The history of North Stradbroke Island's wetlands: defining natural climate variability in south-east Queensland and improving ecosystem management. South-east Queensland has among the fastest growing populations in Australia. It has also experienced severe drought lasting more than a decade. These combined pressures have led to the expenditure of more than $9 Billion on water resource development. However, it is not known whether the current drought is part of a natural cycle (or, importantly, ....The history of North Stradbroke Island's wetlands: defining natural climate variability in south-east Queensland and improving ecosystem management. South-east Queensland has among the fastest growing populations in Australia. It has also experienced severe drought lasting more than a decade. These combined pressures have led to the expenditure of more than $9 Billion on water resource development. However, it is not known whether the current drought is part of a natural cycle (or, importantly, if it represents the worst extremes in such a cycle). We will determine whether this is the case and, in doing so, contribute to national and international debates about the role of human-induced vs natural climate change.Read moreRead less
New approaches for protecting stream health in temperate Australia: Devising nutrient and salinity guidelines using diatoms. Salinity and nutrient enrichment are the most significant forms of water quality degradation in Australian lowland rivers. This project will identify the biological effect of the water quality pollution and develop new methods for its assessment. Most importantly, through the identification of water quality "thresholds" which result in reduced biodiversity, better guidelin ....New approaches for protecting stream health in temperate Australia: Devising nutrient and salinity guidelines using diatoms. Salinity and nutrient enrichment are the most significant forms of water quality degradation in Australian lowland rivers. This project will identify the biological effect of the water quality pollution and develop new methods for its assessment. Most importantly, through the identification of water quality "thresholds" which result in reduced biodiversity, better guidelines for maintaining stream health will be developed.Read moreRead less