How arid zone wetlands persist: linking ecological dynamics with hydrological regimes . This project will investigate how aquatic food webs assemble and persist in mound springs, relict streams and river pools in the Australian arid zone. Knowing how aquatic systems respond to wet and dry phases is the first step towards ‘climate proofing ’ these systems against future extreme events.
Sex and the generation gap: seasonal changes in sex allocation. Answering the question 'When is it better to produce more sons than daughters?' has shed important insights into fundamental questions in biology and led to theory that can be applied to problems in agriculture, fisheries and conservation. The project will extend the current theory to increase its applicability, and test it using an introduced pest fish.
Improving water quality modelling by better understanding solute transport. Poor stream water quality is a critical problem in Australia and globally. Stream water quality depends directly on pathways and time taken for water to transport pollutants through catchments. Predicting these pathways is highly challenging and currently requires specialised data. This project aims to better model the movement of water from rainfall to streams, enable greatly improved use of water quality data routinely ....Improving water quality modelling by better understanding solute transport. Poor stream water quality is a critical problem in Australia and globally. Stream water quality depends directly on pathways and time taken for water to transport pollutants through catchments. Predicting these pathways is highly challenging and currently requires specialised data. This project aims to better model the movement of water from rainfall to streams, enable greatly improved use of water quality data routinely collected in Australia's catchments and thereby better predict water quality behaviour. Proposed field studies aim to support this development. The outcomes sought are improved planning and management of water quality in our rivers, lakes and estuaries, improved health of these water bodies and improved water supplies.Read moreRead less
Aquatic biodiversity: consequences of massive modification of agricultural landscapes. Agricultural landscapes have undergone great change. Significant shifts in land-use may sustain agricultural productivity, but nationally we risk the loss of our natural wealth - native plants and animals. This project develops a new vision for assessing conservation values of rural landscapes that will help land managers to plan for present and future land-use of both terrestrial and aquatic organisms. It wil ....Aquatic biodiversity: consequences of massive modification of agricultural landscapes. Agricultural landscapes have undergone great change. Significant shifts in land-use may sustain agricultural productivity, but nationally we risk the loss of our natural wealth - native plants and animals. This project develops a new vision for assessing conservation values of rural landscapes that will help land managers to plan for present and future land-use of both terrestrial and aquatic organisms. It will help managers to understand the biodiversity value of different landscapes, the types of species that may persist or be at risk of loss, and the landscape components that influence these outcomes. This knowledge will enhance our national capacity to jointly integrate nature conservation and agricultural productivityRead moreRead less
The evolution of egg retention and sex allocation: a phylogenetic contrasts study using facultatively ovoviviparous thrips. Australian idolothripine thrips provide an unparalleled opportunity for investigating the evolution of reproduction. They constitute the only group to contain many species in which the females choose among live birth, egg laying or both. They also choose the sex of each offspring. We will use phylogenetics and experimentation to understand the evolutionary pressures that le ....The evolution of egg retention and sex allocation: a phylogenetic contrasts study using facultatively ovoviviparous thrips. Australian idolothripine thrips provide an unparalleled opportunity for investigating the evolution of reproduction. They constitute the only group to contain many species in which the females choose among live birth, egg laying or both. They also choose the sex of each offspring. We will use phylogenetics and experimentation to understand the evolutionary pressures that led to and maintain live birth and the allocation of sex. This will produce new insights into fundamental questions about the evolution of animal reproduction. Our collaborative approach will make Australian thrips and research an international cornerstone in the biology of reproductive evolution.Read moreRead less
Systematic planning beyond conservation: a multi-objective, multi action framework for sustainable biodiversity. When planning for conservation in rivers, protecting plants and animals can not simply be achieved by protecting parts of a river. This project will develop a strategy to sustain freshwater biodiversity that will optimally allocate conservation and restoration resources and minimises negative socioeconomic impacts on stakeholders.