College of Science & Engineering
Sophia Love
- Doctor of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)
- sophie.love@jcu.edu.au
Elle Robertson
- Doctor of Philosophy (Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies)
- elle.robertson@jcu.edu.au
Jenny Fisher
- Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching
- jenny.fisher@jcu.edu.au
Ambili Narayanan
- Doctor of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)
- ambili.narayanan@my.jcu.edu.au
Liuxin Chen
- Adjunct Lecturer
- liuxin.chen@jcu.edu.au
Douchan Hanuise
- Doctor of Philosophy (Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies)
- douchan.hanuise@my.jcu.edu.au
Thomas Napier
- Doctor of Philosophy (Information Technology)
- thomas.napier@jcu.edu.au
Sarah Lawless
- AIMS@JCU Research Fellow: Ocean Governance
- sarah.lawless@jcu.edu.au
Alex McCoy-West
- Senior Lecturer, Exploration Geochemistry
- alex.mccoywest@jcu.edu.au
David Blair
- Adjunct Professor
- david.blair@jcu.edu.au
Investigating combined stressors in bees: insecticides and thermal stress (Old ID 27283)
Insecticide use poses a risk to non-target insects including bees. The effects of these compounds is all the more worrying given that honey bees prefer nectar containing traces of the naturally derived insecticide class – the neonicotinoids. This project will expand upon previous bodies of work to investigate the preference of stingless bee species Tetragonula hockingsi when provided with the choice between an insecticide laced food source and a sucrose solution. This project will also explore the combined effects of insecticide exposure and increasing temperature on bees.
Investigating the effects of insecticide exposure, pathogens, and heat stress on bee diversity, abundance, and health (Old ID 28974)
Bees are threatened by multiple stressors including insecticide exposure, disease, loss of habitat, and climate change. Studies investigating stressors facing Australian bees are becoming more common, but many knowledge gaps still exist and while some studies document the effects of stressors in isolation, they stop short of investigating the effects of stressors in combination. My project will investigate how the stressors of insecticide exposure, pathogens and heat stress affect native bee diversity, abundance, and health, as well as investigate whether bee hotels cause increased pathogen and parasitism prevalence, and predation rates in native bees.
Mission Research – Threatened and migratory species and threatened ecological communities (Old ID 27434)
This project will provide the research foundation for the ‘Threatened and Migratory Species and Threatened Ecological Communities’ functional Mission to support policy development, program management and regulatory processes to protect Australia’s environmental assets in terrestrial, Ramsar and marine environments. It will also facilitate the Resilient Landscapes (RL)Hub’s contribution to the three other Missions. It will identify prospective research projects through scoping, reviews and workshops and will support the co-design process with research users and researchers. Outputs include a review and priority co-designed project proposals for submission in subsequent research plans of all four Hubs and an overall research plan for this Mission.
Improving the accuracy of weed killing robots with new image processing algorithms and near infra-red spectroscopy techniques (Old ID 23146)
Automated weed species recognition remains a major obstacle to the development and industry acceptance of robotic weed control technology. Particular problems occur in rangeland applications, including high light variability and weed-camera distance variability, which cause camera dynamic range problems, image blurring, and occlusion by other plants. This project aims to develop robust image recognition systems combined with Near Infra-Red spectroscopic methods for these complex rangeland environments with special emphasis on the broad-acre grazing pastures in North Queensland. The developed imaging systems will be suitable for all weed killing applications with particular emphasis given to foliar spot-spraying and Herbicide Ballistic Technologies.
Electron transport and scattering within the plasma-liquid interface (Old ID 27888)
The synergistic interaction of low-temperature plasmas with liquids and biological matter has unearthed various technological applications in water treatment, agriculture, biofuels and medicine. Predicitive control of these multiphase plasmas is essential to unlocking the potential of these applications, and this requires predictive models. The absence of the relevant non-equilibrium transport theory describing electrons in these multiphase environments together with fundamental data describing electron interactions with biological and liquid matter severely limits this. The project will develop a state of the art transport model informed by world first measurements of electron cross-sections for biomolecules, radicals and liquids.
Investigating the pitfalls of bee hotels (Old ID 30046)
Concern for bees among the public has led to the augmentation of habitat for bees including the addition of bee hotels. Bee hotels are often claimed to increase bee diversity and abundance. However, they artificially aggregate nesting sites above densities naturally available for bees, which could lead to increased prevalence of pathogens, viruses and parasitism, and higher predation rates. Properly controlled experiments to investigate these threats are limited, and none have been conducted in the tropics. This project investigates whether the density of nesting spaces in bee hotels affects predation rates and pathogen and parasite prevalence in cavity nesting bees.
Providing natural heritage technical advice on World Heritage (Old ID 25019)
To ensure that Australia meets its obligations as a world Heritage committee member by conducting technical natural heritage research and analysis on the sites that are subject to World Heritage inscription and state of conservation decisions in 2018 by: 1) reviewing world Heritage Centre documents that relate to the site inscription nominations and state of conservation assessments; and 2) providing expert natural heritage technical advice to the Australian Government at the 42nd World Heritage Committee Session in Bahrain.
An Advanced Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy Facility in Queensland (Old ID 27154)
The project aims to establish a world-class ultrafast laser spectroscopy facility to investigate how molecules interact with visible or ultraviolet light. Light-matter interactions are key to energy generation in nature through photosynthesis as well as technologies we use on a daily basis including optical communications and displays. This project expects to generate new knowledge in on how light interacts with matter at the molecular level. Expected outcomes of the ultrafast spectroscopic measurements will be understanding the fate of light absorbed by or generated in different materials. Application of the knowledge gained will enable the design of materials for more efficient technologies such as solar cells, lighting, and sensors.
Novel governance for marine ecosystems in rapid transition
This research program combines the political and climate sciences with ecology and geography to understand and improve the design of complex environmental governance regimes. The team works closely with a range of governments, NGOs and donors on co-creating solutions to environmental governance problems. Interdisciplinary science capacity and competitiveness is underpinned by partnerships with an international expert working group, involving cotutelle PhD supervision and co-appointed postdoctoral fellowships at James Cook University, University of Melbourne, WorldFish, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and the University of Tasmania.
SNAPP Governing Changing Oceans
How can improved marine governance guide more responsible, equitable, and effective interventions in climate-impacted oceans? Novel blue economy, blue carbon, and blue conservation interventions are being trialed and implemented to support climate-vulnerable oceans across the globe. Transitions in governance are needed to keep pace with novel interventions: to realize new opportunities, manage competing and escalating demand for marine resources, and mitigate risks and unintended consequences. How can marine governance transition to meet these new challenges? Answering this question is urgent, because while investment in climate-impacted oceans is accelerating, most interventions remain ad hoc, uncoordinated, and potentially ungovernable.
OUR APPROACH: Researchers in marine governance, fisheries, and climate science are collaborating with government and non-government experts in blue carbon, blue finance, blue conservation, Indigenous governance, co-management, and community resilience. The team’s mission is to collaboratively deliver governments, industries, NGOs, donors and ocean user groups and rights holders with practical insight on governance transitions that are fit for novel and rapidly emerging interventions in climate-impacted oceans.
Start Date:
01 Jan 2011
End Date:
01 Jan 2022
Start Date:
01 Jan 2019
End Date:
01 Jan 2019
Start Date:
01 Jan 2014
End Date:
01 Jan 2014
Start Date:
01 Jan 2018
End Date:
01 Jan 2018
Start Date:
01 Jan 2015
End Date:
01 Jan 2015
Start Date:
01 Jan 2018
End Date:
01 Jan 2018
Start Date:
01 Jan 2018
End Date:
01 Jan 2018
Title:
Keynote Speaker - 7th Annual World Congress for Ocean, Aquaculture and Fishery - Wei Hai China.
Start Date:
01 Jan 2018
End Date:
01 Jan 2018
Start Date:
01 Jan 2020
End Date:
01 Jan 2020
Start Date:
01 Jan 2020
End Date:
01 Jan 2020