Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The pr ....Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The project will provide fundamental advances in our knowledge of the nutrient transport during pregnancy that is required to produce a healthy baby.Read moreRead less
Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. This project aims to develop and apply new methods to scale forest water use from plot to catchment-level, using relationships between plot-level annual evapotranspiration and biophysical and biochemical properties of stands detectable by unmanned aircraft systems and other remote sensing platforms. Australia's water security depends on understanding how changes in forests from disturbance and ....Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. This project aims to develop and apply new methods to scale forest water use from plot to catchment-level, using relationships between plot-level annual evapotranspiration and biophysical and biochemical properties of stands detectable by unmanned aircraft systems and other remote sensing platforms. Australia's water security depends on understanding how changes in forests from disturbance and climate change influence catchment water yields. This project will estimate water yields over time and space in ungauged catchments with disturbed eucalypt forests. This research is expected to enable more effective risk mitigation and planning for augmentations; improved fire management strategies; and better water management of the Murray Darling Basin.Read moreRead less
Lags and legacies: antecedent effects on grassland biomass response to carbon dioxide. This project aims to assess how past conditions influence grassland responses to the rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. High CO2 concentrations should stimulate productivity but in grasslands this is rarely realised because other, mostly unknown, factors constrain the response. By synthesising data from past experiments, this project aims to determine exactly why grasslands fail to realise the ....Lags and legacies: antecedent effects on grassland biomass response to carbon dioxide. This project aims to assess how past conditions influence grassland responses to the rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. High CO2 concentrations should stimulate productivity but in grasslands this is rarely realised because other, mostly unknown, factors constrain the response. By synthesising data from past experiments, this project aims to determine exactly why grasslands fail to realise the full productivity benefits of increased CO2 and when this will happen. This should improve predictions of carbon exchange and indicating the best direction for climate change adaptation measures.Read moreRead less
Waithood: The experience of being on the social housing waiting list. This project aims to investigate the circumstances of people on the social housing waiting-list and how they manage their everyday lives while waiting for a social housing property to become available. It also aims to conduct a review of how social housing waiting list assessments are done and profile the waiting list population. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the study expects to generate new knowledge on different groups o ....Waithood: The experience of being on the social housing waiting list. This project aims to investigate the circumstances of people on the social housing waiting-list and how they manage their everyday lives while waiting for a social housing property to become available. It also aims to conduct a review of how social housing waiting list assessments are done and profile the waiting list population. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the study expects to generate new knowledge on different groups of applicants. Expected outcomes include an enhanced understanding of the impacts of being on the waiting list for extended periods. This study will provide significant benefits as the high quality evidence produced should enhance policymakers’ understandings of applicants' circumstances and lead to better outcomes.Read moreRead less
An investigation of the impacts of increased power supply to the national grid by wind generators on the Australian electricity industry. The aim of this project is to discover the most economical and effective way to accommodate large increases in wind power into the national grid and to understand the effects on the national electricity market. This is crucial to ensure stability of electricity supply and affordable prices in the transition towards a low carbon economy.
Dynamic resilience and stability properties of marine systems: the importance of environment-engineer feedbacks in kelp forests. Kelp forests form complex habitats that support diverse, productive and economically important food-webs. This project will determine whether healthy kelp forests engineer their environment to make conditions more suitable for their continued recruitment and survivorship, thus increasing their stability and resilience in response to anthropogenic threats.
Utilising plant-sediment-feedbacks to enhance seagrass restoration. This project aims to investigate the role of sediment microbes in promoting the health of threatened seagrass species across Australia. This project expects to create new knowledge for enhancing restoration success for seagrasses by integrating macro and micro-ecology, environmental genomics, plant ecology and ecosystem function (e.g. nutrient and biogeochemistry cycling). Expected outcomes are new knowledge to enhance seagrass ....Utilising plant-sediment-feedbacks to enhance seagrass restoration. This project aims to investigate the role of sediment microbes in promoting the health of threatened seagrass species across Australia. This project expects to create new knowledge for enhancing restoration success for seagrasses by integrating macro and micro-ecology, environmental genomics, plant ecology and ecosystem function (e.g. nutrient and biogeochemistry cycling). Expected outcomes are new knowledge to enhance seagrass restoration utilising sediment microbes that can be integrated into management and policy. This project should provide significant benefits, such as the development of key strategic alliances to enhance management of seagrasses, and the ecosystem services, and economic and social benefits they provide.Read moreRead less