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
Recovering Australia’s migratory shorebirds. This project seeks to determine how Australia’s coastal environments can be managed to aid in the recovery of threatened shorebird species. Millions of migratory shorebirds arrive in Australia each year from their Arctic breeding grounds, yet many of these iconic species are in rapid decline, and two were recently nominated as nationally threatened in Australia. Recovering these threatened species is an important priority. The project aims to discover ....Recovering Australia’s migratory shorebirds. This project seeks to determine how Australia’s coastal environments can be managed to aid in the recovery of threatened shorebird species. Millions of migratory shorebirds arrive in Australia each year from their Arctic breeding grounds, yet many of these iconic species are in rapid decline, and two were recently nominated as nationally threatened in Australia. Recovering these threatened species is an important priority. The project aims to discover when and where to act to recover declining migratory species. It also plans to assess the strength of protective mechanisms already in place in Australia and overseas to protect migratory species from extinction, and determine how to improve protection for migrants when they arrive on Australia’s shores.Read moreRead less
Understanding and reversing the rapid declines in Australia's shorebirds. Migratory shorebirds are recognised under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as nationally important assets, and these birds are iconic elements of many coastal landscapes, yet they are declining at an alarming rate. Due to their migratory nature, part of the reason for their decline might lay in Australia, but part might lay elsewhere across the 23 countries in the migratory flyway. This project ....Understanding and reversing the rapid declines in Australia's shorebirds. Migratory shorebirds are recognised under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as nationally important assets, and these birds are iconic elements of many coastal landscapes, yet they are declining at an alarming rate. Due to their migratory nature, part of the reason for their decline might lay in Australia, but part might lay elsewhere across the 23 countries in the migratory flyway. This project will discover what Australia can do within its territory to reverse shorebird declines, and how international agreements and policy positions could be strengthened to achieve shorebird conservation in the East Asian flyway. This research will deliver the science necessary to recover a matter of national environmental significance.Read moreRead less
Advancing vegetation classification and mapping to meet conservation needs. The project aims to develop advanced statistical and modelling techniques to classify and map vegetation over very large areas, using the most extensive and detailed vegetation data set in Australia and new methods to evaluate these classifications. Such classifications and maps provide the data needed to make biodiversity conservation decisions, yet current operational methods are limited over very large areas, and cann ....Advancing vegetation classification and mapping to meet conservation needs. The project aims to develop advanced statistical and modelling techniques to classify and map vegetation over very large areas, using the most extensive and detailed vegetation data set in Australia and new methods to evaluate these classifications. Such classifications and maps provide the data needed to make biodiversity conservation decisions, yet current operational methods are limited over very large areas, and cannot deal with varied sources of uncertainty. Expected outcomes and benefits include a fine-scale vegetation classification and map for almost a million square kilometres, and associated analytical tools and guidelines for large-scale vegetation classification and global mapping.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100181
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$183,413.00
Summary
Fieldwork or remote sensing? The blurred line of unmanned airborne systems. Fieldwork or remote sensing? The blurred line of unmanned airborne systems: The aim of the project is to develop a state-of-the-art Unmanned Airborne System (UAS) capability in support of field data acquisition. The system will provide highly detailed calibrated imagery of difficult or inaccessible survey sites and bridge the scale gap between in situ observations and imagery acquired by higher altitude airborne or satel ....Fieldwork or remote sensing? The blurred line of unmanned airborne systems. Fieldwork or remote sensing? The blurred line of unmanned airborne systems: The aim of the project is to develop a state-of-the-art Unmanned Airborne System (UAS) capability in support of field data acquisition. The system will provide highly detailed calibrated imagery of difficult or inaccessible survey sites and bridge the scale gap between in situ observations and imagery acquired by higher altitude airborne or satellite sensors. The UAS will have a diverse range of applications, including environmental monitoring, disaster management and recording sites of indigenous cultural significance. In addition, the system will be more flexible and cost effective than any other field or remote sensing tool.Read moreRead less
Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from South East Queensland waterways and influence of wastewater discharges. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial emission reduction must be achieved, with responsibilities to be shared by all sectors. Rivers, estuaries and water storages contribute considerably to global nitrous oxide and methane emissions, much of which is anthropogenic contributed by urban and agricultural run-of ....Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from South East Queensland waterways and influence of wastewater discharges. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial emission reduction must be achieved, with responsibilities to be shared by all sectors. Rivers, estuaries and water storages contribute considerably to global nitrous oxide and methane emissions, much of which is anthropogenic contributed by urban and agricultural run-off and wastewater discharges. Through an in-depth study on several rivers, estuaries and reservoirs in South East Queensland, this project will provide data to enable reliable estimation of such emissions in Australia, and deliver knowledge and tool support for the development of strategic catchment management strategies.Read moreRead less
Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and g ....Unravelling how aquatic coastal networks regulate nitrogen removal . The aim of this project is to determine the nitrogen removal pathways of the coastal zone using a number of innovative field and modelling approaches. Little is known about how the complex coastal landscape controls trade-offs that maximise nitrogen removal but minimise nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas) emissions. The outcomes of this study will significantly advance our understanding of the coastal zone in regional and global nitrogen budgets. This will provide significant benefits such as a new science-based quantitative framework to facilitate best practice management to reduce terrestrial nitrogen loads and associated downstream impacts such as eutrophication, and reduce nitrous oxide emissions and associated global warming.
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From prediction to adaptation: responding to rapid ecosystem shifts under climate change. Nobody knows exactly how climate change will affect the ecosystems on which we depend for our own existence, though negative impacts are widely predicted. This project integrates mathematical, economic and ecological approaches to learn about the most effective way to spend limited funds for sustaining ecosystems threatened by climate change.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100141
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,000.00
Summary
High-resolution ITRAX XRF core scanning facility for global change research. This facility will enable researchers to obtain high-resolution geochemical profiles in the study of environmental change and climate variability. It will provide archive data on the variation of density and chemical element composition along sediment and soil cores, rock cores, wood samples, speleothems and corals. These archives contain important information such as human activity, climate variability, water quality c ....High-resolution ITRAX XRF core scanning facility for global change research. This facility will enable researchers to obtain high-resolution geochemical profiles in the study of environmental change and climate variability. It will provide archive data on the variation of density and chemical element composition along sediment and soil cores, rock cores, wood samples, speleothems and corals. These archives contain important information such as human activity, climate variability, water quality changes, pollution histories, recent geomorphological change, land-use change, introduction of invasive species and the occurrence of bushfires. A better understanding of the occurrence and timing of these major environmental issues is of national and regional importance.Read moreRead less
Acoustics for Large Scale Biodiversity Assessment. Aims: This project will investigate using automated acoustic recording to efficiently census biodiversity assessment at a continental scale.
Significance: To generate new techniques for analysing environmental acoustic data and assessing Australian biodiversity, verified empirical estimates of biodiversity, an understanding of causes of variation in biodiversity.
Expected outcomes: methods for large-scale and accurate assessment of biodiversity ....Acoustics for Large Scale Biodiversity Assessment. Aims: This project will investigate using automated acoustic recording to efficiently census biodiversity assessment at a continental scale.
Significance: To generate new techniques for analysing environmental acoustic data and assessing Australian biodiversity, verified empirical estimates of biodiversity, an understanding of causes of variation in biodiversity.
Expected outcomes: methods for large-scale and accurate assessment of biodiversity, enhanced capacity to detect causes of variation in biodiversity, open-source software tools for analysing environmental audio data, biodiversity datasets.
Benefits: measuring and understanding biodiversity change, allowing enhanced management, conservation, and use of Australian natural resources.
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