Beyond fire frequency: understanding fire season for ecosystem management. This project aims to investigate how the season of fire, arguably one of the biggest changes brought about by fire management, can impact ecosystems and the persistence of threatened species. The project expects to generate new yet fundamental knowledge of how the timing of fire has shifted, using a multidisciplinary team with expertise in remote sensing and fire ecology, and experimentally assess fire season effects on s ....Beyond fire frequency: understanding fire season for ecosystem management. This project aims to investigate how the season of fire, arguably one of the biggest changes brought about by fire management, can impact ecosystems and the persistence of threatened species. The project expects to generate new yet fundamental knowledge of how the timing of fire has shifted, using a multidisciplinary team with expertise in remote sensing and fire ecology, and experimentally assess fire season effects on soil properties and plant persistence. The project aims to enhance capacity of conservation agencies across Australia to effectively implement fires while maintaining biodiversity values. This should provide significant benefits for informed management of the large numbers of threatened species under their protection.Read moreRead less
Acoustics for Large Scale Biodiversity Assessment. Aims: This project will investigate using automated acoustic recording to efficiently census biodiversity assessment at a continental scale.
Significance: To generate new techniques for analysing environmental acoustic data and assessing Australian biodiversity, verified empirical estimates of biodiversity, an understanding of causes of variation in biodiversity.
Expected outcomes: methods for large-scale and accurate assessment of biodiversity ....Acoustics for Large Scale Biodiversity Assessment. Aims: This project will investigate using automated acoustic recording to efficiently census biodiversity assessment at a continental scale.
Significance: To generate new techniques for analysing environmental acoustic data and assessing Australian biodiversity, verified empirical estimates of biodiversity, an understanding of causes of variation in biodiversity.
Expected outcomes: methods for large-scale and accurate assessment of biodiversity, enhanced capacity to detect causes of variation in biodiversity, open-source software tools for analysing environmental audio data, biodiversity datasets.
Benefits: measuring and understanding biodiversity change, allowing enhanced management, conservation, and use of Australian natural resources.
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Understanding the tipping point between epidemic and endemic disease: amphibian chytridiomycosis as a model system. The amphibian disease chytridiomycosis has caused declines and extinctions in Australian frogs; it is very sensitive to environmental conditions, and changes in climate or weather could cause outbreaks that would eliminate many more species. This project will build greater understanding as to how and when that could occur and prevent it from happening.
Preventing and reversing population declines of northern quolls. This project seeks to develop novel effective strategies to halt and reverse declines in northern quolls by improving their ‘toad-smart’ behaviour. The spread of cane toads threaten northern quolls, which are marsupial predators. We cannot halt the toad invasion, but we can train quolls not to eat cane toads. Trained quolls can survive long term in toad-infested landscapes, and their offspring can learn not to eat toads. This proje ....Preventing and reversing population declines of northern quolls. This project seeks to develop novel effective strategies to halt and reverse declines in northern quolls by improving their ‘toad-smart’ behaviour. The spread of cane toads threaten northern quolls, which are marsupial predators. We cannot halt the toad invasion, but we can train quolls not to eat cane toads. Trained quolls can survive long term in toad-infested landscapes, and their offspring can learn not to eat toads. This project builds on this work by focusing on cultural and genetic transmission of toad-smart behaviour. The project could save numerous quoll populations from extinction.Read moreRead less
Planning for sustainable development and biodiversity on Indigenous lands. This project aims to develop a new approach to participatory land-use planning for sustainable development and conservation, in partnership with the Tiwi Land Council. Planning for sustainable development is complex but vital to reconciling economic, social and conservation goals worldwide. The project will evaluate land-use scenarios, including Indigenous Protected Areas, with ecological and economic models that integrat ....Planning for sustainable development and biodiversity on Indigenous lands. This project aims to develop a new approach to participatory land-use planning for sustainable development and conservation, in partnership with the Tiwi Land Council. Planning for sustainable development is complex but vital to reconciling economic, social and conservation goals worldwide. The project will evaluate land-use scenarios, including Indigenous Protected Areas, with ecological and economic models that integrate Indigenous and scientific knowledge. Benefits will include new planning tools and improved understanding of trade-offs between goals, especially on Australia’s Indigenous estates.Read moreRead less
Urban Rewilding: Ecologically and Community-informed Futures. Biodiversity is highly threatened in Australian cities. This project aims to prevent further wildlife loss by creating a blueprint for the ecological restoration of urban spaces. Working with seven Councils and three State government agencies in northern Sydney, this project will experimentally assess a new approach to conservation by restoring regionally-present but locally-missing wildlife. Expected outcomes include the restoration ....Urban Rewilding: Ecologically and Community-informed Futures. Biodiversity is highly threatened in Australian cities. This project aims to prevent further wildlife loss by creating a blueprint for the ecological restoration of urban spaces. Working with seven Councils and three State government agencies in northern Sydney, this project will experimentally assess a new approach to conservation by restoring regionally-present but locally-missing wildlife. Expected outcomes include the restoration of ecosystem services provided by wildlife and increased opportunities for community engagement with nature. Project benefits include initiating rewilding in urban areas, improved public education on the benefits of restoring wildlife and greater potential to conserve our biodiversity and cultural heritage.Read moreRead less
Vulnerability of Australian bats to white-nose syndrome. Australia's unique wildlife is inherently at risk from invasive novel pathogens. White-nose syndrome is an emerging fungal disease that has decimated bat populations across North America. This fungal disease is likely to soon jump continents and also seriously threaten Australia's bat fauna. This project aims to quantify the risk of exposure to this fungus and understand the sensitivity of Australian bat populations to white-nose syndrome ....Vulnerability of Australian bats to white-nose syndrome. Australia's unique wildlife is inherently at risk from invasive novel pathogens. White-nose syndrome is an emerging fungal disease that has decimated bat populations across North America. This fungal disease is likely to soon jump continents and also seriously threaten Australia's bat fauna. This project aims to quantify the risk of exposure to this fungus and understand the sensitivity of Australian bat populations to white-nose syndrome mortality. Expected outcomes include spatially-explicit, species-specific models of vulnerability to white-nose syndrome for bat populations across south-eastern Australia, essential for directing actions to prevent, detect and mitigate the impacts of this potentially catastrophic wildlife disease.Read moreRead less
Outfoxing the fox: new cost-effective ways to protect threatened species. This project aims to address the damage caused by invasive foxes by applying new methods of protection for threatened species. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of conservation biology and invasive species management by comparing the effectiveness of fox control strategies for improving the population viability of declining freshwater turtles. Expected outcomes of this project include a community- ....Outfoxing the fox: new cost-effective ways to protect threatened species. This project aims to address the damage caused by invasive foxes by applying new methods of protection for threatened species. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of conservation biology and invasive species management by comparing the effectiveness of fox control strategies for improving the population viability of declining freshwater turtles. Expected outcomes of this project include a community-based conservation model that prevents turtle extinctions in south-eastern Australia at considerable cost savings. Significant benefits include improved management of the impacts of invasive species, and restoration of ecosystem services provided by the scavenging role of freshwater turtles for maintaining water quality.Read moreRead less
Reintroduction of ecosystem engineers as a woodland restoration tool. Can we help restore woodlands by reintroducing extinct native mammals? Through a strategic partnership combining innovative research and conservation action, this project will investigate how returning extinct 'ecosystem engineers' could be used as a tool for restoring healthy temperate woodland ecosystems.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100101
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,068.00
Summary
Assessing risks to coastal ecosystems with new earth observation models. This project aims to quantify and diagnose the causes of declines in the world’s coastal wetland ecosystems. Unprecedented rates of loss have been reported in many coastal ecosystems, but there is a lack of knowledge regarding their distribution, status and trajectory at the global scale. The project will integrate earth observation, machine-learning and ecosystem risk assessment methods to deliver new high-resolution time- ....Assessing risks to coastal ecosystems with new earth observation models. This project aims to quantify and diagnose the causes of declines in the world’s coastal wetland ecosystems. Unprecedented rates of loss have been reported in many coastal ecosystems, but there is a lack of knowledge regarding their distribution, status and trajectory at the global scale. The project will integrate earth observation, machine-learning and ecosystem risk assessment methods to deliver new high-resolution time-series data, quantitative knowledge on the influence of social, economic and environmental factors on ecosystem loss, and predictions of different future states of coastal ecosystems. Key benefits include an improved ability to monitor and manage coastal ecosystems in Australia and globally.Read moreRead less