Conservation genomics of a critically endangered insect. This project aims to develop tools genotyping large animal genomes, focusing on the case of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, once thought to be extinct and now critically endangered. This project expects to generate molecular tools to monitor the genetic health the insect which has a large, complex and poorly understood genome. Expected outcomes include the development of a preservation and reintroduction strategy for the insect. This pr ....Conservation genomics of a critically endangered insect. This project aims to develop tools genotyping large animal genomes, focusing on the case of the Lord Howe Island stick insect, once thought to be extinct and now critically endangered. This project expects to generate molecular tools to monitor the genetic health the insect which has a large, complex and poorly understood genome. Expected outcomes include the development of a preservation and reintroduction strategy for the insect. This project will benefit ongoing conservation efforts, and is timely given the ongoing eradication of rats from Lord Howe Island where this species once lived. Read moreRead less
Non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in afforested ecosystems in southeastern Australia - fluxes, processes and regional budget. There are no data available about the extent of emissions of the non-CO2 greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and methane from soils of forest ecosystems in Australia and the current methodolgy to quantify these emissions contains high uncertainties. Using the latest technology available we propose to i) measure emission rates of afforested ecosystems for non-CO2 greenhouse gase ....Non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in afforested ecosystems in southeastern Australia - fluxes, processes and regional budget. There are no data available about the extent of emissions of the non-CO2 greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and methane from soils of forest ecosystems in Australia and the current methodolgy to quantify these emissions contains high uncertainties. Using the latest technology available we propose to i) measure emission rates of afforested ecosystems for non-CO2 greenhouse gases in relation to previous land-use in southeastern Australia, ii) identify the processes controlling the emissions, iii) use the obtained data to calibrate a biogeochemical model, and iv) use the model to estimate regional inventories for non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in southeastern Australia.Read moreRead less
Integrative assessment of disturbance and land-use change on total greenhouse gas balance and nutrient cycling in savanna ecosystems. Climate change and variability is expected to have an impact on the NT environment and economy. This project will enable NT specific calibrations of climate variability-land use models, such as the National Carbon Accounting System. The NT Government will have access to a high quality database and calibrated models relating to greenhouse gas emissions as a functio ....Integrative assessment of disturbance and land-use change on total greenhouse gas balance and nutrient cycling in savanna ecosystems. Climate change and variability is expected to have an impact on the NT environment and economy. This project will enable NT specific calibrations of climate variability-land use models, such as the National Carbon Accounting System. The NT Government will have access to a high quality database and calibrated models relating to greenhouse gas emissions as a function of land use change. The project will improve estimates and management of GHG and provide a basis for the NT to potentially exploit future carbon-trading initiatives or GHG abatement schemes as fundamental data describing emissions as a function of land use will be available. This is of national significance given the size of the savanna biome in Australia.Read moreRead less
E. coli as an indicator of faecal contamination in the Australian context. The goal of this research is to improve our ability to use Escherichia coli as an indicator of water quality by determining the extent to which non-faecal sources of E. coli contribute to coliform counts and to develop a method to differentiate non-faecal E. coli from those that are faecal derived.
Mitigating ecosystem impacts by improving the way we breed and manage devils. The Tasmanian ecosystem faces irreversible change due to the decline of the apex predator. An insurance population of Tasmanian devils has been established to prevent extinction of the species. Using the latest sequencing technologies the project aims to determine whether the Tasmanian ecosystem can be restored with Tasmanian devils that are more resilient to a changing environment by improving the way that devils are ....Mitigating ecosystem impacts by improving the way we breed and manage devils. The Tasmanian ecosystem faces irreversible change due to the decline of the apex predator. An insurance population of Tasmanian devils has been established to prevent extinction of the species. Using the latest sequencing technologies the project aims to determine whether the Tasmanian ecosystem can be restored with Tasmanian devils that are more resilient to a changing environment by improving the way that devils are bred and managed in captivity.Read moreRead less
Why is the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, so inefficient? Dissection of the catalytic chemistry by computational simulation and experimental testing. Fixation of CO2 by the enzyme Rubisco during photosynthesis produces organic compounds which feed all life. Despite this critical role, Rubisco catalyses its reaction sluggishly and, worse, discriminates poorly between CO2 and O2, leading to useless products. Our combined expertise equips us to analyse Rubisco's mechanism using quantum- ....Why is the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, so inefficient? Dissection of the catalytic chemistry by computational simulation and experimental testing. Fixation of CO2 by the enzyme Rubisco during photosynthesis produces organic compounds which feed all life. Despite this critical role, Rubisco catalyses its reaction sluggishly and, worse, discriminates poorly between CO2 and O2, leading to useless products. Our combined expertise equips us to analyse Rubisco's mechanism using quantum-chemical methods and then test predictions experimentally. We will capitalise on our previous successful studies of Rubisco by addressing emergent issues which are the keys to understanding catalytic efficiency and CO2/O2 selectivity: the roles of a carbamylated lysine; the way CO2 addition is rendered irreversible; and the spin inversion inherent in O2 addition.Read moreRead less
Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. This project aims to examine the geographic variation amongst tiger snakes in anatomy, ecology, and life history traits, and the relationship of these factors to venom toxins and production; and to evaluate the true pharmacological potential of tiger snake venom. This project will investigate the role of venom adaptation in long-term animal evoluti ....Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. This project aims to examine the geographic variation amongst tiger snakes in anatomy, ecology, and life history traits, and the relationship of these factors to venom toxins and production; and to evaluate the true pharmacological potential of tiger snake venom. This project will investigate the role of venom adaptation in long-term animal evolution, by identifying rare venom transcripts involved in providing evolutionary potential for adaptation to environmental change. This is essential as continuing climatic and human-induced alteration of our environment affects southern Australia where many people live, work and interact with native wildlife. Anticipated outcomes are maximizing venom harvests and enhanced snakebite treatment capacity.Read moreRead less
Evolution of halophytes: a phyloinformatic approach to understanding and exploiting the traits underlying salt-tolerance in plants. Salinity is an increasing burden on the Australian economy & environment, with >2 million ha of salt-affected land, at an annual cost to agriculture over $187 million. One solution is to exploit naturally salt-tolerant plants to increase productive agricultural land and restore salt-affected environments. To do this, we must increase basic knowledge of the diversity ....Evolution of halophytes: a phyloinformatic approach to understanding and exploiting the traits underlying salt-tolerance in plants. Salinity is an increasing burden on the Australian economy & environment, with >2 million ha of salt-affected land, at an annual cost to agriculture over $187 million. One solution is to exploit naturally salt-tolerant plants to increase productive agricultural land and restore salt-affected environments. To do this, we must increase basic knowledge of the diversity & distribution of salt-tolerance. This project is the first to use DNA sequences from thousands of species to understand the evolution of salt-tolerance in order to provide the foundation for the development of new crop varieties, selection of species that can be developed for bioremediation, and identification of traits that will be profitable targets for breeding programs. Read moreRead less
A novel top-down approach to ecosystem management using multivariate foraging strategies of an iconic marine top-predator. Understanding predator aggregation patterns in relation to marine productivity is critical in designing ecosystem-level conservation plans for protecting marine habitats and species. The project aims to develop a new approach to measure prey abundance and availability in the marine ecosystem for the management of resources of top-predators. This will be of specific benefit i ....A novel top-down approach to ecosystem management using multivariate foraging strategies of an iconic marine top-predator. Understanding predator aggregation patterns in relation to marine productivity is critical in designing ecosystem-level conservation plans for protecting marine habitats and species. The project aims to develop a new approach to measure prey abundance and availability in the marine ecosystem for the management of resources of top-predators. This will be of specific benefit in areas where a strong need exists for conservation of prey species with economic importance too low to justify expensive at-sea research.Read moreRead less
Ultrafine grained titanium for bio-implant applications. The project underpins the potential niche applications of ultrafine grained titanium for biomedical implants and establishes a knowledge base for expanding Australia's capacity for manufacturing titanium parts. The novel technology will lead to a broader usage of titanium by biomedical industry and promote the development of the titanium manufacturing industry in Australia. The development of ultrafine grained titanium specifically designe ....Ultrafine grained titanium for bio-implant applications. The project underpins the potential niche applications of ultrafine grained titanium for biomedical implants and establishes a knowledge base for expanding Australia's capacity for manufacturing titanium parts. The novel technology will lead to a broader usage of titanium by biomedical industry and promote the development of the titanium manufacturing industry in Australia. The development of ultrafine grained titanium specifically designed for bio-implants will increase Australia's competitiveness in the global market. The project targets at least three of the priority goals specified under National Research Priority breakthrough science, frontier technologies and advanced materials.Read moreRead less