Integrating fire and predator management to conserve threatened species. This project aims to empower land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native animals by developing decision-support approaches that facilitate integrated management of threatening processes. The project will use a combination of novel predictive models, field experiments and data syntheses to assist land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native fauna. This project will benefit biodiversity co ....Integrating fire and predator management to conserve threatened species. This project aims to empower land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native animals by developing decision-support approaches that facilitate integrated management of threatening processes. The project will use a combination of novel predictive models, field experiments and data syntheses to assist land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native fauna. This project will benefit biodiversity conservation by enabling more effective allocation of limited conservation resources.Read moreRead less
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
Ecological-epidemiological models of feral swamp buffalo control in northern Australia. This research is locally, nationally and internationally significant because it 1) improves the capacity of the Northern Territory and its traditional aboriginal owners to manage together this prevalent species in an effort to minimise disturbance to native flora and fauna and to understand the long-term implications of continued proliferation, 2) provides a nationally relevant system to monitor and project t ....Ecological-epidemiological models of feral swamp buffalo control in northern Australia. This research is locally, nationally and internationally significant because it 1) improves the capacity of the Northern Territory and its traditional aboriginal owners to manage together this prevalent species in an effort to minimise disturbance to native flora and fauna and to understand the long-term implications of continued proliferation, 2) provides a nationally relevant system to monitor and project the spread of disease through feral animal populations in Australia, and 3) combines quantitative data and robust analytical tools that can be used as a template for solving many broad-scale feral animal problems around the world.Read moreRead less
Effects of maternal foraging success and oceanographic variation on offspring behaviour and survival in the southern elephant seal. Juvenile survival is the key determinant of mammalian population performance, but the proximate determinants of this have rarely been established in large, long-lived predators. Southern elephant seals, with their concentrated lactation effort and marked separation of energy acquisition (at-sea foraging) and expenditure (on-land lactation) provide an ideal model for ....Effects of maternal foraging success and oceanographic variation on offspring behaviour and survival in the southern elephant seal. Juvenile survival is the key determinant of mammalian population performance, but the proximate determinants of this have rarely been established in large, long-lived predators. Southern elephant seals, with their concentrated lactation effort and marked separation of energy acquisition (at-sea foraging) and expenditure (on-land lactation) provide an ideal model for investigating these factors. In this study, we investigate the partitioning of pre-partum performance (fat acquired in mothers) relative to spatial-temporal variation in ocean productivity and the effect of this expenditure on offspring condition and survival. Here, the final missing link of energy transfer and its effects on offspring will be a major outcome of this project.Read moreRead less