Marine Biology & Aquaculture


David Bourne

David Bourne

Mark Hamann

Mark Hamann

Yui Sato

Yui Sato

Agnes Le Port
Ludwig Lopata

Ludwig Lopata

Gregory Maes

Gregory Maes

Gemma Galbraith

Gemma Galbraith

Extending REDMAP to Queensland (Old ID 26980)
Jan Strugnell - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
30 Sep 2020 - 30 Sep 2022
REDMAP (Range Extension Database & Mapping project) is a citizen science initiative inviting fishers, divers and boater to submit photographs of unusual fish sightings to an interactive website (www.redmap.org.au). The project seeks to inform, engage and educate fishers, divers and boaters about fish that are shifting southwards in accordance with warming waters. This project will continue to roll out this initiative across Queensland through public talks at fishing and diving clubs in conjunction with the distribution of brochures, dive plans and stickers highlighting the fish species for citizen scientists to keep a look out for while they are on or in the water.
Coastal wetland restoration options investigation. (Old ID 27446)
Nathan Waltham - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
02 Dec 2021 - 31 Dec 2022
Coastal restoration aims to improve and protect sensitive and important wetland areas. While restoration projects are underway most are small scale, and to achieve targets that will help government deliver on the Reef 2050 plan objectives we need to initiate large scale project sites. This project site is set to become the largest restoration site in north Queensland, and our team will be responsible for the collection of background science to support this project site. The data generated will be used to support the development of an options report outlining the full potential of restoration outcomes.
Mungana and Kings Vol REMP Design (Old ID 23476)
Nathan Waltham - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
13 Apr 2017 - 30 Jul 2017
Auctus Resources has engaged TropWATER to design a Receiving Environment Monitoring Program (REMP) for the Mungana and King Vol Projects in order to enable environmental monitoring for the minesites.
Acti-meal dose-response for abalone. (Old ID 26882)
Leo Nankervis - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
17 Jun 2020 - 31 Dec 2020
Tarac international wish to evaluate their grape marc commercially marketed as ‘Acti-Meal’. This has shown positive effects on growth for greenlip abalone. Marketing this product needs further validation and examination of mode-of-action, which we hope to elaborate with this project. This research is expected to lead on to further contracts with Tarac, including abalone and prawn nutrition.
Microhabitat preferences and post-settlement demography for juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) (Old ID 23243)
We will document fine-scale (within reef) variation in the abundance of juvenile (0+ year old) CoTS and relate patterns of abundance to specific features of the local habitat (e.g., depth and aspect) and micro-habitat (eg., cover of different coralline algae and corals) to further refine where to find newly settled CoTS. In areas with high settlement of CoTS, we will also quantify early post-settlement growth and mortality for a single cohort of CoTS, by measuring the local abundance and size structure of juvenile CoTS at selected locations through the course of 1 year.
Real time monitoring of water quality and mechanisation of pond management to boost productivity and increase profit (Old ID 24891)
Dean Jerry - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
21 Mar 2018 - 30 Jun 2018
the cost of electricity to driver pond aerators is one of the major costs of barramundi production. This project looks at the use of oxygen sensors linked to controllers that switch on and off paddlewheels once oxygen levels reach 80o% saturation. The effects of the controllers on cost of electricity use, and the pond ecosystem including nutrient levels, algae composition and metals will be assessed. The project will deliver an understanding if electricity costs can be reduced using controllers without reducing production or adversely affecting the pond environment.
Feral Pig Impact on Wetlands in Archer River Catchment (Old ID 22226)
Nathan Waltham - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
01 Jun 2015 - 30 Jun 2017
This project will assess and evaluate the health of wetlands and in channel waterholes within the Archer River catchment. This baseline assessment will provide data to compare future surveys following installation of feral pig exclusion fencing, and also proposed agricultural development in this region. The survey wiolo include assessment of fish, wetland plants, macroinvertebrates, water quality, and terrestrial vertebrate communities that occupy wetlands. The project will also include Traditional Owner education and training during this survey.
Grouper nutrition review (Old ID 26828)
Leo Nankervis - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
15 Apr 2020 - 29 Jan 2021
A new ACIAR Concept Note is in preparation for the continuation of ACIAR investment in hybrid grouper aquaculture in Vietnam (FIS/2020/106). In parallel with the development of the Concept Note that will include a high level approach to nutrition research, a desk-top review of existing research is needed to prepare a targeted and practical research focus for the grow-out nutrition component of the project. The frequency of publication of peer-reviewed articles in grouper nutrition is ever increasing and understanding the current status of research is critical in order to maximise ACIAR investment in this area. The review will inform the detail of the experimental approach in the next ACIAR project, which needs to be planned in advance of the project start to maximise outcomes (possible start in July 2021). In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented further scoping travel to Vietnam in the short-term which will necessitate careful remote planning with proposed research partners to identify the most appropriate research systems and resource requirements in Vietnam and Australia for this research component (to be considered in time for resource requirements to be included in the Concept Note submitted in June 2019).
A new functional approach to coral reefs (Old ID 26230)
David Bellwood - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
01 Jan 2020 - 31 Dec 2024
Around the world coral reefs are changing fast, challenging traditional scientific, management, and governance approaches. This project will address this challenge by implementing a new function, approach exploiting a unique combination of evolution ary and ecological methodologies. Expected outcomes include a global overview of ecosystem function and an in-depth understanding of how ecosystems change. This is likely to result in specific, and practical, management objectives by identifying crucial ecosystem functions that support reefs and the people who rely on them.
LEX/NG
Hillary Smith - Marine Biology & Aquaculture
25 Feb 2024 - 01 Oct 2024
Coral reefs face dual threats of climate change and local anthropogenic stressors, with losses of live corals often resulting in proliferated macroalgae (seaweeds). My previous National Geographic-funded research showed that a low-tech, simple approach of “sea-weeding” (i.e. removing seaweeds by hand) is effective in rehabilitating degraded, macroalgae-dominated reefs. Specifically, my 5-year research program resulted in a >600% increase in coral cover post-seaweed removal since 2018. These promising outcomes offer a cost-effective strategy for reef management, particularly for economically constrained island nations. However, the success of sea-weeding may be species-specific. On the studied reefs, Sargassum was the dominant genus of seaweed. Hence further research is required across diverse algal taxa to gauge the broader applicability of sea-weeding to improve coral reef resilience. Many South Pacific island nations are facing increased seaweed abundance as reefs continue to degrade. The loss of corals is catastrophic, as reefs form an integral part of Pacific culture, providing a significant proportion of dietary protein through reef-associated fish. Additionally, coral reefs provide shoreline protection for low-lying islands, and losses of reefs could contribute to oceanic inundation. The PALA and PAPA voyage locations are ideal candidates for implementing sea-weeding as a low-cost restoration and management technique. However, these reefs are relatively unexplored, with little recent quantitative documentation of reef community composition. Indeed, even where surveys exist, the taxonomic resolution of seaweed communities is lacking (i.e., all algae are grouped together as “algae” rather than genus- or species-level observations). Hence, the primary objective of this project is to explore the distribution and diversity of reef communities around the tropical South Pacific. The data collected will form a baseline understanding over a large geographic area of w
Reseracher: Ludwig Lopata (Professor, Personal Chair)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2020
Reseracher: Ludwig Lopata (Professor, Personal Chair)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2020
Reseracher: Ludwig Lopata (Professor, Personal Chair)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2012
Reseracher: Roberta Marcoli (Research Fellow)
Reseracher: Ludwig Lopata (Professor, Personal Chair)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2011
Start Date: 01 Jan 2020
End Date: 01 Jan 2024
Reseracher: Peter Doll (Research Fellow, Coral Reef Health Assessments)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2014
End Date: 01 Jan 2018
Start Date: 01 Jan 2022
End Date: 01 Jan 2024
Reseracher: Naomi Gardiner (Associate Professor)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2012
End Date: 01 Jan 2025