'Streamlining search and destroy': development of a robust prioritisation framework for weed eradication using Hawkweed species. Introduced species are one of the greatest threats to our biodiversity and agriculture, as evidenced by the ARC’s National Research Priority: Safeguarding Australia. This project will advance Australia’s ability to protect itself from invaders by developing tools that guide cost-effective detection and response. Our project will have a direct effect on the planning a ....'Streamlining search and destroy': development of a robust prioritisation framework for weed eradication using Hawkweed species. Introduced species are one of the greatest threats to our biodiversity and agriculture, as evidenced by the ARC’s National Research Priority: Safeguarding Australia. This project will advance Australia’s ability to protect itself from invaders by developing tools that guide cost-effective detection and response. Our project will have a direct effect on the planning and management of Hawkweed control in Victoria and New South Wales. The framework delivered will have direct application to numerous other weeds (and relevance to other pests and diseases) within and beyond Australia. Read moreRead less
Improved monitoring of aquatic pollutants in national water resources. Clean water is predicted to become the world’s most valuable asset during this century, necessitating the improved monitoring of Australia’s limited water resources. Using a new and integrated monitoring approach, this project expects to develop and implement novel passive sampling technologies to monitor a range of water pollutants, specifically toxic ionised organic chemicals of emerging concern. The outcomes of this projec ....Improved monitoring of aquatic pollutants in national water resources. Clean water is predicted to become the world’s most valuable asset during this century, necessitating the improved monitoring of Australia’s limited water resources. Using a new and integrated monitoring approach, this project expects to develop and implement novel passive sampling technologies to monitor a range of water pollutants, specifically toxic ionised organic chemicals of emerging concern. The outcomes of this project will create cost-effective tools to advance the detection of emerging chemicals in drinking, ground, surface and waste waters. The technology will benefit millions of Australians by safeguarding essential water resources.Read moreRead less
Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from South East Queensland waterways and influence of wastewater discharges. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial emission reduction must be achieved, with responsibilities to be shared by all sectors. Rivers, estuaries and water storages contribute considerably to global nitrous oxide and methane emissions, much of which is anthropogenic contributed by urban and agricultural run-of ....Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from South East Queensland waterways and influence of wastewater discharges. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial emission reduction must be achieved, with responsibilities to be shared by all sectors. Rivers, estuaries and water storages contribute considerably to global nitrous oxide and methane emissions, much of which is anthropogenic contributed by urban and agricultural run-off and wastewater discharges. Through an in-depth study on several rivers, estuaries and reservoirs in South East Queensland, this project will provide data to enable reliable estimation of such emissions in Australia, and deliver knowledge and tool support for the development of strategic catchment management strategies.Read moreRead less
New tools to detect ecological effects of contaminants in estuaries. Identifying risks to estuarine environments from pollutants is difficult for environmental managers, who must choose between laboratory toxicity testing that is precise, but hard to generalise to field situations, and more realistic field-based monitoring, which is expensive, with a high signal to noise ratio. New molecular techniques may provide more options. Metabolomics can provide insights into the health of animals, and ec ....New tools to detect ecological effects of contaminants in estuaries. Identifying risks to estuarine environments from pollutants is difficult for environmental managers, who must choose between laboratory toxicity testing that is precise, but hard to generalise to field situations, and more realistic field-based monitoring, which is expensive, with a high signal to noise ratio. New molecular techniques may provide more options. Metabolomics can provide insights into the health of animals, and ecogenomics offers a way to rapidly assess the composition of an ecological community. These techniques offer great promise, but they must be cross-validated against existing methods to derive the best ’toolbox’. Working with Melbourne Water and CSIRO the investigators aim to do this using demonstration estuaries in Victoria.Read moreRead less
Fish fingerprints - signatures of oil contamination. The project aims to integrate chemical characterisation of crude oil with inorganic and organic markers in living organisms. Linking harmful effects on ecosystems with exposure to spilled crude oil remains a major challenge due to the ever-changing nature of oil in the environment. This project will expose fish to a range of fresh/weathered oils to mimic various exposure scenarios. The transition of oil to metabolites will be characterised in ....Fish fingerprints - signatures of oil contamination. The project aims to integrate chemical characterisation of crude oil with inorganic and organic markers in living organisms. Linking harmful effects on ecosystems with exposure to spilled crude oil remains a major challenge due to the ever-changing nature of oil in the environment. This project will expose fish to a range of fresh/weathered oils to mimic various exposure scenarios. The transition of oil to metabolites will be characterised in a suite of environmental and biological matrices using multi-dimensional chromatography/mass spectrometry, trace metals and compound-specific isotope analyses. This project will provide significant benefits by providing an improved capacity to link source oil with specific markers in living organisms.Read moreRead less
Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative ....Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative that could be incorporated into DTA programs if their ecological relevance can be demonstrated. This project will develop and validate a new and internationally significant suite of in vitro bioassays for incorporation into DTA programs, leading to more ethical, cost effective and improved environmental protection.Read moreRead less
How effective are environmental flows? Novel approaches for monitoring and assessing ecological responses to large-scale flow alteration. Australia has begun a multi-billion dollar program to return water to stressed rivers as environmental flows. However, during times of unprecedented water scarcity, such an investment in the environment can be controversial because the ecological benefits of released water are mostly poorly understood. This project will demonstrate the effectiveness of environ ....How effective are environmental flows? Novel approaches for monitoring and assessing ecological responses to large-scale flow alteration. Australia has begun a multi-billion dollar program to return water to stressed rivers as environmental flows. However, during times of unprecedented water scarcity, such an investment in the environment can be controversial because the ecological benefits of released water are mostly poorly understood. This project will demonstrate the effectiveness of environmental flows, and promote greater understanding of the links between flow patterns and river health. The project will build upon existing knowledge to create a sound framework for planning, monitoring, and evaluation of environmental watering decisions across regional Australia, greatly improving our ability to sustainably manage rivers into the future.Read moreRead less
Recovering Australia’s migratory shorebirds. This project seeks to determine how Australia’s coastal environments can be managed to aid in the recovery of threatened shorebird species. Millions of migratory shorebirds arrive in Australia each year from their Arctic breeding grounds, yet many of these iconic species are in rapid decline, and two were recently nominated as nationally threatened in Australia. Recovering these threatened species is an important priority. The project aims to discover ....Recovering Australia’s migratory shorebirds. This project seeks to determine how Australia’s coastal environments can be managed to aid in the recovery of threatened shorebird species. Millions of migratory shorebirds arrive in Australia each year from their Arctic breeding grounds, yet many of these iconic species are in rapid decline, and two were recently nominated as nationally threatened in Australia. Recovering these threatened species is an important priority. The project aims to discover when and where to act to recover declining migratory species. It also plans to assess the strength of protective mechanisms already in place in Australia and overseas to protect migratory species from extinction, and determine how to improve protection for migrants when they arrive on Australia’s shores.Read moreRead less
Understanding and reversing the rapid declines in Australia's shorebirds. Migratory shorebirds are recognised under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as nationally important assets, and these birds are iconic elements of many coastal landscapes, yet they are declining at an alarming rate. Due to their migratory nature, part of the reason for their decline might lay in Australia, but part might lay elsewhere across the 23 countries in the migratory flyway. This project ....Understanding and reversing the rapid declines in Australia's shorebirds. Migratory shorebirds are recognised under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as nationally important assets, and these birds are iconic elements of many coastal landscapes, yet they are declining at an alarming rate. Due to their migratory nature, part of the reason for their decline might lay in Australia, but part might lay elsewhere across the 23 countries in the migratory flyway. This project will discover what Australia can do within its territory to reverse shorebird declines, and how international agreements and policy positions could be strengthened to achieve shorebird conservation in the East Asian flyway. This research will deliver the science necessary to recover a matter of national environmental significance.Read moreRead less
Smart metering founding a holistic evidence-based performance evaluation framework and demand forecasting model for diversified water supply schemes. The Australian water industry faces the challenge of catering for the potable water demand of a rapidly expanding population with reduced reliability on supply imposed by an increasingly variable climate. Diversified water supply schemes (DWSS) incorporating decentralised systems or reuse sources are touted as a means to handle the inherent weaknes ....Smart metering founding a holistic evidence-based performance evaluation framework and demand forecasting model for diversified water supply schemes. The Australian water industry faces the challenge of catering for the potable water demand of a rapidly expanding population with reduced reliability on supply imposed by an increasingly variable climate. Diversified water supply schemes (DWSS) incorporating decentralised systems or reuse sources are touted as a means to handle the inherent weaknesses of centralised urban water supply schemes by potentially drawing 30-50 per cent less demand on their reserves. This research study will provide evidence to support the implementation of best practice DWSS based on an evidence based holistic assessment of their performance considering potable water savings, capital and operation costs, energy demand, as well as environmental and community impacts.Read moreRead less