Watching migrating whales: ensuring the sustainability of a growing whale-watch industry. Whale-watching is a huge growth industry, contributing $270 million to Australia in 2003. Yet most whalewatching targets species listed under the EPBC Act 1999 as species slowly recovering from massive overexploitation. Current protection measures are historical (ie best-guess) rather than scientific in origin. We will assess the scientific basis for these protection measures by experimentally manipulating ....Watching migrating whales: ensuring the sustainability of a growing whale-watch industry. Whale-watching is a huge growth industry, contributing $270 million to Australia in 2003. Yet most whalewatching targets species listed under the EPBC Act 1999 as species slowly recovering from massive overexploitation. Current protection measures are historical (ie best-guess) rather than scientific in origin. We will assess the scientific basis for these protection measures by experimentally manipulating tour boat behaviour, and by determining the economic feasibility of the industry. By doing so we will increase the long-term sustainability of the industry, a valuable tourist industry for regional Australia.Read moreRead less
The transcriptome, genome and metagenome of Acropora millepora: a model system for studying coral health and disease. Corals have an iconic significance for Australia, which has the best-preserved reef system in the world. The Great Barrier Reef is worth more than $6 billion per year to the Australian economy, and provides employment for 68000 people. The research will provide insights into the molecular bases of stress and disease in corals and the internal mechanisms by which corals attempt to ....The transcriptome, genome and metagenome of Acropora millepora: a model system for studying coral health and disease. Corals have an iconic significance for Australia, which has the best-preserved reef system in the world. The Great Barrier Reef is worth more than $6 billion per year to the Australian economy, and provides employment for 68000 people. The research will provide insights into the molecular bases of stress and disease in corals and the internal mechanisms by which corals attempt to combat them. The results will allow the design of strategies for better reef management, resulting in economic, environmental and social benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less