Impacts of climate change on biogenic habitat-forming seaweeds in south east Australia. Seaweed-based systems on rocky reefs in south east Australia support high levels of biodiversity, endemism and economic activity (fisheries). We will provide important insight into how climate change is likely to affect the key habitat-forming seaweeds in this system, and a first assessment of how other marine species will respond to any shift in abundance of the habitat-forming seaweeds. These predictions ar ....Impacts of climate change on biogenic habitat-forming seaweeds in south east Australia. Seaweed-based systems on rocky reefs in south east Australia support high levels of biodiversity, endemism and economic activity (fisheries). We will provide important insight into how climate change is likely to affect the key habitat-forming seaweeds in this system, and a first assessment of how other marine species will respond to any shift in abundance of the habitat-forming seaweeds. These predictions are critical if human adaptation to effects of climate change are to be proactive and not reactive. We will also test a basic assumption of most bio-climate envelope models that are the basis of many current predictions of the effect of climate change on species distributions. The project will provide the basis for training of two PhD students.Read moreRead less
Impact of Metal - Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Interactions on Growth and Toxicity of Ichthyotoxic Algae in Australian Coastal Waters. Toxic algal blooms in estuarine and coastal waters can have devastating economic and ecological impacts but remarkably little is known about the factors that control either organism growth or toxin severity. Recent studies suggest that the interplay between delivery of the nutrient trace metals iron and copper and the method via which the organism acts to assimi ....Impact of Metal - Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Interactions on Growth and Toxicity of Ichthyotoxic Algae in Australian Coastal Waters. Toxic algal blooms in estuarine and coastal waters can have devastating economic and ecological impacts but remarkably little is known about the factors that control either organism growth or toxin severity. Recent studies suggest that the interplay between delivery of the nutrient trace metals iron and copper and the method via which the organism acts to assimilate these metals is critical to the generation and aggressiveness of the toxins produced. These processes will be investigated in this study and conceptual and mathematical models will be developed which will assist in assessing management options for estuarine and coastal environments.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the developme ....A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the development of groundwater resources, the relative dependency of ecosystems on groundwater versus soil and surface water, and an assessment of the likely impacts of altered hydrology, especially dewatering and salinisation, on ecosystems. In addition, they will also be used to extend our knowledge of climate variability in the recent past and increase understanding of critical marine resources.Read moreRead less