Stocking of fish and prawns at ecologically determined densities into Australian estuaries. Increasing numbers of people like to go fishing, and to catch a fish, which translates into tourism income and aquaculture business. Restocking is a fisheries management option when the natural supply or survival of larvae is limited. This study will determine for the first time the ecologically appropriate abundance of small mulloway and prawns that an estuary can sustain. We will assess the extra eff ....Stocking of fish and prawns at ecologically determined densities into Australian estuaries. Increasing numbers of people like to go fishing, and to catch a fish, which translates into tourism income and aquaculture business. Restocking is a fisheries management option when the natural supply or survival of larvae is limited. This study will determine for the first time the ecologically appropriate abundance of small mulloway and prawns that an estuary can sustain. We will assess the extra effort needed to release larvae into particular key habitats, and develop new technologies to identify our larvae from the wild. Our findings will be relevant to restocking of Australia's inland rivers, which at present has little ecological basis.Read moreRead less
Epidemiology of pathogens in wildlife populations: significance for conservation, human health and livestock. Recent research shows that pathogens may play a central role in wildlife population dynamics. Emergent disease problems in humans and livestock may result from reservoir infections in wildlife. However, methods to determine the impact of pathogens on populations, as distinct from individuals within populations, are poorly developed, as are models necessary to evaluate alternative control ....Epidemiology of pathogens in wildlife populations: significance for conservation, human health and livestock. Recent research shows that pathogens may play a central role in wildlife population dynamics. Emergent disease problems in humans and livestock may result from reservoir infections in wildlife. However, methods to determine the impact of pathogens on populations, as distinct from individuals within populations, are poorly developed, as are models necessary to evaluate alternative control strategies for pathogens, particularly where reservoir hosts are involved. This project will develop these methods using four case studies: chyridiomycosis in frogs, Hendra virus in bats, Newcastle disease in wild birds and arboviruses in kangaroos and other macropods.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary genetics of kin recognition and task specialization in termite societies. Social insects must be able to recognize kin and task specialize in order to maintain colony cohesion and maximize colony labour, respectively. While it is known that kin recognition and task specialization are two key mechanisms underpinning insect societies, the extent to which their expression is mediated by genetic versus environmental variables is not known. This project integrates classic approaches to t ....Evolutionary genetics of kin recognition and task specialization in termite societies. Social insects must be able to recognize kin and task specialize in order to maintain colony cohesion and maximize colony labour, respectively. While it is known that kin recognition and task specialization are two key mechanisms underpinning insect societies, the extent to which their expression is mediated by genetic versus environmental variables is not known. This project integrates classic approaches to the study of animal behaviour with recent advances in molecular genetics to test, for the first time, the role that genetic variables have in mediating kin recognition and task specialization in a major group of social insects, the termites.Read moreRead less
Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosys ....Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosystems will allow us to make better decisions when trying to establish sustainable and 'natural' mainland and island sanctuaries. Ancient DNA is well preserved in some dry environments; this project will assess DNA preservation from sites all across Australia and use the DNA sequences to discover information about extinct animals and how past climate changes effected the native biota.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100710
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$422,492.00
Summary
Beyond Hendra: the significance of viral communities in bat virus spillover. This project aims to address the emerging global health threat posed by zoonotic bat-borne viruses, by determining why bats shed multiple viruses in synchronised pulses. The project expects to identify universal drivers of multi-viral shedding pulses, using Hendra virus as a model system for other bat viruses in Australia and globally. Expected outcomes include insights into the interactions between environmental change ....Beyond Hendra: the significance of viral communities in bat virus spillover. This project aims to address the emerging global health threat posed by zoonotic bat-borne viruses, by determining why bats shed multiple viruses in synchronised pulses. The project expects to identify universal drivers of multi-viral shedding pulses, using Hendra virus as a model system for other bat viruses in Australia and globally. Expected outcomes include insights into the interactions between environmental change, bat ecology, viral dynamics and spillover, prediction of when and where bat viral shedding will most likely occur, and development of new ecological interventions to prevent bat virus spillover in Australia and globally. This will provide significant benefits by pre-empting spillover and global pandemics before they occur.Read moreRead less
Resolving the threat of ocean deoxygenation to coral resilience. This project aims to uncover the role low oxygen plays in shaping healthy corals over space and time. Climate change and land use development are rapidly deoxygenating shallow water coral reefs, yet we have no knowledge of how less oxygen availability affects critical life history factors that govern coral resilience: growth, reproduction, and stress tolerance. This project unites a multidisciplinary team of experts to, for the fir ....Resolving the threat of ocean deoxygenation to coral resilience. This project aims to uncover the role low oxygen plays in shaping healthy corals over space and time. Climate change and land use development are rapidly deoxygenating shallow water coral reefs, yet we have no knowledge of how less oxygen availability affects critical life history factors that govern coral resilience: growth, reproduction, and stress tolerance. This project unites a multidisciplinary team of experts to, for the first time, couple advanced oxygen sensing, metabolic physiology, coral reproductive and stress biology to transform our understanding of oxygen thresholds that are diagnostic of reduced coral competitive fitness across life stages (adults, juveniles, larvae), needed to improve coral reef ecosystem management.Read moreRead less
A paradigm shift for predictions of freshwater harmful cyanobacteria blooms. This project aims to advance model predictions to generate novel insights into the triggers of freshwater harmful cyanobacteria blooms. Current models are poorly adapted for this purpose because they fail to account for antecedent environmental forcing. The project is expected to create new knowledge of cyanobacteria dynamics from simulating the adaptive responses of individual cyanobacteria cells, colonies or filaments ....A paradigm shift for predictions of freshwater harmful cyanobacteria blooms. This project aims to advance model predictions to generate novel insights into the triggers of freshwater harmful cyanobacteria blooms. Current models are poorly adapted for this purpose because they fail to account for antecedent environmental forcing. The project is expected to create new knowledge of cyanobacteria dynamics from simulating the adaptive responses of individual cyanobacteria cells, colonies or filaments to temperature, light and nutrient history. Three field studies will be used to validate a new individual based model. The outcomes of this project will be valuable for managing freshwater ecosystems that are increasingly subject to blooms in a warming climate, and for testing suitable mitigation and control strategies.Read moreRead less
Diagnosing coral health tipping points under accelerating coastal hypoxia. This project aims to unlock the role hypoxia plays in shaping the healthy functioning of corals over space and time. Climate change and land use development are rapidly deoxygenating shallow water coral reefs and amplifying hypoxia exposure, yet we have no knowledge of the oxygen thresholds that sustain ‘normal’ coral functioning, or the mechanisms corals’ employ to tolerate hypoxia. This project will couple advanced oxyg ....Diagnosing coral health tipping points under accelerating coastal hypoxia. This project aims to unlock the role hypoxia plays in shaping the healthy functioning of corals over space and time. Climate change and land use development are rapidly deoxygenating shallow water coral reefs and amplifying hypoxia exposure, yet we have no knowledge of the oxygen thresholds that sustain ‘normal’ coral functioning, or the mechanisms corals’ employ to tolerate hypoxia. This project will couple advanced oxygen sensing, metabolic physiology and functional genomics techniques to transform our understanding of how corals and their associated microbial communities respond to reduced oxygen conditions, which is essential to improve coral reef ecosystem management.Read moreRead less
Climate change, larval dispersal and patterns of connectivity in coral metapopulations. Patterns of connectivity among coral populations are virtually unknown and these patterns are likely to change with changing climate. This project will test how temperature and pH will change patterns of coral dispersal in order to assist the design of an effective marine reserve network throughout the Great Barrier Reef.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100142
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$396,000.00
Summary
Elemental diagnostic of coral resilience to future reef climates. This project aims to integrate elemental stoichiometry, bio-elemental imaging and metabolomics to develop a common ‘elemental currency’ as an entirely new diagnostic of coral fitness. Coral reefs generate invaluable ecosystem services, but are on the verge of global collapse. Efforts to resolve coral traits that promote ecological resilience have been unable to integrate biological and environmental complexities of reef systems in ....Elemental diagnostic of coral resilience to future reef climates. This project aims to integrate elemental stoichiometry, bio-elemental imaging and metabolomics to develop a common ‘elemental currency’ as an entirely new diagnostic of coral fitness. Coral reefs generate invaluable ecosystem services, but are on the verge of global collapse. Efforts to resolve coral traits that promote ecological resilience have been unable to integrate biological and environmental complexities of reef systems into a unifying diagnostic of reef health. Natural extremes will provide the platform to identify key metabolic traits vital for future survival, to establish adaptive elemental signatures that can scale from organism to ecosystem. The project is expected to enhance capacity of marine managers and reef stakeholders to effectively manage and safeguard Australia’s reefs and the cultural and ecosystems.Read moreRead less