Predicting biodiversity distribution on the Antarctic continental shelf. This project aims to develop an international database of underwater observations to predict the distribution of seafloor biodiversity over the entire Antarctic continental shelf for the present day and to 2100. Antarctic seafloor communities are unique and highly diverse, but their distribution is poorly known because biological data are sparse. These predictions depend on a unique and validated approach to estimate the pr ....Predicting biodiversity distribution on the Antarctic continental shelf. This project aims to develop an international database of underwater observations to predict the distribution of seafloor biodiversity over the entire Antarctic continental shelf for the present day and to 2100. Antarctic seafloor communities are unique and highly diverse, but their distribution is poorly known because biological data are sparse. These predictions depend on a unique and validated approach to estimate the present and future redistribution of surface primary production to the seafloor, and will enable calculating the amount of atmospheric carbon captured and stored at the seafloor. The maps will be at an unprecedented resolution of around 2 kilometres, and be invaluable tools underpinning policy, management and future science.Read moreRead less
Universal properties and application of species size distributions. This project aims to identify general properties of body size distributions for thousands of aquatic species by bringing together datasets enabled by global observation and citizen science programs, novel statistical methods and latest theoretical advances. By addressing temperature effects on body sizes, the project expects to generate new knowledge about species status globally, under the combined impacts of climate change and ....Universal properties and application of species size distributions. This project aims to identify general properties of body size distributions for thousands of aquatic species by bringing together datasets enabled by global observation and citizen science programs, novel statistical methods and latest theoretical advances. By addressing temperature effects on body sizes, the project expects to generate new knowledge about species status globally, under the combined impacts of climate change and harvesting. Expected outcomes include new tools to integrate limited body size data into a consistent framework for significance advancement of models used in research and management. This should increase the capacity to assess human impacts on natural ecosystems and predict global warming driven changes.Read moreRead less
Zooplankton and ocean productivity in a changing climate. The scarcity of iron in the Southern Ocean limits biological productivity and carbon uptake. There is currently very little Information on zooplankton iron content, yet available data points to high variability. This variability is leading to poor predictive outcomes for models of Southern Ocean iron and carbon cycling. Our project addresses this knowledge gap by quantifying zooplankton iron content and examining its biogeochemical and ec ....Zooplankton and ocean productivity in a changing climate. The scarcity of iron in the Southern Ocean limits biological productivity and carbon uptake. There is currently very little Information on zooplankton iron content, yet available data points to high variability. This variability is leading to poor predictive outcomes for models of Southern Ocean iron and carbon cycling. Our project addresses this knowledge gap by quantifying zooplankton iron content and examining its biogeochemical and ecological impact on Southern Ocean productivity. Developing an understanding of how iron is cycled through zooplankton will provide significant benefits including improved global models used to quantify current and future patterns of ocean productivity critical for environmental and economic predictions.Read moreRead less
The contribution of human/marine herbivore interactions to reef degradation. This project aims to define how interactions between human society and herbivores influence marine ecosystem structure and function. It will analyse geographic patterns from recent systematic sampling of reef communities worldwide and study fish, macro-invertebrate and meso-grazer herbivory to identify herbivores’ role in the collapse and recovery of reef ecosystems. This project will examine the match between a critica ....The contribution of human/marine herbivore interactions to reef degradation. This project aims to define how interactions between human society and herbivores influence marine ecosystem structure and function. It will analyse geographic patterns from recent systematic sampling of reef communities worldwide and study fish, macro-invertebrate and meso-grazer herbivory to identify herbivores’ role in the collapse and recovery of reef ecosystems. This project will examine the match between a critical ecosystem function and community structure across local to global scales, including the identification of non-linearities and interactions involving human effects on this process. This research is expected to safeguard marine ecosystems from collapse.Read moreRead less
Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The pr ....Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The project will provide fundamental advances in our knowledge of the nutrient transport during pregnancy that is required to produce a healthy baby.Read moreRead less
AirLIFT – an airborne active chlorophyll fluorescence sensing system for assessment of photosynthetic activity in plant canopies. Assessment of plant health and productivity is vital to ensure future food security of the global population under a changing climate. Chlorophyll fluorescence (CF), a signal emitted by green plants, can reveal this information. Although CF has revolutionised photosynthetic research, current measurements are limited to individual plants. Remote sensing of canopy CF is ....AirLIFT – an airborne active chlorophyll fluorescence sensing system for assessment of photosynthetic activity in plant canopies. Assessment of plant health and productivity is vital to ensure future food security of the global population under a changing climate. Chlorophyll fluorescence (CF), a signal emitted by green plants, can reveal this information. Although CF has revolutionised photosynthetic research, current measurements are limited to individual plants. Remote sensing of canopy CF is required for efficient management of agricultural crops, forests, and natural ecosystems and is crucial for accurate estimation of plant carbon assimilation and production. This project will deliver remote sensing technology to bridge the gap between leaf and canopy productivity and pave the way for understanding both artificial and solar induced canopy CF measured from space.Read moreRead less
Improved management of marine habitats by learning from historical change. This project aims to greatly improve the cost-effectiveness of actions to protect and restore shallow subtidal marine habitats by quantifying the severity and distribution of recent human impacts. Environmental change will be quantified as the difference between contemporary and historical assemblages encompassing thousands of invertebrate species, and by reading historical chronicles coded by mollusc shells layered in se ....Improved management of marine habitats by learning from historical change. This project aims to greatly improve the cost-effectiveness of actions to protect and restore shallow subtidal marine habitats by quantifying the severity and distribution of recent human impacts. Environmental change will be quantified as the difference between contemporary and historical assemblages encompassing thousands of invertebrate species, and by reading historical chronicles coded by mollusc shells layered in sediments. The roles of different stressors (warming, dredging, eutrophication, introduced species, sediment runoff) will be distinguished. Expected outcomes include continental-scale understanding of factors that facilitate ecosystem decline and recovery, and of sites and species traits most affected by ongoing threats.Read moreRead less
Lags and legacies: antecedent effects on grassland biomass response to carbon dioxide. This project aims to assess how past conditions influence grassland responses to the rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. High CO2 concentrations should stimulate productivity but in grasslands this is rarely realised because other, mostly unknown, factors constrain the response. By synthesising data from past experiments, this project aims to determine exactly why grasslands fail to realise the ....Lags and legacies: antecedent effects on grassland biomass response to carbon dioxide. This project aims to assess how past conditions influence grassland responses to the rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. High CO2 concentrations should stimulate productivity but in grasslands this is rarely realised because other, mostly unknown, factors constrain the response. By synthesising data from past experiments, this project aims to determine exactly why grasslands fail to realise the full productivity benefits of increased CO2 and when this will happen. This should improve predictions of carbon exchange and indicating the best direction for climate change adaptation measures.Read moreRead less
Coupled physical and biogeochemical dynamics on the Australian North West Shelf. Information regarding the natural function of the Australian North West Shelf is urgently required to sustainably manage the often conflicting uses of the region. This project will study the role of ocean processes in driving ocean productivity on the North West Shelf and determine the impact of projected climate variability.
Development of an immunology toolbox to combat emerging marsupial diseases. Disease is increasingly a driver of wildlife population declines in Australia. However, basic immunology tools for >99% of vertebrate species are scarce, limiting our ability to prevent and respond to emerging and endemic diseases, such as devil facial tumour disease and wobbly possum disease. The overarching goal of this project is to improve wildlife health and fill the marsupial immunology gap by developing a long-ove ....Development of an immunology toolbox to combat emerging marsupial diseases. Disease is increasingly a driver of wildlife population declines in Australia. However, basic immunology tools for >99% of vertebrate species are scarce, limiting our ability to prevent and respond to emerging and endemic diseases, such as devil facial tumour disease and wobbly possum disease. The overarching goal of this project is to improve wildlife health and fill the marsupial immunology gap by developing a long-overdue multispecies marsupial immunology toolbox. The toolbox is needed to accelerate devil facial tumour disease vaccine progress and conservation immunology research. It will expand our knowledge of wobbly possum disease virus that is increasingly reported in Tasmania and the risk posed by the virus to other possum species.Read moreRead less