An elemental hypothesis for sub-tropical refugia in reef corals. This project aims to discover the underlying traits that permit Australian reef corals to live near the edges of their ranges in relatively cool water. As ocean temperatures warm, novel communities are expected to develop in high latitude ecosystems, which might become important as thermal refugia for low latitude coral reefs. The project aims to test the role of elemental composition (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) in coral host ....An elemental hypothesis for sub-tropical refugia in reef corals. This project aims to discover the underlying traits that permit Australian reef corals to live near the edges of their ranges in relatively cool water. As ocean temperatures warm, novel communities are expected to develop in high latitude ecosystems, which might become important as thermal refugia for low latitude coral reefs. The project aims to test the role of elemental composition (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) in coral host and symbiont response to changing water temperature along a latitudinal gradient. The intended outcome of the project is to provide knowledge to support predictions of likely species migrations from tropical to subtropical waters, enabling managers to anticipate the future response of coral communities to seawater warming.Read moreRead less
Tackling marine conservation issues at national and global scales. This project aims to collect and apply standardised underwater data on fishes, invertebrates and plants in an unprecedented global analysis of decadal change in rocky and coral reef ecosystems. Outcomes will include validation of global models of ocean warming and understanding of poorly known ecological impacts of recreational fisheries. A suite of data-informed recommendations developed through engagement across management, sci ....Tackling marine conservation issues at national and global scales. This project aims to collect and apply standardised underwater data on fishes, invertebrates and plants in an unprecedented global analysis of decadal change in rocky and coral reef ecosystems. Outcomes will include validation of global models of ocean warming and understanding of poorly known ecological impacts of recreational fisheries. A suite of data-informed recommendations developed through engagement across management, science and public sectors will benefit Australians by enabling improved sustainability of resource use. International benefits will propagate through increased data access, improvements in predictive models and the evidence base required for large-scale biodiversity-related policy reform.Read moreRead less
Orientation in the pelagic environment: how do larval marine fish find their way home? This study will determine what senses tiny fish larvae use to orientate in the ocean and to influence where currents disperse them. Because larval dispersal determines the spatial extent of fish populations, this knowledge is important for management of marine fisheries and the design and operation of marine parks.
Temperate trophic cascades: impacts of seal foraging on benthic community dynamics. Effective Marine Protected Area management across Australia requires guidance from rigorous strategic research. The project will investigate opposing activities that provoke ecosystem collapse (overharvesting, grazing) or recovery (marine park protection) and provide advice to improve effectiveness of marine conservation strategies in New South Wales and South Australia.
Connecting ecological processes controlling variation across spatial scales. Large variability in numbers and types of animals from place to place and time to time characterizes many ecological systems, particularly on the rocky shores along our coasts. It confuses interpretation and hampers predictions about conservation, impacts and climatic change. This programme is a systematic experimental analysis of the major causes of variance (availability of suitable habitat and food, influences of w ....Connecting ecological processes controlling variation across spatial scales. Large variability in numbers and types of animals from place to place and time to time characterizes many ecological systems, particularly on the rocky shores along our coasts. It confuses interpretation and hampers predictions about conservation, impacts and climatic change. This programme is a systematic experimental analysis of the major causes of variance (availability of suitable habitat and food, influences of weather) on the animals and indirectly on their food. The research will unravel the interacting influences that operate over several spatial scales to cause variability in local diversity. This will radically increase our capacity to sustain our coastal fauna.Read moreRead less
Biotic connectivity within the temperate Australian marine protected area network at three levels of biodiversity, communities, populations and genes. Project outcomes will improve management of coastal biodiversity through a multi-state collaboration of managers, marine ecologists, population geneticists and taxonomists. Sites most needed within marine protected area (MPA) networks for maintaining resilience of populations across seascapes will be identified, including sites with exceptional en ....Biotic connectivity within the temperate Australian marine protected area network at three levels of biodiversity, communities, populations and genes. Project outcomes will improve management of coastal biodiversity through a multi-state collaboration of managers, marine ecologists, population geneticists and taxonomists. Sites most needed within marine protected area (MPA) networks for maintaining resilience of populations across seascapes will be identified, including sites with exceptional endemism or key roles in dispersal of larvae. The ecological efficacy of the temperate Australian MPA network will be assessed through analysis of long-term ecological datasets and further development of a novel 'remote sensing' methodology, whereby surveys are undertaken by volunteer divers across much greater spatial and temporal scales than could be studied by dedicated scientific dive teams.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100308
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$435,748.00
Summary
Effects of artificial light at night on coastal ecosystems. This project aims to determine the ecological effects of artificial light at night on coastal marine ecosystems. Artificial light at night is a pervasive stressor that disrupts a fundamental driver of ecological and evolutionary processes: natural light cycles. Using a holistic approach that combines field experiments and microbial ecology, this project will assess impacts of artificial light at multiple levels of biological and ecologi ....Effects of artificial light at night on coastal ecosystems. This project aims to determine the ecological effects of artificial light at night on coastal marine ecosystems. Artificial light at night is a pervasive stressor that disrupts a fundamental driver of ecological and evolutionary processes: natural light cycles. Using a holistic approach that combines field experiments and microbial ecology, this project will assess impacts of artificial light at multiple levels of biological and ecological organisation. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on how species interactions mediate functional changes in response to an emergent, global stressor. This should provide significant benefits, including enhanced management of coastal systems and the critical services and social benefits they provide.
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Improving prediction of rocky reef ecosystem responses to human impacts. This project aims to improve our understanding of inshore ecosystems to facilitate better management of our living marine heritage. The project first aims to extend field datasets on the density and distribution of thousands of marine fishes, invertebrates and macro-algae. These will then be combined using recent advances in quantitative ecological modelling to describe transfer of biomass between species at hundreds of sit ....Improving prediction of rocky reef ecosystem responses to human impacts. This project aims to improve our understanding of inshore ecosystems to facilitate better management of our living marine heritage. The project first aims to extend field datasets on the density and distribution of thousands of marine fishes, invertebrates and macro-algae. These will then be combined using recent advances in quantitative ecological modelling to describe transfer of biomass between species at hundreds of sites, with a primary focus on southern Australia. It is anticipated that this will provide site-level indices of major food web processes that, when combined with ‘before, after, control, impact’ data, will improve prediction of ecological consequences of fishing, climate change, pest outbreaks and pollution.Read moreRead less
Australia's ocean microbiome: how the diversity and functionality of microbes influence key oceanographic provinces. Every millilitre of seawater contains millions of microbes that maintain the health of our planet, but their identity and function in Australian waters is undefined. This project will identify the microbes inhabiting Australian marine systems, elucidate the services they provide, and predict how they will be affected by future environmental changes
Dynamic assessment of threats to marine megafauna in face of global change. This project aims to develop a global approach to synthesise global tracking datasets and deliver near real-time diagnostics on risks for marine megafauna at a global scale pushing forward a new frontier in dynamic marine spatial management to improve conservation. This project expects to increase our understanding of how marine megafauna movements vary with environmental changes and how much they overlap with threatenin ....Dynamic assessment of threats to marine megafauna in face of global change. This project aims to develop a global approach to synthesise global tracking datasets and deliver near real-time diagnostics on risks for marine megafauna at a global scale pushing forward a new frontier in dynamic marine spatial management to improve conservation. This project expects to increase our understanding of how marine megafauna movements vary with environmental changes and how much they overlap with threatening global human activities. Expected outcomes will demonstrate how big data in marine telemetry can be synthesised and translated into ecologically significant behaviours. This should provide significant benefits to address global scientific and societal problems highlighted in the Australian science and research priorities.Read moreRead less