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Optimizing Poultry Meal and Gelatin Concentrations in Feed for Scylla serrata: Effects on Growth, Digestibility, Survival, and Pellet Performance
This research investigates the effects of varying gelatin and poultry meal concentrations in feed formulations for Scylla serrata (mud crab) through two distinct trials aimed at enhancing pellet performance, growth, digestibility, and survival in aquaculture settings. In Trial 1, the focus is on evaluating gelatin concentrations of 8%, 12%, and 16% to determine their impact on pellet properties and palatability. The diets are carefully formulated to be isonitrogenous (approximately 43% crude protein) and isolipidic (approximately 15% crude lipid), incorporating 9% poultry meal while adjusting soybean meal to balance the gelatin variations. Feed preparation involves grinding dry ingredients—such as fishmeal, soybean meal, krill meal, poultry meal, and wheat flour—to a particle size of less than 500 μm, followed by thorough mixing. Gelatin is dissolved in warm water (50–60°C), combined with the dry mix along with fish and squid oils, extruded through a 10-mm die, and dried to achieve approximately 10% moisture content. The experimental design comprises nine pellet batches (three diets, each with three replicates), which are assessed for dry hardness using breaking force or a subjective scale, softness after rehydration in saline water through water absorption and compression force measurements, storage efficiency over eight weeks by monitoring lipid oxidation (peroxide value) and physical integrity, and palatability based on feed consumption rates observed in nine crabs. Trial 2 shifts the focus to poultry meal concentrations of 0%, 5%, 9%, 15%, and 20%, utilizing diets with 12% gelatin and chromic oxide as a digestibility marker. These diets are formulated by progressively replacing soybean meal with poultry meal to maintain nutrient consistency. The setup involves 150 adult crabs (100–200 g), each housed individually in PVC containers equipped with shelters to prevent cannibalism and fed twice daily at 5% body weight for eight weeks under controlled environmental conditions (25 ppt salinity, 28°C, pH 7.5–8.5, dissolved oxygen >5 mg/L). Data collection encompasses growth metrics including weight gain, specific growth rate, and carapace dimensions, apparent digestibility determined through fecal chromic oxide analysis, survival rates, and, if feasible, additional parameters such as digestive enzyme activities and blood biochemistry. Statistical analysis for both trials employ one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis tests, with post-hoc analysis conducted at a significance level of p < 0.05 to evaluate differences across treatments. This study aims to develop optimized, sustainable feed formulations to support mud crab aquaculture effectively.
Testing and implementation of the water quality metric for the 2017 and 2018 reef report cards (Old ID 23409)
Report cards are used at various levels to summarise and communicate complex information on GBR health. The effectiveness of Reef Plan is communicated through the annual Reef Report card. In the Reef Report Card, marine water quality is reported using a metric, developed in 2009, based on satellite remote sensing of near surface concentrations of chlorophyll and total suspended solids. This provides a wide spatial and temporal coverage of marine water quality. However, the current water quality metric has a number of issues such that the Independent Science Panel has recently expressed a lack of confidence in it and suggested that a new approach was needed. This proposal outlines a research program to deliver elements of this new approach.
Improving tomato commercial outcomes through enhanced vigour and grafting success
Our aim is to deliver faster-growing, higher-yielding, healthier tomato plants to benefit Australia’s $570M tomato horticultural industry. Leveraging university expertise and IP in seed germination, plant physiology, and bioelectricity, we are partnering with Rainstick, a globally unique startup developing electric treatments for seeds and plants. The current TRL of 3 reflects proof-of-concept experiments in which Rainstick’s Variable Electric Field
(VEF) treatments in tomatoes and other species can induce significant increases in crop growth and yield. By project completion, we expect to be at TRL 5, ready for at-scale trials in commercial facilities, aided by a business plan developed with Main Sequence Ventures.
SEABORNE (Sustainable Use and Benefits of the GBR) Mk.2
Valuing GBR Ecosystem Services. SEABORNE Mk.1 (2020-2024) established a proof-of-concept method using multiple secondary datasets to calculate benefits derived from GBR ecosystem services among a subset of user groups in the Cairns and Southern GBR regions. This module will:
▪ Deliver scaled-up implementation of the SEABORNE Mk 1 proof of concept by co-designing sector-specific data prioritisation frameworks with Reef stakeholders and applying the Ecosystem Service Value Chain (ESVC) to a broader set of GBR ecosystem services, values and end users in priority spatial areas
▪ Build on existing relationships with Reef Traditional Owner groups and co-design a process to test and improve the suitability of the ESVC concept for reflecting Traditional Owner values.
▪ Fill critical valuation gaps, specifically related to GBR in-water tourism, to enable understanding of impacts on value from changes in reef condition.
SEABORNE Mk.1 (2020-2024) established and tested a proof of concept to quantify benefits derived from GBR ecosystem services by end users in the Cairns and Southern GBR regions. This is called an Ecosystem Service Value Chain (ESVC). The ESVC connects human benefits with biophysical data enabling an understanding of how people use GBR ecosystems, and the extent and distribution of benefits that flow to households, Reef-dependent businesses, Traditional Owners, and Government from this use. The ESVC concept further enables existing data to be used in new ways such as generating values of total economic benefits. Working with Traditional Owner groups is an important component of this module. Based on our work with four TO groups over 2020-24 and recognising that benefit flows from ecosystem services to TOs are non-linear, we can modify the ESVC to meet the requirements of different TO groups and can apply an adapted ESVC method that utilises their own data to enable an appropriate assessment of TO use benefits.
SEABORNE Mk 1. tested the ESVC concept for a limited number of prioritised chains in the Cairns Area Plan of Management (CAPOM) and Keppels Capricorn Bunkers (KCB). These were:
• Provisioning service of fish & other biomass (wild caught and farmed) to commercial service users.
• Cultural service of recreation and leisure (recreational & non-recreational fishing) to households.
• Cultural service of education and research to Government.
There is broad scope to continue the application of the ESVC concept to better understand and use existing data for measures of benefit. We propose to work with the end users of this research to apply the ESVC approach to additional priority ecosystem services within or beyond the CAPOM and Southern reef spatial focus areas. The application of the ESVC to understand existing data and gaps for existence (non-use) value in the CAPOM and KCB spatial focus areas is a suggested first extension. Refining the ESVC approach to better understand the two-way flow of value and related existing and required data for Traditional Owners is the second suggested extension. Finally, the population of the ESVCs in SEABORNE Mk. 1 highlighted a number of weaknesses in existing data. Data weaknesses occur both due to the age of primary data (e.g., >30-year-old studies of Reef users), and in some cases from retrofitting available data to new purposes. Working with end users, SEABORNE Mk. 2 will begin to address priority gaps. Enhancing the understanding of economic value associated with snorkelling and diving especially as this relates to reef quality as well as investigating equity and justice within ecosystem service flow beneficiaries is the proposed focus here.
Rebuilding with Nature - Japan
Rebuilding with Nature is a company in Japan looking to partner with JCU to explore research capabilities and areas in the marine and coastal ecosystem space. The Non-Disclosure Agreement will commence discussions and to explore research opportunities.
Rebuilding with Nature - Japan
Rebuilding with Nature is a company in Japan looking to partner with JCU to explore research capabilities and areas in the marine and coastal ecosystem space. The Non-Disclosure Agreement will commence discussions and to explore research opportunities.
Peer Mentoring and Community Building Among Australian and Korean Working Holiday Makers
This project seeks to enhance Australia–Korea people-to-people engagement through a bilingual peer mentoring program and a digital platform tailored for current working holidaymakers. It will connect Korean participants in Australia with Australian participants in Korea through structured mentoring sessions, intercultural exchange activities, and the formation of a sustainable support network.
In addition, an alumni storytelling initiative — featuring former participants of the Australia-Korea Working Holiday Program (referred to as 'working holiday alumni') — will showcase the diverse experiences and contributions of past participants. While the project supports all participants, it pays particular attention to the gendered experiences of female working holidaymakers, recognising their unique challenges and contributions. Through these efforts, the project promotes cross-cultural understanding, career resilience, and long-term bilateral ties—bridging geographic distance and fostering digital and human connections between Australia and Korea.
Youth Alcohol Use in the Digital Age: Harnessing longitudinal cohort data and living systematic reviews to inform prevention and harm minimisation
Alcohol is a leading cause of disease burden in young Australians aged 15-24 years. The proliferation of digital technology and social media have seen concerning increases in access to alcohol among young people, yet the impacts of this accessibility are largely unknown. This project aims to identify and evaluate the risk and impact of increased access to alcohol on the physical and mental health of young Australians. We will do this through two scientifically rigorous methodologies.
First, we will extend a 16-year Australian longitudinal cohort study that has assessed children’s health and development since birth, to create a new, in-depth survey in adolescence. This survey will be co-designed with consumers and partners, and will focus on emerging methods of how young people access alcohol, the influence of social media, and associated patterns of use and alcohol-related harm. The cohort was originally established to identify the antecedents of alcohol use in children and families, and thus has comprehensive data on individual, family, peer and community risk and protective factors that will inform key prevention targets in early development.
This work will be complemented by a series of ‘living’ systematic reviews examining the impact of increased access to alcohol use on adolescent and young adult physical and mental health. We will use innovative artificial intelligence software to enable rapid updates as new evidence emerges, and to facilitate more seamless knowledge translation through our leading national partners headspace, the Australian Drug Foundation and ARACY. This project aligns with the key goals of the funding scheme and the Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities of: (1) preventative/public health research; (2) priority populations (young people); and (3) consumer-driven research. Results will inform approaches to public health, prevention and harm minimisation to reduce the adverse health impacts of alcohol on young Australians.
Dating West Antarctic ice sheet collapse using molecular sequence data (Old ID 24850)
This project aims to investigate the past stability and configuration of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet by examining genomic signatures in present day bottom-dwelling Antarctic marine animals. By employing this novel biological approach to address a key question for physical scientists, this project will provide an independent test of the hypothesis that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during the most recent interglacial and formed a transAntarctic seaway. Expected project outcomes include increased resolution of the most recent collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This should provide significant benefits in predicting future collapse and its impact on sea level rise which is a key uncertainty resulting from climate change.
Testing established methods of early prediction of genetic merit in abalone broodstock (Old ID 24872)
There is a need in the abalone industry to improve production animals. However, abalone are relatively slow growing animals and take several years to reach harvest size. This means that during the establishment of foundation broodstock populations it may be several years before the relative genetic merit of each of the broodstock can be determined and the first selection decisions made. Researchers at JCU have addressed this time-lag problem of obtaining accurate genetic estimated breeding values (gEBV) in other species. They have shown that broodstock gEBV can be estimated accurately from larvae as early as 18 days through the targeting of growth processes at the cellular level that predict genetic-determined long-term growth. This method is as yet untested in abalone, but if successful, has great potential in helping screen broodstock. This project will test the efficacy of this early prediction method in abalone. The impact of this early detection method would be to save costs by assisting in the selection of superior broodstock individuals which would produce faster growing offspring. Currently new broodstock animals are unevaluated with regard to their genetic merit.