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Restoring ecosystems from catchment to reef (Old ID 26959)
A range of NESP TWQ Hub funded projects have delivered insights into improved ways of restoring and evaluating ecosystem restoration efforts, from catchments through to the reef and other marine environments. This work has mostly focused on sediments, nutrients and freshwater, estuarine and marine wetland restoration in a wide range of projects. The diversity of approaches and contexts in which restoration has occurred, make it very difficult for anyone not intimately associated with the work to appreciate the overall outcomes and learnings. This synthesis will provide the ability to see across this range of projects and outcomes. Synthesis of the outcomes across these projects will provide easy to access practical recommendations for land and sea managers.
Xanthostemon plant essential oils as a valuable renewable resource for medical, agrochemical and healthcare applications. (Old ID 26985)
The genus Xanthostemon consists of about fifty plant species and is endemic to Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and New Caledonia. Australian essential oils are known to contain β-triketones, which possess broad antimicrobial and insecticidal activities. In contrast, the chemical composition of essential oils from New Caledonian and Papua New Guinean species are unknown. This project will close this gap by harvesting and characterizing essential oils in three tropical countries, identifying and modifying β-triketone constituents and testing these for insecticidal and antibacterial properties. The results will enable local essential oil producers to diversify and add value to their product portfolios.
Deciphering the immune mechanisms of novel TB vaccine candidates in preclinical models of active disease and latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (Old ID 27399)
Tuberculosis kills more people than any other infectious disease, and approximately one third of the world's population is latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. New vaccines are needed. These vaccines should be safe and effective against various forms of tuberculosis. This project aims to combine a new mouse model of latent tuberculosis with distinct rabbit models of TB to develop and test new vaccines against TB.
Applying Indigenous and western science knowledges to inform the sustainable management of a dugong and seagrass hotspot in the Girringun TUMRA (Old ID 27853)
Girringun Aboriginal Corporation (GAC) are deeply concerned about potential threats and reduced resilience for the coastal environment. This project will address knowledge gaps around dugongs and seagrasses that are core to Traditional Owner’s cultural identity and traditional values; critical to the cultural, natural, socio-economic values of the Girringun Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement (TUMRA) and Indigenous Protected Area, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the Hinchinbrook Island Dugong Protection Area. This project is a collaboration between GAC, seagrass and dugong experts from James Cook University, and Charles Darwin University to heal the Reef.
Regional Economic Development Through Creative Industries (Old ID 21751)
The creative industries are recognised as a key contributor to both developed and developing economies. Supply and demand factors relevant to this sector remain elusive and under-researched, particularly in relation to regional economies in northern Australia. Using the tropical city of Townsville as a case study, this project seeks to identify and map the current capacity of the creative industries (supply), the use of these services (demand), as well as issues affecting the development and retaining of the creative workforce. One of the key outcomes will be a detailed picture of what impact the supply and demand aspects of creative industries have on regional economies.
Developing hyperspectral drone technology for coral reef bathymetric mapping (Old ID 22931)
The aim of this project is to develop a rapid and cost-effective technique for mapping shallow water bathymetry in coral reef environments. As water depth and reef structure is an important input for creating benthic habitat models, a robust means for generating this information is required. Current techniques use either coarse resolution satellite images or highly expensive boat-based SONAR. This project will instead use optical measurements obtained from a remotely piloted aircraft system (drone) to provide highly detailed depth measurements. This in turn can be used to calibrate and validate satellite models, and used to scale bathymetry over broader areas.
Streamlining SWIRLnet data acquisition, analysis, storage, and dissemination procedures (Old ID 28994)
This project is a collaboration with UQ. It builds on previous projects that have developed and refined the SWIRLnet wind anemometer towers. This project will streamline the data acquisition, analysis, storage, and dissemination procedures.
Coral Sea - Coral Reef Health Multi Year Project (Old ID 26516)
The principal output of this project will be providing spatial and temporal analyses of hydrodynamic patterns in the Coral Sea Marine Park (CSMP) to facilitate planning and establishment and/or revisions of existing management plans. This project will inform patterns of connectivity and circulation flow across the broader CSMP, and between CSMP and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park using existing modelling platforms.
The role of non-neutralising ADCC antibodies in the treatment of human influenza B virus (IBV) infection with anti-influenza hyperimmune immunoglobulin (Flu-IVIG) (Old ID 26827)
Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and other Fc-mediated antibody functions are increasingly recognised as potential mediators of influenza immunity. However, a definitive role for ADCC antibodies during severe human influenza infection remains unclear. The INSIGHT006 study (NCT02287467) provides a unique platform to examine the impact of neutralising and non-neutralising ADCC antibodies, delivered by Flu-IVIG, on outcomes of severe human influenza.
3D mapping and monitoring coral reefs population and community dynamics: EcoRRAP PhD scholarship (Old ID 27302)
The aim of this project is to fill key knowledge gaps in natural rates of reef recovery and adaptation to climate change through upscaling spatial analysis and monitoring. The overreaching goal is to improve the spatial extent in monitoring techniques and workflows used to investigate drivers of coral reef recovery and adaptation to climate change, to better guide managers in the planning and design of coral reef protection and conservation programs, including restoration interventions. The project will involve fieldwork and require high level of programming and statistical skills.