Resilience of Moreton Bay to climate change: Links between nutrient inputs and plankton dynamics. A healthy Moreton Bay, with its lucrative fishing, iconic turtles, dugongs and seabirds, helps support the $9 billion per annum tourist industry in SE Queensland. Moreton Bay is under increasing threat from nutrients produced by a mushrooming coastal population and from climate change impacts. Here we investigate nutrient-plankton relationships and develop a simple model to evaluate future impacts o ....Resilience of Moreton Bay to climate change: Links between nutrient inputs and plankton dynamics. A healthy Moreton Bay, with its lucrative fishing, iconic turtles, dugongs and seabirds, helps support the $9 billion per annum tourist industry in SE Queensland. Moreton Bay is under increasing threat from nutrients produced by a mushrooming coastal population and from climate change impacts. Here we investigate nutrient-plankton relationships and develop a simple model to evaluate future impacts on bay health. This project will put Australian scientists at the forefront of research focused on the adaptation of coastal marine environments to climate impacts, and ensure that Moreton Bay remains healthy now and into the futureRead moreRead less
Mining, irrigation, and groundwater: Towards a reliable protocol for assessing the impacts of extraction on groundwater fauna and ecology. Groundwater fluctuations associated with mining and increased irrigation demands, potentially threaten many of Australia's unique groundwater invertebrates (stygofauna) with extinction. Stygofauna represent a hidden store of biodiversity and are thought to have a critical, but poorly understood, role in enhancing groundwater quality. Environmentally sustainab ....Mining, irrigation, and groundwater: Towards a reliable protocol for assessing the impacts of extraction on groundwater fauna and ecology. Groundwater fluctuations associated with mining and increased irrigation demands, potentially threaten many of Australia's unique groundwater invertebrates (stygofauna) with extinction. Stygofauna represent a hidden store of biodiversity and are thought to have a critical, but poorly understood, role in enhancing groundwater quality. Environmentally sustainable development of groundwater resources is hampered by a dearth of information on the ecological needs of stygofauna and how they respond to human-induced change. Using field and laboratory experiments, we aim to determine how water table fluctuations threaten stygofauna. From our results we will develop sampling and management protocols to monitor and protect stygofauna communities.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354804
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impac ....ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impacts of contaminated soil and wastes, and land remediation. By facilitating communication, the network enhances national and international research coordination, interaction with regulators, end-users, industry, and other stakeholders, achievement of critical mass for new initiatives, enhances research training and contributes to a critical National Priority.Read moreRead less
Heavy metal phytotoxicity in long-term contaminated soils: Implications for the development of Australian regulatory guidelines and realistic environmental risk assessment. Heavy metal contamination is a serious global environmental problem. There are >80,000 potentially contaminated sites in Australia alone with many of these sites in the urban environment and former mining areas. The current guidelines for phytotoxicity testing (National Environmental Protection Measure 1999) are based on tota ....Heavy metal phytotoxicity in long-term contaminated soils: Implications for the development of Australian regulatory guidelines and realistic environmental risk assessment. Heavy metal contamination is a serious global environmental problem. There are >80,000 potentially contaminated sites in Australia alone with many of these sites in the urban environment and former mining areas. The current guidelines for phytotoxicity testing (National Environmental Protection Measure 1999) are based on total metal concentrations that do not take into consideration of bioavailability and wide ranging Australian soil types. Serious concerns have been raised on the applicability of these guidelines and their protective limits in ecological risk assessment. This project aims at developing phytotoxicity guidelines applicable to a wide range of soil types common to Australia.Read moreRead less
Linking River Health with Urban Drains: the Swan-Canning River Case Study. The continuous deterioration of the Swan-Canning estuary in WA has triggered the need to identify the effects of chronic contamination on biota. Contaminant entry points into the river have been identified as being urban drains and the Helena river. The aim of this research is to relate effects observed in 'drain fish' to effects observed in 'river fish'. Biomarkers of fish health such as EROD and ECOD activities, DNA dam ....Linking River Health with Urban Drains: the Swan-Canning River Case Study. The continuous deterioration of the Swan-Canning estuary in WA has triggered the need to identify the effects of chronic contamination on biota. Contaminant entry points into the river have been identified as being urban drains and the Helena river. The aim of this research is to relate effects observed in 'drain fish' to effects observed in 'river fish'. Biomarkers of fish health such as EROD and ECOD activities, DNA damage, stress proteins, biliary metabolites, etc. will be compared between drain and river fishes. Chemical analysis of contaminants will complement biomarker determinations. The outcomes will be applicable Australia wide, and provide information to better manage urban drain systems to reduce their impacts on native biota.Read moreRead less
Development of a novel Ecological Footprint for environmental reporting of companies. The aim of the project is to develop a novel Ecological Footprint concept to be applied at the company level to Sydney Water Corporation, an urban water services provider. The project will address major methodological limitations of the existing national EF concept by using regionalised input-output analysis. The outcome will be a sound, comprehensive, quantitative, reproducible, transparent and reliable EF met ....Development of a novel Ecological Footprint for environmental reporting of companies. The aim of the project is to develop a novel Ecological Footprint concept to be applied at the company level to Sydney Water Corporation, an urban water services provider. The project will address major methodological limitations of the existing national EF concept by using regionalised input-output analysis. The outcome will be a sound, comprehensive, quantitative, reproducible, transparent and reliable EF method. This new method will be an effective environmental reporting and communications tool for Sydney Water. Its value is greatly increased by the fact that it will be a generic approach to environmental reporting for any economic entity.Read moreRead less
Innovative Approach to the Optimal Management of Water Resources and Application to the Upper South East Region of South Australia. This project will increase Australia's capacity to manage water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner. The outcomes of this project will also provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the Upper South East region of South Australia, as well as the broader Australian community. The project is expected to result in a significant red ....Innovative Approach to the Optimal Management of Water Resources and Application to the Upper South East Region of South Australia. This project will increase Australia's capacity to manage water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner. The outcomes of this project will also provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the Upper South East region of South Australia, as well as the broader Australian community. The project is expected to result in a significant reduction in the economic and social costs associated with dryland salinity and flooding whilst simultaneously increasing the environmental benefits associated with the maintenance and rehabilitation of the ecological value of the some of the region's approximately 200 wetlands.Read moreRead less
International Evaluation of Algorithms for Mapping in Optically Shallow Waters. This work provides a means for Australian science and management agencies to apply a method for accurately mapping shallow coastal environments. The work will build Australian research capability by developing new collaborations among experienced researchers; as well as allowing the Australian teams to benchmark their proposed methods internationally. Nationally, the work will strengthen international research exper ....International Evaluation of Algorithms for Mapping in Optically Shallow Waters. This work provides a means for Australian science and management agencies to apply a method for accurately mapping shallow coastal environments. The work will build Australian research capability by developing new collaborations among experienced researchers; as well as allowing the Australian teams to benchmark their proposed methods internationally. Nationally, the work will strengthen international research experience and generate opportunities for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers to link into leading-edge international research networks. This work will also allow us to build strong ongoing collaborations between research teams in Australia and their counterparts overseas (specifically USA, Canada, UK and Germany). Read moreRead less
Coral Reefs - Innovative Satellite Image Mapping Techniques. Two primary outcomes are expected from this project, the first is aimed at solving a fundamental challenge to understanding and managing coral reefs in Australia and worldwide. The optimal reef mapping method(s) will enable coral reef monitoring and management programs in Australia and internationally to make full use of satellite and airborne image data sets. Secondly, the project will significantly advance the capabilities of remote ....Coral Reefs - Innovative Satellite Image Mapping Techniques. Two primary outcomes are expected from this project, the first is aimed at solving a fundamental challenge to understanding and managing coral reefs in Australia and worldwide. The optimal reef mapping method(s) will enable coral reef monitoring and management programs in Australia and internationally to make full use of satellite and airborne image data sets. Secondly, the project will significantly advance the capabilities of remote sensing applications in coral reefs, by providing a unique international test of current state of the art algorithms.In combination, these outcomes will enable Australia to continue to play a role as the world's leading developer and provider of solutions for coral reef monitoring and management.Read moreRead less
Setting rehabilitation targets for regulated floodplain wetlands: linking system structure and function. Limited understanding of ecosystem processes in floodplain wetlands impedes adaptive management strategies for combating the decline in aquatic productivity and biodiversity. This project addresses three knowledge gaps critical for effective floodplain wetland management: 1) hierarchical spatial and temporal patterns of structural diversity; 2) correspondence between patterns of structural d ....Setting rehabilitation targets for regulated floodplain wetlands: linking system structure and function. Limited understanding of ecosystem processes in floodplain wetlands impedes adaptive management strategies for combating the decline in aquatic productivity and biodiversity. This project addresses three knowledge gaps critical for effective floodplain wetland management: 1) hierarchical spatial and temporal patterns of structural diversity; 2) correspondence between patterns of structural diversity, rates of system production, and food web structure, and 3) conceptual models of relationships between hydrologic regime and wetland structure and function. The project will improve understanding of the impacts of regulation on floodplain wetlands, contribute to adaptive management, and set rehabilitation targets for delivery of environmental flows for ecosystem sustainability.Read moreRead less