Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals c ....Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals can be reliably aged, and population structures are very sensitive to fire regimes: saplings only establish if unburnt for 10 years. This research is expected to provide the first direct test of the hypothesis that Aboriginal people maintained fine-grained fire mosaics in savannas, and inform bushfire policy debates.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0452281
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$102,900.00
Summary
Muscle Vascular Research and Gene Therapy Using Ultrasound. We seek funds to set up a national facility for ultrasound in muscle vascular research and gene therapy. Ultrasound with microbubbles will be used for the imaging of muscle microvascular blood flow and as a delivery modality for gene constructs to endothelial cells that control blood flow. The technology has application to (i) the assessment and therapeutic treatment of impaired microvascular function as in diabetics; (ii) the assessmen ....Muscle Vascular Research and Gene Therapy Using Ultrasound. We seek funds to set up a national facility for ultrasound in muscle vascular research and gene therapy. Ultrasound with microbubbles will be used for the imaging of muscle microvascular blood flow and as a delivery modality for gene constructs to endothelial cells that control blood flow. The technology has application to (i) the assessment and therapeutic treatment of impaired microvascular function as in diabetics; (ii) the assessment of adaptation to physical training and (iii) the development of therapeutic agents used to treat diabetes. We anticipate improved technology that is fully characterized and novel therapeutics that improve microvascular blood flow.Read moreRead less
Devising ecologically sustainable restoration programs for degraded rural landscapes by integrating landscape ecology, genetics and ecophysiology. Concern about tree decline in rural landscape is widespread, and disturbingly climate change is predicted to exacerbate this problem. Past ill-considered tree plantings have proven to be economically wasteful, achieved limited ecological resilience and negligible improvement of biodiversity values. Using Tasmania as a 'model system', we will advance t ....Devising ecologically sustainable restoration programs for degraded rural landscapes by integrating landscape ecology, genetics and ecophysiology. Concern about tree decline in rural landscape is widespread, and disturbingly climate change is predicted to exacerbate this problem. Past ill-considered tree plantings have proven to be economically wasteful, achieved limited ecological resilience and negligible improvement of biodiversity values. Using Tasmania as a 'model system', we will advance this problem by undertaking research to determine how seedling establishment, tree growth, carbon storage and water use are influenced by landscape setting, management history, climate change, species type and local varieties. This research will provide a much needed evidence to devise ecologically sustainable tree-plantings in southern Australia.Read moreRead less
Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. This project aims to develop and apply new methods to scale forest water use from plot to catchment-level, using relationships between plot-level annual evapotranspiration and biophysical and biochemical properties of stands detectable by unmanned aircraft systems and other remote sensing platforms. Australia's water security depends on understanding how changes in forests from disturbance and ....Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. This project aims to develop and apply new methods to scale forest water use from plot to catchment-level, using relationships between plot-level annual evapotranspiration and biophysical and biochemical properties of stands detectable by unmanned aircraft systems and other remote sensing platforms. Australia's water security depends on understanding how changes in forests from disturbance and climate change influence catchment water yields. This project will estimate water yields over time and space in ungauged catchments with disturbed eucalypt forests. This research is expected to enable more effective risk mitigation and planning for augmentations; improved fire management strategies; and better water management of the Murray Darling Basin.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100219
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$170,000.00
Summary
A multi-institutional environmental radioactivity research centre. This project aims to establish an environmental radioactivity research centre, equipped with ultra-low background and high-resolution alpha and gamma spectrometry systems, radon detectors and radium delayed coincidence counters. The centre will address a critical demand in Australia for precise analysis of a large suite of natural and artificial radionuclides, which will be used as tracers and chronological tools to investigate k ....A multi-institutional environmental radioactivity research centre. This project aims to establish an environmental radioactivity research centre, equipped with ultra-low background and high-resolution alpha and gamma spectrometry systems, radon detectors and radium delayed coincidence counters. The centre will address a critical demand in Australia for precise analysis of a large suite of natural and artificial radionuclides, which will be used as tracers and chronological tools to investigate key questions in oceanography and the mining and energy, archaeological, agricultural, and forestry sectors. The facility is expected to substantially increase expertise and training in radionuclides in Australia, and promote high-level research collaborations and outputs of both national and international significance. Major outcomes of the proposed facility include better understanding of how oceans regulate climate and improved capacity to assess effects of radiation on natural ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Defining winning strategies in a changing Southern Ocean . The ecosystem of the Southern Ocean is extremely complex, and understanding its response to rapid climate change is challenging. The aim of the project is to use changes in the behaviour of marine predators to provide new measures of integrated changes in eastern Antarctic ecosystems throughout the winter. With novel combinations of electronic tagging, natural biogeochemical markers, and simulation modelling, the project expects to recon ....Defining winning strategies in a changing Southern Ocean . The ecosystem of the Southern Ocean is extremely complex, and understanding its response to rapid climate change is challenging. The aim of the project is to use changes in the behaviour of marine predators to provide new measures of integrated changes in eastern Antarctic ecosystems throughout the winter. With novel combinations of electronic tagging, natural biogeochemical markers, and simulation modelling, the project expects to reconstruct changes in animal behaviour in response to changes in the environment. The data is anticipated to explain ongoing large-scale shifts in Southern Ocean ecosystems, providing information needed to underpin future management and adaptation strategies.Read moreRead less
From The Synchrotron To The Clinic: Translation Of A Novel Functional Lung Imaging Technology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$891,834.00
Summary
Our team has recently developed a synchrotron technology with a startling capacity for dynamic functional imaging that can act as a sensitive regional indicator of lung disease. We will demonstrate that this technology can be translated from the synchrotron to the lab and eventually the clinic. We will provide proof of this concept by the application of this technology to emphysema, asthma, lung cancer, cystic fibrosis lung disease and neonatal resuscitation.
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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the developme ....A high-resolution isotope facility for low cost analysis of water, plant, and soil/sediment samples to understand environmental change. The most significant environmental challenges facing Australia include ensuring sustainable management of our water resources and conservation of both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, particularly in the face of our changing climate and land-use. The new instruments will accelerate progress across a number of projects aimed at understanding the development of groundwater resources, the relative dependency of ecosystems on groundwater versus soil and surface water, and an assessment of the likely impacts of altered hydrology, especially dewatering and salinisation, on ecosystems. In addition, they will also be used to extend our knowledge of climate variability in the recent past and increase understanding of critical marine resources.Read moreRead less