Novel oxygen sensing tools for monitoring the effects of dredging on Australian seagrass communities. Seagrass meadows sustain marine biodiversity and the fishing industries on Australian coasts. Dredging of ports and shipping channels is contributing to their rapid global decline. The project will use state-of-the-art technologies in bio-optics and genomics to create a toolkit for seagrass managers to make informed decisions to safeguard seagrass meadows.
Salinity tolerance along an aridity gradient: linking physiological processes with morphological constraints on leaf function in mangroves. The proposed research will provide insight into the physiological and morphological features that control the productivity of mangrove forests across broad gradients in salinity and aridity. Central to this is this identification of plant traits that increase salt and drought tolerance, which will assist in the development of plant varieties suited to Austra ....Salinity tolerance along an aridity gradient: linking physiological processes with morphological constraints on leaf function in mangroves. The proposed research will provide insight into the physiological and morphological features that control the productivity of mangrove forests across broad gradients in salinity and aridity. Central to this is this identification of plant traits that increase salt and drought tolerance, which will assist in the development of plant varieties suited to Australian conditions. The results will also contribute to development of process-based models to better predict the response of mangrove vegetation to changing climate. A deep understanding of the processes that influence the growth and survival of mangroves is of fundamental importance to sustainable fisheries and protection of wildlife reliant on coastal ecosystems. Read moreRead less