Enhancing biodiversity conservation in Australia: new insights and general principles from powerful new ecological syntheses. The innovative ecological syntheses in the exciting project aim to build Australia's national research capacity to greatly increase the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation strategies. The new insights, knowledge and practical solutions gained from this important research initiative will be critical for future visions and management of Australian landscapes. Without ....Enhancing biodiversity conservation in Australia: new insights and general principles from powerful new ecological syntheses. The innovative ecological syntheses in the exciting project aim to build Australia's national research capacity to greatly increase the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation strategies. The new insights, knowledge and practical solutions gained from this important research initiative will be critical for future visions and management of Australian landscapes. Without them we risk depleting the nation's biodiversity - which is a key issue given Australia's megadiversity status. Hence, this project addresses National Research Priority #1 - An Ecologically Sustainable Australia given its fundamental importance for key goals such as managing the nation's biodiversity and understanding natural systems. Read moreRead less
Innovative enhancement and management of threatened temperate woodlands for improved biodiversity conservation. We will test the broad question: Does woodland management affect woodland biota, and if so, which groups and in what ways? To answer this, we will quantify the effects of major woodland treatments (prescribed fire, timber addition, grazing control) on animals. We will implement a long-term, large-scale 'natural experiment' to provide critical data & analyses on the simultaneous effects ....Innovative enhancement and management of threatened temperate woodlands for improved biodiversity conservation. We will test the broad question: Does woodland management affect woodland biota, and if so, which groups and in what ways? To answer this, we will quantify the effects of major woodland treatments (prescribed fire, timber addition, grazing control) on animals. We will implement a long-term, large-scale 'natural experiment' to provide critical data & analyses on the simultaneous effects of management regimes on woodland biota. A key outcome will be an improved understanding of woodland biota response to management critical for use on grazing properties, reserves, travelling stock routes in rural south-eastern Australia. This will be a major step forward given that temperate woodlands are among Australia's most threatened vegetation types.Read moreRead less
Marine conservation planning for persistent coral reef communities: Incorporating connectivity and resilience. Australia's biological diversity underpins much of our economic wealth - for example the remarkable diversity of coral reefs fuels a multibillion dollar tourism industry. However, despite substantial efforts to conserve marine ecosystems, Australian coral reefs are at increasing risk from climate change related catastrophes. To counteract this trend, we must choose marine reserve networ ....Marine conservation planning for persistent coral reef communities: Incorporating connectivity and resilience. Australia's biological diversity underpins much of our economic wealth - for example the remarkable diversity of coral reefs fuels a multibillion dollar tourism industry. However, despite substantial efforts to conserve marine ecosystems, Australian coral reefs are at increasing risk from climate change related catastrophes. To counteract this trend, we must choose marine reserve networks using methods that account for the dynamic nature of climate change and reef community responses to maximise the persistence of reef biodiversity. The new theory and methods will enable us to create more effective and economically efficient marine reserve systems.Read moreRead less
Coral reef connectivity: an empirical and theoretical synthesis. Australia possesses the greatest marine biodiversity of any first world country and this biodiversity is a major contributor to our economic wealth. Nonetheless, Australia's coral reef communities are threatened by various human activities and climate change. Wisely designed systems of marine reserves are critical to mitigating threats to coral reefs, but existing approaches do not incorporate crucial information about ecological c ....Coral reef connectivity: an empirical and theoretical synthesis. Australia possesses the greatest marine biodiversity of any first world country and this biodiversity is a major contributor to our economic wealth. Nonetheless, Australia's coral reef communities are threatened by various human activities and climate change. Wisely designed systems of marine reserves are critical to mitigating threats to coral reefs, but existing approaches do not incorporate crucial information about ecological connections between reefs. We will use graph theory metrics to identify priority reefs for protection based on empirical genetic and hydrological connectivity information. In addition, we will determine the sensitivity of these priorities to climate change scenarios.Read moreRead less
Network structure, connectivity and wildlife disease. Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife pose threats to human health (75% of human emerging diseases are zoonotic). They also threaten biodiversity and livestock. Changes in connectivity between wildlife individuals and populations are occurring because of human activities, including globalisation, climate change and habitat destruction. Understanding how these changes in connectivity affect wildlife disease dynamics is crucial for the deve ....Network structure, connectivity and wildlife disease. Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife pose threats to human health (75% of human emerging diseases are zoonotic). They also threaten biodiversity and livestock. Changes in connectivity between wildlife individuals and populations are occurring because of human activities, including globalisation, climate change and habitat destruction. Understanding how these changes in connectivity affect wildlife disease dynamics is crucial for the development of better strategies to manage their impacts. The project will also build Australia's wider capacity to manage outbreaks of infectious diseases.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms fo Release of Deep Dormancy in Seeds of Australian Plant Species used in Land Restoration. Over 4 million Ha of Australian land is currently in need of revegetation. To facilitate this, large-scale revegetation programs utilising native species are urgently required. Currently, many desirable species are difficult to propagate due to deep intractable dormancy, but are nevertheless needed due to their keystone function in many ecosystems. The aim is to therefore investigate seed dorman ....Mechanisms fo Release of Deep Dormancy in Seeds of Australian Plant Species used in Land Restoration. Over 4 million Ha of Australian land is currently in need of revegetation. To facilitate this, large-scale revegetation programs utilising native species are urgently required. Currently, many desirable species are difficult to propagate due to deep intractable dormancy, but are nevertheless needed due to their keystone function in many ecosystems. The aim is to therefore investigate seed dormancy alleviation in key rehabilitation species. Outcomes flowing from this project will significantly increase the suite of species currently available for land restoration efforts by land rehabilitation practitioners and will therefore increase the quality and effectiveness of Australian restoration programs.Read moreRead less
Wandoo crown decline - an ecophysiological diagnosis. Eucalyptus wandoo forests and woodlands once covered a large area in SW Western Australia. Remnants of these ecosystems are now threatened by the Wandoo Crown Decline syndrome. We hypothesise that the progressive dieback of branches is due to drought stress, causing irreversible damage to water supply and/or predisposing trees to fungal disease. The project aims at identifying the physiological mechanism of Wandoo Crown Decline. This knowledg ....Wandoo crown decline - an ecophysiological diagnosis. Eucalyptus wandoo forests and woodlands once covered a large area in SW Western Australia. Remnants of these ecosystems are now threatened by the Wandoo Crown Decline syndrome. We hypothesise that the progressive dieback of branches is due to drought stress, causing irreversible damage to water supply and/or predisposing trees to fungal disease. The project aims at identifying the physiological mechanism of Wandoo Crown Decline. This knowledge is imperative for the assessment of risks for wandoo populations and for the formulation of management options.Read moreRead less
Synthesising prior information for ecological research and management. While using existing information to design studies and compare results, ecologists rarely use existing information in their analyses. We will combine the results of previous ecological studies to summarise the existing information. We will test how well the traits of plants and animals can be predicted from previous research, and the benefit of this existing information for environmental management. By taking advantage of the ....Synthesising prior information for ecological research and management. While using existing information to design studies and compare results, ecologists rarely use existing information in their analyses. We will combine the results of previous ecological studies to summarise the existing information. We will test how well the traits of plants and animals can be predicted from previous research, and the benefit of this existing information for environmental management. By taking advantage of the wealth of previous ecological research, our project can save time and money for ecological research by scientists and environmental management by federal and state agencies. This will fundamentally change the way that ecology is conducted.Read moreRead less
Disease in endangered species: The importance of multiple-host infection and spatial structure. Pathogens are increasingly recognised as threats to endangered species. Managing such threats requires models to assess alternative strategies. Most current models deal with a single host and single pathogen, without spatial structure, although multiple-host pathogens pose the greatest conservation threats. This project develops a new generation of spatially-structured multiple-host models, and applie ....Disease in endangered species: The importance of multiple-host infection and spatial structure. Pathogens are increasingly recognised as threats to endangered species. Managing such threats requires models to assess alternative strategies. Most current models deal with a single host and single pathogen, without spatial structure, although multiple-host pathogens pose the greatest conservation threats. This project develops a new generation of spatially-structured multiple-host models, and applies them to two case studies. The first is the chytrid fungus that is thought to have lead to widespread declines and extinctions of frogs in Australia and overseas. The second is birdpox and malaria that have led to the extinction and endangerment of much of Hawaii's endemic avifauna.Read moreRead less
Development and Testing of an Australia-wide Biodiversity Conservation Assessment and Planning System. This project aims to develop and test a Conservation Planning System that can be used by governments, industry, land managers and other stakeholders concerned with the long-term conservation of Australia's biodiversity. The project comprises three interrelated research foci: (1) addressing knowledge gaps about large scale ecological processes critical to long term biodiversity conservation toge ....Development and Testing of an Australia-wide Biodiversity Conservation Assessment and Planning System. This project aims to develop and test a Conservation Planning System that can be used by governments, industry, land managers and other stakeholders concerned with the long-term conservation of Australia's biodiversity. The project comprises three interrelated research foci: (1) addressing knowledge gaps about large scale ecological processes critical to long term biodiversity conservation together with the landscape linkages needed to maintain their integrity; (2) developing and testing a new computer based conservation assessment and planning tool that incorporates information about these ecological processes; and (3) investigating how these can be used to facilitate biodiversity conservation assessment and planning.Read moreRead less