Effect of deep-sea drilling on sustainability of deep-sea ecosystems. Offshore oil and gas production makes a significant contribution to the Australian economy and enhances our energy security. Australia's vast deep-sea reserves of hydrocarbons lie on the NW Shelf and in Bass Strait, ecological 'hot spots' that are extremely vulnerable to the impact of exploration, extraction and production. Using deep-sea equipment, we will conduct the field experiments that are essential to understanding the ....Effect of deep-sea drilling on sustainability of deep-sea ecosystems. Offshore oil and gas production makes a significant contribution to the Australian economy and enhances our energy security. Australia's vast deep-sea reserves of hydrocarbons lie on the NW Shelf and in Bass Strait, ecological 'hot spots' that are extremely vulnerable to the impact of exploration, extraction and production. Using deep-sea equipment, we will conduct the field experiments that are essential to understanding these ecosystems and the impact of deep-sea structures. Our advances will produce data and develop methodologies that will make Australia a world leader in reconciling our deep-sea energy and environmental needs.Read moreRead less
Ocean currents and genetic connectedness in a complex archipelago. To what extent are marine coastal communities ?open?, i.e. how often do the oceans carry larvae far from their point of spawning, and what influence does such ocean transport have on the spread of genetic information? These are some of the most fundamental questions of biological oceanography; the project will provide new answers by using an extremely detailed genetic data set from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off Western Austra ....Ocean currents and genetic connectedness in a complex archipelago. To what extent are marine coastal communities ?open?, i.e. how often do the oceans carry larvae far from their point of spawning, and what influence does such ocean transport have on the spread of genetic information? These are some of the most fundamental questions of biological oceanography; the project will provide new answers by using an extremely detailed genetic data set from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off Western Australian together with an advanced numerical ocean model especially suited to that environment and developed in Australia.Read moreRead less
Ecological and genetic connectivity in seagrasses: the role of sexual reproduction, dispersal and recruitment on meadow restoration. This project's goal is to study the role of dispersal in contemporary demographics and genetics of an Australian seagrass genus Posidonia. The expected outcome of this project is to understand the importance of long-distance dispersal of seeds in determining resilience of seagrasses to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances.
Changing water availability and the conservation of wide-ranging species. Changing water availability and the conservation of wide-ranging species. This project aims to examine the factors that influence conservation in multiple-use zones, using a functional habitat approach to study hollow-dependent black-cockatoos and parrots in the jarrah forest of south-western Australia as a model system. It will focus on how water availability influences landscape use, and its potential as a management too ....Changing water availability and the conservation of wide-ranging species. Changing water availability and the conservation of wide-ranging species. This project aims to examine the factors that influence conservation in multiple-use zones, using a functional habitat approach to study hollow-dependent black-cockatoos and parrots in the jarrah forest of south-western Australia as a model system. It will focus on how water availability influences landscape use, and its potential as a management tool, and use this information to effectively conserve wide-ranging species in multiple-use landscapes in a changing climate. The project is anticipated to reduce the negative effects of competing land uses on biodiversity and improve the efficiency of conservation and landscape management.Read moreRead less
The role of plant-soil feedback in biodiversity maintenance along fertility gradients: from patterns to mechanisms. Plants strongly modify soils and their associated biota, which in turn has important consequences for plant growth. This is known as 'plant-soil feedback'. This project will determine whether such feedback plays a role in maintaining the exceptionally high levels of plant biodiversity found in the kwongan shrublands of south-western Australia.
Understanding coastal biodiversity: The impact of marine production subsidies upon arid coastal environments. Many of the Earth's coastlines have productive seas next to arid terrestrial habitats. Much of the coastline of Western Australia is arid. Our project will determine if biodiversity in fringing terrestrial areas is controlled by the supply of marine plant material that is transported to land by waves, wind and birds. A consequence of increasing coastal usage is associated growing anthrop ....Understanding coastal biodiversity: The impact of marine production subsidies upon arid coastal environments. Many of the Earth's coastlines have productive seas next to arid terrestrial habitats. Much of the coastline of Western Australia is arid. Our project will determine if biodiversity in fringing terrestrial areas is controlled by the supply of marine plant material that is transported to land by waves, wind and birds. A consequence of increasing coastal usage is associated growing anthropogenic pressures on the coastal environment. Our aim is to enhance awareness of the interactions that occur between terrestrial and marine systems, and hence to increase the capacity of the public and private sector to manage marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and the interface between them.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100709
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Assessing pollination services of honey bees in native ecosystems and threats posed by parasites. The European honeybee is our most abundant pollinator but we know little about its role in native Australian ecosystems or how its many diseases may affect its ability to pollinate. This project will determine whether honeybees are important pollinators of native plants and how a common parasite affects their pollination ability.
Choosing to persist: sexual selection in the wild. This project aims to investigate the role of sexual selection in maintaining healthy wild populations. The prevailing story of sexual selection, in which the sexes either compete for or choose the other sex, has been of extravagant ornaments and displays that drive species to extinction. However, an opposing story has emerged, with elaborate ornaments reflecting a healthy genome and sexual selection instead sweeping away damaging genetic mater ....Choosing to persist: sexual selection in the wild. This project aims to investigate the role of sexual selection in maintaining healthy wild populations. The prevailing story of sexual selection, in which the sexes either compete for or choose the other sex, has been of extravagant ornaments and displays that drive species to extinction. However, an opposing story has emerged, with elaborate ornaments reflecting a healthy genome and sexual selection instead sweeping away damaging genetic material. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the potential for sexual selection to remove harmful mutations in the wild. Expected outcomes include determining if sexual selection can help prevent extinction in wild populations, with direct benefits for conservation programs.Read moreRead less
Quantifying kelp carbon and nutrient flows for nature-based solutions . This fellowship aims to resolve carbon removal and nutrient mitigation potential of Australia’s kelp forests now and in future. It will create new understanding of the ecosystem services provided by the Great Southern Reef, and the capacity of kelp forests to provide nature-based solutions to reduce emissions and improve coastal water quality. Using a combination of global models and ecological experiments on kelp forests an ....Quantifying kelp carbon and nutrient flows for nature-based solutions . This fellowship aims to resolve carbon removal and nutrient mitigation potential of Australia’s kelp forests now and in future. It will create new understanding of the ecosystem services provided by the Great Southern Reef, and the capacity of kelp forests to provide nature-based solutions to reduce emissions and improve coastal water quality. Using a combination of global models and ecological experiments on kelp forests and their replacement ecosystem states, the fellowship will predict changes in function with warming. This information is critical to determine net ecosystem mitigation potential and will significantly advance our understanding of the potential of kelp forests to generate co-benefits while conserving biodiversity. Read moreRead less
Novel species interactions arising from synergistic environmental changes. Synergistic environmental changes, including climate and land use change, are altering Australia's ecosystems and creating novel species assemblages. We know little about how these assemblages develop and function, and yet they are likely to become more pervasive and provide a significant conservation and restoration challenge. We aim to improve our understanding of the factors affecting the creation of novel plant assemb ....Novel species interactions arising from synergistic environmental changes. Synergistic environmental changes, including climate and land use change, are altering Australia's ecosystems and creating novel species assemblages. We know little about how these assemblages develop and function, and yet they are likely to become more pervasive and provide a significant conservation and restoration challenge. We aim to improve our understanding of the factors affecting the creation of novel plant assemblages (through invasions and changes in species' ranges) in the York Gum woodlands of Western Australia. We will examine how novel assemblages function, improve the ability to predict potential ongoing changes in assemblages and provide guidance for the management of these and other internationally important plant communities.Read moreRead less