Transport risk pathways for emerging invasive species. Our Australian economy depends on tourism and trade and this carries unavoidable risks for the introduction and establishment of new invasive pests and diseases. This project will build datasets from four real-world problem agenda in global invasion biology. Informed by these data, this project will develop and apply state-of-the-art mathematical transport models to predict the risks and frequency of future biological invasion events. The pr ....Transport risk pathways for emerging invasive species. Our Australian economy depends on tourism and trade and this carries unavoidable risks for the introduction and establishment of new invasive pests and diseases. This project will build datasets from four real-world problem agenda in global invasion biology. Informed by these data, this project will develop and apply state-of-the-art mathematical transport models to predict the risks and frequency of future biological invasion events. The project will contribute directly to safeguarding Australia from invasive pests and diseases.Read moreRead less
Safeguarding Australia against vector-borne disease bio-incursions. Traditional diagnostic tests limited by their accuracy and ability to detect more than a few pathogens at one time, presents a major hurdle to protecting Australia's companion animals from a plethora of exotic and emerging vector-borne diseases (VBD). Many of these diseases also pose a major risk to public health. This project aims to develop, validate and verify a highly accurate, cost-effective, portable metabarcoding diagnost ....Safeguarding Australia against vector-borne disease bio-incursions. Traditional diagnostic tests limited by their accuracy and ability to detect more than a few pathogens at one time, presents a major hurdle to protecting Australia's companion animals from a plethora of exotic and emerging vector-borne diseases (VBD). Many of these diseases also pose a major risk to public health. This project aims to develop, validate and verify a highly accurate, cost-effective, portable metabarcoding diagnostic test capable of detecting known, emerging and novel parasitic, bacterial and viral VBD pathogens simultaneously, from clinical samples. The assay will represent a potential paradigm shift in the way VBD are tested, for the purpose of safeguarding Australia against VBD bio-incursions.Read moreRead less
Development of strategy for comprehensive protection of Australia against respiratory diseases by real time detection of airborne pathogenic microbes. The project will develop a real time portable bioaerosol detector capable of identifying a presence of targeted microorganisms in the ambient air immediately upon their appearance. The device will become a powerful tool capable of protecting Australia by minimising the possible spread of infectious respiratory diseases causing global pandemics.
New models for effective surveillance. This project will deliver new methods for generating the information that underpins sound resource management decisions, focusing on statistical techniques to deploy surveillance resources. Results will be relevant to a wide range of applications including setting realistic targets for the effectiveness of biosecurity and quarantine systems.
Behavioural variation and the success of invasive animals. This project aims to test how behavioural variation affects invasion success. Invasive species can cause economic and ecological damage. Focused preventive measures are difficult unless we know what makes invasions succeed. The role of behaviour is not yet clear – especially inter-individual behavioural variation within species. Using a known invasive reptile model, this project will determine which relevant behaviours are heritable, and ....Behavioural variation and the success of invasive animals. This project aims to test how behavioural variation affects invasion success. Invasive species can cause economic and ecological damage. Focused preventive measures are difficult unless we know what makes invasions succeed. The role of behaviour is not yet clear – especially inter-individual behavioural variation within species. Using a known invasive reptile model, this project will determine which relevant behaviours are heritable, and therefore subject to evolutionary selection during introduction, establishment, and spread into new locations. Understanding why some invasive species repeatedly succeed while others fail could improve efforts to limit or prevent the harmful effects of invasion.Read moreRead less
Rapid evolution via genetic novelty in an invasive social insect. This project aims to determine how introduced Asian honey bee populations in Australia and the Pacific managed to overcome severe genetic bottlenecks to become invasive pests. The project will use advanced molecular techniques to understand rapid evolution at a focal gene that determines fitness in these populations, and to see evolution in action across the genome using a twelve-year timeline of samples. The outcome will be an en ....Rapid evolution via genetic novelty in an invasive social insect. This project aims to determine how introduced Asian honey bee populations in Australia and the Pacific managed to overcome severe genetic bottlenecks to become invasive pests. The project will use advanced molecular techniques to understand rapid evolution at a focal gene that determines fitness in these populations, and to see evolution in action across the genome using a twelve-year timeline of samples. The outcome will be an enhanced capacity to manage new outbreaks of invasive social insects of all kinds via a better understanding of how invasions establish and spread. This should provide significant benefits in the form of protecting Australian agriculture and pollination services from social insect pests.Read moreRead less
Drivers of the live pet trade in Australian reptiles. This project aims to understand the complex trade in live Australian reptiles. The global pet trade is a major threat to biodiversity. This project expects to generate critical new knowledge for combatting the current and future illegal trade in Australian wildlife. Using surveillance of domestic and overseas online markets, and innovative statistical and simulation-based approaches to inform conservation decision-making, the expected outcome ....Drivers of the live pet trade in Australian reptiles. This project aims to understand the complex trade in live Australian reptiles. The global pet trade is a major threat to biodiversity. This project expects to generate critical new knowledge for combatting the current and future illegal trade in Australian wildlife. Using surveillance of domestic and overseas online markets, and innovative statistical and simulation-based approaches to inform conservation decision-making, the expected outcomes of this project include an enhanced capacity to conserve native species and to monitor and disrupt the complex illegal wildlife trade. This should provide significant benefits in terms of biodiversity conservation and safeguarding Australia’s unique and ecologically important native reptile species.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101253
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,000.00
Summary
Redox-mediated electrochemiluminescence enhancement for novel biosensors. This project aims to understand and apply a novel approach to the enhancement of diagnostic tests for agricultural biosecurity applications. Government and Industry require simple, rapid tests to monitor and detect threats to Australia’s agricultural biosecurity. This interdisciplinary project intends to enhance collaboration, generate fundamental advances in the field of analytical chemistry and bolster Australia’s resear ....Redox-mediated electrochemiluminescence enhancement for novel biosensors. This project aims to understand and apply a novel approach to the enhancement of diagnostic tests for agricultural biosecurity applications. Government and Industry require simple, rapid tests to monitor and detect threats to Australia’s agricultural biosecurity. This interdisciplinary project intends to enhance collaboration, generate fundamental advances in the field of analytical chemistry and bolster Australia’s research capabilities through new analytical techniques and technologies. The breadth of applications of this technology should also provide significant benefits to the Australian biotechnology industry, improve existing instrumentation and impact diverse research fields from biosecurity to health monitoring.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101558
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
The biodiversity consequences of evolutionary innovation. This project aims to increase knowledge of how evolutionary innovations affect biodiversity. This project will focus on a classic example of evolutionary innovation, the specialized throat jaws found in many fish groups, including damselfishes, wrasses, and cichlids. These unique jaws may explain why these fish groups contain so many species and are such successful invasive species in Australia and elsewhere. This project proposes an inte ....The biodiversity consequences of evolutionary innovation. This project aims to increase knowledge of how evolutionary innovations affect biodiversity. This project will focus on a classic example of evolutionary innovation, the specialized throat jaws found in many fish groups, including damselfishes, wrasses, and cichlids. These unique jaws may explain why these fish groups contain so many species and are such successful invasive species in Australia and elsewhere. This project proposes an integrative combination of methods and functional experiments to reveal the biodiversity consequences of evolutionary innovation. It will also enhance Australian biosecurity through the production of new ways to assess invasion risk from aquaculture and aquarium trade species.Read moreRead less
Predicting the ecological and economic outcomes of trade. This project aims to understand and predict the effects of global trade on land use and biodiversity.Growth in international trade increases trade-mediated land-use by increasing demand for commodities directly or indirectly derived from the land. Accurate predictions of trade effects and opportunities would allow governments to maximise ecological and economic benefits and minimise effects through judicious planning and regulation, but s ....Predicting the ecological and economic outcomes of trade. This project aims to understand and predict the effects of global trade on land use and biodiversity.Growth in international trade increases trade-mediated land-use by increasing demand for commodities directly or indirectly derived from the land. Accurate predictions of trade effects and opportunities would allow governments to maximise ecological and economic benefits and minimise effects through judicious planning and regulation, but such analyses do not exist. This project expects to advance trade policy evaluation by improving and integrating computable global equilibrium models and land-use and ecological models to better characterise consequences of trade.Read moreRead less