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Mapping of Hervey Bay and Great Sandy Straits seagrass meadows post floods (Old ID 27628)
This project will map seagrass meadows across Hervey Bay and collect data on intertidal seagrass habitats in Great Sandy Straits to provide post flood update on the state of seagrass meadows in the region.
Development of in situ Sr isotope analyses in shark vertebrae (Old ID 27633)
Accurately ageing sharks underpins sustainable harvest and population recovery. The conventional ageing technique consists of counting growth bands in vertebrae, however, this approach suffers errors associated with over- and under-counting due to misidentifying periodic features and in-complete. More recently, element-to-element ratios have been explored as complementary tools for determining age and migratory, and in this context Mn:Ca shows promise as an age-specific fingerprint, and Sr:Ca has shown promise as one of the most prominent indicators of fresh/estuarial vs. marine environment (along with Ba:Ca), because marine environments typically have significantly higher Sr (and lower Ba) concentrations. This means that Sr:Ca—alongside Mn:Ca and Ba:Ca—can potentially be used as an annual marker, in particular for female sharks that annually return to freshwater environments to pup. It is well-known from fish otoliths (a calcified part of the inner ear) that marine and freshwater environments display distinct Sr isotope signatures (87Sr/86Sr ratios), and that fresh vs marine signatures can be readily distinguished at requisite length-scales (e.g. 50 microns) using in situ (“in place”, i.e. non-destructively) laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (or LA-MC-ICP-MS). Moreover, it is well-established that 87Sr/86Sr ratios can be determined in situ in bio-apatite (calcium phosphate or bone, such as that in fish vertebrae), and 87Sr/86Sr ratios in bio-apatite can be used to determine sub-annual mobility. And yet to date, Sr isotopes have never been investigated in shark vertebrae towards these ends. This study will combine in situ elemental compositions and 87Sr/86Sr ratios in the vertebrae of sharks to determine their ultimate viability as complementary ageing, environmental and migratory reconstruction tools.
REACHING FOR YOUR WORDS: A Phase IIa umbrella trial of integrated Upper limb & Language Impairment and Functional Training (UPLIFT) after stroke (Old ID 27743)
Losing the ability to use your arm and communicate is extremely debilitating. It affects 1 in 6 survivors at 3-months post-stroke and remains unmet long-term. We propose a new model of rehabilitation: integrated UPper limb & Language Impairment & Functional Training (UPLIFT) during community living. Using a novel trial design we will efficiently identify the most promising UPLIFT intervention(s), which will directly impact how we organise and deliver rehabilitation in Australia.
Social Psychology in Mental Health Studies: Showcase of Postgraduate Research in the Asia-Pacific Region
We intend to invite 15-20 postgraduate students and 8-10 academics (including early- and mid-career researchers and senior academics) to join this Asian Association of Social Psychology's (AASP) Small Group Meeting (SGM). The SGM aims to: 1) showcase the achievements of our next generation of social psychology researchers who are working on research in the intersection between social psychology and mental health via research presentations and Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition; 2) Organise a “Research Capacity Building Workshop”; 3) support research students in the Asia-Pacific region to publish papers in this research field via the “Conversations with Editors”; 4) inspire research students via “‘What Next’ Dialogues with Academics”; and 5) promote AASP among research students in Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
Drought and Heatwave Social Network Analysis
The project aims to complete a whole of network analysis to identify the structure and characteristics of drought and climate resilience actors (for example, programs and organisations that have a climate/drought/heatwave focus) to identify groups, clusters, or gaps within the network. The analysis will view through a dynamic lens to understand the dynamic nature of policy over time. Social Network Analysis is a powerful tool used to understand complex systems, identify key actors, to detect communities and investigate structural roles that can assist in the prediction of future interactions that will deliver upon the projects objectives.
Understanding allergens in alternative food from urban aquaculture fish to underpin food safety
This project aims at evaluating the food safety risks associated with innovative solutions to meet and secure Singapore’s nutritional needs through domestic fish production from sustainable urban aquaculture. Introducing novel food sources into the mainstream diet has potential significant unintended health consequences, particularly that of severe allergic reactions. The production of fish in urban aquaculture systems using combinatorial supplementation of fish feed and selective breeding along with processing innovations has not been evaluated for enhanced allergenicity, which is determined by the presence and immunoreactivity of allergenic proteins (allergens). Consequently, current food safety regulations for allergens are not equipped to tackle upcoming food safety issues faced by the growing innovative production of urban foods and alternative proteins. Their potential allergenicity is the focus of this project.
Using Outcomes of Marine Protected Area Implementation to Infer Potential Socioeconomic Consequences of Offshore Energy Development to Commercial Fisheries
The purpose of this study is to describe the detectable socioeconomic consequences experienced by the commercial fishing industry due to the implementation of formal de facto marine protected areas in California and elsewhere and to use this information to inform impact analyses of prospective offshore energy projects, including offshore wind and marine hydrokinetic projects.
ACE Aquatic Veterinary Consultancy
This consultancy will provide a holistic end-to-end Aquatic Veterinary Service to ACE to boost production and biosecurity, including aquatic pathogen diagnostics to support disease management, and people development to build skills in aquatic animal health at the farm level. Diagnostic tools such as histopathological and molecular diagnostic techniques will be included in service provided. The fee supports holistic on-farm outreach, biosecurity audits, veterinary consultations and disease diagnostic services linked to improving production, reducing mortalities and upskilling farm staff.
Seaweed National Hatchery Network - Tropical Research Hub for Asparagopsis taxiformis
This project provides the resources for JCU to establish and operate the Tropical Research Hub for the National Hatchery Network in collaboration with ASSA researchers for 18 months (until 31 March 2025) which is the stipulated grant duration. This FRDC project will provide the funding for JCU to engage key technical capability needed to support the Hub and establish the facilities for exclusive and continuous use for the project over the grant period, as well as provide the facilities and services of the ASSA employees (~2) working at this Hub. The core objectives of the Research Hub will be to: 1. Establish facilities and equipment required for the development of the Tropical Seaweed Research Hub 2. Deliver a focused research program to close the life cycle, of Asparagopsis taxiformis, with the goal of being able to produce spores and seedlings. 3. Develop biological contamination management techniques for seed production. 4. Collect and maintain a clean broodstock culture collection. 5. Develop hatchery technology and equipment needs through experimentation. 6. Contribute to the development of a Hatchery Manual and knowledge sharing and dissemination.
Research Assistant salary while on maternity leave (Old ID 23547)
This grant is for a casual research assistant to continue my existing research experiments and assist with running my lab while I am on maternity leave. The projects the research assistant will be assisting on are: - Can species interactions drive rapid niche adaptation? This project examines how the temperature niche of a rainforest fly evolves when it has intense competition from a closely related species with a very similar temperature niche. - Species interactions and the evolution of mating displays and preferences. This project examines how male mating display and female preference are expressed when closely related species are present, with a view to examining whether they can rapidly change their signal and preference to minimise detrimental hybridisation.