Research Projects
Global assessment of dugong status and trends (Old ID 29025)
Helene Marsh
16 Jun 2023 - 29 Feb 2024
This desktop project contributes to the Conservation and Management Plan for the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs (Dugong dugon) and their Habitats throughout their range (CMS Dugong MOU) by determining the distribution and abundance of dugong populations to provide a base for future conservation efforts and actions.
What is natural? Humans, megafauna and climate in northern Australia (Old ID 21664)
Michael Bird
01 Nov 2014 - 31 Dec 2020
This project will produce the first long-term (100,000 year), replicated, high-resolution terrestrial records of environmental change before, during and after the arrival of humans in Australian savannas. These records will be the first in the world to extract, from the same material, independent, cutting-edge organic and isotope geochemical records of changes in water balance, vegetation type and fire activity. This will enable natural and human drivers of change in northern Australia's climate and biodiversity to be disentangled on two timescales (i) millennial - before, during and after Aboriginal arrival in northern Australia and (ii) centennial - before, during and after European arrival in northern Australia.
Research Data Services (Old ID 22208)
Ian Atkinson
01 Jun 2015 - 30 Jun 2016
The intended outcomes from the RDSI (EIF) project, as described in the 2013-14 RDSI Business Plan, comprise the establishment of (a) a number of high-capacity storage nodes, and (b) a dedicated high-bandwidth, low latency inter-connection network to support data transfer and replication, together with the implementation of (c) common access infrastructure that provides a uniform user access experience, and (d) appropriate specialised access infrastructure, including the hosting of specialist access tools related to national collections.
Magmatic History, Fertility and Metallogenesis of the Mary Kathleen Domain of the Mt Isa Inlier (Old ID 24902)
Paul Dirks
28 Feb 2018 - 30 Jun 2021
This project aims to highlight the exploration potential in the Mary Kathleen Domain of the Mt Isa Inlier by providing key mineralisation insights that can assist mining companies to plan their exploration strategy for better targeting and enhance the potential for new discoveries. To achieve this, the project has three main objectives: (1) Establish the extent, character and timing of the dominant magmatic epochs in the Mary Kathleen Domain of the Mt Isa Inlier (2) Develop an understanding of the tectono-magmatic history of the Mary Kathleen Domain and its links to metallogenesis; (3) Explore the applicability of magma fertility concepts as a tool for exploration for a variety of deposit types.
Building Capacity for Evidence Based Sustainable Vector Surveillance and Control in the Pacific. (Old ID 26524)
Tom Burkot
27 Mar 2020 - 30 Jun 2024
This proposal will build the capacity of country-led programs for Aedes and anopheline borne disease control across Pacific Island countries to implement sustainable best practice surveillance and response plans based on a foundation of improved capacity and community engagement.
Transnational lives of Taiwanese working holiday makers in rural Australia (Old ID 26557)
Zoe Wang
01 Jul 2019 - 28 Feb 2023
This research is to understand the transnational lives of Taiwanese working holiday makers (WHM) in rural Australia, including their cultural, social and economic experiences, and their perception of and interaction with rural Australian society. While Taiwanese are the second largest WHM group in Australia, little is known about them, and nothing about their experience of employment in regional Australia. There is an urgent need to understand this substantial group of temporary migrants, whose presence essentially represents Taiwan to the rural Australian community, and whose labour contribution is potentially critical to the future of Australian rural development.
Forecasting coral disease outbreaks across the tropical Pacific Ocean using satellite-derived data (Old ID 26648)
Scott Heron
01 Apr 2019 - 31 Mar 2021
The project will develop better models of coral disease outbreak risk across the western tropical Pacific Ocean and embed these into the NOAA Coral Reef Watch decision support system (DSS). The current DSS, at ~50 km SST data, assesses coral disease risk for the Great Barrier Reef and Hawaii for a single disease type. Improvements will be to: increase the spatial resolution to 5 km, and expand to several coral diseases, host species and regions; incorporate short-term SST forecasts; incorporate ocean colour data, where appropriate; and undertake additional targeted coral disease observations.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance facility for Northern Australia (Old ID 21541)
Peter Junk
26 Feb 2015 - 25 Feb 2016
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a fundamentally and critically important technique in the characterisation of organic, inorganic and biological compounds. The purchase of a state-of-the-art instrument at James Cook University and a lower resolution instrument at Charles Darwin University are required to support productive existing research projects, and nurture future projects, in organometallic chemistry and the development of new materials and analytical sensors; organic photochemistry as applied in synthesis and degradation; natural products, pharmaceutical, inorganic chemistry, where multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance is most important and applicable in drug design, development and delivery.
Balclutha Wetland Survey (Old ID 23156)
Nathan Waltham
01 Nov 2016 - 30 Jan 2017
This project will complete an aquatic ecology survey in Balclutha Springs Nature Reserve with Cape York NRM and WALT Aboriginal Corporation. These data are the first for this nature reserve and will assist in conservation of the wetlands and natural springs that exist in the reserve. Data will also assist WALT Aboriginal Corporation to manage he wetlands from impacts of feral pigs.
COTS Monitoring Design: sample design for science and management decisions (Old ID 27510)
Morgan Pratchett
01 Jan 2022 - 30 Jun 2023
This project uses a combination of desktop and fieldwork to characterise and measure the detection errors associated with various COTS survey tools (e.g. manta tow, glider, eDNA, scooter, cull dives) and will calibrate density estimates across these tools to enable integration of data from multiple sources and programs into COTS Control Program decision-making.