Managing Fresh-Water Resources in Saline Environments. Australian industry and urban developments often rely on a secure supply of fresh water. In many situations, the fresh water occurs adjacent to large expanses of saline water. This poses special constraints on how the fresh water can be recovered. This project undertakes careful mathematical modelling of fresh water recovery from reservoirs and from within islands (where it may be the only practical source of drinking water). The injecti ....Managing Fresh-Water Resources in Saline Environments. Australian industry and urban developments often rely on a secure supply of fresh water. In many situations, the fresh water occurs adjacent to large expanses of saline water. This poses special constraints on how the fresh water can be recovered. This project undertakes careful mathematical modelling of fresh water recovery from reservoirs and from within islands (where it may be the only practical source of drinking water). The injection and extraction of ground water in novel "mineral leaching" mining technology will also be investigated.Read moreRead less
Phosphate stabilisation of metalliferous mine wastes: The key to solving a major environmental issue? Mine wastes represent the greatest proportion of solid waste produced by mankind. Unconstrained drainage from sulfide-rich mine wastes impacts on water, soil and sediment quality. This project will establish the scientific principles of phosphate stabilisation, which involves the addition of phosphate compounds to mine wastes and soils to permanently contain metals and acid. A solid understandin ....Phosphate stabilisation of metalliferous mine wastes: The key to solving a major environmental issue? Mine wastes represent the greatest proportion of solid waste produced by mankind. Unconstrained drainage from sulfide-rich mine wastes impacts on water, soil and sediment quality. This project will establish the scientific principles of phosphate stabilisation, which involves the addition of phosphate compounds to mine wastes and soils to permanently contain metals and acid. A solid understanding of this emerging technology is a prerequisite for any sustainable management of mine sites. The study will provide the foundation of future management tools needed by landholders, industry and regulators to remediate mined land and waste repositories.Read moreRead less
Community-level selection: Empirical tests in a microbial system. Given the profile of the question of community-level selection as a long-running controversy, the main benefit of the proposed work, which will critically test the idea in an empirical system, will be to increase recognition of Australia's position as a research nation in evolutionary biology. In exploring mechanisms of floc formation, a key component of wastewater treatment, the work will establish important foundations for impro ....Community-level selection: Empirical tests in a microbial system. Given the profile of the question of community-level selection as a long-running controversy, the main benefit of the proposed work, which will critically test the idea in an empirical system, will be to increase recognition of Australia's position as a research nation in evolutionary biology. In exploring mechanisms of floc formation, a key component of wastewater treatment, the work will establish important foundations for improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment. Improvement in performance of only a few percent will bring important economic savings. This is evidenced by recent commitment of >$US 230 billion to improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment in Germany, Italy and Spain over 5 years.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals c ....Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals can be reliably aged, and population structures are very sensitive to fire regimes: saplings only establish if unburnt for 10 years. This research is expected to provide the first direct test of the hypothesis that Aboriginal people maintained fine-grained fire mosaics in savannas, and inform bushfire policy debates.Read moreRead less
Landscape-scale population dynamics of open forests in the Australian monsoon tropics. Over the last century there has been a trend of increasing tree cover in many landscapes. Yet the causes of this globally important ecological phenomenon are poorly understood, but may include the effects of climate, fire, grazing and CO2. We will determine how an area of forest has changed over 50 years in Kakadu National Park, linking forest demography with remote sensing techniques, re-measurement and analy ....Landscape-scale population dynamics of open forests in the Australian monsoon tropics. Over the last century there has been a trend of increasing tree cover in many landscapes. Yet the causes of this globally important ecological phenomenon are poorly understood, but may include the effects of climate, fire, grazing and CO2. We will determine how an area of forest has changed over 50 years in Kakadu National Park, linking forest demography with remote sensing techniques, re-measurement and analysis of long-term tree demography datasets, and simulation models of tree population dynamics on a landscape scale. This will provide a scientific framework to develop sustainable land management and the conservation of Australia's forest biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Island Communities, Island Rhetoric: Sustainable Development and the Global Promise? The challenge to integrate economic development, social equity and environmental care intensifies on small islands. This research focuses on Tasmania, peripheral island state of Australia, sometimes typified as ?regional basket-case?. The aim is to examine how Tasmanians understand and accommodate the paradoxes of sustainable development (demanding new forms of ecological citizenship) and globalisation (based on ....Island Communities, Island Rhetoric: Sustainable Development and the Global Promise? The challenge to integrate economic development, social equity and environmental care intensifies on small islands. This research focuses on Tasmania, peripheral island state of Australia, sometimes typified as ?regional basket-case?. The aim is to examine how Tasmanians understand and accommodate the paradoxes of sustainable development (demanding new forms of ecological citizenship) and globalisation (based on conservative consumer-citizenship). Both deeply influence core government policy as well as formal and informal institutional life and language. Drawing on cultural geography and political ecology, the research will enhance theory and policy discussions about island regions, local communities and governance, sustainability and social change.Read moreRead less
Impact of Metal - Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Interactions on Growth and Toxicity of Ichthyotoxic Algae in Australian Coastal Waters. Toxic algal blooms in estuarine and coastal waters can have devastating economic and ecological impacts but remarkably little is known about the factors that control either organism growth or toxin severity. Recent studies suggest that the interplay between delivery of the nutrient trace metals iron and copper and the method via which the organism acts to assimi ....Impact of Metal - Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Interactions on Growth and Toxicity of Ichthyotoxic Algae in Australian Coastal Waters. Toxic algal blooms in estuarine and coastal waters can have devastating economic and ecological impacts but remarkably little is known about the factors that control either organism growth or toxin severity. Recent studies suggest that the interplay between delivery of the nutrient trace metals iron and copper and the method via which the organism acts to assimilate these metals is critical to the generation and aggressiveness of the toxins produced. These processes will be investigated in this study and conceptual and mathematical models will be developed which will assist in assessing management options for estuarine and coastal environments.Read moreRead less
Genetics of species differentiation and hybridisation in Eucalyptus. This project aims to use state-of-the-art genomic technologies to characterise genes and genomic regions important for speciation and adaptation in Australia’s iconic eucalypts, and study the importance of hybridisation between species, especially during range expansion and contraction. A major international effort has seen a eucalypt become the second forest tree genome sequenced. This project aims to link the expanding intern ....Genetics of species differentiation and hybridisation in Eucalyptus. This project aims to use state-of-the-art genomic technologies to characterise genes and genomic regions important for speciation and adaptation in Australia’s iconic eucalypts, and study the importance of hybridisation between species, especially during range expansion and contraction. A major international effort has seen a eucalypt become the second forest tree genome sequenced. This project aims to link the expanding international knowledge on the eucalypt genome to the evolutionary dynamics of wild populations in Australia to provide unprecedented insights into the nature of species and processes which have shaped their evolution. These insights may inform their breeding as well as their conservation and management in Australia.Read moreRead less
From genes to ecosystems: does genetic divergence in eucalyptus alter biodiversity and ecosystem function? The project will use a dominant tree species of south-eastern Australia to examine how genetic based variation in its traits influences community organisation, biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Outcomes from this research will be important for responding to an uncertain future environment and maintaining the services ecosystems provide.
Owning nature: mapping the contested country of private protected areas. This project aims to improve public good outcomes from private protected areas in Australia. Nature conservation on private land is being pioneered by Indigenous and other communities, landholders, governments, philanthropists and businesses. An innovative and interdisciplinary research design across diverse cases will provide knowledge of social drivers, impacts and future pathways for private protected areas. This will pr ....Owning nature: mapping the contested country of private protected areas. This project aims to improve public good outcomes from private protected areas in Australia. Nature conservation on private land is being pioneered by Indigenous and other communities, landholders, governments, philanthropists and businesses. An innovative and interdisciplinary research design across diverse cases will provide knowledge of social drivers, impacts and future pathways for private protected areas. This will provide evidence that can guide policy and governance to integrate nature conservation and social justice outcomes, and enhance the sustainability of benefits from private lands.Read moreRead less