Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100232
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$431,704.00
Summary
Demographic and life course drivers of social cohesion. The project aims to understand the individual and community-level drivers and pressures on social cohesion in Australia. It is expected to generate new knowledge on how and why individuals become more or less engaged in their communities and society over time by combining information from multiple existing data sources. Expected outcomes of the project include the creation of analytical tools for measuring the dynamics of social cohesion, h ....Demographic and life course drivers of social cohesion. The project aims to understand the individual and community-level drivers and pressures on social cohesion in Australia. It is expected to generate new knowledge on how and why individuals become more or less engaged in their communities and society over time by combining information from multiple existing data sources. Expected outcomes of the project include the creation of analytical tools for measuring the dynamics of social cohesion, helping to bridge the gap between current theories and data. This should provide significant benefits in identifying threats and opportunities, and informing community and government initiatives, to strengthen and maintain social cohesion and the collective well-being of communities and Australia.Read moreRead less
Condition And Its Assessment In The Southern Rock Lobster. Field Application Of The Techniques For Condition Assessment Developed In The Laboratory
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$249,591.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. Obtain an understanding of variations in growth and recruitment through the establishment of the potential of selected indices to characterise temporal and spatial changes in condition of lobsters within the fishery.
Pilot Study Of Larval Recruitment And Genetic Variation Of Southern Rock Lobster Populations
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$56,600.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. Compare effectiveness of existing Jasus spp puerulus collectors & determine the most suitable. 2. Estimate spatial variability & timing of puerulus settlement; can puerulus be obtained in sufficient quantities? 3. Develop mt DNA analysis techniques to identify p. Genetic variability information.
Tactical Research Fund: Evaluating Source-sink Relationships Of The Western Rock Lobster Fishery Using Oceanographic Modelling
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$75,000.00
Summary
The puerulus settlement in 2007/08 was the second lowest in 40 years and follows several years of below-average settlements. Previous studies have shown that environment factors such as the Leeuwin Current and storms affect the abundance and spatial distribution of puerulus settlement. However it is important to identify if there are some changes to these environmental factors contributing to the low recruitment. Initial monitoring indicates very low 2008/09 settlement despite the Leeuwin Curr ....The puerulus settlement in 2007/08 was the second lowest in 40 years and follows several years of below-average settlements. Previous studies have shown that environment factors such as the Leeuwin Current and storms affect the abundance and spatial distribution of puerulus settlement. However it is important to identify if there are some changes to these environmental factors contributing to the low recruitment. Initial monitoring indicates very low 2008/09 settlement despite the Leeuwin Current being above average this year. This event is unexpected based on previous settlements during years of strong Leeuwin Current and has serious implications for the management of the fishery. The breeding stock overall is believed to be within historic ranges and so is not expected to have contributed to the recent decline in settlement. However it is possible that the breeding stock in certain parts of the fishery may be more critical than others and this could have changed over the years due to climate change effects. Advances in quality of satellite data in the 1990s measuring sea surface topography (altimeter satellites) have enabled significant improvements in our understanding of the environmental factors, with the assistance of oceanographic modelling. Previous oceanographic models were focussed on the open ocean circulation off the continental shelf. Recent advances enable the development of high-resolution models at 10 km spatial scale which resolve the dominant processes on the shelf. Understanding the causes of recruitment variability and their long-term trends has important implications in the stock assessment and management of the fishery. The management response would be significantly different if the cause of the series of low recruitment was due to egg production or environmental factors. An adjustment to the sustainable harvest rate may be required if there are long-term environmental trends that affect the average recruitment of the western rock lobster. Objectives: 1. To determine the relative contribution of larval production from different areas to the abundance and spatial distribution of puerulus settlement over 15 years using a larval advection model Read moreRead less
Factors Affecting Recruitment Into Commercial Stocks Of The Saucer Scallop, Amusium Balloti
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Study the biology of larval & post-larval stages of the saucer scallop. 2. Describe factors influencing the distribution & aggregation of scallop spat fall, and the growth rate and natural mortality of juvenile scallops
Seafood CRC: Towards All Female Penaeus Monodon Populations Using Androgenic Gland Manipulations
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$30,033.00
Summary
The Australian prawn farmers are under intense competition from cheaper imported prawns. Most of the imported prawns are in the small size segment. Female prawns grow larger then males, therefore the creation of all-female prawn populations will provide a much needed competitive advantage and enable a more profitable farming of P. monodon in Australia. Objectives: 1. Optimise procedure for neo-male creation using androgenic gland implantations and MT treatments. 2. Cross ne ....The Australian prawn farmers are under intense competition from cheaper imported prawns. Most of the imported prawns are in the small size segment. Female prawns grow larger then males, therefore the creation of all-female prawn populations will provide a much needed competitive advantage and enable a more profitable farming of P. monodon in Australia. Objectives: 1. Optimise procedure for neo-male creation using androgenic gland implantations and MT treatments. 2. Cross neomales with females to establish viability and fertility of WW prawns 3. Grow WW P. monodon females on farm and research provider facilities to reach sexual maturity. 4. To cross WW P. monodon females with wild males (both on farm and at the research provider facility) and obtain viable all female offspring. 5. To assess the reproductive performance of WW females compared to normal WZ females 6. Assess production performance of all-female offspring compared with mixed population (on farm). Read moreRead less
Sampling Of Newly-settled Snapper, Pagrus Auratus, And Identification Of Preferred Habitats, In Port Phillip Bay - A Pilot Study
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$48,261.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. Determine if post-settlement (10 - 30 mm) snapper can be quantitatively sampled in Port Phillip Bay. 2. Determine the habitat requirements of post-settlement snapper and assess whether such habitats are under threat of degradation.
Investigations Of The Effect Of Water Temperature On The Growth, Recruitment And Breeding Cycle Of The Western Rock Lobster
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Deploy automatic temperature recorders in 60m & 10m deep water to monitor sea surface & bottom temperature. 2. Determine if data can explain some variations in rock lobster growth, recruitment & breeding state. Use with other data re fluctuations in abundance
Sex Reversal And Sex Differentiation In Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar)
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$99,326.00
Summary
Based on the National Fishing and Aquaculture RDE strategy 2016, our project relates to Strategic Goal 3: Benefits and value from fisheries and aquaculture resources (productivity and profitability) are maximised, and aquaculture production increased.
Priority area: Develop new technologies and systems to improve the efficiency of production methods.
This project is needed because the Australian Atlantic Salmon Industry is lacking basic and applied knowledge that could lead to ....Based on the National Fishing and Aquaculture RDE strategy 2016, our project relates to Strategic Goal 3: Benefits and value from fisheries and aquaculture resources (productivity and profitability) are maximised, and aquaculture production increased.
Priority area: Develop new technologies and systems to improve the efficiency of production methods.
This project is needed because the Australian Atlantic Salmon Industry is lacking basic and applied knowledge that could lead to the development of a reliable, non-steroidal method to produce all-female populations of Atlantic salmon. One of the drivers of this project is the fact that eliminating males from the production cycle (grow-out period), will reduce the effects of precocious sexual maturation, including reduced growth, reduced flesh quality, and susceptibility to diseases. As a consequence of eliminating males from the production cycle is a concomitant increase in overall productivity (biomass produced) and profitability
We will use genetic and morphological techniques to improve our understanding of sex differentiation in Atlantic salmon. This knowledge is needed to inform the exact period that sex reversal treatments with exogenous substances are more effective to produce neo-males. This exact timing can then be used in the trial of next generation non-steroidal substances, ensuring that they have the greatest chance of success. This will be the first time that detailed gene expression and morphological information will be collected throughout the entire period of sexual differentiation.
Objectives: 1. Investigate morphological sex differentiation processes in male and female Atlantic salmon larvae 2. Quantify the expression of several key genes involved in sex differentiation in male and female Atlantic salmon embryo’s and male and female Atlantic salmon larvae (gonadal and estrogenic non-gonadal tissues) 3. Investigate the effects of MDHT treatment on expression of several key genes involved in sex differentiation in female Atlantic salmon larvae (gonadal and estrogenic non-gonadal tissues) 4. Investigate the effects of DMSO on the masculinizing potential of a single MDHT immersion treatment in female Atlantic salmon. 5. Investigate the effects of the aromatase inhibitor letrozole on expression of several key genes involved in sex differentiation in female Atlantic salmon larvae (gonadal and estrogenic non-gonadal tissues) Read moreRead less