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Ecology and behaviour of feral cats in the Wet Tropics (Old ID 22929)
This project will investigate the behaviour and ecology of feral cats in the Australian wet tropics region using motion sensitive cameras and GPS collars. The goal is to understand the ecological and conservation impacts of these introduced predators across the wet tropics. In addition to generating high profile scientific publications, this project will generate important recommendations for the conservation and management of the wet tropics.
Leadership and Technology Training in Bioinformatics (Old ID 25062)
JCU has recently announced the creation of a centre for bioinformatics and genomics. This centre will expand on recent strategic efforts at JCU to develop core bioinformatics capability and solidify leadership in this growing area of research. This will effectively consolidate smaller disparate groups into a wellconnected larger group under one unifying body. Dr Field will act as co-director of this centre while concurrently building a bioinformatics research team at JCU. This proposal outlines steps to obtain the necessary leadership and mentoring skills required to support these two endeavours.
Barramundi origins: determining the contribution of stocking to the barramundi catch on Queensland's east coast. (Old ID 26618)
Barramundi are stocked in impoundments, freshwater rivers and estuaries along the Queensland east coast and there is strong evidence that a substantial proportion of these fish find their way into estuarine and coastal environments. However, what this contribution actually is to the barramundi commercial fishery is unknown. Established methods for identifying the source of fish-genetics and otolith microchemistry-can be effective, but are costly. This project will evaluate near infra-red spectroscopy (NIRS) on otoliths as a rapid approach to identify if a barramundi is stocked or not.
Corrosion inhibitors for Prochem Haulage (Old ID 26710)
This project will implement a new anti-corrosion system at mining sites coordinated by Prochem Haulage
Application of a machine learning approach for effective stock management of abalone (Old ID 26742)
Determining the number and size distribution of abalone present at various stages of production is critical information for effective stock management. Currently the Australian abalone aquaculture industry spends in the order of $25,000 per annum, per farm, gathering this information by hand. However, the resulting data is of mediocre quality, is limited in its scope, and collecting the data causes stress to the animals which can compromise growth and survival. Automated counting and measuring of abalone will increase farm efficiency and productivity in the short term and, in the longer term, will provide an advanced platform for further R&D improvements. Artificial intelligence and machine learning has now matured to a point that accurately counting and measuring abalone is possible using this approach. This project would involve the development, training and validation of a machine learning model to identify, segment and measure quantitative abalone traits in production systems, and render the product data to be accessible and applicable for farmers.
Mapping Marra Sea Country with a focus on benthic habitats of the Limmen Marine Park (Old ID 27076)
Understanding the distribution and composition of benthic habitats in the Limmen Marine Park is necessary to manage the park in accordance with the North Marine Parks Network Management Plan and support the aspirations of the Marra People. Our team will survey the marine benthic habitats within and adjacent to the marine park. Recommendations for the marine park’s co-management will be developed. Project outputs will be relevant to multiple users and made accessible by optimizing media streams, including a short film about the Limmen marine park from the perspective of the Marra people and sea rangers.
Timing of Geological Events at Mt Clark Breccia Complex - Honours Project. (Old ID 27184)
The proposed Honours project will attempt to establish a relative timing of geological events at the Mt Clark breccia complex by defining of a sequence of geological and hydrothermal events. This should include the characterization of alteration mineralogy and metal zonation within the project area and defining the sequence in which hydrothermal events (veins, breccias and intrusions) occurred. The work should integrate field and drill core observations, sample analysis and any other required methods to produce a paragenetic sequence of events that led to gold mineralisation at the Mt Clark project.
Uncovering the deep history of Indigenous fisheries on the Great Barrier Reef: Expanding knowledge with novel high-resolution collagen fingerprinting (Old ID 27260)
This project aims to document Indigenous interactions with the fish resources of the northern Great Barrier Reef (Queensland, Australia) over the past 6,500 years. Using novel analyses of archaeological fish remains, this project expects to generate new knowledge on how people’s actions transformed marine systems and modified fish communities. Expected outcomes include a long-term cultural history of the sustainability of Indigenous fisheries practices in the region, and baseline ecological data for the period prior to European occupation.
Mapping Australia’s saltmarsh ecosystems for the blue carbon method (Old ID 27282)
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)
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.