Population structure in the giant Australian cuttlefish - implications for management of a unique eco-tourism and fishery resource in regional Australia. A management strategy for the giant Australian cuttlefish in regional South Australia is required urgently because of potential conflict between ecotourism and fishery sectors. At present, development of a management strategy is stymied by lack of information on stock structure and movements. Analyses of variation in gene frequencies, morphom ....Population structure in the giant Australian cuttlefish - implications for management of a unique eco-tourism and fishery resource in regional Australia. A management strategy for the giant Australian cuttlefish in regional South Australia is required urgently because of potential conflict between ecotourism and fishery sectors. At present, development of a management strategy is stymied by lack of information on stock structure and movements. Analyses of variation in gene frequencies, morphometric and chemical trace element profiles in calcified structures among locations and years will enable the geographic extent of populations or stocks to be determined, including whether natal homing occurs. Such information is critical to sustainable management of the species and design of a marine protected area in the upper Spencer Gulf.Read moreRead less
Integrated, interactive and systematic Marine Protected Area design for sustainability of South Australian marine environments: A GIS-based, spatial optimisation approach. This project aims to enhance MPA design in SA by integrating systematic conservation plannning (SCP), spatial optimisation and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). New, integrated Integer Programming (IP) models will be built based on established SCP principles and nationally agreed marine conservation criteria. The IP models ....Integrated, interactive and systematic Marine Protected Area design for sustainability of South Australian marine environments: A GIS-based, spatial optimisation approach. This project aims to enhance MPA design in SA by integrating systematic conservation plannning (SCP), spatial optimisation and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). New, integrated Integer Programming (IP) models will be built based on established SCP principles and nationally agreed marine conservation criteria. The IP models will be tightly coupled with the GIS to create an interactive Spatial Decision Support Tool (SDSS) for systematic MPA design - the first of its kind. The SDSS will enable real-time, systematic MPA design and will provide flexible design options for a comprehensive, adequate, representative and efficient MPA system for SA.Read moreRead less
Ecology, Physiology and Phylogeography: an integrated approach to the study of the invasive marine green macroalga Caulerpa taxifolia in Australia. The green marine macroalga Caulerpa taxifolia is one of the world's worst invasive species. In Australia 'exotic strains' of this alga are a listed pest species. Invasions in NSW and SA have caused environmental harm and managing them has cost $10 million since 2000. We propose to integrate ecology, physiology and genetic analyses to provide data to ....Ecology, Physiology and Phylogeography: an integrated approach to the study of the invasive marine green macroalga Caulerpa taxifolia in Australia. The green marine macroalga Caulerpa taxifolia is one of the world's worst invasive species. In Australia 'exotic strains' of this alga are a listed pest species. Invasions in NSW and SA have caused environmental harm and managing them has cost $10 million since 2000. We propose to integrate ecology, physiology and genetic analyses to provide data to better respond to this pest, potentially savings millions of dollars per year. We will produce the first empirical evidence of the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on this marine pest, in the context of increasing coastal human populations.Read moreRead less
Understanding marine biodiversity across vast spatial scales. Large-scale studies of biodiversity are frequently recommended by ecologists, but their costs are prohibitive. More efficient, yet accurate, sampling and analytical procedures are needed. This proposal will provide new quantitative knowledge on patterns of diversity of marine species (fish & invertebrates) from local to regional scales across southern Australia and northern New Zealand. An innovative feature of this research is the c ....Understanding marine biodiversity across vast spatial scales. Large-scale studies of biodiversity are frequently recommended by ecologists, but their costs are prohibitive. More efficient, yet accurate, sampling and analytical procedures are needed. This proposal will provide new quantitative knowledge on patterns of diversity of marine species (fish & invertebrates) from local to regional scales across southern Australia and northern New Zealand. An innovative feature of this research is the contribution of new ecological information with novel analytical procedures to identify the consequences of using more cost-effective techniques on quantifying patterns of biodiversity. This understanding is fundamental to the on-going advancement of ecology and conservation biology.Read moreRead less