Linking risks to ecosystems with risks to human well-being. This project aims to provide theory and practical guidelines to integrate ecosystem science into policy and action to address human well-being. Ecosystem risk assessment provides critical information for conservation, and has compelling but unexplored relationships with human health and nature’s benefits to people. The research will identify ecosystem measures that highlight areas of risk to human well-being as well as biodiversity. Exp ....Linking risks to ecosystems with risks to human well-being. This project aims to provide theory and practical guidelines to integrate ecosystem science into policy and action to address human well-being. Ecosystem risk assessment provides critical information for conservation, and has compelling but unexplored relationships with human health and nature’s benefits to people. The research will identify ecosystem measures that highlight areas of risk to human well-being as well as biodiversity. Expected outcomes include new standards for including ecosystem change in policy frameworks globally and in Australia, such as natural capital accounting and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Benefits include improved ways of meeting and tracking progress on Australia’s international commitments.Read moreRead less
A balancing act: Resolving coastal wetland water, carbon and solute fluxes. Coastal wetlands offer an impressive capacity to regulate the Earth’s climate by altering the way carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere and stored while simultaneously influencing the water cycle, thus providing ecosystem services such as carbon storage, abating flood waters, improving water quality and protecting the coastline from sea level rise. This project aims to address the current gaps in understanding .... A balancing act: Resolving coastal wetland water, carbon and solute fluxes. Coastal wetlands offer an impressive capacity to regulate the Earth’s climate by altering the way carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere and stored while simultaneously influencing the water cycle, thus providing ecosystem services such as carbon storage, abating flood waters, improving water quality and protecting the coastline from sea level rise. This project aims to address the current gaps in understanding the critical exchanges of water and greenhouse gases (GHGs) combining field methodologies and hydrological models, under different climatic conditions. The intended outcomes will benefit management of GHG emissions, coastal flooding and vulnerable groundwater dependent habitats.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100035
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,205,137.00
Summary
Founding an Australian Critical Zone Observatory Network. This proposal founds a new network of Australian Critical Zone Observatories. The network will fill essential knowledge gaps about interactions of under- and above-ground environmental processes and their responses to disturbance and change. These interactions determine the sustainability of food, clean water, mineral resources and Australian ecosystems, and cannot be studied with existing environmental infrastructure. The 5 foundation ....Founding an Australian Critical Zone Observatory Network. This proposal founds a new network of Australian Critical Zone Observatories. The network will fill essential knowledge gaps about interactions of under- and above-ground environmental processes and their responses to disturbance and change. These interactions determine the sustainability of food, clean water, mineral resources and Australian ecosystems, and cannot be studied with existing environmental infrastructure. The 5 foundational sites will host integrated monitoring equipment to observe stocks and fluxes of carbon, water, energy and mass across the “Critical Zone” – the vertical span from plant canopies to fresh bedrock. Joining a burgeoning international movement, the network will catalyse Critical Zone science in Australia.Read moreRead less
Using facial recognition for bird conservation management. Long-term monitoring of reintroduced species is essential to measure conservation success. This project aims to use a novel and non-invasive facial recognition software developed by our research group to measure the recovery of a vulnerable and native bird species following introduction outside of its historic range. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field of animal monitoring. Expected outcomes of this project includ ....Using facial recognition for bird conservation management. Long-term monitoring of reintroduced species is essential to measure conservation success. This project aims to use a novel and non-invasive facial recognition software developed by our research group to measure the recovery of a vulnerable and native bird species following introduction outside of its historic range. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field of animal monitoring. Expected outcomes of this project include improved ability to track individuals and their persistence to better inform conservation priorities. This should provide significant benefits to researchers, government agencies and industries to improve conservation planning as well as the outcomes of reintroductions and other translocations.Read moreRead less
Fish fingerprints - signatures of oil contamination. The project aims to integrate chemical characterisation of crude oil with inorganic and organic markers in living organisms. Linking harmful effects on ecosystems with exposure to spilled crude oil remains a major challenge due to the ever-changing nature of oil in the environment. This project will expose fish to a range of fresh/weathered oils to mimic various exposure scenarios. The transition of oil to metabolites will be characterised in ....Fish fingerprints - signatures of oil contamination. The project aims to integrate chemical characterisation of crude oil with inorganic and organic markers in living organisms. Linking harmful effects on ecosystems with exposure to spilled crude oil remains a major challenge due to the ever-changing nature of oil in the environment. This project will expose fish to a range of fresh/weathered oils to mimic various exposure scenarios. The transition of oil to metabolites will be characterised in a suite of environmental and biological matrices using multi-dimensional chromatography/mass spectrometry, trace metals and compound-specific isotope analyses. This project will provide significant benefits by providing an improved capacity to link source oil with specific markers in living organisms.Read moreRead less
Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and g ....Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and global nitrogen budgets. This will provide significant benefits such as a new science-based quantitative framework to facilitate best practice management to reduce terrestrial nitrogen loads and associated downstream impacts such as eutrophication, and reduce nitrous oxide emissions and associated global warming.
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Why ocean deserts matter: Phytoplankton productivity in oligotrophic waters. This project aims to revisit the role of ocean deserts in the global ocean primary production. Because of their extent, these areas are paradoxically responsible for about half the global ocean carbon fixation. The project will use a unique combination of optical and biogeochemical data from a research voyage in the Indian Ocean, biogeochemical models and satellite observations, expecting to generate new knowledge on th ....Why ocean deserts matter: Phytoplankton productivity in oligotrophic waters. This project aims to revisit the role of ocean deserts in the global ocean primary production. Because of their extent, these areas are paradoxically responsible for about half the global ocean carbon fixation. The project will use a unique combination of optical and biogeochemical data from a research voyage in the Indian Ocean, biogeochemical models and satellite observations, expecting to generate new knowledge on the link between biogeochemical and optical quantities accessible to satellite remote sensing. Expected outcomes are improved estimates of phytoplankton carbon biomass and productivity, in particular in the Indian Ocean. A key benefit will be an improved end-user relevance of satellite monitoring of Australia’s oceans.Read moreRead less
Taking eDNA underground: transforming assessment of subterranean ecosystems. This project aims to improve Environmental Impact Assessment and monitoring of subterranean ecosystems by developing a rigorous, credible and practicable environmental DNA assessment framework. Resource companies in Western Australia are mandated to assess groundwater biodiversity under Environmental Protection legislation. Current surveys are time-consuming (expensive) and biased toward common taxa. For regulators, sta ....Taking eDNA underground: transforming assessment of subterranean ecosystems. This project aims to improve Environmental Impact Assessment and monitoring of subterranean ecosystems by developing a rigorous, credible and practicable environmental DNA assessment framework. Resource companies in Western Australia are mandated to assess groundwater biodiversity under Environmental Protection legislation. Current surveys are time-consuming (expensive) and biased toward common taxa. For regulators, stakeholders and industry involved in this project we will provide real-world information and cost savings through innovation in understanding patterns in species boundaries and detection of subterranean fauna. The outcomes will be directly applicable to monitoring subterranean ecosystems across Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less
Acoustics for Large Scale Biodiversity Assessment. Aims: This project will investigate using automated acoustic recording to efficiently census biodiversity assessment at a continental scale.
Significance: To generate new techniques for analysing environmental acoustic data and assessing Australian biodiversity, verified empirical estimates of biodiversity, an understanding of causes of variation in biodiversity.
Expected outcomes: methods for large-scale and accurate assessment of biodiversity ....Acoustics for Large Scale Biodiversity Assessment. Aims: This project will investigate using automated acoustic recording to efficiently census biodiversity assessment at a continental scale.
Significance: To generate new techniques for analysing environmental acoustic data and assessing Australian biodiversity, verified empirical estimates of biodiversity, an understanding of causes of variation in biodiversity.
Expected outcomes: methods for large-scale and accurate assessment of biodiversity, enhanced capacity to detect causes of variation in biodiversity, open-source software tools for analysing environmental audio data, biodiversity datasets.
Benefits: measuring and understanding biodiversity change, allowing enhanced management, conservation, and use of Australian natural resources.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100033
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$900,000.00
Summary
Australian Acoustic Observatory: A network to monitor biodiversity. This project aims to create a terrestrial acoustic sensor network comprising 450 listening stations across Australia. Acoustic sensing transforms environmental science by recording vocal species 24/7, providing spatial and temporal data for ecosystem monitoring and research. Australia has leading research expertise in this emerging field, which is relevant to its fragile and mega-diverse environment. This project is expected to ....Australian Acoustic Observatory: A network to monitor biodiversity. This project aims to create a terrestrial acoustic sensor network comprising 450 listening stations across Australia. Acoustic sensing transforms environmental science by recording vocal species 24/7, providing spatial and temporal data for ecosystem monitoring and research. Australia has leading research expertise in this emerging field, which is relevant to its fragile and mega-diverse environment. This project is expected to enable and develop continental scale environmental monitoring, and the data generated will be made freely available to all online, enabling new science in understanding ecosystems, long-term environmental change, data visualisation and acoustic science.Read moreRead less