Does coevolution or ecological context determine predator-prey coexistence? This project aims to deliver the first robust evaluation of the evolutionary and ecological conditions that combine to enable introduced predators to drive extinctions of native mammals. The project will bring together disciplines of invasion biology and trophic cascades to model predator-prey systems in the presence and absence of apex predators. This globally unique study will provide an informed and transparent toolse ....Does coevolution or ecological context determine predator-prey coexistence? This project aims to deliver the first robust evaluation of the evolutionary and ecological conditions that combine to enable introduced predators to drive extinctions of native mammals. The project will bring together disciplines of invasion biology and trophic cascades to model predator-prey systems in the presence and absence of apex predators. This globally unique study will provide an informed and transparent toolset for preventing decline of threatened species and will enhance Australian conservation policy by untangling contrasting perspectives of introduced predators and the conditions that lead to native species extinction.Read moreRead less
The return of the native: reintroductions, reinvasions, and a new paradigm in restoration ecology. We develop a new solution to improve pest control used to protect rare and endangered wildlife by using reintroductions of common native species as a block to reinvasion following pest control. Our approach will significantly reduce the ongoing costs of pest control in Australia and our solution can be used by both large conservation organisations as well as small community groups aiming to control ....The return of the native: reintroductions, reinvasions, and a new paradigm in restoration ecology. We develop a new solution to improve pest control used to protect rare and endangered wildlife by using reintroductions of common native species as a block to reinvasion following pest control. Our approach will significantly reduce the ongoing costs of pest control in Australia and our solution can be used by both large conservation organisations as well as small community groups aiming to control pests and protect key wildlife. Our technique can also be exported to solve alien species problems elsewhere in the world. This work strengthens Australia’s world renowned expertise for research into alien species and ability to develop novel solutions to alien impacts.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals c ....Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals can be reliably aged, and population structures are very sensitive to fire regimes: saplings only establish if unburnt for 10 years. This research is expected to provide the first direct test of the hypothesis that Aboriginal people maintained fine-grained fire mosaics in savannas, and inform bushfire policy debates.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101822
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$438,428.00
Summary
Small but bold: harnessing microbes to boost drought tolerance in grasses . Drought threats grasslands worldwide, and new adaptation and resilience building approaches are required to protect the wealth of ecosystem services provided by grasslands. Soil microbes offer an untapped opportunity to enhance drought survival in grasses. Yet, to harness this potential, we first need to identify the key microbial functions that contribute to plant tolerance to drought. This project aims to determine the ....Small but bold: harnessing microbes to boost drought tolerance in grasses . Drought threats grasslands worldwide, and new adaptation and resilience building approaches are required to protect the wealth of ecosystem services provided by grasslands. Soil microbes offer an untapped opportunity to enhance drought survival in grasses. Yet, to harness this potential, we first need to identify the key microbial functions that contribute to plant tolerance to drought. This project aims to determine the microbe-mediated ecological and functional mechanisms that underpin grass performance under drought. This knowledge will lay the foundation to accelerate the design and implementation of effective microbial manipulations and management strategies, and thus increase our success in protecting this important ecosystem.Read moreRead less
Ecological forecasts of species response to fire, drought and heatwaves. This project will advance ecosystem forecasting by accounting for how legacy effects from extreme environmental events – prolonged droughts, floods, heatwaves and fires – persist into future years in vulnerable dryland ecosystems. As highly stressed environments are expected to leave increasingly large impacts on flora and fauna and exacerbate desertification, answers are urgently needed to understand and mitigate these imp ....Ecological forecasts of species response to fire, drought and heatwaves. This project will advance ecosystem forecasting by accounting for how legacy effects from extreme environmental events – prolonged droughts, floods, heatwaves and fires – persist into future years in vulnerable dryland ecosystems. As highly stressed environments are expected to leave increasingly large impacts on flora and fauna and exacerbate desertification, answers are urgently needed to understand and mitigate these impacts. This project will foster new appreciation of ecosystem features that build resilience to change, or that lead to collapse. Benefits include better forecasting tools to manage ecosystems at risk, improved security of biodiversity and food production in Australian rangelands, and training of early career researchers.Read moreRead less
Promoting resilience of ecosystems through connectivity. The resilience of ecosystems in the face of major environmental disturbances is emerging as a major concern for modern ecology. Connectivity of ecosystem components is a critically important element of ecosystem function and should, theoretically, be central to system resilience. The relationship between connectivity and resilience, however, remains poorly substantiated by empirical data. By manipulating connectivity in laboratory experime ....Promoting resilience of ecosystems through connectivity. The resilience of ecosystems in the face of major environmental disturbances is emerging as a major concern for modern ecology. Connectivity of ecosystem components is a critically important element of ecosystem function and should, theoretically, be central to system resilience. The relationship between connectivity and resilience, however, remains poorly substantiated by empirical data. By manipulating connectivity in laboratory experiments using a well-understood model marine system, the project aims to determine how connectivity affects resilience. It could provide a crucial step towards integrating connectivity into management and conservation of natural resources.Read moreRead less
Conserving and recovering the koala populations on NSW Far North Coast. Conserving and recovering the koala populations on NSW Far North Coast. This project aims to develop a novel, integrated socio-ecological approach for connecting landscapes and communities for the recovery of threatened koala populations on the New South Wales far north coast. This should increase understanding of how local landholders and land managers respond to koala recovery programs and why they respond positively and b ....Conserving and recovering the koala populations on NSW Far North Coast. Conserving and recovering the koala populations on NSW Far North Coast. This project aims to develop a novel, integrated socio-ecological approach for connecting landscapes and communities for the recovery of threatened koala populations on the New South Wales far north coast. This should increase understanding of how local landholders and land managers respond to koala recovery programs and why they respond positively and become engaged for the long-term. The intended outcome is a spatial prioritisation framework for species recovery that integrates social and ecological values, and increased global knowledge of how to recover declining wildlife populations.Read moreRead less
Is a grass-fire cycle reducing biodiversity in the stone country of Kakadu National Park? There is concern that bushfires in northern Australia are causing biodiversity loss. The project will compare fire regimes and populations of a fire-sensitive tree, Callitris intratropica, in Kakadu to similar areas in central Arnhem Land, to see how fire management can be optimised to prevent further biodiversity loss on the Arnhem Plateau.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101477
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$393,689.00
Summary
Using food web theory to conserve ecosystems. Species interact with each other and the management of one species can impact on other species. These interactions are often ignored in conservation decision making. Food web theory is the obvious basis for considering links between species when making conservation decisions, but actually contains little explicit guidance for the management of multiple species. Using a novel application of optimisation approaches pioneered in artificial intelligence ....Using food web theory to conserve ecosystems. Species interact with each other and the management of one species can impact on other species. These interactions are often ignored in conservation decision making. Food web theory is the obvious basis for considering links between species when making conservation decisions, but actually contains little explicit guidance for the management of multiple species. Using a novel application of optimisation approaches pioneered in artificial intelligence research, we aim to demonstrate how food web theory can guide the management of multiple species. In doing so, we will also test the effectiveness of widely used approaches to multi-species management, such as keystone species, umbrella species and bottom-up control.Read moreRead less
Bridging the land–sea divide to ensure food security under climate change. This project aims to comprehensively evaluate ocean-based food solutions to meet food security needs under climate change. It will resolve a critical blind spot in current plans that isolate land and sea food systems and neglect their interdependencies. Combining global models and data, it will assess the constraints of ocean-based food solutions by anticipating and accounting for land-sea links including: agricultural ru ....Bridging the land–sea divide to ensure food security under climate change. This project aims to comprehensively evaluate ocean-based food solutions to meet food security needs under climate change. It will resolve a critical blind spot in current plans that isolate land and sea food systems and neglect their interdependencies. Combining global models and data, it will assess the constraints of ocean-based food solutions by anticipating and accounting for land-sea links including: agricultural runoff, shared feed resources for farmed animals, and trade-offs for biodiversity and climate mitigation. It will deliver a major leap in our capacity to undertake holistic ecosystem assessment of future food production pathways. Benefits will include integrated food–biodiversity–climate policies for Australia and the world.Read moreRead less