Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101466
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Can Indigenous land management forestall an extinction crisis? This project aims to test the theory that a lack of Indigenous land management precipitated the collapse of Australia's mammal fauna. Current rates of species extinction exceed background rates by 100-1000 times, because of changes to ecosystems by humans. Paradoxically, Australia’s most pressing extinction crisis could be due to too little human disturbance. This project will test Indigenous land management’s capacity to forestall f ....Can Indigenous land management forestall an extinction crisis? This project aims to test the theory that a lack of Indigenous land management precipitated the collapse of Australia's mammal fauna. Current rates of species extinction exceed background rates by 100-1000 times, because of changes to ecosystems by humans. Paradoxically, Australia’s most pressing extinction crisis could be due to too little human disturbance. This project will test Indigenous land management’s capacity to forestall further mammal declines and restore degraded ecosystems, and enhance Indigenous livelihoods. Anticipated outcomes include on-ground principles for integrating Indigenous knowledge into biodiversity conservation, and transformative insights on the interdependence of humans and their environment.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100157
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,343.00
Summary
Breaking the link between predators and bushfire for fauna conservation. This project aims to quantify how bushfires amplify the impacts of invasive predators (feral cats and foxes) on native fauna. Through innovative field experiments and empirical modelling, this project expects to generate new knowledge in the key areas of wildlife conservation, fire ecology and invasive species management. Expected outcomes of this project include transformative insights into how threats interact to influenc ....Breaking the link between predators and bushfire for fauna conservation. This project aims to quantify how bushfires amplify the impacts of invasive predators (feral cats and foxes) on native fauna. Through innovative field experiments and empirical modelling, this project expects to generate new knowledge in the key areas of wildlife conservation, fire ecology and invasive species management. Expected outcomes of this project include transformative insights into how threats interact to influence biodiversity and greatly enhanced capacity to manage bushfires and invasive predators. These advances should provide significant benefits, including improved conservation of threatened species, advances in ecological theory and improved capacity to predict and respond to environmental change.Read moreRead less
Improving the reintroduction success of mammals. Improving the reintroduction success of mammals. This project intends to improve the anti-predator traits of mammals and reduce the population density of introduced predators, using a novel two-pronged approach to combat predation by introduced predators. Predation by cats and foxes is the chief cause of reintroduction failure in Australian mammals. This project will look to improve the reintroduction success of burrowing bettongs outside predator ....Improving the reintroduction success of mammals. Improving the reintroduction success of mammals. This project intends to improve the anti-predator traits of mammals and reduce the population density of introduced predators, using a novel two-pronged approach to combat predation by introduced predators. Predation by cats and foxes is the chief cause of reintroduction failure in Australian mammals. This project will look to improve the reintroduction success of burrowing bettongs outside predator-free sanctuaries by exposing individuals to predators before release and by harnessing the suppressive effects of dingoes on introduced predators. Anticipated outcomes are improved re-introduction protocols for threatened mammals and re-established populations of endangered wildlife outside predator-free-sanctuaries.Read moreRead less
Tackling prey naïveté in Australia's threatened mammals. Most threatened mammal reintroductions fail due to predation from introduced cats and foxes. This project will develop new techniques for improving their predator avoidance behaviour including using natural selection through exposure to real predators, and screening for traits linked to effective predator avoidance.
Are kangaroos jeopardizing conservation outcomes? There is concern that grazing by over-abundant kangaroos is jeopardising the goals of arid conservation reserves, but there is little evidence about the extent of their impacts. The goal of this proposal is to quantify kangaroos' grazing effects on biodiversity within arid conservation reserves. The results will provide a whole ecosystem understanding of how overgrazing by kangaroos influences the biodiversity conservation value of the vast lands ....Are kangaroos jeopardizing conservation outcomes? There is concern that grazing by over-abundant kangaroos is jeopardising the goals of arid conservation reserves, but there is little evidence about the extent of their impacts. The goal of this proposal is to quantify kangaroos' grazing effects on biodiversity within arid conservation reserves. The results will provide a whole ecosystem understanding of how overgrazing by kangaroos influences the biodiversity conservation value of the vast landscapes of arid Australia. Managers of many conservation reserves, including our project partners, and policy-makers need the information that our experiments will provide to inform the development of strategies to optimise biodiversity conservation and manage the impacts of kangaroos.Read moreRead less
Adaptive management of arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Australia’s arid zones contain some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Management must begin immediately, but our understanding of these fragile species and ecosystems is currently very limited. This project will develop and apply new research in Adaptive Management (“learning by doing”) to ensure the persistence of these rare places.
Apex predator control of nutrient dynamics. This project aims to understand the mechanisms through which predators can control ecosystem nutrient dynamics. Ecology has been dominated for decades by the top-down/bottom-up paradigm. The project will use experiments and remote sensing observations to examine the spatial structure of feedback loops between a top predator and nutrient cycles. The expected outcome is a mechanistic and scalable understanding of the spatial distribution of nutrients and ....Apex predator control of nutrient dynamics. This project aims to understand the mechanisms through which predators can control ecosystem nutrient dynamics. Ecology has been dominated for decades by the top-down/bottom-up paradigm. The project will use experiments and remote sensing observations to examine the spatial structure of feedback loops between a top predator and nutrient cycles. The expected outcome is a mechanistic and scalable understanding of the spatial distribution of nutrients and push ecosystems towards alternate states. The project will provide innovative approaches to scale-up ecological data that can be used to inform the decisions of policy makers and land managers.Read moreRead less
Revealing how top predators maintain healthy balanced ecosystems. Large predators play a pivotal role in maintaining healthy, balanced ecosystems. This project will reveal how Australia's largest predator, the dingo, provides ecosystem services and benefits biodiversity.
Forces of extinction in reptiles: the case of a rapidly declining endangered grassland lizard. The project will provide the basis for removing the grassland earless dragon from its endangered status and provide a template for the future science based management of other endangered or declining reptiles. Australia will gain by reducing its risk of losing yet another species and the threat of losing more.