ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies. The overarching aim of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary for sustaining ecosystem goods and services of the worlds coral reefs, which support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in the tropics. The Centre will enhance Australia's global leadership in coral reef science through three ambitious research programs addressing the future of coral ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies. The overarching aim of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary for sustaining ecosystem goods and services of the worlds coral reefs, which support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in the tropics. The Centre will enhance Australia's global leadership in coral reef science through three ambitious research programs addressing the future of coral reefs and their ability to adapt to change. A key outcome of the research will be providing tangible benefits to all Australians by building bridges between the natural and social sciences, strengthening capacity, and informing and supporting transformative changes in coral reef governance and management.Read moreRead less
Assessing the ecosystem-wide risks of threatened species translocation. Assessing the ecosystem-wide risks of threatened species translocation. This project aims to develop the first quantitative risk assessment framework to improve decisions about moving threatened species to new places. Moving threatened plants and animals to new environments, or reintroducing them where they previously persisted, is a growing focus of conservation. Moving species can have unanticipated effects on other specie ....Assessing the ecosystem-wide risks of threatened species translocation. Assessing the ecosystem-wide risks of threatened species translocation. This project aims to develop the first quantitative risk assessment framework to improve decisions about moving threatened species to new places. Moving threatened plants and animals to new environments, or reintroducing them where they previously persisted, is a growing focus of conservation. Moving species can have unanticipated effects on other species in the ecosystem. Although the International Union for Conservation of Nature deems ecosystem-wide risk assessments essential for conservation translocations, no framework exists to assess these risks and inform these decisions. New tools for assessing the risks of conservation translocations are expected to improve global and local conservation outcomes.Read moreRead less
Functional links between estuaries and their catchments: How does land use change affect estuarine ecological and bio-geochemical function? Estuaries are iconic recreational areas of high ecological and socio-economic value. Estuarine health is strongly linked to the catchments that feed them, yet we have no detailed understanding of these links. This project will use a number of state of the art approaches to better understand how land use affects estuarine health.
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
Cascading effects of Australia's ecological extinctions on biodiversity and ecosystem function. The current rate of species extinctions is so extensive that it has been described as the “sixth mass extinction”. In Australian ecosystems, extinctions and declines of mammals have been dramatic, with formerly abundant species now “ecologically extinct”, meaning they are too rare to continue to play important ecological roles. The loss of entire functional guilds may have cascading effects on biodive ....Cascading effects of Australia's ecological extinctions on biodiversity and ecosystem function. The current rate of species extinctions is so extensive that it has been described as the “sixth mass extinction”. In Australian ecosystems, extinctions and declines of mammals have been dramatic, with formerly abundant species now “ecologically extinct”, meaning they are too rare to continue to play important ecological roles. The loss of entire functional guilds may have cascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystem function. This project uses a multi-scalar experimental approach to investigate the broader impacts of mammal declines on Australian ecosystems, accounting for interactions with climate. The outcomes will include new insights into the pre-European state of Australian ecosystems and more realistic targets for ecosystem restoration.Read moreRead less
Maintaining biodiversity and ecological resilience in the face of global environmental change. This project addresses the two great challenges facing scientists trying to predict the effects of global change on Australia’s ecosystems: i) What factors most exacerbate the total impact of global change? ii) How do the complex responses of so many interacting species actually translate into altered structural properties of the web of life?
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100219
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$170,000.00
Summary
A multi-institutional environmental radioactivity research centre. This project aims to establish an environmental radioactivity research centre, equipped with ultra-low background and high-resolution alpha and gamma spectrometry systems, radon detectors and radium delayed coincidence counters. The centre will address a critical demand in Australia for precise analysis of a large suite of natural and artificial radionuclides, which will be used as tracers and chronological tools to investigate k ....A multi-institutional environmental radioactivity research centre. This project aims to establish an environmental radioactivity research centre, equipped with ultra-low background and high-resolution alpha and gamma spectrometry systems, radon detectors and radium delayed coincidence counters. The centre will address a critical demand in Australia for precise analysis of a large suite of natural and artificial radionuclides, which will be used as tracers and chronological tools to investigate key questions in oceanography and the mining and energy, archaeological, agricultural, and forestry sectors. The facility is expected to substantially increase expertise and training in radionuclides in Australia, and promote high-level research collaborations and outputs of both national and international significance. Major outcomes of the proposed facility include better understanding of how oceans regulate climate and improved capacity to assess effects of radiation on natural ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100146
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$320,000.00
Summary
The marine productivity buoy: a multi-parametric underwater profiler . The marine productivity buoy: a multi-parametric underwater profiler:
The marine productivity buoy is an innovative multi-parametric moored underwater profiler that would provide key information on phytoplankton primary productivity (PP), phytoplankton blooms, and water quality in coastal waters around Australia. The aim is to better understand changes in phytoplankton PP and abundance by synergistically using observations ....The marine productivity buoy: a multi-parametric underwater profiler . The marine productivity buoy: a multi-parametric underwater profiler:
The marine productivity buoy is an innovative multi-parametric moored underwater profiler that would provide key information on phytoplankton primary productivity (PP), phytoplankton blooms, and water quality in coastal waters around Australia. The aim is to better understand changes in phytoplankton PP and abundance by synergistically using observations from the new facility made several times a day from the surface to the seafloor, and spatially extended surface observations from Earth-orbiting ocean colour satellites. Anticipated outcomes are more accurate phytoplankton PP estimates and water quality parameters in Australian coastal waters in support to research and to monitoring of these critical environments.Read moreRead less
The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on trop ....The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on tropical reefs or rainforest communities, through careful temporal niche partitioning where reliance on other sensory systems takes over from vision and olfaction as the principal method of prey detection. This project aims to elucidate how the modern fish diversity was shaped by such significant early evolutionary events.Read moreRead less
Automation of species recognition and size measurement of fish from underwater stereo-video imagery. The project aims to develop algorithms to automate the processing of stereo-video images recorded to count and measure the size of fish. This will improve husbandry and monitoring for finfish aquaculture at reduced costs, create technology export for industry partners, and develop cost effective, non-destructive finfish sampling tools for marine agencies.