Resolving the role of kelp in blue carbon cycles to enable management. We aim to uncover how kelp forests contribute to carbon storage, biodiversity enhancement and nutrient mitigation in Australia. We will combine mapping and modelling to identify local variation in kelp carbon stocks and sequestration potential and verify kelp carbon export to deep ocean sinks through genetic tracing in seawater and sediments. Co-benefits will be identified through nutrient experiments and reef surveys. We wil ....Resolving the role of kelp in blue carbon cycles to enable management. We aim to uncover how kelp forests contribute to carbon storage, biodiversity enhancement and nutrient mitigation in Australia. We will combine mapping and modelling to identify local variation in kelp carbon stocks and sequestration potential and verify kelp carbon export to deep ocean sinks through genetic tracing in seawater and sediments. Co-benefits will be identified through nutrient experiments and reef surveys. We will also assess the risk that calcification and production of halogenic gas within the kelp forest could offset its climate mitigation potential. Project outcomes will enable management to consider kelp ecosystem services broadly and optimize our capacity to meet current emission reduction and biodiversity commitments.Read moreRead less
Linking individual traits, the gut microbiome and parasite load in wildlife. This project aims to apply principles of community ecology to the gut microbiome of an urban exploiter – the common brushtail possum - to reveal how animal traits influence individual variation in the load of gut parasites that cause disease in both humans and wildlife. By combining assays defining the behavioural and physiological states of individuals with sophisticated analyses of their gut microbiome, our project wi ....Linking individual traits, the gut microbiome and parasite load in wildlife. This project aims to apply principles of community ecology to the gut microbiome of an urban exploiter – the common brushtail possum - to reveal how animal traits influence individual variation in the load of gut parasites that cause disease in both humans and wildlife. By combining assays defining the behavioural and physiological states of individuals with sophisticated analyses of their gut microbiome, our project will provide a new, yet crucial, perspective on how and why diseases spread. Our discoveries will help understand and manage the burden of infectious diseases from parasites in and beyond our cities and across the human-wildlife interface; essential for improving human and wildlife health in an increasingly urbanised Australia.Read moreRead less
Resolving the threat of ocean deoxygenation to coral resilience. This project aims to uncover the role low oxygen plays in shaping healthy corals over space and time. Climate change and land use development are rapidly deoxygenating shallow water coral reefs, yet we have no knowledge of how less oxygen availability affects critical life history factors that govern coral resilience: growth, reproduction, and stress tolerance. This project unites a multidisciplinary team of experts to, for the fir ....Resolving the threat of ocean deoxygenation to coral resilience. This project aims to uncover the role low oxygen plays in shaping healthy corals over space and time. Climate change and land use development are rapidly deoxygenating shallow water coral reefs, yet we have no knowledge of how less oxygen availability affects critical life history factors that govern coral resilience: growth, reproduction, and stress tolerance. This project unites a multidisciplinary team of experts to, for the first time, couple advanced oxygen sensing, metabolic physiology, coral reproductive and stress biology to transform our understanding of oxygen thresholds that are diagnostic of reduced coral competitive fitness across life stages (adults, juveniles, larvae), needed to improve coral reef ecosystem management.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100479
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,582.00
Summary
Delivering defences: using fungi to enhance plant resistance to herbivory. This project will identify how the diversity of beneficial fungi in the soil is affected by agricultural management, and will reveal how these fungi govern the ability of plants to defend themselves from insect herbivores. Through innovative field surveys and experimentation, this project will generate new knowledge in the key areas of soil ecology and plant defence. This will allow us to exploit these soil fungi to enhan ....Delivering defences: using fungi to enhance plant resistance to herbivory. This project will identify how the diversity of beneficial fungi in the soil is affected by agricultural management, and will reveal how these fungi govern the ability of plants to defend themselves from insect herbivores. Through innovative field surveys and experimentation, this project will generate new knowledge in the key areas of soil ecology and plant defence. This will allow us to exploit these soil fungi to enhance crop protection while simultaneously conserving soil ecosystems. Effectively boosting plant defence in this way will reduce reliance on ecologically damaging pesticides, promote soil biodiversity, and ensure the sustainability of crop production into the future. Read moreRead less
Improving the success of hybrid living shorelines for coastal protection. This project aims to improve the success of hybrid living shorelines that combine the restoration of mangroves and oysters with engineered structures to enhance restoration outcomes and coastal hazard resilience. It expects to generate new knowledge on the effectiveness of innovative coastal-manager-led solutions that have not yet been robustly evaluated. Expected outcomes of this project include delivery of the technical ....Improving the success of hybrid living shorelines for coastal protection. This project aims to improve the success of hybrid living shorelines that combine the restoration of mangroves and oysters with engineered structures to enhance restoration outcomes and coastal hazard resilience. It expects to generate new knowledge on the effectiveness of innovative coastal-manager-led solutions that have not yet been robustly evaluated. Expected outcomes of this project include delivery of the technical guidelines needed to practically design and implement nature-based coastal protection at scale. This should provide significant socio-economic and environmental benefits through improving Australia’s capacity to adapt to increased erosion and flood risk caused by climate change and coastal urbanisation.Read moreRead less