A multispecies approach to managing feral animals in tropical savanna landscapes. Controlling invasive species is important for maintaining healthy landscapes. Often, multiple invasive species occupy a landscape and simultaneous management of them is required. Our innovative management tool will allow land managers to develop and implement control strategies for environmentally invasive species in Northern Australia and globally.
Modelling and control of mosquito-borne diseases in Darwin using long-term monitoring. Management of mosquito populations is a high public health priority because these insects can spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and Kunjin/West Nile virus. Our research into the effectiveness of mosquito control programs in Darwin is of immediate national relevance and priority given the need to Safeguard Australia ....Modelling and control of mosquito-borne diseases in Darwin using long-term monitoring. Management of mosquito populations is a high public health priority because these insects can spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and Kunjin/West Nile virus. Our research into the effectiveness of mosquito control programs in Darwin is of immediate national relevance and priority given the need to Safeguard Australia from invasive diseases. There is an urgency to undertake our research because global environmental change and increasing movements of people (particularly military personnel) from overseas regions where these diseases are endemic is increasing the vulnerability of northern Australia to the (re)establishment of mosquito borne diseases.Read moreRead less
TELEPHONE COUNSELLING FOR MAINTENANCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, WEIGHT LOSS And GLYCAEMIC CONTROL IN TYPE 2 DIABETES
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,285,894.00
Summary
Regular exercise, a healthy diet and weight loss are key to managing type 2 diabetes, yet these are major challenges for most people with diabetes. This study will evaluate the impact of a telephone counselling program to assist people with type 2 diabetes to exercise, eat a healthy diet and lose weight, with the goal of helping them to sustain these changes over the long-term. It is expected that these lifestyle changes will also result in improved blood glucose control and quality of life.
Bringing back Australia's lost woodland biodiversity: towards strategic multi-species reintroductions. Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction of any continent on the planet. This has reduced biodiversity and compromised many important ecological processes. What is the best way to re-build depauperate mammal communities with multi-species reintroductions? What effects do multi-species reintroductions have on recipient ecosystems? This project aims to explore these questions by reintr ....Bringing back Australia's lost woodland biodiversity: towards strategic multi-species reintroductions. Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction of any continent on the planet. This has reduced biodiversity and compromised many important ecological processes. What is the best way to re-build depauperate mammal communities with multi-species reintroductions? What effects do multi-species reintroductions have on recipient ecosystems? This project aims to explore these questions by reintroducing three mammal species to a critically endangered temperate woodland: a carnivore (the eastern quoll), an insectivore (yellow-footed antechinus), and a herbivore (the eastern chestnut mouse). Results from this sequenced multi-species reintroduction experiment will have broad applicability to ecosystem restoration in Australia and overseas.Read moreRead less
Conservation management of seed-eating birds in the tropical savannas. Biodiversity loss in the savannas indicates unsustainable management. This research will enhance our abilities to effectively manage Australia's tropical savannas, as well as contributing to several State and Territory, Commonwealth and international obligations to maintain biodiversity. Understanding the processes underlying current declines will also make the effects of future management or environment changes easier to pre ....Conservation management of seed-eating birds in the tropical savannas. Biodiversity loss in the savannas indicates unsustainable management. This research will enhance our abilities to effectively manage Australia's tropical savannas, as well as contributing to several State and Territory, Commonwealth and international obligations to maintain biodiversity. Understanding the processes underlying current declines will also make the effects of future management or environment changes easier to predict. Retaining threatened species can benefit remote and regional communities through tourism, and also through the extra employment required to implement the management prescriptions that will be developed from this research.Read moreRead less
Mammal declines in northern Australia: science for conservation and recovery. Australia’s unique mammal fauna is a rich biological heritage for the nation. It provides a wealth of ecosystem services, and many mammal species have special cultural or aesthetic value. However, our mammals are sadly depleted, and we already have the worst record of recent mammal extinction of any nation. Preventing further mammal extinctions, and managing environments to allow declined mammals to recover, will be of ....Mammal declines in northern Australia: science for conservation and recovery. Australia’s unique mammal fauna is a rich biological heritage for the nation. It provides a wealth of ecosystem services, and many mammal species have special cultural or aesthetic value. However, our mammals are sadly depleted, and we already have the worst record of recent mammal extinction of any nation. Preventing further mammal extinctions, and managing environments to allow declined mammals to recover, will be of great benefit to Australian biodiversity and to the ecosystem processes and human values that depend on it.Read moreRead less
Investigating movement, distribution, abundance and diet to support management objectives for threatened riverine predators in Northern Australia. The rivers and estuaries of northern Australia are highly productive environments, containing an exceptional diversity and abundance of large predatory aquatic species. This project aims to monitor the movements, habitat preferences and diet in eight large predatory species in a northern Queensland river over the next three years. Movement data will b ....Investigating movement, distribution, abundance and diet to support management objectives for threatened riverine predators in Northern Australia. The rivers and estuaries of northern Australia are highly productive environments, containing an exceptional diversity and abundance of large predatory aquatic species. This project aims to monitor the movements, habitat preferences and diet in eight large predatory species in a northern Queensland river over the next three years. Movement data will be combined with isotopic analysis to reveal how environmental and biological factors drive animal movements and impact habitat connectivity. In a world of vanishing top predators, it is imperative to understand system dynamics before we can evaluate the impact of species removal on ecosystem function.Read moreRead less
Preventing and reversing population declines of northern quolls. This project seeks to develop novel effective strategies to halt and reverse declines in northern quolls by improving their ‘toad-smart’ behaviour. The spread of cane toads threaten northern quolls, which are marsupial predators. We cannot halt the toad invasion, but we can train quolls not to eat cane toads. Trained quolls can survive long term in toad-infested landscapes, and their offspring can learn not to eat toads. This proje ....Preventing and reversing population declines of northern quolls. This project seeks to develop novel effective strategies to halt and reverse declines in northern quolls by improving their ‘toad-smart’ behaviour. The spread of cane toads threaten northern quolls, which are marsupial predators. We cannot halt the toad invasion, but we can train quolls not to eat cane toads. Trained quolls can survive long term in toad-infested landscapes, and their offspring can learn not to eat toads. This project builds on this work by focusing on cultural and genetic transmission of toad-smart behaviour. The project could save numerous quoll populations from extinction.Read moreRead less
Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. This project aims to develop indices that link change in invertebrate communities to specific environmental stressors, and combine these indices with innovative, low cost molecular approaches to species identification to rapidly identify the causes of decline. River health assessment methods, usually based on aquatic invertebrates, identify if rivers are impaire ....Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. This project aims to develop indices that link change in invertebrate communities to specific environmental stressors, and combine these indices with innovative, low cost molecular approaches to species identification to rapidly identify the causes of decline. River health assessment methods, usually based on aquatic invertebrates, identify if rivers are impaired but must be developed to identify the causes of decline. The intended outcomes are improved sustainable water resource management within and among states, and improved natural resource policy development.Read moreRead less
Microbiology of a tropical creek impacted by sewage effluent: novel assessment using N-cycle functional markers and changes in community composition. Although most of Darwin Harbour has good water quality, there is much concern about local 'hot spots' where sewage has degraded ecosystem processes and values. As no bio-indicators of tropical marine water and sediment quality are known, the project will identify functional markers and microbial indicators of stress for integrated environmental mo ....Microbiology of a tropical creek impacted by sewage effluent: novel assessment using N-cycle functional markers and changes in community composition. Although most of Darwin Harbour has good water quality, there is much concern about local 'hot spots' where sewage has degraded ecosystem processes and values. As no bio-indicators of tropical marine water and sediment quality are known, the project will identify functional markers and microbial indicators of stress for integrated environmental monitoring.Read moreRead less