Iron sources and cycling in the Tasman Sea. Determining factors that influence the health and vitality of coastal and open-ocean regions is crucial to maintaining marine biodiversity and the Earth's climatic balance. This research project will determine the role iron plays in influencing phytoplankton growth, which ultimately regulates the drawdown of carbon dioxide by the oceans.
Microscale insights into ocean-scale processes: microbial behaviour as a driver of ocean biogeochemistry. Microscopic plankton regulate the ocean's chemical cycles, which ultimately support life on earth. However, the ecological interactions driving these processes are poorly understood. This project will use novel approaches to decipher the behaviours of marine microbes, providing a more complete perception of how ocean ecosystems operate and influence climate.
Ocean currents and genetic connectedness in a complex archipelago. To what extent are marine coastal communities ?open?, i.e. how often do the oceans carry larvae far from their point of spawning, and what influence does such ocean transport have on the spread of genetic information? These are some of the most fundamental questions of biological oceanography; the project will provide new answers by using an extremely detailed genetic data set from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off Western Austra ....Ocean currents and genetic connectedness in a complex archipelago. To what extent are marine coastal communities ?open?, i.e. how often do the oceans carry larvae far from their point of spawning, and what influence does such ocean transport have on the spread of genetic information? These are some of the most fundamental questions of biological oceanography; the project will provide new answers by using an extremely detailed genetic data set from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off Western Australian together with an advanced numerical ocean model especially suited to that environment and developed in Australia.Read moreRead less
Resolving the warming East Australian Current's impact on a marine food web. Resolving the warming East Australian Current's impact on a marine food web. This project aims to understand the effects of climate change on marine food webs, from plankton production to predation by iconic marine fauna, by integrating data on oceanographic conditions and fish distribution with the foraging patterns and breeding success of seabirds. Warming waters due to strengthening western boundary currents have unk ....Resolving the warming East Australian Current's impact on a marine food web. Resolving the warming East Australian Current's impact on a marine food web. This project aims to understand the effects of climate change on marine food webs, from plankton production to predation by iconic marine fauna, by integrating data on oceanographic conditions and fish distribution with the foraging patterns and breeding success of seabirds. Warming waters due to strengthening western boundary currents have unknown consequences for coastal marine food webs. Innovative prey capture signatures from accelerometers, and advanced movement models from satellite locations will show how predators locate and prey upon fish schools. Anticipated outcomes are insight into how changing resource availability in the oceans affects ecosystem resilience; improved viability for coastal industries; and ecosystem-based conservation management strategies.Read moreRead less
Australia's ocean microbiome: how the diversity and functionality of microbes influence key oceanographic provinces. Every millilitre of seawater contains millions of microbes that maintain the health of our planet, but their identity and function in Australian waters is undefined. This project will identify the microbes inhabiting Australian marine systems, elucidate the services they provide, and predict how they will be affected by future environmental changes
Environment modelling of Great Barrier Reef habitats using Autonomous Transect Surveying. This project has as its goal the development of algorithms and methods capable of modeling unstructured, reef environments using data collected by an autonomous robotic system capable of surveying the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) currently has a small research Umanned Underwater Vehicle capable of undertaking such survey work. Under the proposed project, this vehicle ....Environment modelling of Great Barrier Reef habitats using Autonomous Transect Surveying. This project has as its goal the development of algorithms and methods capable of modeling unstructured, reef environments using data collected by an autonomous robotic system capable of surveying the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) currently has a small research Umanned Underwater Vehicle capable of undertaking such survey work. Under the proposed project, this vehicle will be equipped with appropriate sensors (such as vision systems, sonar, depth and temperature sensors). The proposed grant will support an APA (I) whose aim will be the construction of comprehensive models of the state of the reef over which the vehicle will operate.Read moreRead less
Do marine heat waves cause pathogen outbreaks in Australian coastal waters? This project aims to identify links between increasingly frequent Marine Heat Wave (MHW) events and outbreaks of microbes that cause disease in marine animals, reduced aquaculture yields and human health hazards. Pathogenic bacteria from the Vibrio genus exhibit a preference for elevated seawater temperature and this project will test the hypothesis that episodic MHWs will trigger blooms of dangerous species. Using innov ....Do marine heat waves cause pathogen outbreaks in Australian coastal waters? This project aims to identify links between increasingly frequent Marine Heat Wave (MHW) events and outbreaks of microbes that cause disease in marine animals, reduced aquaculture yields and human health hazards. Pathogenic bacteria from the Vibrio genus exhibit a preference for elevated seawater temperature and this project will test the hypothesis that episodic MHWs will trigger blooms of dangerous species. Using innovative ecogenomic tools, this project will track the impact of MHWs on the dynamics of pathogenic Vibrio within coastal habitats, oyster farming facilities and coral reefs. The benefit of this project will be essential new knowledge on an emerging threat to Australia’s valuable marine estate, food security and public health.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100204
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$125,000.00
Summary
A laser optical plankton counter for laboratory and in-situ size distributions of zooplankton, to assess the basis and outcomes of changing ecosystems. The researchers will integrate studies of zooplankton biodiversity from the tropics to the Southern Ocean with an optical plankton counter to quickly measure zooplankton size and approximate shape. This new technology, together with a resurgence in collaborative marine science through the Integrated Marine Observing System and the Sydney Institut ....A laser optical plankton counter for laboratory and in-situ size distributions of zooplankton, to assess the basis and outcomes of changing ecosystems. The researchers will integrate studies of zooplankton biodiversity from the tropics to the Southern Ocean with an optical plankton counter to quickly measure zooplankton size and approximate shape. This new technology, together with a resurgence in collaborative marine science through the Integrated Marine Observing System and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, will enable Australian researchers to understand changes in the plankton in freshwater or in estuaries, as well as in the East Australian Current. This current has already strengthened and is predicted to be the area of greatest warming in the Southern Hemisphere. The response of plankton communities to these changes will have profound effects on Australian fisheries and livelihoods.Read moreRead less
Prediction of fishery year-class-strengths from larval growth and zooplankton size structure. The abundance of young fish produced in the ocean each year is highly variable, and banks or managers need to prepare for these future changes when the fish reach market size. Therefore many nations conduct special trawl surveys of juvenile fish each year, but these are expensive, particularly when Australia has over 200 commercially harvested fish. We propose that the growth of fish larvae, recorded as ....Prediction of fishery year-class-strengths from larval growth and zooplankton size structure. The abundance of young fish produced in the ocean each year is highly variable, and banks or managers need to prepare for these future changes when the fish reach market size. Therefore many nations conduct special trawl surveys of juvenile fish each year, but these are expensive, particularly when Australia has over 200 commercially harvested fish. We propose that the growth of fish larvae, recorded as daily growth rings within the earstone of undersized fish from the fishery, could predict future abundance. We will link growth to a cost-effective assessment of their zooplankton prey in spawning areas that lead to Australia's South East Trawl region.Read moreRead less
The krill pump: transferring carbon across a layered ocean in a changing climate. Krill may have an important role in temperate oceanic ecosystems, and rise to the surface to feed at dusk, competing with other zooplankton and being eaten by commercial fish species. Their response to a rapidly warming ocean is a key unknown, especially with currents off eastern Australia warming 2.5 degrees Celsius by 2100.