Linking terrestrial–aquatic fluxes to rectify the Australian carbon balance. This project aims to rectify the Australian carbon balance by determining the amount of terrestrial carbon that is lost to streams and rivers across the country. Through a novel integration of high-resolution hydrochemical and gas measurements, remote sensing and machine learning algorithms, the project intends to generate new knowledge about the links between terrestrial carbon sequestration and aquatic carbon export. ....Linking terrestrial–aquatic fluxes to rectify the Australian carbon balance. This project aims to rectify the Australian carbon balance by determining the amount of terrestrial carbon that is lost to streams and rivers across the country. Through a novel integration of high-resolution hydrochemical and gas measurements, remote sensing and machine learning algorithms, the project intends to generate new knowledge about the links between terrestrial carbon sequestration and aquatic carbon export. Expected outcomes include a refined estimate of the net carbon sequestration potential across Australian biomes and seasons. This should provide significant benefits such as avoiding misalignment of greenhouse gas abatement policies and advancing carbon cycling models and predictions.Read moreRead less
The ecological impact of large carnivore restoration. This project aims to assess the ecological changes that have arisen due to the repatriation of estuarine crocodiles to Australian ecosystems. It is significant because the restoration provides a rare opportunity to empirically test changes in ecosystem processes under varying degrees of large carnivore predation pressure. Expected outcomes include improved understanding of the processes that govern the strength of predator-ecosystem interacti ....The ecological impact of large carnivore restoration. This project aims to assess the ecological changes that have arisen due to the repatriation of estuarine crocodiles to Australian ecosystems. It is significant because the restoration provides a rare opportunity to empirically test changes in ecosystem processes under varying degrees of large carnivore predation pressure. Expected outcomes include improved understanding of the processes that govern the strength of predator-ecosystem interactions and an ability to quantify the biomass, social structure, and behaviours of predators required to influence these processes. Benefits should include improvements in how the ecological role of large carnivores is measured, and when and where carnivore populations should be culled or conserved.Read moreRead less
Effects of maternal foraging success and oceanographic variation on offspring behaviour and survival in the southern elephant seal. Juvenile survival is the key determinant of mammalian population performance, but the proximate determinants of this have rarely been established in large, long-lived predators. Southern elephant seals, with their concentrated lactation effort and marked separation of energy acquisition (at-sea foraging) and expenditure (on-land lactation) provide an ideal model for ....Effects of maternal foraging success and oceanographic variation on offspring behaviour and survival in the southern elephant seal. Juvenile survival is the key determinant of mammalian population performance, but the proximate determinants of this have rarely been established in large, long-lived predators. Southern elephant seals, with their concentrated lactation effort and marked separation of energy acquisition (at-sea foraging) and expenditure (on-land lactation) provide an ideal model for investigating these factors. In this study, we investigate the partitioning of pre-partum performance (fat acquired in mothers) relative to spatial-temporal variation in ocean productivity and the effect of this expenditure on offspring condition and survival. Here, the final missing link of energy transfer and its effects on offspring will be a major outcome of this project.Read moreRead less
First Nations AI: Country, Climate, Communication. Our team of Indigenous and western scholars aims to develop a systematic account of artificial intelligence and its possibilities in climate change communication in remote First Nations communities in northern Australia. Working under Indigenous governance, we will establish spaces for Indigenous landowners and scientists to come together to probe diverse AI techniques for making sense of climate predictions and risks. We will build the capacity ....First Nations AI: Country, Climate, Communication. Our team of Indigenous and western scholars aims to develop a systematic account of artificial intelligence and its possibilities in climate change communication in remote First Nations communities in northern Australia. Working under Indigenous governance, we will establish spaces for Indigenous landowners and scientists to come together to probe diverse AI techniques for making sense of climate predictions and risks. We will build the capacity of Indigenous people to conceive and design AI, accounting for divergent languages and knowledge systems. This is expected to lead to more effective and trustworthy communications about extreme weather and climate change, improving the preparedness and responses of remote First Nations communities.Read moreRead less
Beyond burial: redefining the blue carbon paradigm. This project aims to constrain the magnitude and drivers of alkalinity and greenhouse gas fluxes in mangroves. Mangroves cover less than 0.03 per cent of the Earth’s surface yet account for approximately 14 per cent of oceanic carbon burial. Mangroves also export alkalinity to the coastal ocean, and act as sources of methane and nitrous oxide. The effect of these fluxes on climate may exceed carbon burial by several-fold, but are unaccounted fo ....Beyond burial: redefining the blue carbon paradigm. This project aims to constrain the magnitude and drivers of alkalinity and greenhouse gas fluxes in mangroves. Mangroves cover less than 0.03 per cent of the Earth’s surface yet account for approximately 14 per cent of oceanic carbon burial. Mangroves also export alkalinity to the coastal ocean, and act as sources of methane and nitrous oxide. The effect of these fluxes on climate may exceed carbon burial by several-fold, but are unaccounted for in blue carbon budgets. This project will couple high-resolution radionuclide geochronology of soil carbon cycling with autonomous measurements of aquatic exports and greenhouse gas fluxes. This study will provide the detailed data required to refine the blue carbon paradigm.Read moreRead less