Evaluating the influence of trophic connections between marine habitats on the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas. Marine ecosystems are characterized by trophic subsidies: consumers forage between habitats, and ungrazed primary production is exported as drift or detritus. However, the trophic relationships we see today may in a sense be unnatural, because intensive fishing of consumers may have fundamentally altered them.
We aim to evaluate the importance of the exchange of consumers and ....Evaluating the influence of trophic connections between marine habitats on the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas. Marine ecosystems are characterized by trophic subsidies: consumers forage between habitats, and ungrazed primary production is exported as drift or detritus. However, the trophic relationships we see today may in a sense be unnatural, because intensive fishing of consumers may have fundamentally altered them.
We aim to evaluate the importance of the exchange of consumers and drift between seagrass and reef habitats in Australia and North America. We aim to find out whether fishing alters these processes by studying marine protected areas in both continents.
This work will come at a crucial time for the implementation of Australia's MPA system.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100572
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$369,745.00
Summary
Understanding the ecological and economic implications of reef fish larval dispersal. Until we understand larval dispersal, the movement of reef fish during their juvenile stage, we cannot sustainably manage coral reef ecosystems. This project will use sophisticated mathematical tools to understand how larval dispersal influences the ecology and management of the Great Barrier Reef and a fishery in Papua New Guinea.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101207
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$334,000.00
Summary
Predicting fisheries change from cumulative impacts to aquatic habitats. This project intends to quantify the role that aquatic habitats play in fisheries, and to help identify where to restore degraded aquatic habitats. Fisheries are a globally important resource but their status is declining in many regions, often because of the loss of aquatic habitats. However, the role of habitat in fishery declines is poorly quantified, and new models are needed that integrate existing datasets to attribut ....Predicting fisheries change from cumulative impacts to aquatic habitats. This project intends to quantify the role that aquatic habitats play in fisheries, and to help identify where to restore degraded aquatic habitats. Fisheries are a globally important resource but their status is declining in many regions, often because of the loss of aquatic habitats. However, the role of habitat in fishery declines is poorly quantified, and new models are needed that integrate existing datasets to attribute change in a fishery to change in its habitats. The project aims to develop a new statistical analysis to examine the role of habitat loss in the global status of fisheries and how multiple human impacts to habitats affect fisheries, to decide how we can best protect aquatic habitats.Read moreRead less
Optimizing the allocation of resources for defending marine protected areas against invasive species. The National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas contributes directly to the protection of marine biodiversity, and to Australia's international obligations under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Non-indigenous species have potential to undermine native biodiversity in marine protected areas across Australia. By identifying the most effective strategies for dealing with pot ....Optimizing the allocation of resources for defending marine protected areas against invasive species. The National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas contributes directly to the protection of marine biodiversity, and to Australia's international obligations under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Non-indigenous species have potential to undermine native biodiversity in marine protected areas across Australia. By identifying the most effective strategies for dealing with potential incursions of non-indigenous species in Victorian marine national parks and sanctuaries, the project will make a valuable contribution to the viability of local marine ecosystems and the maintenance of biodiversity. Furthermore, it will provide a template to aid similar decision-making in other marine protected areas around the country.Read moreRead less
Forecasting coral reef recovery with new data-driven dispersal models. This project aims to combine innovative mathematical methods and new genetic data to accurately predict the larval dispersal patterns of reef fish and corals. Larval dispersal is central to the ecology of coral reefs, and has vital implications for conservation. Most marine organisms spend their early life dispersing in the ocean, but our understanding of where these tiny larvae go is limited by sparse data and unvalidated mo ....Forecasting coral reef recovery with new data-driven dispersal models. This project aims to combine innovative mathematical methods and new genetic data to accurately predict the larval dispersal patterns of reef fish and corals. Larval dispersal is central to the ecology of coral reefs, and has vital implications for conservation. Most marine organisms spend their early life dispersing in the ocean, but our understanding of where these tiny larvae go is limited by sparse data and unvalidated models. Applied to extensive case-studies from Australia and across the western Pacific Ocean, these methods will be used to forecast and understand the recovery of fish and coral populations following severe disturbances. This will provide benefits such as enabling us to prioritise conservation actions in the aftermath of severe disturbances, including the catastrophic 2016 mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.Read moreRead less
Environmental DNA: Integration of new methods to enhance marine management. Environmental DNA: Integration of new methods to enhance marine management. This project aims to develop new environmental DNA (eDNA)-based methods of managing humanity’s impact on valuable marine resources. eDNA preserved in seawater provides a lens to study and monitor marine biota and ecosystems. This project will work with fisheries managers and the environmental consulting sector, and focus on sites in the Kimberley ....Environmental DNA: Integration of new methods to enhance marine management. Environmental DNA: Integration of new methods to enhance marine management. This project aims to develop new environmental DNA (eDNA)-based methods of managing humanity’s impact on valuable marine resources. eDNA preserved in seawater provides a lens to study and monitor marine biota and ecosystems. This project will work with fisheries managers and the environmental consulting sector, and focus on sites in the Kimberley, Cocos-Keeling Islands, Fremantle and Deep-sea oil/gas sites to demonstrate the value of eDNA methods in best-practice monitoring. A multi-proxy toolkit (including eDNA) that can audit and baseline marine biota could make balancing conservation and sustainable exploitation achievable. Anticipated outcomes are improved management and monitoring of fisheries, ports and offshore oil/gas sites.Read moreRead less
Restoring blue forests with green gravel. This proposal aims to progress a novel marine restoration technique (green gravel) from concept to application. This is significant because it will overcome key challenges currently hindering success of kelp forest restoration and provide scalable and practical solutions to future-proof kelp forests against climate and anthropogenic stress. Outcomes include progression of marine restoration from science to practice and into policy through local and globa ....Restoring blue forests with green gravel. This proposal aims to progress a novel marine restoration technique (green gravel) from concept to application. This is significant because it will overcome key challenges currently hindering success of kelp forest restoration and provide scalable and practical solutions to future-proof kelp forests against climate and anthropogenic stress. Outcomes include progression of marine restoration from science to practice and into policy through local and global communication. Benefits include strong local and global alliances to scale up kelp restoration and reverse habitat degradation and associated economic loss.Read moreRead less
Prioritising socially and economically viable land- and sea-based investments to protect coral reefs. Coral reefs are the world's most diverse marine ecosystem and are vital to hundreds of millions of people. This project will enable us to choose the best investments for coral reef conservation whether they are on the land (forest protection) or sea (marine protected areas).
Environmental management of coral reef resilience. The primary aim of this project is to provide the scientific evidence needed to effectively manage and protect reef resilience within the GBR Marine Park. We will develop and apply scientific tools for understanding the large-scale effect of multiple physical environmental stresses on coral populations. Furthermore, we will determine how fish communities influence the potential for coral reefs to remain healthy in the face of global change. Cent ....Environmental management of coral reef resilience. The primary aim of this project is to provide the scientific evidence needed to effectively manage and protect reef resilience within the GBR Marine Park. We will develop and apply scientific tools for understanding the large-scale effect of multiple physical environmental stresses on coral populations. Furthermore, we will determine how fish communities influence the potential for coral reefs to remain healthy in the face of global change. Central to this work will be an evaluation of the potential of No-Take Zones, a contemporary management tool, to promote resilience and the ability of coral reefs to cope with environmental change.Read moreRead less
Assessing and understanding ecological changes in highly disturbed estuaries: addressing the complexity of multiple stressors. The conservation of estuarine ecosystems is necessary due to the intrinsic value of their biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide to humans (food, tourism, recreation). This project will identify anthropogenic stressors that pose ecological threats to estuaries. We will identify indicator species and biomarkers that are cost-effective signs of ecological cha ....Assessing and understanding ecological changes in highly disturbed estuaries: addressing the complexity of multiple stressors. The conservation of estuarine ecosystems is necessary due to the intrinsic value of their biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide to humans (food, tourism, recreation). This project will identify anthropogenic stressors that pose ecological threats to estuaries. We will identify indicator species and biomarkers that are cost-effective signs of ecological change, useful to any manager of Australian estuaries. The simultaneous assessment of multiple stressors is a great advance in the ecological assessment of estuarine health. We will develop a manual of methods and indicators for measuring the success of environmental management programs.Read moreRead less