Buffering the ecosystem impact of invasive cane toads. This project aims to address the devastating ecological problems caused by invasive species, by developing a novel approach that does not rely upon eradicating the invader through training vulnerable native predators not to eat toxic cane toads. Expected outcomes of this project include building a broad coalition of conservation-focused groups, from private land-owners and local businesses through to Indigenous groups and government and non- ....Buffering the ecosystem impact of invasive cane toads. This project aims to address the devastating ecological problems caused by invasive species, by developing a novel approach that does not rely upon eradicating the invader through training vulnerable native predators not to eat toxic cane toads. Expected outcomes of this project include building a broad coalition of conservation-focused groups, from private land-owners and local businesses through to Indigenous groups and government and non-government agencies across the entire Kimberley region. It will also result in the evaluation of methods for deployment of taste-aversion at a landscape scale. This should provide significant benefits by conserving vulnerable fauna and building a powerful network within a region of high biodiversity in tropical Australia.Read moreRead less
Surviving in a toad-colonised landscape: manipulating predator behaviour to reduce the impact of the cane toad invasion. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Vigorous attempts at toad control have failed to slow the invasion front, and toads are now entering the Kimberley region. If we can’t stop the toads, are there other ways to reduce the numbers of native predators killed by eating thes ....Surviving in a toad-colonised landscape: manipulating predator behaviour to reduce the impact of the cane toad invasion. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Vigorous attempts at toad control have failed to slow the invasion front, and toads are now entering the Kimberley region. If we can’t stop the toads, are there other ways to reduce the numbers of native predators killed by eating these poisonous invaders? Predators given nausea-inducing chemicals with their first toad meal rapidly learn to avoid cane toads as prey, enabling them to survive even where toads are present. The study will develop those methods for several vulnerable native species, including techniques for deployment of aversion-inducing baits in advance of the toad invasion.Read moreRead less
The roles of stress and immunocompetence in biological invasions. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity worldwide; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Building on recent studies that reveal weakened immune systems in invasion-front toads, this project will provide a comprehensive understanding of immune responses in cane toads and native frogs, with the aim of exploiting the toads' immunocompromised state to develop new and more ....The roles of stress and immunocompetence in biological invasions. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity worldwide; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Building on recent studies that reveal weakened immune systems in invasion-front toads, this project will provide a comprehensive understanding of immune responses in cane toads and native frogs, with the aim of exploiting the toads' immunocompromised state to develop new and more effective control measures. The project will develop a new paradigm about the roles of stress and immunity in biological invasion, applicable to the control of other invasive species and to understanding processes at work when environmental changes force species to shift their ranges.Read moreRead less
Naturalisation to invasion: how do naturalised plants become successful invaders? Invasive plants have enormous environmental, economic and social impacts in Australia, significantly affecting biodiversity and ecosystem processes, agricultural productivity and recreational amenity. This research will contribute substantially to our understanding of the processes that underlie the transition from naturalised to invasive for introduced plants. By identifying the key factors enabling naturalised pl ....Naturalisation to invasion: how do naturalised plants become successful invaders? Invasive plants have enormous environmental, economic and social impacts in Australia, significantly affecting biodiversity and ecosystem processes, agricultural productivity and recreational amenity. This research will contribute substantially to our understanding of the processes that underlie the transition from naturalised to invasive for introduced plants. By identifying the key factors enabling naturalised plant species to become invasive pests, this research will enable plant species most likely to threaten Australia's biodiversity and agricultural productivity to be identified and prioritized for screening and eradication.Read moreRead less
Comparative studies of invasive plants: a leaf carbon strategy approach. Invasion of communities by exotic plants is a significant threat to biodiversity globally. This proposal is to strengthen collaborative links between the Plant Invasion Research Laboratories of Leishman in Australia and Richardson in South Africa. Their current research seeks to understand strategies of invasive plants in novel environments using the framework of leaf carbon strategies. Australian plants invasive in South A ....Comparative studies of invasive plants: a leaf carbon strategy approach. Invasion of communities by exotic plants is a significant threat to biodiversity globally. This proposal is to strengthen collaborative links between the Plant Invasion Research Laboratories of Leishman in Australia and Richardson in South Africa. Their current research seeks to understand strategies of invasive plants in novel environments using the framework of leaf carbon strategies. Australian plants invasive in South Africa and South African plants invasive in Australia provide an ideal model system. This collaborative research will enable better prediction of potential invaders, as well as providing important input for models of plant, ecosystem and biosphere responses to global change incorporating invasion dynamics.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL0992270
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,080,000.00
Summary
Nutritional Dynamics: from Genes to Individuals to Ecosystems. Understanding how ecosystems function from the perspective of nutritional interactions between individual organisms will contribute to an environmentally sustainable Australia, with particular benefits to rural communities in arid/semi-arid regions. Research on human and animal nutrition, obesity and ageing will provide essential knowledge for promoting and maintaining good health and designing novel treatments for metabolic disorder ....Nutritional Dynamics: from Genes to Individuals to Ecosystems. Understanding how ecosystems function from the perspective of nutritional interactions between individual organisms will contribute to an environmentally sustainable Australia, with particular benefits to rural communities in arid/semi-arid regions. Research on human and animal nutrition, obesity and ageing will provide essential knowledge for promoting and maintaining good health and designing novel treatments for metabolic disorders. New ways of controlling locusts and other pest insects will arise and contribute to safeguarding Australia. New diet optimisation technologies will help transform Australian food production industries. The project will foster creative, innovative science that spans molecular biology to ecosystem dynamics.Read moreRead less
Cane toads in southern Australia: invasion dynamics and options for control. This project aims to investigate the spread of cane toads through southern Australia, an invasion front that has attracted far less research than the same species’ expansion through tropical regions, even though toads severely impact native wildlife in both areas. This project expects to generate new knowledge to determine why the rate of toad invasion is so much slower in New South Wales than in the tropics, and how be ....Cane toads in southern Australia: invasion dynamics and options for control. This project aims to investigate the spread of cane toads through southern Australia, an invasion front that has attracted far less research than the same species’ expansion through tropical regions, even though toads severely impact native wildlife in both areas. This project expects to generate new knowledge to determine why the rate of toad invasion is so much slower in New South Wales than in the tropics, and how best to modify newly-developed approaches to toad control to the conditions in southern Australia. Expected outcomes include predicting future trajectories of expansion, and identifying optimal approaches to toad control and impact mitigation. This should provide significant benefits for biodiversity conservation.Read moreRead less
Autonomous tracking and predictive modelling of Australian plague locust migratory band movement. We will use advances in robotics, engineering, mathematics and biology to develop a new computer model for the control of one of the world's most damaging pest insects: locusts. Autonomous aerial robotic systems will be used to collect data on Australian plague locusts travelling in devastating migratory bands. These data on band movement and the behaviour of individual locusts within the band will ....Autonomous tracking and predictive modelling of Australian plague locust migratory band movement. We will use advances in robotics, engineering, mathematics and biology to develop a new computer model for the control of one of the world's most damaging pest insects: locusts. Autonomous aerial robotic systems will be used to collect data on Australian plague locusts travelling in devastating migratory bands. These data on band movement and the behaviour of individual locusts within the band will be used to develop a particle physics-inspired predictive model of migratory band movement, which will be used to optimise locust control operations. Economic, environmental and social benefits will arise through reductions in the amount of time, money, manpower and insecticides necessary to combat locust outbreaks.Read moreRead less
Ecology, impact and control of cane toads on the southern invasion front. The invasion of cane toads has killed many native animals in tropical Australia, but the toads’ southern (NSW) invasion front remains unstudied. This project will build on recent research to understand how toads affect southern biodiversity, and will develop new ways to reduce that impact.
Understanding and predicting the success of invasive plants: a leaf carbon strategy approach. Invasion of plant communities by exotic plants is a significant threat to biodiversity and ecosystem processes globally. This proposal seeks to understand strategies of invasive plants in novel environments both now and under predicted future conditions, using the framework of leaf carbon strategies. Comparative and experimental approaches will be used to understand leaf trait relationships of invasive ....Understanding and predicting the success of invasive plants: a leaf carbon strategy approach. Invasion of plant communities by exotic plants is a significant threat to biodiversity and ecosystem processes globally. This proposal seeks to understand strategies of invasive plants in novel environments both now and under predicted future conditions, using the framework of leaf carbon strategies. Comparative and experimental approaches will be used to understand leaf trait relationships of invasive compared with native species. This will contribute substantially to our understanding of global plant functional relationships, thereby enabling better prediction of potential invaders. The resulting data will also provide critical input for models of plant, ecosystem and biosphere responses to global change incorporating invasion dynamics.Read moreRead less