Restoring riverine ecosystems: effective model-based planning and monitoring. Australia's riverine ecosystems are considerably degraded and require efficient and immediate attention to restore them to a sustainable condition. Restoration activities at all levels will benefit from the development of a robust framework that will improve understanding of restoration responses at both species and ecosystem levels. This will in turn enhance substantially the ability of managers of restoration project ....Restoring riverine ecosystems: effective model-based planning and monitoring. Australia's riverine ecosystems are considerably degraded and require efficient and immediate attention to restore them to a sustainable condition. Restoration activities at all levels will benefit from the development of a robust framework that will improve understanding of restoration responses at both species and ecosystem levels. This will in turn enhance substantially the ability of managers of restoration projects to identify realistic goals and provide a context for rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of management interventions. This will result in scarce resources for conservation being directed to efforts with the greatest ecological benefits for stressed Australian lowland rivers.Read moreRead less
Setting and achieving realistic restoration goals in human-dominated ecosystems. Federal and state programs and community and NGO activities increasingly focus on ecosystem restoration as a tool in conservation and natural resource management. Clearer understanding of ecosystem dynamics and better articulation of realistic restoration goals can lead to much improved restoration success and better investment of government and private funds. This project will provide a better understanding of ecos ....Setting and achieving realistic restoration goals in human-dominated ecosystems. Federal and state programs and community and NGO activities increasingly focus on ecosystem restoration as a tool in conservation and natural resource management. Clearer understanding of ecosystem dynamics and better articulation of realistic restoration goals can lead to much improved restoration success and better investment of government and private funds. This project will provide a better understanding of ecosystem dynamics both under current conditions and also as influenced by future environmental changes. The contribution to the theoretical and conceptual development of the field of restoration ecology will increase the profile of Australian science and enhance our reputation as leaders in this field. Read moreRead less
Unravelling community interactions between mammals and fungi, and the role of mycophagy in mediating biodiversity and driving ecosystem processes. Maintenance of Australia's forest biodiversity and healthy forested ecosystems are of national importance. Mammal species that are key to dispersing beneficial fungi in our forests have suffered greatest declines in the past, and further declines may ultimately lead to ecosystem collapse. My research seeks to unravel community relationship between ma ....Unravelling community interactions between mammals and fungi, and the role of mycophagy in mediating biodiversity and driving ecosystem processes. Maintenance of Australia's forest biodiversity and healthy forested ecosystems are of national importance. Mammal species that are key to dispersing beneficial fungi in our forests have suffered greatest declines in the past, and further declines may ultimately lead to ecosystem collapse. My research seeks to unravel community relationship between mammals and fungi, and how interactions within and between these groups maintain diverse communities. My results will enable forest managers to protect forest biodiversity from current and future threats and to restore degraded ecosystems. Through training of early career ecologists, the research also represents a tangible benefit to Australian science.Read moreRead less