Research Projects
Mapping Australia’s saltmarsh ecosystems for the blue carbon method (Old ID 27282)
Nicholas Murray
04 Jun 2021 - 03 Jun 2023
This project aims to progress our ability to develop nationwide, highly accurate maps of the distribution of saltmarsh ecosystems. Saltmarshes are important for maintaining biodiversity, nutrient removal, carbon sequestration and storm protection, but there is a severe lack of knowledge regarding their spatial distribution and change in Australia. This project will (i) develop a set of occurrence records that are suitable to deploy as training and validation data in a recently developed Landsat-based classification model of coastal ecosystems (Global Intertidal Change, by CI Murray), (ii) adapt the Global Intertidal Change model developed by CI Murray to Australia’s saltmarsh ecosystems and (iii) consult with a UNSW-based software engineer to port the Global Intertidal Change model to Australia’s national research infrastructure (Digital Earth Australia). Ultimately this work will underpin Australia’s first wall-to-wall to maps of saltmarsh ecosystems. Key benefits to the end-user include convening a community of coastal ecosystem experts to support a sustained national effort to map saltmarshes and compiling disparate information sources on saltmarsh distributions into a single national dataset.
Exploration of the development of Self-Regulated Learning in year 4 JCU medical students in Cairns (Old ID 27304)
Anna Vnuk
15 Apr 2021 - 30 Jun 2022
In order to develop as autonomous and competent practitioners serving the rural and remote locations of FNQ, students must develop as self regulated learners (SRL), seeking and using feedback to plan and organise their learning. The exploration of their development as SRLs will be done through interviews of year 4 Cairns medical students and the transcripts will be analysed using the SRL framework of Pintrich. This foundational study will assist in helping to track the course of this development in order to plan intervention to improve competence and retention of Cairns graduates in the FNQ region.
Rehabilitating Bare Ground in the Southern Gulf Region to Improve Drought Resilience (Old ID 27902)
Jack Koci
20 Jan 2023 - 30 Jun 2024
The project will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of bare ground rehabilitation techniques on improving drought resilience on cattle grazing properties throughout the Southern Gulf region of north-west Queensland. Detailed on-ground measurement, coupled with remote sensing techniques, will be used to evaluate changes in soil and vegetation condition as a result of rehabilitation approaches trialled. The project will be underpinned by extensive communication and engagement activities. Ultimately, the project will deliver new knowledge to support more drought resilient, sustainable and profitable cattle production in tropical north Queensland, and other parts of northern Australia.
Benthic monitoring and demersal fish surveys in Limmen Marine Park. (Old ID 29022)
Tim Smith
18 Jun 2023 - 30 Jun 2025
This project's requirements are for field work, data analysis and reporting on benthic habitat monitorings and demersal fish communities in, and connected to, Limmen Marine Park, in the South-West Gulf of Carpentaria. The objectives are: 1. Increase understanding of traditional knowledge and collaborate with Indigenous rangers and Traditional Owners to undertake marine park management, such as monitoring, including the development of bilingual maps where possible. 2. Identify any changes/trends in the condition of benthic habitats in the marine park, including seagrass, algal, sponge and coral habitats. 3. Identify demersal fish communities in and adjacent to the marine park, including consideration of key pressures on these communities and any potential management actions for mitigating impacts.
How does the “stand-back” requirement improve risk assessment? The use of root cause analysis (Old ID 30042)
Skye Zhu
01 Jul 2023 - 30 Nov 2024
The “stand-back” requirement is a newly added provision found in global audit standards such as Australian auditing standard ASA 220 (Revised), ISA (UK) 240 and international auditing standard ISA 315 (Revised) (FRC 2022; IAASB 2019; AUASB 2021a; AUASB 2021b). The standards require an auditor to reconsider and re-evaluate whether all significant transactions, balances and disclosures have been identified once the risk assessment has been completed (AICPA 2020; KPMG 2020). We experimentally investigate whether the presence of “stand-back” requirement and the types of learning examples in root cause analysis can jointly influence auditors’ fraud risk assessment decisions.
Can species interactions drive diversification? (Old ID 20158)
Megan Higgie
01 Feb 2013 - 31 Dec 2016
How new species arise from an existing species remains a fundamental question in evolutionary biology. Particularly intriguing is the widely-observed pattern that related species, in some cases highly speciose groups, often differ primarily in mating traits. Understanding the processes that generate mating trait divergence among populations therefore lies at the core of speciation research. I will examine how male signals and female mating preferences for male signals evolve due to species interactions among a closely related species group, the Drosophila serrata species complex, which co-occur in the rainforests of northeast Queensland. Using laboratory experiments, I will test whether species interactions can drive diversification.
Microwave Assisted Pyrolysis of Biosolids (Old ID 20736)
Mohan Jacob
01 Jul 2013 - 17 May 2017
This project will be a scoping study of the application of microwave energy for pyrolytic decomposition and chemical and nutrient recovery from biosolids and food processing waste streams. By using the collaborative expertise and facilities of a number of research institutions, the following objectives are embodied in this project: 1) Perform a detailed investigation of the existing knowledge in this area of study and thus formulate techniques to bridge the knowledge gap; 2) Perform microwave assisted characterization of biosolid materials; 3) Design and fabrication of a 3 kW microwave assisted pyrolysis system; 4) Perform a chemical and nutritional content study of the pyrolytic products; 5) Compare the operational economics and products of microwave-assisted pyrolysis with those of conventional high temperature pyrolytic processes.
Gamba Grass Effects on Savanna Carbon and Fire (Old ID 22227)
Michael Bird
02 Jul 2015 - 01 Jul 2016
To provide soil analysis and data.
Light thresholds for seagrasses of the GBR: a synthesis and guiding document for managing seagrass (Old ID 22235)
Catherine Collier
01 Jul 2015 - 15 Mar 2016
Light levels (ie water quality/turbidity) can be managed to minimise seagrass losses. Recent attempts to define threshold levels of light required to maintain GBR seagrass state has resulted in a spectrum of recommendations with no single definitive source document to guide regulation. We will compile the available information on light thresholds into a guiding document, which will become a key reference for managers and regulators to use in generating relevant water quality guidelines and conditions for developments such as dredging programs. It will also highlight research information needs and provide interim guidelines for immediate management application.
Principal Research Fellowship #1023636 (Old ID 22478)
Denise Doolan
01 Jan 2012 - 31 Dec 2017
Vaccine development against malaria and other complex diseases remains a challenge for the scientific community. A rational approach to vaccine development is to identify the target antigens and epitopes of protective immunity, characterise the mechanisms of protective immunity in animal models and humans, develop and refine vaccine platforms and formulations that induce the desired immune responses against the identified antigenic targets, and down-select candidate vaccines for testing in human clinical trials. My research program encompasses core themes of basic research on immune mechanisms and host-parasite interactions as well as antigen and epitope discovery from genomic sequence data using immunomic approaches, using malaria as a model.