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
Hydrogeological drivers and fate of spring flow in a semi-arid setting. In arid and semi-arid climates, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems often rely on groundwater springs. Spring hydrology depends on complex relationships between underlying aquifers and surface conditions, leading to high uncertainties in understanding aquifer-spring-wetland hydrology, which is critical for spring ecosystem protection and to inform management of relevant groundwater-affecting activities. This project will appl ....Hydrogeological drivers and fate of spring flow in a semi-arid setting. In arid and semi-arid climates, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems often rely on groundwater springs. Spring hydrology depends on complex relationships between underlying aquifers and surface conditions, leading to high uncertainties in understanding aquifer-spring-wetland hydrology, which is critical for spring ecosystem protection and to inform management of relevant groundwater-affecting activities. This project will apply novel hydrogeophysical and hydrochemical methods, and computer modelling, to investigate the source aquifer of, and fate of discharge from the Doongmabulla Springs Complex (DSC), located in an area of future development. Project results will inform spring vulnerability to development pressures and climate effects.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
Can we see the wood for the trees? Effective restoration strategies in rapidly changing subtropical river systems. Addressing the issue of degraded waterways nationally will cost billions of dollars; in southeast Queensland alone it is estimated that it will cost $500 million. Fundamental research is needed to ensure such efforts achieve the desired outcomes. Previous research has shown riverbank erosion is a key stressor for water quality. This project aims to link fluvial disturbance with the ....Can we see the wood for the trees? Effective restoration strategies in rapidly changing subtropical river systems. Addressing the issue of degraded waterways nationally will cost billions of dollars; in southeast Queensland alone it is estimated that it will cost $500 million. Fundamental research is needed to ensure such efforts achieve the desired outcomes. Previous research has shown riverbank erosion is a key stressor for water quality. This project aims to link fluvial disturbance with the capacity for effective riparian restoration in subtropical river systems at a local, reach and whole of catchment scale. The outcome aims to develop decision-support tools and methods for industry partners to invest in catchment-scale restoration activities in order to manage the risks to drinking water quality and aquatic ecosystem health from riverbank erosion.Read moreRead less
Restoring functional links between riparian zones and streams by enhancing structural retention. This project aims to test whether structural retention, whereby plant detritus (logs, bark, leaves) is trapped and retained within river channels, can offset the impacts caused by widespread clearance of vegetation along river banks, a widespread problem in Australia and the world. Theoretically, retention is a major environmental driver of ecosystem change in rivers, but this has rarely been tested, ....Restoring functional links between riparian zones and streams by enhancing structural retention. This project aims to test whether structural retention, whereby plant detritus (logs, bark, leaves) is trapped and retained within river channels, can offset the impacts caused by widespread clearance of vegetation along river banks, a widespread problem in Australia and the world. Theoretically, retention is a major environmental driver of ecosystem change in rivers, but this has rarely been tested, particularly in a restoration context. The aim of this project is to show that increasing retention results in higher species diversity, thus providing managers with a relatively straightforward method for improving the environmental conditions of rivers, while simultaneously testing three hypotheses about rectifying ecosystem degradation caused by human impacts.Read moreRead less
Biogeochemical remediation approaches for PFAS contaminated environments. This project aims to identify and harvest microorganisms capable of directly or indirectly affecting PFOS or PFOA degradation in the environment. Fluorinated compounds such as PFOS and PFOA in firefighting foams are contaminants of concern now routinely detected in contaminated groundwater and soil globally. Understanding the role of microorganisms, and the biogeochemical processes they perform in relation to fluorinated c ....Biogeochemical remediation approaches for PFAS contaminated environments. This project aims to identify and harvest microorganisms capable of directly or indirectly affecting PFOS or PFOA degradation in the environment. Fluorinated compounds such as PFOS and PFOA in firefighting foams are contaminants of concern now routinely detected in contaminated groundwater and soil globally. Understanding the role of microorganisms, and the biogeochemical processes they perform in relation to fluorinated compounds, will inform handling of contaminated sites and lead to development of cost effective and sustainable remediation technologies. Read moreRead less
Have we already lost the Australian lungfish? This project aims to use radiocarbon ageing, conservation genetics and modelling to identify threats to the long-term survival of the Australian lungfish, the world's oldest living vertebrate. This project will provide managers with a powerful tool to prioritise management interventions to ensure the conservation of the species and to pull it back from extinction.
Enhancing Ammonium Phosphate Slurry Output from the Pre-Neutraliser Reactor via Rheological Study and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modelling. A thorough understanding of slurry rheology is required for the design and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of slurry reactor to obtain optimal performance. A poorly designed reactor will have poor mixing, flow short circuiting and stagnant zones. This project will provide a means of characterising the ammonia phosphate slurry rheology o ....Enhancing Ammonium Phosphate Slurry Output from the Pre-Neutraliser Reactor via Rheological Study and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modelling. A thorough understanding of slurry rheology is required for the design and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of slurry reactor to obtain optimal performance. A poorly designed reactor will have poor mixing, flow short circuiting and stagnant zones. This project will provide a means of characterising the ammonia phosphate slurry rheology on-line for WMC fertilizer plant, perform detailed rheological characterisation of the slurry with and without trace elements, and provide fluid flow behaviour within the reactor through CFD simulation. A mere 1% improvement over the current solids output of 100tonnes/hr will enhance the revenue by $2.5million/yr for WMC.Read moreRead less
Living in a high carbon dioxide world: impacts on freshwater phytoplankton populations from elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide. This project will investigate likely changes in phytoplankton populations in reservoirs that will be caused by increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the next century. The project will provide water supply managers with the necessary information to plan future strategies for water treatment and operating procedures.
Mechanistic investigation of fluorinated coatings for stone preservation. We will investigate mechanisms governing the synthesis of a latex used for stone preservation. This latex is made from novel and unusual starting materials, and will be the most complex system for which mechanisms have been investigated. We will redesign the synthesis procedure to control particle size and composition of the functional species at the particle surface. This will enable both particle size and surface composi ....Mechanistic investigation of fluorinated coatings for stone preservation. We will investigate mechanisms governing the synthesis of a latex used for stone preservation. This latex is made from novel and unusual starting materials, and will be the most complex system for which mechanisms have been investigated. We will redesign the synthesis procedure to control particle size and composition of the functional species at the particle surface. This will enable both particle size and surface composition to be tailored as desired. The results will be used to investigate the influence of these quantities on interactions between particles and sandstone surfaces. The outcomes will be used by the industrial partner to devise improved protective coatings for stone surfaces in Australian conditions.Read moreRead less