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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882509
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
High resolution airborne radar for environmental research: soil moisture, vegetation, salinity and terrain mapping. There is a rapidly increasing demand for a range of environmental data. For example, information on soil moisture status is required for efficient and sustainable water use. Moreover, irrigation practices and large scale clearing have led to serious land degradation through increased salinity from rising water tables. Combined soil moisture and salinity measurement will provide im ....High resolution airborne radar for environmental research: soil moisture, vegetation, salinity and terrain mapping. There is a rapidly increasing demand for a range of environmental data. For example, information on soil moisture status is required for efficient and sustainable water use. Moreover, irrigation practices and large scale clearing have led to serious land degradation through increased salinity from rising water tables. Combined soil moisture and salinity measurement will provide important insight to this complex issue. Further, understanding the complex and rich biodiversity of Australian flora and its adaptation to droughts and fire is essential to ensuring Australian ecosystem longevity. Knowledge of flora changes through time as a function of soil moisture content and salinity is key to gaining this understanding.Read moreRead less
Stress, virulence and bacterial disease in temperate seaweeds: the rise of the microbes. Climate change is predicted to increase the spread and virulence of pathogens, and decrease the resistance to disease via temperature stress on the hosts. Combined with other human impacts (higher nutrients, pollution), we may be facing a major rise in the effect of disease on natural communities. However, these effects are largely unstudied. We will investigate the impact of marine pathogens on kelps and ....Stress, virulence and bacterial disease in temperate seaweeds: the rise of the microbes. Climate change is predicted to increase the spread and virulence of pathogens, and decrease the resistance to disease via temperature stress on the hosts. Combined with other human impacts (higher nutrients, pollution), we may be facing a major rise in the effect of disease on natural communities. However, these effects are largely unstudied. We will investigate the impact of marine pathogens on kelps and other seaweeds when they are stressed by temperature, elevated nutrients or other anthropogenic stressors. Kelp are the 'trees of the oceans', the organisms responsible for creating much of the habitat that fishes and other organisms live in. The loss of kelp forests due to disease would radically change these environments.Read moreRead less
Unravelling Western Australia's Stormy Past - A Precisely-Dated Sediment Record of Cyclones over the past 7000 years. Australia has a vast coastline, much of which is vulnerable to cyclone impact. Clearly, historical human experience does not comprehend what the climate system is capable of in terms of epic storms. Our effort to understand the storm risks of the past is complicated by the limited length of the instrumental record which reaches back only 150 years of European settlement in tropic ....Unravelling Western Australia's Stormy Past - A Precisely-Dated Sediment Record of Cyclones over the past 7000 years. Australia has a vast coastline, much of which is vulnerable to cyclone impact. Clearly, historical human experience does not comprehend what the climate system is capable of in terms of epic storms. Our effort to understand the storm risks of the past is complicated by the limited length of the instrumental record which reaches back only 150 years of European settlement in tropical areas of Australia. This project will reconstruct the history of storms and cyclones using sedimentary signatures in Western Australia over the past 7000 years to assess storm and cyclone risks under changing future climates in a regional context.Read moreRead less
More than mud: how will disruption of soft-sediments threaten coastal biodiversity? Habitat destruction and increased nutrient input are combining with climate change to threaten the biodiversity and fisheries productivity of soft sediment habitats that dominate Australia's sixteen million square kilometre exclusive economic zone. This project will develop the tools necessary for the sustainable management of our coastal biodiversity under multiple scenarios of change. Because many of the result ....More than mud: how will disruption of soft-sediments threaten coastal biodiversity? Habitat destruction and increased nutrient input are combining with climate change to threaten the biodiversity and fisheries productivity of soft sediment habitats that dominate Australia's sixteen million square kilometre exclusive economic zone. This project will develop the tools necessary for the sustainable management of our coastal biodiversity under multiple scenarios of change. Because many of the results will be broadly applicable to coastal systems worldwide, this project will generate high-impact publications that will increase the research profile of Australia. It will train postgraduate students in strategies to help ensure the sustainable use of our biodiversity and will generate collaborations with leading international scientists.Read moreRead less
Bacterial disease and bleaching of chemically defended marine algae. Disease has emerged as a major factor in the ecology and management of natural marine communities. Moreover, the impact of disease in marine ecosystems is linked to environmental changes such as global warming. Much of the research in this area has focused on tropical systems (coral reefs). However, in temperate reef systems seaweeds are the major habitat formers. This proposal investigates how environmental factors (temperat ....Bacterial disease and bleaching of chemically defended marine algae. Disease has emerged as a major factor in the ecology and management of natural marine communities. Moreover, the impact of disease in marine ecosystems is linked to environmental changes such as global warming. Much of the research in this area has focused on tropical systems (coral reefs). However, in temperate reef systems seaweeds are the major habitat formers. This proposal investigates how environmental factors (temperature, UV) mediate bacterial disease of seaweeds, key temperate organisms. The proposal thus adresses National Research Priority 1: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, and in particular the Priority Goals 'Sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity' and 'Responding to climate change and variability'. Read moreRead less
Impact of Metal - Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Interactions on Growth and Toxicity of Ichthyotoxic Algae in Australian Coastal Waters. Toxic algal blooms in estuarine and coastal waters can have devastating economic and ecological impacts but remarkably little is known about the factors that control either organism growth or toxin severity. Recent studies suggest that the interplay between delivery of the nutrient trace metals iron and copper and the method via which the organism acts to assimi ....Impact of Metal - Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Interactions on Growth and Toxicity of Ichthyotoxic Algae in Australian Coastal Waters. Toxic algal blooms in estuarine and coastal waters can have devastating economic and ecological impacts but remarkably little is known about the factors that control either organism growth or toxin severity. Recent studies suggest that the interplay between delivery of the nutrient trace metals iron and copper and the method via which the organism acts to assimilate these metals is critical to the generation and aggressiveness of the toxins produced. These processes will be investigated in this study and conceptual and mathematical models will be developed which will assist in assessing management options for estuarine and coastal environments.Read moreRead less
Derivation of long-term hydroclimatic sequences for water resources engineering, management and planning. This project aims to develop in-situ reconstructions of flood and drought occurrence in the Sydney Warragamba catchment. The unique approach will utilise two complementary methods to provide robust insights into historic variability at the location of interest. The derived sequences will be used to augment the instrumental record, the sole basis for current drought risk assessment. A key out ....Derivation of long-term hydroclimatic sequences for water resources engineering, management and planning. This project aims to develop in-situ reconstructions of flood and drought occurrence in the Sydney Warragamba catchment. The unique approach will utilise two complementary methods to provide robust insights into historic variability at the location of interest. The derived sequences will be used to augment the instrumental record, the sole basis for current drought risk assessment. A key outcome will be an accurate appreciation of long-term drought occurrence. This will also provide a stronger basis for utilising climate information in guiding day-to-day reservoir and water supply management. The proxy histories are of key importance in estimating future flood and drought risk assessments for water resources management and planning.Read moreRead less
Characterizing the hydrological cycle using water isotopes, land-surface models and satellite observations. Water is our most precious natural resource. In Australia, it is also our most precarious. The hydrological cycle describes the movement of water between the ocean, atmosphere and land. Understanding the effect and impact that a changing climate might have on the hydrological cycle is critical to securing Australia's water resources. To address these challenges, we must improve our basic u ....Characterizing the hydrological cycle using water isotopes, land-surface models and satellite observations. Water is our most precious natural resource. In Australia, it is also our most precarious. The hydrological cycle describes the movement of water between the ocean, atmosphere and land. Understanding the effect and impact that a changing climate might have on the hydrological cycle is critical to securing Australia's water resources. To address these challenges, we must improve our basic understanding of the water exchange processes within the Earth system. Our project will exploit new technology in ground and space based observation, combined with advanced modeling and measurement capabilities, to develop an improved understanding and characterization of Australian hydrological cycles and aid in assessing climate change related impacts. Read moreRead less
Ecological consequences of hydrodynamic disturbances. The Great Barrier Reef is synonymous with Australia to many people worldwide. Consequently, it is of paramount importance to our national tourism industry. As stewards of this unique ecosystem, we are responsible for ensuring its persistence under not only present, but also future climate scenarios. To do so requires the tools for predicting the ecological impacts of physical disturbance that this project will develop. Because of its global s ....Ecological consequences of hydrodynamic disturbances. The Great Barrier Reef is synonymous with Australia to many people worldwide. Consequently, it is of paramount importance to our national tourism industry. As stewards of this unique ecosystem, we are responsible for ensuring its persistence under not only present, but also future climate scenarios. To do so requires the tools for predicting the ecological impacts of physical disturbance that this project will develop. Because of its global significance, this work will continue to generate high-impact publications that will increase the international research profile of Australia. Finally, this project will generate collaborations with top researchers worldwide and will provide high quality training to postgraduate students.
Read moreRead less