Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100019
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$580,000.00
Summary
A transportable containerised laboratory for rapid cell sorting and high-resolution bioimaging of living aquatic microbes in field locations. This project will deliver a transportable, unique laboratory for the rapid isolation and high-resolution analysis of living microbes immediately after sampling from the sea or waterways. It will be the first of its kind in Australia and deliver new knowledge of the role of these organisms in their natural habitats.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100468
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$355,359.00
Summary
Developing tools for coupling marine mammal pollutant exposure to effects. This project aims to investigate the impact of marine pollution on marine mammals. Environmental pollution threatens the viability of marine ecosystems worldwide. Marine mammals are essential parts of these ecosystems but our understanding of contaminant exposure and associated effects in these animals is still insufficient to inform biodiversity conservation and management strategies. This project seeks to address this p ....Developing tools for coupling marine mammal pollutant exposure to effects. This project aims to investigate the impact of marine pollution on marine mammals. Environmental pollution threatens the viability of marine ecosystems worldwide. Marine mammals are essential parts of these ecosystems but our understanding of contaminant exposure and associated effects in these animals is still insufficient to inform biodiversity conservation and management strategies. This project seeks to address this problem by developing computer-based models that determine how these species absorb, metabolise and eliminate pollutants, and what effects exposure has on the animals over time, thereby providing a new framework for evaluating current and future impacts of environmental changes. This risk assessment aims to benefit international conservation and species management efforts for these threatened species.Read moreRead less
Operationalizing marine reserve design for rebuilding tropical fisheries. Operationalizing marine reserve design for rebuilding tropical fisheries. This project intends to maximise the scope for rebuilding reef fisheries while ensuring short-term levels do not become too low. Like many developing countries, Indonesia wishes to rebuild its heavily over-exploited coral reef fisheries. Marine reserves allow fish populations to recover and replenish fished areas. However, because reserves remove fis ....Operationalizing marine reserve design for rebuilding tropical fisheries. Operationalizing marine reserve design for rebuilding tropical fisheries. This project intends to maximise the scope for rebuilding reef fisheries while ensuring short-term levels do not become too low. Like many developing countries, Indonesia wishes to rebuild its heavily over-exploited coral reef fisheries. Marine reserves allow fish populations to recover and replenish fished areas. However, because reserves remove fishing grounds, fish catches tend to decrease in the short-term while fish recover in reserves; a process that can take a decade. Loss of yield can be so burdensome that managers abandon fisheries. This research is intended to improve the economic security of fishers and food security, and inform World Bank and Australian aid programs.Read moreRead less
Tipping points and early warning signals in complex ecosystems. This project aims to create a theory of early warning that uses spatial data available on system state, connectivity and environmental stress, and to create tools to infer the risk of ecosystem collapse. Many ecosystems have irreversible tipping points. Since their locations are often unknown, metrics may provide an early warning of collapse but are difficult to apply because they need long time series which are usually lacking. Thi ....Tipping points and early warning signals in complex ecosystems. This project aims to create a theory of early warning that uses spatial data available on system state, connectivity and environmental stress, and to create tools to infer the risk of ecosystem collapse. Many ecosystems have irreversible tipping points. Since their locations are often unknown, metrics may provide an early warning of collapse but are difficult to apply because they need long time series which are usually lacking. This project will use the Great Barrier Reef as a testbed because it has both long time series (standard approach) and rich spatial data (new approach), and exhibits early warning signs. We will use these tools to gauge whether symptoms on the Great Barrier Reef predict local collapse and to develop intervention plans.Read moreRead less
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
Novel oxygen sensing tools for monitoring the effects of dredging on Australian seagrass communities. Seagrass meadows sustain marine biodiversity and the fishing industries on Australian coasts. Dredging of ports and shipping channels is contributing to their rapid global decline. The project will use state-of-the-art technologies in bio-optics and genomics to create a toolkit for seagrass managers to make informed decisions to safeguard seagrass meadows.
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL190100062
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,130,000.00
Summary
A new functional approach to coral reefs. This project aims to identify the key ecosystem functions that are needed to sustain coral reefs and determine their susceptibility to disturbance. Around the world coral reefs are changing fast, challenging traditional scientific, management, and governance approaches. This project plans to address this challenge by implementing a new, functional, approach exploiting a unique combination of evolutionary and ecological methodologies. Expected outcomes in ....A new functional approach to coral reefs. This project aims to identify the key ecosystem functions that are needed to sustain coral reefs and determine their susceptibility to disturbance. Around the world coral reefs are changing fast, challenging traditional scientific, management, and governance approaches. This project plans to address this challenge by implementing a new, functional, approach exploiting a unique combination of evolutionary and ecological methodologies. Expected outcomes include a global overview of ecosystem function and an in-depth understanding of how ecosystems change over time. This is likely to result in specific, and practical, management objectives by identifying crucial ecosystem functions that support reefs and the people who rely on them. Read moreRead less
Reconciling competing objectives for the design of marine reserve networks: biodiversity, food security, and local equity in benefits. This project uses a decision-theoretic framework to balance the often conflicting marine conservation objectives of preserving biodiversity and building food security for local communities in the socially and ecologically complex region of the Coral Triangle. A new reserve design will boost biodiversity conservation and better support livelihoods.
Promoting resilience of ecosystems through connectivity. The resilience of ecosystems in the face of major environmental disturbances is emerging as a major concern for modern ecology. Connectivity of ecosystem components is a critically important element of ecosystem function and should, theoretically, be central to system resilience. The relationship between connectivity and resilience, however, remains poorly substantiated by empirical data. By manipulating connectivity in laboratory experime ....Promoting resilience of ecosystems through connectivity. The resilience of ecosystems in the face of major environmental disturbances is emerging as a major concern for modern ecology. Connectivity of ecosystem components is a critically important element of ecosystem function and should, theoretically, be central to system resilience. The relationship between connectivity and resilience, however, remains poorly substantiated by empirical data. By manipulating connectivity in laboratory experiments using a well-understood model marine system, the project aims to determine how connectivity affects resilience. It could provide a crucial step towards integrating connectivity into management and conservation of natural resources.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100308
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$435,748.00
Summary
Effects of artificial light at night on coastal ecosystems. This project aims to determine the ecological effects of artificial light at night on coastal marine ecosystems. Artificial light at night is a pervasive stressor that disrupts a fundamental driver of ecological and evolutionary processes: natural light cycles. Using a holistic approach that combines field experiments and microbial ecology, this project will assess impacts of artificial light at multiple levels of biological and ecologi ....Effects of artificial light at night on coastal ecosystems. This project aims to determine the ecological effects of artificial light at night on coastal marine ecosystems. Artificial light at night is a pervasive stressor that disrupts a fundamental driver of ecological and evolutionary processes: natural light cycles. Using a holistic approach that combines field experiments and microbial ecology, this project will assess impacts of artificial light at multiple levels of biological and ecological organisation. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on how species interactions mediate functional changes in response to an emergent, global stressor. This should provide significant benefits, including enhanced management of coastal systems and the critical services and social benefits they provide.
Read moreRead less