ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ....ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ecoinformatics and evolutionary theory. Across this span, working groups will target nine identified opportunities for breakthrough research. Each research target needs input from two or more disciplines. Together, the nine targets link across disciplines, as a network that spans from genomic to planetary scales.Read moreRead less
Applying macroecology to assist in the management of Kakadu National Park. The ecological integrity of Kakadu National Park is threatened by fires, weeds, and feral animals. To help tackle these problems, we will develop a cost-effective, culturally appropriate, park-wide monitoring system based on changes in the boundaries of closed forests, woodland and grassland. We will gauge the effect of broad-scale land management interventions, and predict the consequences of future change. The findings ....Applying macroecology to assist in the management of Kakadu National Park. The ecological integrity of Kakadu National Park is threatened by fires, weeds, and feral animals. To help tackle these problems, we will develop a cost-effective, culturally appropriate, park-wide monitoring system based on changes in the boundaries of closed forests, woodland and grassland. We will gauge the effect of broad-scale land management interventions, and predict the consequences of future change. The findings of this study will be transferable to other landscape settings in Australia and overseas. It will contribute to debates about the ecological consequences of current land management practices and how these compare with past Aboriginal land management.Read moreRead less
Building Central Asia: Linking the Growth of Asia to its Exhumation. The consumption of the Tethys Ocean and the associated collision of Gondwana-derived terranes with Eurasia resulted in the uplift of the highest mountain belt on Earth: the Himalayas. However, stresses from this collision zone propagated far into the Eurasian interior by reactivating faults and creating mountain belts along these fault zones. This project aims to map and model how and when fault (re)activation occurred by integ ....Building Central Asia: Linking the Growth of Asia to its Exhumation. The consumption of the Tethys Ocean and the associated collision of Gondwana-derived terranes with Eurasia resulted in the uplift of the highest mountain belt on Earth: the Himalayas. However, stresses from this collision zone propagated far into the Eurasian interior by reactivating faults and creating mountain belts along these fault zones. This project aims to map and model how and when fault (re)activation occurred by integrating multi-method thermochronological and structural data on major Meso-Cenozoic Central Asian fault systems. The resulting time-integrated tectonic model will aid in the understanding of the India-Eurasia collision, the building of the mountainous Central Asian landscape and its influence on the Asian climate.Read moreRead less
ARC Research Network in Enterprise Information Infrastructure. EII targets consolidated research towards the comprehensive development & establishment of advanced information infrastructures. Its prime purpose is to provide a forum for intellectual exchange by diverse yet complementary research groups, to address the fundamental research problems faced by scientific & business communities when dealing with deployment of information technology to globally distributed, and data intensive environme ....ARC Research Network in Enterprise Information Infrastructure. EII targets consolidated research towards the comprehensive development & establishment of advanced information infrastructures. Its prime purpose is to provide a forum for intellectual exchange by diverse yet complementary research groups, to address the fundamental research problems faced by scientific & business communities when dealing with deployment of information technology to globally distributed, and data intensive environments. EII will address 3 tightly coupled research themes: Ability to interoperate across existing heterogenous platforms & applications; Efficient processing of very large data sets; Technology adoption & impact. Generic results will be applicable to e-science and large business information systems installations.Read moreRead less
Utilising innovative fishing technology to address key questions on the biology of Antarctic krill. Antarctic krill are an important species in the Southern Ocean supporting most of the Antarctic birds and mammals. A sustainable krill fishery is developing with krill products used in aquaculture and increasingly for human consumption. A new omega 3 krill oil industry has emerged and is rapidly expanding. The aim of the project is to predict the factors governing oil levels and the biochemical co ....Utilising innovative fishing technology to address key questions on the biology of Antarctic krill. Antarctic krill are an important species in the Southern Ocean supporting most of the Antarctic birds and mammals. A sustainable krill fishery is developing with krill products used in aquaculture and increasingly for human consumption. A new omega 3 krill oil industry has emerged and is rapidly expanding. The aim of the project is to predict the factors governing oil levels and the biochemical composition in krill which will help us understand growth, reproduction and recruitment. The research aims to also assess the possible effects of climate change on krill. Outcomes of this research aim to be used to manage the expanding krill fishery.Read moreRead less