New tools to detect ecological effects of contaminants in estuaries. Identifying risks to estuarine environments from pollutants is difficult for environmental managers, who must choose between laboratory toxicity testing that is precise, but hard to generalise to field situations, and more realistic field-based monitoring, which is expensive, with a high signal to noise ratio. New molecular techniques may provide more options. Metabolomics can provide insights into the health of animals, and ec ....New tools to detect ecological effects of contaminants in estuaries. Identifying risks to estuarine environments from pollutants is difficult for environmental managers, who must choose between laboratory toxicity testing that is precise, but hard to generalise to field situations, and more realistic field-based monitoring, which is expensive, with a high signal to noise ratio. New molecular techniques may provide more options. Metabolomics can provide insights into the health of animals, and ecogenomics offers a way to rapidly assess the composition of an ecological community. These techniques offer great promise, but they must be cross-validated against existing methods to derive the best ’toolbox’. Working with Melbourne Water and CSIRO the investigators aim to do this using demonstration estuaries in Victoria.Read moreRead less
Modern statistical methods for clustering community ecology data. This project will develop statistical methods and software for clustering community ecology data, and use them to analyse systematic survey and citizen science program data collected along the Great Barrier Reef. By doing so, the project will address the dearth of statistical classification techniques for high-dimensional, multi-response data with complex relationships. When the resultant clustering methods are used to construct b ....Modern statistical methods for clustering community ecology data. This project will develop statistical methods and software for clustering community ecology data, and use them to analyse systematic survey and citizen science program data collected along the Great Barrier Reef. By doing so, the project will address the dearth of statistical classification techniques for high-dimensional, multi-response data with complex relationships. When the resultant clustering methods are used to construct bioregions and characterise species’ environmental responses, they should significantly enhance evaluations of the impact of human activity and environmental change on coral diversity. Ultimately, these evaluations can underpin future decisions in the conservation and management of the Great Barrier Reef.Read moreRead less
Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the c ....Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the characteristics of the particles, their sources and spatial and temporal variation across different urban areas and time scales. Further, the impacts of changing fuels, vehicle technologies, and climate on future trends of the particles will be elucidated.Read moreRead less
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less
Optimisation methods for coherent quantum signal estimation and filtering. The project aims to develop an innovative systems theory and optimisation methods to enhance the design of components for next-generation quantum communication networks. It will advance new theoretical knowledge and efficient algorithms that can be applied to make networks more efficient and less costly. New technologies set to emerge within the next decade including specialised quantum processors and transformative cyber ....Optimisation methods for coherent quantum signal estimation and filtering. The project aims to develop an innovative systems theory and optimisation methods to enhance the design of components for next-generation quantum communication networks. It will advance new theoretical knowledge and efficient algorithms that can be applied to make networks more efficient and less costly. New technologies set to emerge within the next decade including specialised quantum processors and transformative cyber security systems will require ultra-fast networks, and the project will contribute significantly to advancing these technologies. This will benefit the Australia's economy and reinforce Australia's leadership in the quantum technological revolution through innovative engineering approaches.Read moreRead less
More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full s ....More than a reserve? Measuring the benefits of private protected areas. This project aims to develop a framework for understanding the full suite of benefits derived from privately protected areas in Australia. It will develop and test a new interdisciplinary approach to measure the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic benefits of protected areas to both human and non-human beneficiaries. Outcomes will include a systematic process to effectively gather data, analyse, and report on the full suite of benefits derived from protected areas. The framework will provide a robust evidence base for the range of benefits provided by private protected areas. This will be vital to manage and grow Australia’s protected area network to reduce biodiversity and environmental declines, and meet international commitments.Read moreRead less
Developing A Smart Farming Oriented Secure Data Infrastructure. Smart farming is the future of agriculture. However, recently the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a
warning that the lack of data privacy and cyber security mechanisms in the field runs a high risk of disaster. This
project aims to establish an innovative secure data infrastructure for smart farming including secure and automated smart farming supply-chain management. The deliverables of this project will include the cutt ....Developing A Smart Farming Oriented Secure Data Infrastructure. Smart farming is the future of agriculture. However, recently the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a
warning that the lack of data privacy and cyber security mechanisms in the field runs a high risk of disaster. This
project aims to establish an innovative secure data infrastructure for smart farming including secure and automated smart farming supply-chain management. The deliverables of this project will include the cutting-edge Blockchain based secure IoT data management and privacy-preserving smart contracts for smart farming supply-chain management. This data infrastructure will be the first of its kind which will lay a solid foundation for smart farming technology.Read moreRead less