Illuminating the evolutionary history of Australia’s most iconic animals. This project aims to pinpoint the nature and timing of key steps in macropod history and to test how these link with major climatic and biotic changes. Macropods (kangaroos and relatives) are widely considered the marsupial equivalents to hoofed mammals on other continents, but we have a weaker understanding of how their evolution was shaped by environmental change. This project will combine palaeontology, anatomy and gene ....Illuminating the evolutionary history of Australia’s most iconic animals. This project aims to pinpoint the nature and timing of key steps in macropod history and to test how these link with major climatic and biotic changes. Macropods (kangaroos and relatives) are widely considered the marsupial equivalents to hoofed mammals on other continents, but we have a weaker understanding of how their evolution was shaped by environmental change. This project will combine palaeontology, anatomy and genetics to address questions such as how and why ancestral macropods descended from the trees and evolved bipedal hopping, and the upper size limits of the kangaroo “body plan”. This should improve our understanding of the long-term effects of climate change on marsupials, and provide a test of key placental-based evolutionary models.Read moreRead less
Boosting up Productivity: Optimizing Scaffolding Life Cycle Management with Virtual Design and Construction. Scaffolding management can be critical to construction industries across oil and gas, building, and infrastructure sectors. It can lead to low productivity and safety due to static and poor planning. This project aims to innovatively integrate a decision support system, virtual design and construction, and onsite monitoring into one dynamic planning system to significantly lift productivi ....Boosting up Productivity: Optimizing Scaffolding Life Cycle Management with Virtual Design and Construction. Scaffolding management can be critical to construction industries across oil and gas, building, and infrastructure sectors. It can lead to low productivity and safety due to static and poor planning. This project aims to innovatively integrate a decision support system, virtual design and construction, and onsite monitoring into one dynamic planning system to significantly lift productivity. The emphasis is on producing optimal solutions for planning, design, erection, monitoring, dismantling, and relocation of scaffolding, so that productivity is maximised subject to satisfying required cost and safety constraints. The project aims to therefore secure long-term economic benefits by improving productivity and enhancing project performance.Read moreRead less
Links between marine biotic evolution and carbonate platform and petroleum reservoir development in the South China sea. This project will aim to discover the major environmental controls over the historical development of the high biodiversity of Indo-Pacific coral reefs. By investigating fossils from rocky outcrops we will enhance the ability of petroleum companies to predict the occurrence of hydrocarbons in sub-surface reef limestones.
Establishing genetic guidelines for the effective ecological restoration of seagrass meadows. Industry and coastal development in Australia are of national importance for economic growth and prosperity, but they threaten benthic habitats, like seagrasses. Loss of seagrass meadows without mitigation results in greater coastal impacts from damaging storms and waves and a reduction in the health and productivity of marine environments globally. Thus the ecological restoration of seagrass meadows is ....Establishing genetic guidelines for the effective ecological restoration of seagrass meadows. Industry and coastal development in Australia are of national importance for economic growth and prosperity, but they threaten benthic habitats, like seagrasses. Loss of seagrass meadows without mitigation results in greater coastal impacts from damaging storms and waves and a reduction in the health and productivity of marine environments globally. Thus the ecological restoration of seagrass meadows is an urgent national priority action that involves industry, government and the community. Through the detailed assessment of population genetic variation and key population processes in seagrasses, this project will establish genetic guidelines for a more effective seagrass restoration industry.Read moreRead less
Connectivity and movements of large pelagic species of ecotourism value. The project aims to answer key questions about the biology, ecology and sustainability of the world’s manta ray species to provide the information and tools for management and conservation of these charismatic and valuable species. In particular, the project aims to determine the likely impact of climate variability and fisheries that operate to Australia’s north on manta-based ecotourism in the Indo-Pacific region, as clim ....Connectivity and movements of large pelagic species of ecotourism value. The project aims to answer key questions about the biology, ecology and sustainability of the world’s manta ray species to provide the information and tools for management and conservation of these charismatic and valuable species. In particular, the project aims to determine the likely impact of climate variability and fisheries that operate to Australia’s north on manta-based ecotourism in the Indo-Pacific region, as climate change and active low-value fisheries may both jeopardise a high-value ecotourism industry. The project seeks to explore geographic distributions, local and large-scale movements, population sizes, structure, and inter-connectivity in the region to assess the effect of climate and fisheries on manta ray populations.Read moreRead less
Coral resilience and the optimal management of biodiversity. This project aims to examine the resilience of coral biodiversity to disturbances and build on recently developed genomic resources to explore the genotypic traits that confer thermal tolerance. The project will research how coral biodiversity responds to climatic disturbances; the potential for acclimation and adaptation; and the best ways to monitor, manage and restore biodiversity. The project is expected to generate tangible outcom ....Coral resilience and the optimal management of biodiversity. This project aims to examine the resilience of coral biodiversity to disturbances and build on recently developed genomic resources to explore the genotypic traits that confer thermal tolerance. The project will research how coral biodiversity responds to climatic disturbances; the potential for acclimation and adaptation; and the best ways to monitor, manage and restore biodiversity. The project is expected to generate tangible outcomes and strategies to optimise the management of Australia’s coral biodiversity while engaging the public through museum-based outreach, in collaboration with government, regulatory sectors and an industry group. Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems. The future of technology lies in controlling the quantum world. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQuS) will deliver the building blocks of future quantum technologies and, critically, ensure Australian primacy in this endeavour. Three strategic research programs will target Quantum Measurement and Control; Synthetic Quantum Systems and Simulation; and Quantum-Enabled Sensors and Metrology. Within these programs, ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems. The future of technology lies in controlling the quantum world. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQuS) will deliver the building blocks of future quantum technologies and, critically, ensure Australian primacy in this endeavour. Three strategic research programs will target Quantum Measurement and Control; Synthetic Quantum Systems and Simulation; and Quantum-Enabled Sensors and Metrology. Within these programs, our Centre will exploit the deepest principles and resources of quantum physics to solve specific problems in engineering, chemistry biology and medicine, stimulating the Australian scientific and engineering communities to exploit (and benefit from) transformative quantum devices.Read moreRead less
Building better Brassicas: Understanding disease resistance mechanisms across the Brassicaceae. Brassica species are important crops producing cooking oil, vegetables and biofuel, grown in diverse environments with a high economic and export value. Blackleg disease, caused by the fungus Leptospheria maculans, is the most important disease of brassica crops world-wide. The newly available brassica genome sequence provides the resources to study the co-evolution of this plant and pathogen. This pr ....Building better Brassicas: Understanding disease resistance mechanisms across the Brassicaceae. Brassica species are important crops producing cooking oil, vegetables and biofuel, grown in diverse environments with a high economic and export value. Blackleg disease, caused by the fungus Leptospheria maculans, is the most important disease of brassica crops world-wide. The newly available brassica genome sequence provides the resources to study the co-evolution of this plant and pathogen. This project will characterise the evolution and conservation of resistance genes in wild and cultivated brassicas, using next-generation sequencing technology, to assess their potential for crop improvement. An understanding of the evolution of genes responsible for resistance will lead to improved plant protection strategies for brassica crops.Read moreRead less
A new and rapidly evolving class of plant peptides. The project will study a diverse class of drug-like mini-proteins that are thought to have emerged genetically over 12 million years ago. This project will explore why plants have kept making these mini-proteins for so long and whether it is the same reason the founding member of this mini-protein class is such a good drug.
The ecology of parasite transmission in fauna translocations. Parasitic diseases pose a threat to the conservation management of Australia's biodiversity. This project will improve our understanding of the impact and transmission of parasites in fauna translocations, contributing to the conservation management of Australian ecosystems by government and private agencies.