Responses of southern Australian mammal faunas to climate change before and after human arrival. In the past 170 years, southern Australia mammals have suffered one of the worst extinction rates in the world. More losses are predicted in the face of global warming. This recent extinction wave follows a major extinction event that saw 90% of Australia's large animals disappear 60,000-40,000 years ago. The causes are hotly debated. Some researchers argue for a human cause, others suggest that clim ....Responses of southern Australian mammal faunas to climate change before and after human arrival. In the past 170 years, southern Australia mammals have suffered one of the worst extinction rates in the world. More losses are predicted in the face of global warming. This recent extinction wave follows a major extinction event that saw 90% of Australia's large animals disappear 60,000-40,000 years ago. The causes are hotly debated. Some researchers argue for a human cause, others suggest that climate change was to blame. This study will refine our knowledge of the timing and causes of these extinctions in southern Australia by assessing how communities responded to climate change in the lead-up to human arrival. It will provide vital information for managing the conservation of many modern species and guide us in limiting future losses.Read moreRead less
Anatomy of a biodiversity hotspot: investigating the evolutionary and ecological basis of high plant diversity in southwestern Australia. Southwestern Australia - Australia's only global biodiversity hotspot - has an exceptionally rich flora but has suffered extensive habitat loss, so many rare plants are threatened with extinction. Further, this region is expected to suffer severely under projected climate change scenarios, lending urgency to efforts to describe and understand the regions plant ....Anatomy of a biodiversity hotspot: investigating the evolutionary and ecological basis of high plant diversity in southwestern Australia. Southwestern Australia - Australia's only global biodiversity hotspot - has an exceptionally rich flora but has suffered extensive habitat loss, so many rare plants are threatened with extinction. Further, this region is expected to suffer severely under projected climate change scenarios, lending urgency to efforts to describe and understand the regions plant biodiversity. This project will provide the first description and analysis of an important but hitherto little-known aspect of biodiversity, the evolutionary structure of ecological communities. This will enhance our understanding of how communities are assembled, providing a stronger scientific basis for sustainable management of the southwest's biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989072
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
High throughput nitrogen analysis for ecological studies. Australian environments are unproductive partly because they contain little Nitrogen (N) and changes in atmospheric CO2 will exacerbate this. Furthermore, animals cannot extract all the N from the plants they eat. An assay has been developed that measures how much they can extract (available N) and it is intended to use it to measure habitat quality and the effects of climate change over large tracts of land. This requires thousands of ....High throughput nitrogen analysis for ecological studies. Australian environments are unproductive partly because they contain little Nitrogen (N) and changes in atmospheric CO2 will exacerbate this. Furthermore, animals cannot extract all the N from the plants they eat. An assay has been developed that measures how much they can extract (available N) and it is intended to use it to measure habitat quality and the effects of climate change over large tracts of land. This requires thousands of N analyses. The equipment we are requesting - a LECO combustion analyser, allows us to analyse samples quickly and safely and uses fewer chemicals and much less water than do traditional machines.Read moreRead less
More than mud: how will disruption of soft-sediments threaten coastal biodiversity? Habitat destruction and increased nutrient input are combining with climate change to threaten the biodiversity and fisheries productivity of soft sediment habitats that dominate Australia's sixteen million square kilometre exclusive economic zone. This project will develop the tools necessary for the sustainable management of our coastal biodiversity under multiple scenarios of change. Because many of the result ....More than mud: how will disruption of soft-sediments threaten coastal biodiversity? Habitat destruction and increased nutrient input are combining with climate change to threaten the biodiversity and fisheries productivity of soft sediment habitats that dominate Australia's sixteen million square kilometre exclusive economic zone. This project will develop the tools necessary for the sustainable management of our coastal biodiversity under multiple scenarios of change. Because many of the results will be broadly applicable to coastal systems worldwide, this project will generate high-impact publications that will increase the research profile of Australia. It will train postgraduate students in strategies to help ensure the sustainable use of our biodiversity and will generate collaborations with leading international scientists.Read moreRead less
Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosys ....Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosystems will allow us to make better decisions when trying to establish sustainable and 'natural' mainland and island sanctuaries. Ancient DNA is well preserved in some dry environments; this project will assess DNA preservation from sites all across Australia and use the DNA sequences to discover information about extinct animals and how past climate changes effected the native biota.Read moreRead less
Connecting ecological processes controlling variation across spatial scales. Large variability in numbers and types of animals from place to place and time to time characterizes many ecological systems, particularly on the rocky shores along our coasts. It confuses interpretation and hampers predictions about conservation, impacts and climatic change. This programme is a systematic experimental analysis of the major causes of variance (availability of suitable habitat and food, influences of w ....Connecting ecological processes controlling variation across spatial scales. Large variability in numbers and types of animals from place to place and time to time characterizes many ecological systems, particularly on the rocky shores along our coasts. It confuses interpretation and hampers predictions about conservation, impacts and climatic change. This programme is a systematic experimental analysis of the major causes of variance (availability of suitable habitat and food, influences of weather) on the animals and indirectly on their food. The research will unravel the interacting influences that operate over several spatial scales to cause variability in local diversity. This will radically increase our capacity to sustain our coastal fauna.Read moreRead less
A mechanistic understanding of coral reef recovery. This project will provide the scientific basis to inform management policies to promote and maintain healthy coral reefs, both in Australia and overseas, which are suffering through climate change impacts. This work, which contributes directly to National Research Priority An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, will provide environmental benefits through understanding how degraded reefs can recover. The Great Barrier Reef alone is worth more ....A mechanistic understanding of coral reef recovery. This project will provide the scientific basis to inform management policies to promote and maintain healthy coral reefs, both in Australia and overseas, which are suffering through climate change impacts. This work, which contributes directly to National Research Priority An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, will provide environmental benefits through understanding how degraded reefs can recover. The Great Barrier Reef alone is worth more than $6 billion in tourism and fisheries revenue, and understanding how to maintain healthy coral reefs will contribute to the long-term sustainable growth of these industries. It will also help ensure continued use and provision of reef goods and services to coastal communities in tropical Australia.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989608
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$190,000.00
Summary
The Heron Island Climate Change Observatory: An In-Situ Ocean Acidification and Carbonate Chemistry Monitoring Platform. Climate change and ocean acidification are widely recognized as key threats to Australia's natural ecosystems, yet we are currently ill-equipped to respond due to poor knowledge of the scale/nature of the impacts. The Heron Island Climate Change Observatory will establish key infrastructure that will rapidly improve our understanding of the impacts of ocean acidification whic ....The Heron Island Climate Change Observatory: An In-Situ Ocean Acidification and Carbonate Chemistry Monitoring Platform. Climate change and ocean acidification are widely recognized as key threats to Australia's natural ecosystems, yet we are currently ill-equipped to respond due to poor knowledge of the scale/nature of the impacts. The Heron Island Climate Change Observatory will establish key infrastructure that will rapidly improve our understanding of the impacts of ocean acidification which is important to local communities and the nation given that coral reefs support over $6 billion in revenue (and employ 60,000 people) each year. This critically important information is essential to the management and protection of Australia's coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef.
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The impact of ocean acidification on the fertilization, larval development and recruitment of key Australian marine organisms. This work will define the potential vulnerability for Australian marine ecosystems that arises from the rapid acidification of Australia's coastal environments by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. Our preliminary data suggest that the early life history stages of a wide range of marine species are very sensitive to the impact of ocean acidification. At present, almost ....The impact of ocean acidification on the fertilization, larval development and recruitment of key Australian marine organisms. This work will define the potential vulnerability for Australian marine ecosystems that arises from the rapid acidification of Australia's coastal environments by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. Our preliminary data suggest that the early life history stages of a wide range of marine species are very sensitive to the impact of ocean acidification. At present, almost nothing is known about the impacts and implications of these changes. Without this knowledge, however, we are in a poor position as a nation to respond and adapt to these changes. We plan to explore this vulnerability for Australian marine organisms and develop a detailed understanding of its implications for Australia's marine ecosystems and associated industries. Read moreRead less
Understanding the ecological resilience of nearshore marine communities. Our thinking about climate change and its effects on marine ecosystems is shifting from considering how we can prevent it occurring to understanding how natural systems might adapt to climate change, or how we might improve the ability of these ecosystems to recover, that is, their resilience to change. In many shallow water ecosystems, one or a few key species provide habitat structure that in turn determines the abundanc ....Understanding the ecological resilience of nearshore marine communities. Our thinking about climate change and its effects on marine ecosystems is shifting from considering how we can prevent it occurring to understanding how natural systems might adapt to climate change, or how we might improve the ability of these ecosystems to recover, that is, their resilience to change. In many shallow water ecosystems, one or a few key species provide habitat structure that in turn determines the abundance of a wide range of other species. This proposal will take two important temperate marine 'engineers' and identify the factors that make them most resilient.Read moreRead less