Functional links between estuaries and their catchments: How does land use change affect estuarine ecological and bio-geochemical function? Estuaries are iconic recreational areas of high ecological and socio-economic value. Estuarine health is strongly linked to the catchments that feed them, yet we have no detailed understanding of these links. This project will use a number of state of the art approaches to better understand how land use affects estuarine health.
Testing the importance of large-scale climate factors to plant community assembly following land-use change. This project will examine the native plant species and functional diversity of Australia's rain forest communities to create a predictive framework of how plant communities recover following deforestation. Such a framework is key to focusing conservation efforts in degraded and multi-use landscapes.
New tracer methods for revealing the hidden connections between ecosystems. As humans modify the biosphere, many complex landscape-level problems are emerging. New methods are required to work on these large-scale problems. The aim of this project is to develop novel methods involving trace elements and isotopes, opening up new ways to explore the large-scale connections between terrestrial ecosystems and downstream estuaries. It is planned to use these new methods to test for unexpected positiv ....New tracer methods for revealing the hidden connections between ecosystems. As humans modify the biosphere, many complex landscape-level problems are emerging. New methods are required to work on these large-scale problems. The aim of this project is to develop novel methods involving trace elements and isotopes, opening up new ways to explore the large-scale connections between terrestrial ecosystems and downstream estuaries. It is planned to use these new methods to test for unexpected positive benefits of floods for estuarine fisheries. The project is significant and innovative because it develops two fundamentally new types of tracer work, one at the sediment-animal level and one at the within-molecule level. The expected outcomes include a new toolkit for tracing the hidden connections between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.Read moreRead less
The contribution of human/marine herbivore interactions to reef degradation. This project aims to define how interactions between human society and herbivores influence marine ecosystem structure and function. It will analyse geographic patterns from recent systematic sampling of reef communities worldwide and study fish, macro-invertebrate and meso-grazer herbivory to identify herbivores’ role in the collapse and recovery of reef ecosystems. This project will examine the match between a critica ....The contribution of human/marine herbivore interactions to reef degradation. This project aims to define how interactions between human society and herbivores influence marine ecosystem structure and function. It will analyse geographic patterns from recent systematic sampling of reef communities worldwide and study fish, macro-invertebrate and meso-grazer herbivory to identify herbivores’ role in the collapse and recovery of reef ecosystems. This project will examine the match between a critical ecosystem function and community structure across local to global scales, including the identification of non-linearities and interactions involving human effects on this process. This research is expected to safeguard marine ecosystems from collapse.Read moreRead less
Will stomatal responses to humidity and carbon dioxide constrain tropical forest productivity as atmospheric carbon dioxide rises? This project will investigate two physiological processes that will partly determine growth responses of tropical forest trees to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. The project will produce equations summarising physiological responses that can be incorporated into process-based models of tropical forest productivity.
Reading the isotopic archive: carbon and oxygen stable isotope ratios as recorders of plant physiological processes. This project will investigate how plant physiological processes are reflected in stable isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen in plant tissues. Results will contribute towards a mechanistic understanding of the processes that cause isotopic modifications, thereby enabling an improved interpretation of naturally occurring stable isotope signals.
Ecosystem quality and herbivore dynamics in tropical rainforests fragmented by deforestation. After logging, large expanses of south-east Asian rainforests are being converted to oil palm plantations. This is occurring within a mega-diverse area of global ecological and conservation significance yet the ecological consequences of this process are poorly understood. This project will examine patterns of changes in key arthropod herbivores, their food resources and natural enemies within experimen ....Ecosystem quality and herbivore dynamics in tropical rainforests fragmented by deforestation. After logging, large expanses of south-east Asian rainforests are being converted to oil palm plantations. This is occurring within a mega-diverse area of global ecological and conservation significance yet the ecological consequences of this process are poorly understood. This project will examine patterns of changes in key arthropod herbivores, their food resources and natural enemies within experimentally fragmented post-logging forests. The project will quantify the effects of fragment size, location and vegetation upon the herbivore dynamics, their impact on the vegetation and their interactions with their natural enemies. The project aid understanding the dynamics of the ecosystems involved and the services they provide.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101477
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$393,689.00
Summary
Using food web theory to conserve ecosystems. Species interact with each other and the management of one species can impact on other species. These interactions are often ignored in conservation decision making. Food web theory is the obvious basis for considering links between species when making conservation decisions, but actually contains little explicit guidance for the management of multiple species. Using a novel application of optimisation approaches pioneered in artificial intelligence ....Using food web theory to conserve ecosystems. Species interact with each other and the management of one species can impact on other species. These interactions are often ignored in conservation decision making. Food web theory is the obvious basis for considering links between species when making conservation decisions, but actually contains little explicit guidance for the management of multiple species. Using a novel application of optimisation approaches pioneered in artificial intelligence research, we aim to demonstrate how food web theory can guide the management of multiple species. In doing so, we will also test the effectiveness of widely used approaches to multi-species management, such as keystone species, umbrella species and bottom-up control.Read moreRead less
Rhizosphere mediation of soil greenhouse gas fluxes with climate change. Increasingly extreme heat waves, droughts and floods contribute major uncertainties in predicting natural land-based climate change mitigation. This project will quantify current and future greenhouse gas absorption in a managed grassland ecosystem, and the new knowledge will contribute to carbon emissions offsets in climate change accounting schemes. We will conduct this research using a manipulative field experiment, cont ....Rhizosphere mediation of soil greenhouse gas fluxes with climate change. Increasingly extreme heat waves, droughts and floods contribute major uncertainties in predicting natural land-based climate change mitigation. This project will quantify current and future greenhouse gas absorption in a managed grassland ecosystem, and the new knowledge will contribute to carbon emissions offsets in climate change accounting schemes. We will conduct this research using a manipulative field experiment, controlled laboratory incubations, microbial gene analysis and mechanistic modelling to provide new insights into future potential climate change mitigation by soils.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100746
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Trait plasticity and the maintenance of functional diversity. This project aims to determine if trait plasticity mediates functional degradation of coral reefs. It will use natural environmental gradients to identify mechanisms that enable corals to persist in marginal habitats. The project will use three-dimensional imaging to measure how variability in traits influences functional redundancy. This will facilitate better predictions of the effects of environmental change on reef systems. Expect ....Trait plasticity and the maintenance of functional diversity. This project aims to determine if trait plasticity mediates functional degradation of coral reefs. It will use natural environmental gradients to identify mechanisms that enable corals to persist in marginal habitats. The project will use three-dimensional imaging to measure how variability in traits influences functional redundancy. This will facilitate better predictions of the effects of environmental change on reef systems. Expected outcomes include improved understanding of the response of coral reef ecosystems to environmental change and a framework for predicting reefs at risk of degradation. Benefits will be to both global biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services in reef dependent communities.Read moreRead less