More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full s ....More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full suite of benefits derived from protected areas. The framework will provide a robust evidence base for the range of benefits provided by private protected areas. This will be vital to manage and grow Australia’s protected area network to reduce biodiversity and environmental declines, and meet international commitments.Read moreRead less
Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. This project aims to develop indices that link change in invertebrate communities to specific environmental stressors, and combine these indices with innovative, low cost molecular approaches to species identification to rapidly identify the causes of decline. River health assessment methods, usually based on aquatic invertebrates, identify if rivers are impaire ....Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. This project aims to develop indices that link change in invertebrate communities to specific environmental stressors, and combine these indices with innovative, low cost molecular approaches to species identification to rapidly identify the causes of decline. River health assessment methods, usually based on aquatic invertebrates, identify if rivers are impaired but must be developed to identify the causes of decline. The intended outcomes are improved sustainable water resource management within and among states, and improved natural resource policy development.Read moreRead less
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less
Future proofing and restoring Australia’s tropical seagrasses . This project aims to develop and apply a comprehensive framework for restoration of Australian tropical seagrasses using innovative approaches and partnerships. The project expects to provide coastal managers with tools to mitigate and restore seagrass to minimise effects of climate and development related loss, protecting ecosystem services measured in hundreds of millions of dollars. Expected outcomes include new techniques for tr ....Future proofing and restoring Australia’s tropical seagrasses . This project aims to develop and apply a comprehensive framework for restoration of Australian tropical seagrasses using innovative approaches and partnerships. The project expects to provide coastal managers with tools to mitigate and restore seagrass to minimise effects of climate and development related loss, protecting ecosystem services measured in hundreds of millions of dollars. Expected outcomes include new techniques for tropical seagrass restoration, a blueprint for seagrass friendly marine infrastructure, and restoration decision tools applied at local and regional scales. This will provide significant benefits by protecting seagrass ecosystem services and place Australia at the forefront of global seagrass restoration efforts.
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Improving desert fire management with culturally directed science. This project aims to improve fire management in Australian deserts. Working with 4 Indigenous ranger teams managing >150,000 km2 of the Great Sandy Desert, the project expects to document fire patterns caused by pre-European, traditional burning practices over large environmental gradients; compare these with contemporary fire patterns; and undertake extensive fieldwork to understand how fire affects native fauna, including cultu ....Improving desert fire management with culturally directed science. This project aims to improve fire management in Australian deserts. Working with 4 Indigenous ranger teams managing >150,000 km2 of the Great Sandy Desert, the project expects to document fire patterns caused by pre-European, traditional burning practices over large environmental gradients; compare these with contemporary fire patterns; and undertake extensive fieldwork to understand how fire affects native fauna, including culturally significant species. This information will shape a template for fire management planning and evaluation that is culturally meaningful to local managers. The project should support Indigenous rangers to access sustainable funding pathways for conservation management through emerging biodiversity markets.Read moreRead less
Impact of increased sediment and nutrient discharges on the long-term sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's greatest natural assets, is under increasing threat from extreme climatic events caused by global warming and from land-based pollution. This research will identify the main sources of sediment and nutrient pollution caused by river runoff and by how much this has increased above 'natural levels'. We will discover how the very sensitive offsho ....Impact of increased sediment and nutrient discharges on the long-term sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's greatest natural assets, is under increasing threat from extreme climatic events caused by global warming and from land-based pollution. This research will identify the main sources of sediment and nutrient pollution caused by river runoff and by how much this has increased above 'natural levels'. We will discover how the very sensitive offshore coral reefs have responded to increased pollution and whether this is the cause of the very devastating crown-of-thorn-starfish infestations. Understanding the long-term effects of land-based pollution on the ecology of coral reefs in the GBR will thus provide a scientific basis to help ensure that it has a sustainable future.Read moreRead less
Multi-Country Study on Health Effects of Bushfire Air Pollution. Catastrophic bushfires are a major natural disaster, causing serious air pollution. However, aligning bushfire air pollution and public health policies becomes a significant challenge, because limited studies are available on relationships between bushfire air pollution and human health, particularly for the prolonged exposure. We will characterize the nature of the relationships between bushfire air pollution and mortality/morbidi ....Multi-Country Study on Health Effects of Bushfire Air Pollution. Catastrophic bushfires are a major natural disaster, causing serious air pollution. However, aligning bushfire air pollution and public health policies becomes a significant challenge, because limited studies are available on relationships between bushfire air pollution and human health, particularly for the prolonged exposure. We will characterize the nature of the relationships between bushfire air pollution and mortality/morbidity by developing a multi-country study; and estimate the burden of diseases attributed to bushfire air pollution. This project will provide essential scientific evidence to policy-makers and stakeholders in the development, prioritization and implementation of health protection strategies and policies.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0883073
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
BigNet - A Distributed Wireless Sensor Network Testbed. The infrastructure developed will be of national /international significance, given the rapid emergence of wireless sensor networks. This integrated facility will allow Australia to be a world leading player in the research and technology development as well as the socially responsible deployment of sensor networks. The facility has the explicit aim to ensure that Australia is a technology leader rather than solely a technology user in sens ....BigNet - A Distributed Wireless Sensor Network Testbed. The infrastructure developed will be of national /international significance, given the rapid emergence of wireless sensor networks. This integrated facility will allow Australia to be a world leading player in the research and technology development as well as the socially responsible deployment of sensor networks. The facility has the explicit aim to ensure that Australia is a technology leader rather than solely a technology user in sensor networks. The test facility will mirror practical requirements for WSN implementation in the Great Barrier Reef and in timber plantation, which would offer substantial economic benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Forecasting fish resilience to environmental change in northern Australia. This project aims to use a traits-based modelling framework, incorporating variability both within and between species, to forecast the resilience of freshwater fishes in northern Australia to impending environmental change. While northern Australian rivers are among the most pristine and productive on earth, they face profound change due to human activity. Emerging evidence suggests that flexibility in functional traits ....Forecasting fish resilience to environmental change in northern Australia. This project aims to use a traits-based modelling framework, incorporating variability both within and between species, to forecast the resilience of freshwater fishes in northern Australia to impending environmental change. While northern Australian rivers are among the most pristine and productive on earth, they face profound change due to human activity. Emerging evidence suggests that flexibility in functional traits (e.g. life history, physiology, behaviour, diet) may result in resilience to environmental change. This project aims to provide decision-makers with essential information and new tools to underpin future planning and resource management.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence - Innovative science for sustainable management of coral reef biodiversity. Our vision is to apply enabling technologies to capture the national benefit arising from research excellence. The Centre has enormous capacity to provide economic, cultural, environmental and social benefits for Australia. The coral reefs of Australia, particularly the Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Reef, and Lord Howe Island World Heritage Area are Australian national icons, of great economic, so ....ARC Centre of Excellence - Innovative science for sustainable management of coral reef biodiversity. Our vision is to apply enabling technologies to capture the national benefit arising from research excellence. The Centre has enormous capacity to provide economic, cultural, environmental and social benefits for Australia. The coral reefs of Australia, particularly the Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Reef, and Lord Howe Island World Heritage Area are Australian national icons, of great economic, social, and aesthetic value to this country. In collaboration with our Partners, we will be the premier providers of the scientific expertise that underpins the management of Australian reefs, which is vital for the sustainable use of biodiversity goods and services (e.g. by the tourist industry, fisheries, and recreational users).Read moreRead less