Autonomous tracking and predictive modelling of Australian plague locust migratory band movement. We will use advances in robotics, engineering, mathematics and biology to develop a new computer model for the control of one of the world's most damaging pest insects: locusts. Autonomous aerial robotic systems will be used to collect data on Australian plague locusts travelling in devastating migratory bands. These data on band movement and the behaviour of individual locusts within the band will ....Autonomous tracking and predictive modelling of Australian plague locust migratory band movement. We will use advances in robotics, engineering, mathematics and biology to develop a new computer model for the control of one of the world's most damaging pest insects: locusts. Autonomous aerial robotic systems will be used to collect data on Australian plague locusts travelling in devastating migratory bands. These data on band movement and the behaviour of individual locusts within the band will be used to develop a particle physics-inspired predictive model of migratory band movement, which will be used to optimise locust control operations. Economic, environmental and social benefits will arise through reductions in the amount of time, money, manpower and insecticides necessary to combat locust outbreaks.Read moreRead less
Making Green Guard® greener: enhancing the efficacy of a biopesticide. The project aims to identify naturally occurring micro-organisms to increase the effectiveness of Green Guard ®, which is a biopesticide used against the Australian plague locust. The project will use next-generation sequencing and other molecular techniques to potentially identify candidate microbes or combinations of microbes that can be added to Green Guard to enhance locust susceptibility. The project also aims to quantif ....Making Green Guard® greener: enhancing the efficacy of a biopesticide. The project aims to identify naturally occurring micro-organisms to increase the effectiveness of Green Guard ®, which is a biopesticide used against the Australian plague locust. The project will use next-generation sequencing and other molecular techniques to potentially identify candidate microbes or combinations of microbes that can be added to Green Guard to enhance locust susceptibility. The project also aims to quantify the interactive impact of temperature and nutrition on immune function, disease resistance and host-plant quality of plague locusts; and to explore the combined effects of temperature, habitat and Green Guard, in combination with candidate microbes or pathogens, on the behaviour and collective movement of locusts. It is anticipated that this will have implications for management and control strategies.Read moreRead less
Factors controlling marine food webs: consumer vs. nutrient limitation of mobile invertebrates and algae. An understanding of the strength of interactions in marine food webs is crucial to predicting change in coastal habitats due to human activities. The outcomes of this research will indicate the relative importance of changes in nutrient inputs from terrestrial runoff (eutrophication) and predation pressures (via overfishing) - both of which may strongly affect the structure of marine habitat ....Factors controlling marine food webs: consumer vs. nutrient limitation of mobile invertebrates and algae. An understanding of the strength of interactions in marine food webs is crucial to predicting change in coastal habitats due to human activities. The outcomes of this research will indicate the relative importance of changes in nutrient inputs from terrestrial runoff (eutrophication) and predation pressures (via overfishing) - both of which may strongly affect the structure of marine habitats - on an extremely abundant and diverse component of coastal marine habitats.Read moreRead less
Boxing clever: artificial nest boxes as a conservation and research tool. Saving endangered species increasingly requires proactive management. This project presents an innovative and practical solution to save an iconic Australian species, while also providing the scientific foundation for the development of a novel Australian-based commercial product that will be used to protect and restore Australian biodiversity.
Bioinvasions: the interactive effects of propagule pressure and pollution. The successful establishment of species outside their native range is an increasingly frequent occurrence and can cause reductions in biodiversity and ecosystem disruption. Bioinvasions may also cause public health risks and damage to agriculture and fisheries. Nowhere is the accelerating pace of bioinvasions more dramatic than in ports and harbours. This project will determine the effects of pollution on invasion in a ma ....Bioinvasions: the interactive effects of propagule pressure and pollution. The successful establishment of species outside their native range is an increasingly frequent occurrence and can cause reductions in biodiversity and ecosystem disruption. Bioinvasions may also cause public health risks and damage to agriculture and fisheries. Nowhere is the accelerating pace of bioinvasions more dramatic than in ports and harbours. This project will determine the effects of pollution on invasion in a marine system. This project is in the national interest because it will identify mechanisms through which the invasion of exotic species are encouraged and assist in the identification and prioritisation of effective management strategies to prevent invasion.Read moreRead less
Biotic connectivity within the temperate Australian marine protected area network at three levels of biodiversity, communities, populations and genes. Project outcomes will improve management of coastal biodiversity through a multi-state collaboration of managers, marine ecologists, population geneticists and taxonomists. Sites most needed within marine protected area (MPA) networks for maintaining resilience of populations across seascapes will be identified, including sites with exceptional en ....Biotic connectivity within the temperate Australian marine protected area network at three levels of biodiversity, communities, populations and genes. Project outcomes will improve management of coastal biodiversity through a multi-state collaboration of managers, marine ecologists, population geneticists and taxonomists. Sites most needed within marine protected area (MPA) networks for maintaining resilience of populations across seascapes will be identified, including sites with exceptional endemism or key roles in dispersal of larvae. The ecological efficacy of the temperate Australian MPA network will be assessed through analysis of long-term ecological datasets and further development of a novel 'remote sensing' methodology, whereby surveys are undertaken by volunteer divers across much greater spatial and temporal scales than could be studied by dedicated scientific dive teams.Read moreRead less
Management of coastal lakes to minimise invasion. The European shore crab has the potential to undermine the productivity of Australia's estuaries and devastate our shellfish industries, worth over $50 million p.a. This project will provide estuarine managers with the data urgently needed to prevent spread of this pest species. In doing so, it will help to ensure the future prosperity of our seafood industries and the sustainability of our unique coastal biodiversity. The outcomes of this projec ....Management of coastal lakes to minimise invasion. The European shore crab has the potential to undermine the productivity of Australia's estuaries and devastate our shellfish industries, worth over $50 million p.a. This project will provide estuarine managers with the data urgently needed to prevent spread of this pest species. In doing so, it will help to ensure the future prosperity of our seafood industries and the sustainability of our unique coastal biodiversity. The outcomes of this project will be applicable to the management of many of the > 200 introduced marine species already present within our coastal waters. Importantly, the project will also contribute to research training in new techniques to protect Australia from future pest invasions.Read moreRead less
Testing the waters: impacts of contaminants on ecosystem structure and function in urban waterways. To ensure that people can swim, catch fish and enjoy the beauty of urban waterways we need to be able to predict the effects of more than one stressor at a time. This project will determine how nutrients and metals affect our waterways. Findings will help prioritise management actions that protect biodiversity and human uses of these systems.
Dynamic networks in a patchy landscape: will species interactions adjust to increased climatic extremes? This project addresses pressing questions on how increased climatic extremes will affect species diversity in arid Australia, building on the longest ecological dataset available for the continent's vast but fragile inland landscapes. Our tests of key ideas about strong interactions among species, their role in building resilient communities and conserving biodiversity, will generate consider ....Dynamic networks in a patchy landscape: will species interactions adjust to increased climatic extremes? This project addresses pressing questions on how increased climatic extremes will affect species diversity in arid Australia, building on the longest ecological dataset available for the continent's vast but fragile inland landscapes. Our tests of key ideas about strong interactions among species, their role in building resilient communities and conserving biodiversity, will generate considerable international interest, while our focus on interactions of species at water sources will address knowledge gaps to inform best practice in managing converted pastoral lands. The results will contribute to retaining healthy functioning ecosystems, and the vital production systems they support, as the global climate changes.Read moreRead less
Tackling marine conservation issues at national and global scales. This project aims to collect and apply standardised underwater data on fishes, invertebrates and plants in an unprecedented global analysis of decadal change in rocky and coral reef ecosystems. Outcomes will include validation of global models of ocean warming and understanding of poorly known ecological impacts of recreational fisheries. A suite of data-informed recommendations developed through engagement across management, sci ....Tackling marine conservation issues at national and global scales. This project aims to collect and apply standardised underwater data on fishes, invertebrates and plants in an unprecedented global analysis of decadal change in rocky and coral reef ecosystems. Outcomes will include validation of global models of ocean warming and understanding of poorly known ecological impacts of recreational fisheries. A suite of data-informed recommendations developed through engagement across management, science and public sectors will benefit Australians by enabling improved sustainability of resource use. International benefits will propagate through increased data access, improvements in predictive models and the evidence base required for large-scale biodiversity-related policy reform.Read moreRead less