-level conservation plans for protecting marine habitats and species. The project aims to develop a new approach to measure prey abundance and availability in the marine ecosystem for the management of resources of top-predators. This will be of specific benefit i ....A novel top-down approach to ecosystem management using multivariate foraging strategies of an iconic marine top-predator. Understanding predator aggregation patterns in relation to marine productivity is critical in designing ecosystem-level conservation plans for protecting marine habitats and species. The project aims to develop a new approach to measure prey abundance and availability in the marine ecosystem for the management of resources of top-predators. This will be of specific benefit in areas where a strong need exists for conservation of prey species with economic importance too low to justify expensive at-sea research.Read moreRead less
Blue carbon potential of the Great Southern Reef. As one of Australia’s largest vegetated coastal ecosystems, kelp forests provide substantial climate mitigation opportunities. Although kelp carbon is ubiquitous in the deep ocean, the mechanism of transport and amount of kelp carbon reaching deep sinks remains largely unknown, significantly hampering their inclusion in ocean carbon budgets and mitigation action. We will use Australia-wide field data on kelp export, cross-shelf measurements of tr ....Blue carbon potential of the Great Southern Reef. As one of Australia’s largest vegetated coastal ecosystems, kelp forests provide substantial climate mitigation opportunities. Although kelp carbon is ubiquitous in the deep ocean, the mechanism of transport and amount of kelp carbon reaching deep sinks remains largely unknown, significantly hampering their inclusion in ocean carbon budgets and mitigation action. We will use Australia-wide field data on kelp export, cross-shelf measurements of transport and decay, coastal ocean circulation and future distribution models to vastly improve estimates of kelp carbon transfer to deep ocean sinks. Our comprehensive data-driven assessment of kelp carbon sequestration aims to uncover the carbon sink capacity of seaweed forests now and in the futureRead moreRead less
Identifying potential trade-offs of adapting to climate change. Climate change and marine heatwaves introduce strong, directional selection for heat tolerance which, in turn, alters the genetic composition and diversity of marine species. While this may facilitate adaptation to warmer conditions, reduced genetic diversity may limit resilience or cause maladaptation to additional stressors. This project will focus on habitat-forming kelps and will aim to both assess the negative consequences of r ....Identifying potential trade-offs of adapting to climate change. Climate change and marine heatwaves introduce strong, directional selection for heat tolerance which, in turn, alters the genetic composition and diversity of marine species. While this may facilitate adaptation to warmer conditions, reduced genetic diversity may limit resilience or cause maladaptation to additional stressors. This project will focus on habitat-forming kelps and will aim to both assess the negative consequences of rapid selection and to disentangle the mechanisms of climate adaptation. Through a powerful combination of controlled experiments on known genotypes and cutting-edge transcriptomic approaches, this project will transform our understanding of the adaptability of foundation species in a rapidly changing ocean.
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Group dynamics, Allee effects and population regulation in cooperative breeders. Understanding population dynamics is crucial for effective conservation biology. In many cases breeding is limited by high density, but in social species the opposite is true, exposing small groups to high extinction risk. However, analyses of population dynamics in social species is rare, limiting our ability to effectively conserve such species.