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Dugong aerial survey to assess recovery in Hervey Bay (Old ID 30033)
Early 2022 floods in the Hervey Bay region have had a severe impact on seagrass meadows. Dugong mortality records combined with our late 2022 dugong aerial survey suggest that while some dugongs perished as a result of food deprivation, other likely have moved away from the Hervey Bay-GSS area while those that remained in the area have concentrated around the middle of Hervey Bay, over remaining deep-water seagrasses. While the deep seagrasses appear to be on their way to recovery there is still uncertainty as to whether and how seagrasses would recover in the inshore intertidal areas, and whether dugongs are going to repopulate the region as a result (no dugongs were sighted across the entire Great Sandy Strait in late 2022). Here, we propose to resurvey the Hervey Bay-GSS region to document the recovery of dugongs and sea turtles in the area. The timing of the surveys will be discussed and aligned with seagrass monitoring research.
Using compost from aquatic weeds to improve soil health and reduce nutrient pollution (Old ID 31118)
Excessive nutrient pollution can cause explosive aquatic weed growth, preventing fish migration, and causing mass fish kills. Weed management via herbicide spraying and removal is costly and detrimental to waterways. If the harvested weeds could be composted and used on crops, then aquatic weed management can shift from being a problem to an agricultural solution that reduces synthetic fertiliser use, while improving soil moisture, nutrient retention (reducing pollution), and soil microbial health (potentially reducing pathogens). This project examines the influence of aquatic-weed compost on the soil health and nutrient retention in tree crops near Rockhampton.
Assessing risks to coastal ecosystems with new earth observation models (Old ID 26560)
This project aims to quantify and diagnose the causes of declines in the world's coastal wetland ecosystems. Unprecedented rates of loss have been reported in many coastal ecosystems, but there is a lack of knowledge regarding their distribution, status and trajectory at the global scale. The projuect will integrate earth observation, machine-learning and ecosystem risk assessment methods to deliver new high-resolution time-series data, quantitative knowledge on the influence of social, economic and environmental factors on ecosystem loss, and predictions of different future states of coastal ecosystems. Key benefits include an improved ability to monitor and manage coastal ecosystems in Australia and globally.
Advancing the science supporting New Zealand’s freshwater sports fisheries and game bird hunting. (Old ID 27723)
This project provides a package of scientific works to support the management of freshwater sports fisheries and game bird hunting in New Zealand. Scientific works will aim to inform several areas including, the interactions between sports fish and native fish, the climatic influences on sports fish populations, the effectiveness of ecological monitoring, and the drivers of mallard/’greylard’ populations. The works will allow managers to better support and regulate freshwater fisheries and game birds to ensure populations remain healthy and available for fishers and hunters in the long term while reducing the impacts on native fauna.
Long term benthic dynamics following interventions on macroalgae dominated reefs (Old ID 28962)
Macroalgae flourish under conditions with high amounts of terrestrial runoff, increased sedimentation and nutrient loading; conditions characteristic of an increasing number of coral reefs globally. These conditions can prompt a shift from coral dominance to an altered, macroalgae-dominated community, with the return of coral dominance rare once fleshy macroalgae have established. By increasing space for growth of existing coral colonies and enhancing available space for coral recruitment, manual removal of macroalgae (“sea-weeding”) has been proposed as one measure to promote reef recovery on macroalgae dominated reefs. This project will monitor the long-term benthic impacts of removing macroalgae from experimental plots on a degraded inshore reef.
Queensland Coastline Capture Project. (Old ID 21130)
The objectives are: (1) Using panchromatic and multi-band digital imagery acquired using both aircraft and satellites to provide interpretation and capture of reefs throughout the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Specifically, identifying and capturing those reefs that expose at lowest astronomical tide (LAT). (2) to identify and capture other reef structures that are apparent from the imagery that will contribute to the knowledge of the extent and structure of the GBR. The Project will provide valuable data across Government of the GBR that will increase the general knowledge of reef location and will provide valuable data across Government of the GBR that will increase the general knowledge of reef location and structure, as well as maximising Australia's control of the GBR and realising the full extend of offshore jurisdiction.
Biodiversity, biogeography and molecular evolution on tropical reefs (Old ID 22591)
This project aims to uncover how biodiversity patterns are driven by evolutionary processes, biogeography and molecular change. Coral reefs support over 800,000 plant and animal species on <0.1% of the ocean. How was this biodiversity formed? This project aims to answer this question by generating genomic data for a group of reef building corals and reef associated fishes to reconstruct their evolutionary history. It plans to use new methods to compare models of speciation, extinction and range change among regions to determine how those processes contribute to the formation of biodiversity gradients and regional assemblage differences. The project intends to improve understanding of evolutionary dynamics to inform conservation priorities.
The genomics of bleaching tolerance in a hearty, common reef-building coral: Acropora tenuis (Old ID 24824)
Over the last two years, the Great Barrier Reef has suffered unprecedented coral bleaching, leading to a loss of coral cover and biodiversity. This project aims to quantify the consequences of coral bleaching on adaptive genetic variation. This information can be input to future modelling and resilience management techniques. We will address four major questions: 1) does bleaching lead to a loss of genetic diversity in a stress-tolerant species? 2) What genes and physiological traits are involved in stress tolerance? 3) What gene variants allow survival? And 4) Does migration of mal-adapted larvae hinder local adaptation to extreme heat?
Personal Protective Biosystems - Membranes and commensal helminths (MaCH) (Old ID 26776)
The proposed work will design a 2-part protective biosystem capable of dramatically reducing the burden of personal protective equipmetn (PPE). The first component consists of a garmetn system with a dynamic, selectively permeable graphene composite barrier laqyer and integrated self-cleaning functionality provided by metal oranic frameworks. The sedon component (including work to be done at JCU) leverages genetic modification of human helminth parasites (hookworms and/or schistosomes) to provide prophylaxis and neutralisation of various chemical and/or biological agents.
Smart Islands Program: Fostering Collaboration between Australians and Polynesians (Old ID 26900)
This project primarily aims at contributing to the French Polynesian Smart Islands program, a spearhead initiative of the Polynesian Government. Research wise, the objective is to focus on two of the four core pillars of the program: Tourism and the Circular Economy. While applied research and transfer of expertise remain the catalyst of our contribution as a team, the project also involves broader aspects: education to issues specific to the Pacific (e.g. climate change) and student exchanges (DFTA NCP); commercial relations through the French Polynesia Regional Group and institutional partnership with Tahiti Business School, of key importance to diplomatic funding.