Traditional Owner-led restoration of urban billabongs. This Indigenous scientist led project aims to investigate the past and present fire, flooding and vegetation dynamics of urban billabongs through paleoenvironmental assays (sediment cores) and field surveys of vegetation, faunal and water quality responses to cultural burns and floods. In partnership with Melbourne Water and Traditional Owners, this innovative project intends to develop and combine historical and contemporary ecological and ....Traditional Owner-led restoration of urban billabongs. This Indigenous scientist led project aims to investigate the past and present fire, flooding and vegetation dynamics of urban billabongs through paleoenvironmental assays (sediment cores) and field surveys of vegetation, faunal and water quality responses to cultural burns and floods. In partnership with Melbourne Water and Traditional Owners, this innovative project intends to develop and combine historical and contemporary ecological and Indigenous peoples’ knowledge and apply it to better manage culturally and ecologically significant billabongs in one of Australia’s largest cities. This project expects to provide a template for effective Traditional Owner-led restoration and management of our threatened urban wetlands.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
Nutrient Cycling in Lagoon of Islands,Tasmania: management to control eutrophication. Hydro Tasmania manages the Lagoon of Islands, a shallow freshwater lake on Tasmania's central plateau. The lagoon provides irrigation water and supports a significant recreational fishery. Over the last decade the lake has suffered increased nutrient enrichment, despite catchment management works to reduce external nutrient loads.
Preliminary nutrient budgets suggest that a significant proportion of the wat ....Nutrient Cycling in Lagoon of Islands,Tasmania: management to control eutrophication. Hydro Tasmania manages the Lagoon of Islands, a shallow freshwater lake on Tasmania's central plateau. The lagoon provides irrigation water and supports a significant recreational fishery. Over the last decade the lake has suffered increased nutrient enrichment, despite catchment management works to reduce external nutrient loads.
Preliminary nutrient budgets suggest that a significant proportion of the water column nutrient load comes from the sediments, phytoplankton or macrophytes. Internal nutrient loads and loading mechanisms will be characterised. Cost effective strategies for their management will be developed utilising hydrological manipulation - a largely unexplored technique.Read moreRead less
Molecular biosignatures for isolating pollution problems in aquatic ecosystems using macroinvertebrate bioindicators. Aquatic ecosystems are under increasing threat by human activities. This has been further exacerbated by drought and climate change. In the future, understanding the major factors impairing aquatic ecosystems will be a vital part of sustaining water resources. This project develops new molecular tools to better monitor and assess aquatic pollution. We will develop a new high-tech ....Molecular biosignatures for isolating pollution problems in aquatic ecosystems using macroinvertebrate bioindicators. Aquatic ecosystems are under increasing threat by human activities. This has been further exacerbated by drought and climate change. In the future, understanding the major factors impairing aquatic ecosystems will be a vital part of sustaining water resources. This project develops new molecular tools to better monitor and assess aquatic pollution. We will develop a new high-tech deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) approach to identify insect indicator species and combine this with a field-based microcosm method that uses local aquatic insects to isolate pollution effects from other impacts. This proposal will facilitate fast identification of pollution problems and provide the water industry with an innovative means to assess pollution and monitor remedial actions.Read moreRead less
Phylogeography, Conservation Genetics and Stocking Management of Perches and Basses. This project will use DNA data to address fundamental questions about the origin and maintenance of biodiversity in a popular and widely distributed fish group. From a conservation perspective, the project will produce a benchmark about management of fish resources. We will investigate questions related to important conservation issues (including the recovery plan of a nationally threatened species) and the mana ....Phylogeography, Conservation Genetics and Stocking Management of Perches and Basses. This project will use DNA data to address fundamental questions about the origin and maintenance of biodiversity in a popular and widely distributed fish group. From a conservation perspective, the project will produce a benchmark about management of fish resources. We will investigate questions related to important conservation issues (including the recovery plan of a nationally threatened species) and the management of stocking activities in recreational fisheries of coastal and inland waters. The latter is particularly relevant to rural communities since they provide both social and economic benefits to rural people.Read moreRead less
Assessing the ecological costs and benefits of artificial wetlands in urban landscapes. The nature and distribution of wetlands around cities is changing at an unprecedented rate, with artificial wetlands increasingly dominating urban landscapes. The consequences of these changes for animals, however, are largely unknown. Some artificial wetlands may be poor quality habitats that pose considerable risks to urban biodiversity, while others may play an important role in conservation. The project a ....Assessing the ecological costs and benefits of artificial wetlands in urban landscapes. The nature and distribution of wetlands around cities is changing at an unprecedented rate, with artificial wetlands increasingly dominating urban landscapes. The consequences of these changes for animals, however, are largely unknown. Some artificial wetlands may be poor quality habitats that pose considerable risks to urban biodiversity, while others may play an important role in conservation. The project aims to examine the ecological costs and benefits of artificial wetlands for native animals, and provide guidelines to help ensure wetland construction and management is cost effective and maximises biodiversity outcomes.Read moreRead less
Preserving freshwater biodiversity: predictions to manage the effects of suspended sediment and salinity. Natural resource managers wish to minimise deleterious effects of suspended sediment and salinity on biodiversity but do not have adequate knowledge to do so. Increases in salinity and sediment are recognised as the major threats to freshwater biodiversity in Australian rivers. This research will lead to greatly enhanced information on the relative impacts of rising salinity and sediment on ....Preserving freshwater biodiversity: predictions to manage the effects of suspended sediment and salinity. Natural resource managers wish to minimise deleterious effects of suspended sediment and salinity on biodiversity but do not have adequate knowledge to do so. Increases in salinity and sediment are recognised as the major threats to freshwater biodiversity in Australian rivers. This research will lead to greatly enhanced information on the relative impacts of rising salinity and sediment on freshwater biodiversity and aid predictive modelling and scenario testing; enabling managers to make informed choices between various management actions. The project addresses several national research priority goals and it will result in significant national and community benefits by protecting freshwater biodiversity from salinity and sediment.Read moreRead less
Setting rehabilitation targets for regulated floodplain wetlands: linking system structure and function. Limited understanding of ecosystem processes in floodplain wetlands impedes adaptive management strategies for combating the decline in aquatic productivity and biodiversity. This project addresses three knowledge gaps critical for effective floodplain wetland management: 1) hierarchical spatial and temporal patterns of structural diversity; 2) correspondence between patterns of structural d ....Setting rehabilitation targets for regulated floodplain wetlands: linking system structure and function. Limited understanding of ecosystem processes in floodplain wetlands impedes adaptive management strategies for combating the decline in aquatic productivity and biodiversity. This project addresses three knowledge gaps critical for effective floodplain wetland management: 1) hierarchical spatial and temporal patterns of structural diversity; 2) correspondence between patterns of structural diversity, rates of system production, and food web structure, and 3) conceptual models of relationships between hydrologic regime and wetland structure and function. The project will improve understanding of the impacts of regulation on floodplain wetlands, contribute to adaptive management, and set rehabilitation targets for delivery of environmental flows for ecosystem sustainability.Read moreRead less
Optimising seasonal decisions for environmental water use. This project will develop a tool to optimise the use of environmental water, drawing on seasonal forecasts of streamflow and water price, and predicted ecological responses to changing flows. This tool will strengthen the effectiveness of the government organisations responsible for managing Australia's environmental water reserves.
The importance of dispersal in maintaining biodiversity of aquatic plants in landscapes. Aquatic plants improve water quality and provide habitat for aquatic animals, which underpin industries such as tourism and commercial fisheries critical to economies in regional areas and across Australia. Preserving plant biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems is vital to preserve these benefits. Dispersal plays a critical role in maintaining plant biodiversity and requires understanding at landscape scales. T ....The importance of dispersal in maintaining biodiversity of aquatic plants in landscapes. Aquatic plants improve water quality and provide habitat for aquatic animals, which underpin industries such as tourism and commercial fisheries critical to economies in regional areas and across Australia. Preserving plant biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems is vital to preserve these benefits. Dispersal plays a critical role in maintaining plant biodiversity and requires understanding at landscape scales. This project will identify appropriate approaches for the conservation of plant biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems through an improved understanding of the contribution of wind, water and waterbirds in the dispersal of aquatic plants. This project will also identify water flow regimes that promote a diverse and sustainable aquatic flora.Read moreRead less