How will the biodiversity crisis affect vital ecosystem functions? Loss of biodiversity due to environmental change is a potentially serious issue for the sustainability of ecosystems. Predictions on how biodiversity loss will affect ecosystem functions and services require a well-developed understanding of its effects on plant litter decomposition, because this process is a key component of the global carbon cycle. This project will advance this understanding by addressing several key questions ....How will the biodiversity crisis affect vital ecosystem functions? Loss of biodiversity due to environmental change is a potentially serious issue for the sustainability of ecosystems. Predictions on how biodiversity loss will affect ecosystem functions and services require a well-developed understanding of its effects on plant litter decomposition, because this process is a key component of the global carbon cycle. This project will advance this understanding by addressing several key questions (for example, relative importance of decomposition versus other drivers of environmental change; and temporal variation in biodiversity effects on decomposition), using forest streams as model systems. These experiments will mimic realistic extinction events across climatic gradients, enabling predictions to be made at large scales.Read moreRead less
Investigating movement, distribution, abundance and diet to support management objectives for threatened riverine predators in Northern Australia. The rivers and estuaries of northern Australia are highly productive environments, containing an exceptional diversity and abundance of large predatory aquatic species. This project aims to monitor the movements, habitat preferences and diet in eight large predatory species in a northern Queensland river over the next three years. Movement data will b ....Investigating movement, distribution, abundance and diet to support management objectives for threatened riverine predators in Northern Australia. The rivers and estuaries of northern Australia are highly productive environments, containing an exceptional diversity and abundance of large predatory aquatic species. This project aims to monitor the movements, habitat preferences and diet in eight large predatory species in a northern Queensland river over the next three years. Movement data will be combined with isotopic analysis to reveal how environmental and biological factors drive animal movements and impact habitat connectivity. In a world of vanishing top predators, it is imperative to understand system dynamics before we can evaluate the impact of species removal on ecosystem function.Read moreRead less
Bad tastes, odours and toxins in our drinking water reservoirs: are benthic cyanobacteria the culprits? Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) produce toxins and bad tastes that contaminate drinking water sources, cause public concern about water quality. This project will address a critical knowledge gap by investigating species that grow on the sediments of reservoirs, thus providing more comprehensive management solutions to the water industry.
Australia's freshwater ecosystems: how microbial diversity and functionality influence harmful cyanobacterial blooms. Toxic cyanobacterial blooms are a constant threat to safe drinking water supplies. A bloom is a poorly understood interaction between many species and the environment. This project will investigate the entire microbial population and their physiologies present in a bloom event in order to identify potential targets for their management.
Testing the Flood Pulse Concept for rivers with variable flow regimes. For floodplain rivers the major unifying conceptual model linking hydrology, biogeochemistry and ecology is the Flood Pulse Concept (FPC). The model is based on rivers that have a seasonally predictable and long duration inundation of floodplain habitats. Recent reviews of the FPC indicate that the model needs to be broadened to describe the function of rivers with more variable flow regimes. This project will test some of th ....Testing the Flood Pulse Concept for rivers with variable flow regimes. For floodplain rivers the major unifying conceptual model linking hydrology, biogeochemistry and ecology is the Flood Pulse Concept (FPC). The model is based on rivers that have a seasonally predictable and long duration inundation of floodplain habitats. Recent reviews of the FPC indicate that the model needs to be broadened to describe the function of rivers with more variable flow regimes. This project will test some of the predictions of the FPC for variable dryland rivers by investigating how food webs in the channels of a floodplain reach respond to flows of different magnitude, seasonal timing and duration.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the developme ....A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the development of groundwater resources, the relative dependency of ecosystems on groundwater versus soil and surface water, and an assessment of the likely impacts of altered hydrology, especially dewatering and salinisation, on ecosystems. In addition, they will also be used to extend our knowledge of climate variability in the recent past and increase understanding of critical marine resources.Read moreRead less
Early warning of cyanobacteria blooms in drinking water reservoirs by means of evolutionary algorithms. Estimated economic cost of cyanobacteria blooms to Australia are at $150 million p.a. Early warning for cyanobacteria blooms will inform water managers to conduct preventive and operational control in reservoirs and water works, and significantly lower risks for public health and costs for monitoring and treatment. Resulting early warning systems will be novel prototypes for cyanobacteria bloo ....Early warning of cyanobacteria blooms in drinking water reservoirs by means of evolutionary algorithms. Estimated economic cost of cyanobacteria blooms to Australia are at $150 million p.a. Early warning for cyanobacteria blooms will inform water managers to conduct preventive and operational control in reservoirs and water works, and significantly lower risks for public health and costs for monitoring and treatment. Resulting early warning systems will be novel prototypes for cyanobacteria blooms in drinking water reservoirs based on forecasting models adaptable to environmental and climate change. Model-based scenario analysis will also assist in informed decisions on effects of drought, injection of recycled water and global warming to cyanobacteria growth.Read moreRead less
Ecological renovation of constructed wetlands: changing state from algae to macrophyte dominated systems. Mars Confectionary's constructed wastewater treatment wetlands no longer purify its waste waters. Over-burdening has tipped the balance from a plant dominated, clear water system to an algae dominated, turbid system. This project will aid restoration of the Mars wetlands by (1) improving our understanding of alage-macrophyte dynamics in shallow water basins; (2) producing a series of soft en ....Ecological renovation of constructed wetlands: changing state from algae to macrophyte dominated systems. Mars Confectionary's constructed wastewater treatment wetlands no longer purify its waste waters. Over-burdening has tipped the balance from a plant dominated, clear water system to an algae dominated, turbid system. This project will aid restoration of the Mars wetlands by (1) improving our understanding of alage-macrophyte dynamics in shallow water basins; (2) producing a series of soft engineering, ecologically based techniques for the management / rehabilitation of natural and constructed shallow water bodies which receive high nutrient loads; (3) improve decision support tools for the renovation and sustainable management of the Mars Confectionary, and similar food processing industry constructed wetlands.Read moreRead less
Revolutionising biodiversity monitoring in freshwater ecosystems using environmental DNA. Australian biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate and freshwater species are particularly at risk. Effective conservation of freshwater biodiversity depends on reliable, accurate and cost-efficient monitoring techniques for assessing species communities and key environmental assets and threats. However, current techniques are inefficient, expensive and highly invasive. This project aims to utili ....Revolutionising biodiversity monitoring in freshwater ecosystems using environmental DNA. Australian biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate and freshwater species are particularly at risk. Effective conservation of freshwater biodiversity depends on reliable, accurate and cost-efficient monitoring techniques for assessing species communities and key environmental assets and threats. However, current techniques are inefficient, expensive and highly invasive. This project aims to utilise a novel methodology known as environmental DNA to revolutionise biodiversity surveys in freshwater environments, and aims to lead to a substantial increase in positive conservation outcomes through cost-efficient and accurate assessments of the distributions and abundances of both native and introduced species.Read moreRead less
Complex system dynamics: restoring riparian and riverine ecosystems. Attempts to restore damaged ecosystems reveal inadequacies in theories describing ecosystem structure and function. For rivers, it is unclear whether theories relating to fluvial geomorphology and ecosystem dynamics are adequate to predict system trajectories following restoration. We will use empirical data on a degraded river to develop cross-scale models of system function, and predict ecosystem structure and dynamics follow ....Complex system dynamics: restoring riparian and riverine ecosystems. Attempts to restore damaged ecosystems reveal inadequacies in theories describing ecosystem structure and function. For rivers, it is unclear whether theories relating to fluvial geomorphology and ecosystem dynamics are adequate to predict system trajectories following restoration. We will use empirical data on a degraded river to develop cross-scale models of system function, and predict ecosystem structure and dynamics following restoration. Following revegetation of riparian habitats and replacement of large woody debris in in-stream habitats of the river, we will test theoretical predictions about changes to physical processes, biotic community assemblage rules and food webs to develop improved ecosystem-based restoration guidelines.Read moreRead less