Reef Breath Testing (RBT): exhaled volatile-gas biomarkers of coral health. This Project aims to uncover volatile gas "fingerprints" of coral reef taxa and how they are diagnostic of healthy reef functioning over space and time. All organisms emit distinct volatile gases via physiological fine-tuning and signalling as their environments change. Whilst coral reef taxa and coral reefs are hotspots for volatile gas emissions, which gases are produced, when and why, is entirely unexplored. This proj ....Reef Breath Testing (RBT): exhaled volatile-gas biomarkers of coral health. This Project aims to uncover volatile gas "fingerprints" of coral reef taxa and how they are diagnostic of healthy reef functioning over space and time. All organisms emit distinct volatile gases via physiological fine-tuning and signalling as their environments change. Whilst coral reef taxa and coral reefs are hotspots for volatile gas emissions, which gases are produced, when and why, is entirely unexplored. This project unites a multidisciplinary team of experts to, for the first time, couple volatile gas assessment, metabolic physiology and functional genomics techniques to transform understanding of how key volatile gases underpin coral resilience to stress and disease, which is essential to improve coral reef ecosystem management.Read moreRead less
The recovery of seagrass beds: the role of catchments and options for management responses. Seagrass beds once dominated tidal flats but are disappearing at an increasing rate due to human actions, both in Australia and around the world. This project will develop an understanding of the processes that cause these losses, the factors that prevent seagrass-bed re-establishment, and provide a framework for evaluating alternative management options.
Photosynthetic traits as “key performance indicators” of coral health. The objective of this project is to advance knowledge on the healthy functioning of the coral–algal symbiosis, which defines the response of coral reef ecosystems to worldwide environmental change. Current approaches to address this problem have linked coral health to algal symbiont diversity but have been unable to resolve the fundamental symbiont functional traits that govern this link – the “key performance indicators (KPI ....Photosynthetic traits as “key performance indicators” of coral health. The objective of this project is to advance knowledge on the healthy functioning of the coral–algal symbiosis, which defines the response of coral reef ecosystems to worldwide environmental change. Current approaches to address this problem have linked coral health to algal symbiont diversity but have been unable to resolve the fundamental symbiont functional traits that govern this link – the “key performance indicators (KPIs)”. This project plans to couple advanced physiological and functional genomics techniques to transform our understanding of how algal symbiont metabolic KPIs regulate coral growth and stress susceptibility. This may provide new diagnostic capability for the assessment of coral health and may enable us to improve coral reef ecosystem management.Read moreRead less
Testing the waters: impacts of contaminants on ecosystem structure and function in urban waterways. To ensure that people can swim, catch fish and enjoy the beauty of urban waterways we need to be able to predict the effects of more than one stressor at a time. This project will determine how nutrients and metals affect our waterways. Findings will help prioritise management actions that protect biodiversity and human uses of these systems.
Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si a ....Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si alleviates stress in wheat, from gene to farm scale, providing cost-benefit analysis and a best–practice toolbox for implementation by farmers. Outcomes are anticipated to provide a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable solution to issues of water scarcity and yield losses to pests in Australia’s leading crop.Read moreRead less
Novel habitat quality assessment to inform the development of recreational boating infrastructure. As Australians migrate towards the coast, the demand for recreational boating facilities such as moorings and marinas is increasing rapidly. These structures can remove habitat and fragment the seascape in a similar manner to roads and clearings in forest and grasslands. Coastal infrastructure can also reduce the quality of existing habitats and their full impact must be assessed if the diversity a ....Novel habitat quality assessment to inform the development of recreational boating infrastructure. As Australians migrate towards the coast, the demand for recreational boating facilities such as moorings and marinas is increasing rapidly. These structures can remove habitat and fragment the seascape in a similar manner to roads and clearings in forest and grasslands. Coastal infrastructure can also reduce the quality of existing habitats and their full impact must be assessed if the diversity and function of coastal seascapes is to be conserved. This project aims to use a combination of novel modelling, surveys, and large experiments to understand how threatened seagrass, fish, and sediment habitats are altered in human modified seascapes, and to assess the success of habitat restoration following the removal of boating structures.Read moreRead less
Boxing clever: artificial nest boxes as a conservation and research tool. Saving endangered species increasingly requires proactive management. This project presents an innovative and practical solution to save an iconic Australian species, while also providing the scientific foundation for the development of a novel Australian-based commercial product that will be used to protect and restore Australian biodiversity.
Manipulative mothers and family feuds: evolution of maternal effects under mother-offspring conflict. Can mothers shape the lives of their offspring and their grand-offspring? Can siblings shape the lives of their brothers and sisters? This project will address how mother and offspring strategies affect current and future generations. This is crucial for understanding how mothers will direct and accelerate evolutionary change in our changing world.
Discovering how termites use vibrations to make foraging decisions. Termites are pests affecting one third of Australian homes. The annual cost of treatment and damage repair is over $20 billion worldwide. Yet, little is known about how termites make foraging decisions based on vibrations. This project will study the key features in vibration signals produced by termites to unlock the secrets of their foraging behaviour.
New multi-scale seed dispersal models for improved regional weed management. This project will exploit recent advances in ecological and atmospheric modelling with the aim to build improved models of seed dispersal across landscapes to anticipate weed spread. Damaging invasive plants are rapidly transforming landscapes and altering ecosystem function worldwide. The speed and direction of weed spread determines the success or failure of costly containment and control actions, however we lack the ....New multi-scale seed dispersal models for improved regional weed management. This project will exploit recent advances in ecological and atmospheric modelling with the aim to build improved models of seed dispersal across landscapes to anticipate weed spread. Damaging invasive plants are rapidly transforming landscapes and altering ecosystem function worldwide. The speed and direction of weed spread determines the success or failure of costly containment and control actions, however we lack the ability to adequately predict spread. New models that combine micrometeorological measurements, within-canopy turbulence and topographic variation in wind flows will be designed to better predict where dispersal will occur. In this project, these improved predictions are planned to be combined with decision models to direct the management of invasive species across entire landscapes.Read moreRead less