In it to win it: an interdisciplinary investigation of sports betting. This project aims to better understand how young adults use, communicate about and experience mobile phone sports betting applications. Gambling generates significant health and social harms in Australia. Yet there is little research on the use of betting apps, even though sports betting is the fastest growing segment of the gambling market. This project intends to examine how use of sports betting apps is becoming establishe ....In it to win it: an interdisciplinary investigation of sports betting. This project aims to better understand how young adults use, communicate about and experience mobile phone sports betting applications. Gambling generates significant health and social harms in Australia. Yet there is little research on the use of betting apps, even though sports betting is the fastest growing segment of the gambling market. This project intends to examine how use of sports betting apps is becoming established as everyday social practice normalising problem gambling. The findings will enhance understanding of the social contexts of sports betting, and inform gambling policy and programs leading to better health and social outcomes.Read moreRead less
Resilience of eucalypts to future droughts. This project aims to examine how resilient Eucalyptus species are to future droughts by combining data synthesis, manipulative experiments and modelling. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency, magnitude and duration of future droughts, with major environmental and socio-economic consequences for Australia. Current predictive capacity is extremely limited: experiments are limited in scale and cannot capture important global change interac ....Resilience of eucalypts to future droughts. This project aims to examine how resilient Eucalyptus species are to future droughts by combining data synthesis, manipulative experiments and modelling. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency, magnitude and duration of future droughts, with major environmental and socio-economic consequences for Australia. Current predictive capacity is extremely limited: experiments are limited in scale and cannot capture important global change interactions, whilst models do not represent the functional characteristics and adaptions of eucalypts. This project will develop a strong evidence- and process-based understanding to quantify the functional behaviour of drought-adapted Eucalyptus species and leverage this insight to make future model projections.Read moreRead less
How climate-resilient are our temperate fisheries species? This project assesses the resilience of our temperate fisheries species to climate change. Using natural warming hotspots and volcanic CO2 vents we study populations of fisheries species that are already pre-adapted to future climate, and therefore could act as key populations for replenishment of future fisheries stocks. An innovative and interdisciplinary approach combines the ecology, genetics, behaviour, and physiology of fisheries s ....How climate-resilient are our temperate fisheries species? This project assesses the resilience of our temperate fisheries species to climate change. Using natural warming hotspots and volcanic CO2 vents we study populations of fisheries species that are already pre-adapted to future climate, and therefore could act as key populations for replenishment of future fisheries stocks. An innovative and interdisciplinary approach combines the ecology, genetics, behaviour, and physiology of fisheries species to evaluate their climate resilience. An advanced food web model will be developed to forecast changes to fisheries production in a future world. This provides a much-improved forecast of climate adaptation and managing future biodiversity and fisheries species through resilient genes and populations.Read moreRead less
450 Million year history of plant gas exchange capacity and the role of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Our planet faces an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide that is unprecedented in human history, but has occurred in ancient times. By studying the relationship between past changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, plant gas exchange and climate we will gain powerful global insight into future scenarios of continental carbon and water fluxes. This global perspective is essential for Australia to a ....450 Million year history of plant gas exchange capacity and the role of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Our planet faces an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide that is unprecedented in human history, but has occurred in ancient times. By studying the relationship between past changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, plant gas exchange and climate we will gain powerful global insight into future scenarios of continental carbon and water fluxes. This global perspective is essential for Australia to assess its vulnerability to global climate change in relation to other nations, thereby informing national planning of landscape resource use, including primary industry, water infrastructure and carbon trading.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of a brief parenting intervention for parents of children suffering asthma or eczema. Childhood illnesses create a great burden for Australian families and many parents struggle with keeping their child healthy and well adjusted. This research will examine the effects of a brief parenting intervention to help parents become more skilled and confident in their role, leading to better child adjustment, health and wellbeing.
Developing a mechanistic basis for coral reef conservation. This project aims to provide an evidence base for coral reef management to be targeted towards regions at greatest risk, and those that have the greatest capacity for acclimation under near-future climate change. This project will undertake an innovative trans-disciplinary analysis of coral thermal tolerance and the implications for targeted coral reef conservation to mitigate the impacts of climate change across the Great Barrier Reef ....Developing a mechanistic basis for coral reef conservation. This project aims to provide an evidence base for coral reef management to be targeted towards regions at greatest risk, and those that have the greatest capacity for acclimation under near-future climate change. This project will undertake an innovative trans-disciplinary analysis of coral thermal tolerance and the implications for targeted coral reef conservation to mitigate the impacts of climate change across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The project will provide significant benefits, by assisting in the maintenance of the goods and services (tourism, fisheries, shoreline protection) provided to Australia by the GBR.Read moreRead less
Past climate and environmental impacts on Great Barrier Reef paleoecology. This project aims to investigate the interconnected processes that led to past reef growth and demise. The iconic Great Barrier Reef and reefs globally are under threat. Yet reefs appear to have undergone cycles of death and recovery, though the causes are poorly understood. This project will reconstruct past climate, rainfall, water quality, coral bleaching and reef ecology feedbacks across Great Barrier Reef death event ....Past climate and environmental impacts on Great Barrier Reef paleoecology. This project aims to investigate the interconnected processes that led to past reef growth and demise. The iconic Great Barrier Reef and reefs globally are under threat. Yet reefs appear to have undergone cycles of death and recovery, though the causes are poorly understood. This project will reconstruct past climate, rainfall, water quality, coral bleaching and reef ecology feedbacks across Great Barrier Reef death events to establish which environmental stressors and paleoclimate variations are most critical for reef health. The outcomes will better constrain long term coral reef dynamics and provide significant benefits to those who manage reefs globally, since the Great Barrier Reef covers the full range of reef environments.Read moreRead less
The effect of native invasions on Australian fisheries species. This project aims to forecast climate-related changes in the diversity, distribution and abundance of fisheries species. In a changing world where many people depend on oceans for food and livelihood, predicting the future distribution of fisheries species is a challenge. Native invasions and ocean warming are stressing inshore fisheries species, but rigorous empirical data and models that can reliably forecast these effects are lac ....The effect of native invasions on Australian fisheries species. This project aims to forecast climate-related changes in the diversity, distribution and abundance of fisheries species. In a changing world where many people depend on oceans for food and livelihood, predicting the future distribution of fisheries species is a challenge. Native invasions and ocean warming are stressing inshore fisheries species, but rigorous empirical data and models that can reliably forecast these effects are lacking. This project intends to reveal the drivers of successful native invasions, evaluate their effect on fish diversity and productivity, and develop holistic models that forecast their effects on inshore fisheries species’ near-future distribution and stocks.Read moreRead less
Australian savannah landscapes: past, present and future. Australian savannahs are productive and culturally and biologically significant landscapes but are vulnerable to climate change. The project will determine savannah function (carbon and water balance) for the present and assess how sensitive they have been to past climate variability. The project will then address how they may respond to future climate change.
How does the interaction between environmental drivers determine the impact of global change on animals? There is an urgent need to determine how vulnerable natural populations are to simultaneous changes in more than one environmental driver. This project will take an integrative approach, using molecular, physiological and ecological tools, to determine whether cellular responses to the interaction between UV-B radiation and temperature vary between populations, and within individuals over tim ....How does the interaction between environmental drivers determine the impact of global change on animals? There is an urgent need to determine how vulnerable natural populations are to simultaneous changes in more than one environmental driver. This project will take an integrative approach, using molecular, physiological and ecological tools, to determine whether cellular responses to the interaction between UV-B radiation and temperature vary between populations, and within individuals over time. This project will bridge the gap between physiology and ecology by testing whether molecular responses translate into fitness benefits for the organism to gain an understanding at a level that is relevant for conservation. Read moreRead less