An integrated tool for informing pest management: modelling range shifts for an invasive vertebrate in response to climate change. Invasive species and climate contribute directly to loss of biodiversity and economic productivity. This research project focuses on providing user-orientated tools that enable a strategic approach to European rabbit management and vertebrate pest control in Australia in response to anticipated climate and land-use change.
Applying macroecology to assist in the management of Kakadu National Park. The ecological integrity of Kakadu National Park is threatened by fires, weeds, and feral animals. To help tackle these problems, we will develop a cost-effective, culturally appropriate, park-wide monitoring system based on changes in the boundaries of closed forests, woodland and grassland. We will gauge the effect of broad-scale land management interventions, and predict the consequences of future change. The findings ....Applying macroecology to assist in the management of Kakadu National Park. The ecological integrity of Kakadu National Park is threatened by fires, weeds, and feral animals. To help tackle these problems, we will develop a cost-effective, culturally appropriate, park-wide monitoring system based on changes in the boundaries of closed forests, woodland and grassland. We will gauge the effect of broad-scale land management interventions, and predict the consequences of future change. The findings of this study will be transferable to other landscape settings in Australia and overseas. It will contribute to debates about the ecological consequences of current land management practices and how these compare with past Aboriginal land management.Read moreRead less
Multi-model predictions of ecosystem flux under climate change based on novel genetic and image analysis methods. Improving the forecasts of ecosystem shifts must be a key focus of future ecological research if we are to preserve our unique Australian landscapes. Our proposal is of clear benefit to Australia because of the urgent need for integrated methods to predict the cumulative impact of shifts in climate and land use. We will also contribute innovative tools involving genetic and image ana ....Multi-model predictions of ecosystem flux under climate change based on novel genetic and image analysis methods. Improving the forecasts of ecosystem shifts must be a key focus of future ecological research if we are to preserve our unique Australian landscapes. Our proposal is of clear benefit to Australia because of the urgent need for integrated methods to predict the cumulative impact of shifts in climate and land use. We will also contribute innovative tools involving genetic and image analysis, and state-of-the-art modelling. The damage modern human societies are inflicting on global environments has led to a great demand for logistically feasible and cost-effective ways to prevent biodiversity loss.Read moreRead less
Evolution, disease and extinction - using ancient and modern Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to investigate molecular evolution in the Tasmanian devil. The Tasmanian devil is Australia's largest living marsupial carnivore and one of Tasmania's key tourism icons. Extinction in the wild will have long-term impacts on Tasmanian native ecosystems and economy. This study will provide critical genetic data and tools to monitor and prioritise conservation strategies, including insurance populations and dis ....Evolution, disease and extinction - using ancient and modern Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to investigate molecular evolution in the Tasmanian devil. The Tasmanian devil is Australia's largest living marsupial carnivore and one of Tasmania's key tourism icons. Extinction in the wild will have long-term impacts on Tasmanian native ecosystems and economy. This study will provide critical genetic data and tools to monitor and prioritise conservation strategies, including insurance populations and disease suppression, aimed at preventing extinction. It will strengthen ongoing conservation programs carried out by the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program and will help publicise the plight of the devil both nationally and internationally.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100929
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$462,948.00
Summary
Using ancient DNA to uncover climate change impacts on Antarctica. This project aims to utilise ancient DNA preserved in the seafloor to investigate how past Antarctic marine ecosystems have responded to past climatic changes, with a focus on the Holocene (last ~11,700 years). The study will generate the first-ever picture of marine community changes across the entire marine food web and unravel adaptation mechanisms of key marine organisms to climate shifts. Expected project outcomes will inclu ....Using ancient DNA to uncover climate change impacts on Antarctica. This project aims to utilise ancient DNA preserved in the seafloor to investigate how past Antarctic marine ecosystems have responded to past climatic changes, with a focus on the Holocene (last ~11,700 years). The study will generate the first-ever picture of marine community changes across the entire marine food web and unravel adaptation mechanisms of key marine organisms to climate shifts. Expected project outcomes will include significant knowledge advances into the evolution and resilience of Antarctic ecosystems over geological timescales. This will position Australia at the forefront of marine sedimentary ancient DNA research, and also provide valuable guidance for the conservation of Antarctica during ongoing climate change.Read moreRead less
Meta-modelling of ecological, evolutionary and climatic systems dynamics. This project aims to improve forecasts of the response of biodiversity to future climate change and so improve on-ground conservation management. Using dynamic systems modelling, tested against field data from a wide variety of case studies, the project models will integrate a variety of biological and geophysical inputs to produce more realistic forecasts of change.
Systems modelling for synergistic ecological-climate dynamics. The project aims to improve forecasts of the response of biodiversity to future climate change and so improve on-ground conservation management. A systems modelling framework will be developed and tested against real-world data to integrate a wide variety of biological and geophysical inputs and so produce more realistic predictions.
Generalised methods for testing extinction dynamics across geological, near and modern time scales. The record of extinctions over deep time is patchy and incomplete, yet we must use it to determine how major changes in past environments have shaped life on Earth today. The project will develop cutting-edge mathematical tools to determine the patterns of extinctions and speciation over geological time to help predict our uncertain environmental future.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. The ARC Centre of Excellence of Australian Biodiversity and Heritage will create a world-class interdisciplinary research programme to understand Australia’s unique biodiversity and heritage. The Centre will track the changes to Australia’s environment to examine the processes responsible for the changes and the lessons that can be used to continue to adapt to Australia’s changing environment. The Centre will support connection ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. The ARC Centre of Excellence of Australian Biodiversity and Heritage will create a world-class interdisciplinary research programme to understand Australia’s unique biodiversity and heritage. The Centre will track the changes to Australia’s environment to examine the processes responsible for the changes and the lessons that can be used to continue to adapt to Australia’s changing environment. The Centre will support connections between the sciences and humanities and train future generations of researchers to deal with future global challenges and inform policy in an interdisciplinary context. Read moreRead less
Improving prediction of rocky reef ecosystem responses to human impacts. This project aims to improve our understanding of inshore ecosystems to facilitate better management of our living marine heritage. The project first aims to extend field datasets on the density and distribution of thousands of marine fishes, invertebrates and macro-algae. These will then be combined using recent advances in quantitative ecological modelling to describe transfer of biomass between species at hundreds of sit ....Improving prediction of rocky reef ecosystem responses to human impacts. This project aims to improve our understanding of inshore ecosystems to facilitate better management of our living marine heritage. The project first aims to extend field datasets on the density and distribution of thousands of marine fishes, invertebrates and macro-algae. These will then be combined using recent advances in quantitative ecological modelling to describe transfer of biomass between species at hundreds of sites, with a primary focus on southern Australia. It is anticipated that this will provide site-level indices of major food web processes that, when combined with ‘before, after, control, impact’ data, will improve prediction of ecological consequences of fishing, climate change, pest outbreaks and pollution.Read moreRead less