James Cook University

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Conserving coral reef fish and sustaining fisheries in the anthropocene. This project aims to re-evaluate principles for designing marine reserves to conserve reef fish and sustain fisheries under current and future scenarios of habitat quality and population connectivity. The project will integrate advanced genetic methods, novel field experiments and new quantitative approaches to optimise reserve network design to promote population recovery, persistence and yield for a range of fish species. It will recommend optimal reserve size, spacing and location for geographic regions subject to different levels of habitat degradation and fishing pressure. It will benefit Australia and our regional neighbours by providing the critical science necessary for the successful management of shared coral reef assets and resources. Field of research: 0502 - Environmental Science and Management

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Dating West Antarctic ice sheet collapse using molecular sequence data. This project aims to investigate the past stability and configuration of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet by examining genomic signatures in present day bottom-dwelling Antarctic marine animals. By employing this novel biological approach this project will provide an independent test of the hypothesis that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during the most recent interglacial period and formed a trans-Antarctic seaway. Expected project outcomes include increased resolution of the most recent collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. This project should provide benefits in predicting future ice sheet collapse and its impact on sea level rise, which is a key uncertainty resulting from climate change. Field of research: 0406 - Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Knowledge integration for Torres Strait sustainability. This project aims to investigate how Torres Strait Islanders use context-specific local knowledge and research evidence to address environmental sustainability challenges. The Torres Strait is experiencing significant threats to its environment and there is a need to use research to identify strategies that can meet these challenges. However, at present significiant barriers exist in the translation of current research knowledge to the Torres Strait context. The project will examine how knowledge is constructed (culturally) and develop new methods to allow research findings to be integrated into Torres Strait knowledge. This project will support the empowerment of Torres Strait Islander people to seek the research information that is most useful for their decision-making. Field of research: 1608 - Sociology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Understanding population growth time lags in invasive species. This project will use data collected from wild animals, landholder surveys, and computer simulation models to understand why invasive chital deer (Axis axis) are suddenly increasing in number after many years of slow population growth. By combining multiple empirical datasets and developing new modelling techniques, we will generate a new method for understanding population trends in introduced species. The results of this study will allow Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and others to better predict invasive species growth rates, which will allow for better, and more cost effective control methods. Field of research: 0501 - Ecological Applications

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Phenotypic and adaptive responses to environmental change. This project aims to investigate how environmental change will effect coral reef fish by assessing adaptive responses in a model species. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the interplay between adaption and plasticity both within and across generations using novel experimental designs. Expected outcomes include improved models of fish acclimation and adaptation to environmental change and an enhanced evidence base to inform the management of cumulative impacts. This will provide significant benefits to Australian and international communities that rely on fish for nutrition, economic and/or social value. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

A new functional approach to coral reefs. This project aims to identify the key ecosystem functions that are needed to sustain coral reefs and determine their susceptibility to disturbance. Around the world coral reefs are changing fast, challenging traditional scientific, management, and governance approaches. This project plans to address this challenge by implementing a new, functional, approach exploiting a unique combination of evolutionary and ecological methodologies. Expected outcomes include a global overview of ecosystem function and an in-depth understanding of how ecosystems change over time. 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. Field of research: 0501 - Ecological Applications

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

How social networks and power shape adaptive action. This project aims to determine how social networks affect adaptive action in response to the potential effects of climate change. The project will provide a longitudinal study that tracks individuals and a governance institution before and after a global coral bleaching event to explicitly demonstrate key factors that facilitate or inhibit adaptive action at multiple scales. This project will significantly improve our understanding of how adaptive capacity translates into adaptive action, and the role of social networks and power in shaping adaptive responses. This project will contribute practical guidance on how to build adaptive capacity among both individuals and governance institutions. Field of research: 1608 - Sociology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Assessing risks to coastal ecosystems with new earth observation models. 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 project 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. Field of research: 0502 - Environmental Science and Management

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Challenging targets in rare earth metal-organic chemistry. This project aims to prepare highly reactive rare earth organometallic and metal-organic compounds, especially from the free metals, and to determine their structures and reactivity. Abundant rare earth resources position Australia to be a major supplier of these strategic elements. The challenging target systems include coordination stabilised novel ligands, pseudo-Grignard reagents LnR(X) including the rare fluorides, complexes primed for carbon-fluorine activation, and intermediates from use of lanthanoid reagents in organic synthesis. The project will provide a knowledge base and expertise for the utilisation of Australia's abundant rare earths and will transform the current behaviour of the elements. It builds the expertise and knowledge needed to underpin Australian rare earth processing and develops the breakthrough science needed for new applications in fine chemical manufacturing, catalysis and recycling. Field of research: 0302 - Inorganic Chemistry

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Trait plasticity and the maintenance of functional diversity. This project aims to determine if trait plasticity mediates functional degradation of coral reefs. It will use natural environmental gradients to identify mechanisms that enable corals to persist in marginal habitats. The project will use three-dimensional imaging to measure how variability in traits influences functional redundancy. This will facilitate better predictions of the effects of environmental change on reef systems. Expected outcomes include improved understanding of the response of coral reef ecosystems to environmental change and a framework for predicting reefs at risk of degradation. Benefits will be to both global biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services in reef dependent communities. Field of research: 0501 - Ecological Applications

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Electron scattering and transport for plasma-liquid interactions. The project aims to address the emerging technologies associated with the interaction of plasmas with liquids and biological matter, including plasma medicine. The project expects to generate new knowledge on the role of electron-induced processes through the development of complete and accurate sets of microscopic cross-sections for electrons with biomolecules within tissue. This microscopic data will inform new microscopic models for non-equilibrium electron transport in liquids and biological matter, and its coupling to plasmas. The expected outcomes of this project include progress towards the optimisation of safety/efficacy of future generation plasma medicine devices through detailed understanding of plasma-biological tissue interactions. Field of research: 0202 - Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

A national facility for the analysis of pyrogenic carbon. This project aims to develop a national facility for pyrogenic carbon analysis. Pyrogenic carbon is a poorly constrained, slow-cycling terrestrial carbon pool with significant carbon sequestration potential. The project expects to expand the newly developed hydrogen pyrolysis analytical capability to provide high throughput, robust measurement of the abundance and isotope composition of pyrogenic carbon in soils and sediments. This will provide significant benefit, such as the ability to make significant advances in areas as diverse as geochronology, archaeology, palaeoecology, soil science geomorphology and carbon cycle/sequestration science. Field of research: 0402 - Geochemistry

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Jurassic arc? Reconstructing the lost world of Eastern Australia. This project aims to resolve a long-standing enigma about the geological formation of the Great Artesian Basin – Australia’s most important onshore reservoir for groundwater and hydrocarbon resources. Specifically, the project will integrate sedimentological and geochemical studies to investigate the geodynamic configuration of Eastern Australia during the Jurassic Period of basin formation. The intended outcomes are an improved understanding of the evolution of the Australian continent and better knowledge of the formation of intercontinental sedimentary basins, which includes better assessment of their potential to contain hydrocarbon resources. Field of research: 0403 - Geology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Habitat degradation on coral reefs. This project aims to determine how reef degradation modifies predator-prey dynamics in fish communities, and how parental effects may help species to cope with habitat change. Live corals are ecosystem engineers that support the world’s most biodiverse communities, but anthropogenic factors have led to unprecedented global declines in live coral. The transition from live to dead coral-dominated habitats is associated with a modified sensory landscape of fear for resident fishes, via chemical interference emanating from degraded coral. Inter-generational advantages would help management to regulate reef usage to promote resilience. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Linking seismic structure to geodynamic processes beneath Australasia. This project aims to understand the relationship of mantle discontinuities beneath the Australian tectonic plate to mantle convection processes. Subducting slabs stagnate at different depths in the mantle, but the reason is not known. The Australian plate has complex boundaries which exhibit a range of subduction behaviours, making it an ideal location to study convection mechanisms. The project will use specialised seismic stations for detailed studies beneath New Zealand and Indonesia. The goal is to determine the relationship between seismic observations and geodynamical processes beneath Australasia, and understand how deeper mechanisms influence seismic activity and earthquake hazard at Earth's surface. Such detailed observations will help us to understand processes at the Earth's surface, with implications for earthquake hazard. Field of research: 0404 - Geophysics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Biodiversity, biogeography and molecular evolution on tropical reefs. This project aims to discover how evolutionary processes, biogeography and molecular change drive biodiversity patterns. Coral reefs support over 800,000 plant and animal species on <0.1% of the ocean. This project will examine how this biodiversity was formed by generating genomic data for reef building corals and reef associated fishes to reconstruct their evolutionary history. It will 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 expects that better understanding of evolutionary dynamics will inform conservation priorities. Field of research: 0603 - Evolutionary Biology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Inter-kingdom signalling in animal health and disease. This project aims to understand how animals can control their bacterial associates. Animals evolved in a world dominated by bacteria, and intimately associated microbes affect the development, health and disease of all animals – from corals to man. To date, animal-microbe interactions have been studied nearly exclusively in terms of how bacteria affect animals. the researchers have discovered that the coral Acropora can control its associated bacteria. Understanding how a simple animal manipulates its microbial associates should have implications for coral disease and resilience and for health and disease across the animal kingdom. Field of research: 0604 - Genetics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Ecological valuation tools to protect seagrass during coastal development. Ecological valuation tools to protect seagrass during coastal development. Focussing on differences between shallow and deep seagrasses in the Great Barrier Reef, this project aims to develop a spatial valuation tool so resource managers and policy makers can minimise the effect of port development on seagrass ecosystems. Seagrasses provide ecosystem services (fisheries, nutrient cycling, primary productivity) worth trillions of dollars, but coastal development threatens this capacity. Resource managers lack accurate information about their potential effect and mitigation measures. Anticipated outcomes are protection of key marine environment and World Heritage Assets, and benefits to Australia’s economy through maintenance of ecosystem services and reduced risk associated with development. Field of research: 0501 - Ecological Applications

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Identifying and learning from bright spots in coral reef governance. This project aims to solve the global problem of unsustainable coral reef fisheries by locating and learning from ‘bright spots’ in reefs. Bright spots are reefs in better condition than they should be, given the multiple drivers (e.g. markets and human population pressures) to which they are exposed. This project will use a global-scale analysis to identify bright spots, and field-based research to uncover the enabling social, economic and institutional conditions. Understanding these enabling conditions should help to formulate policy levers for more sustainable reef governance in other regions. Field of research: 0502 - Environmental Science and Management

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Critical regions and network connectivity of coral reef ecosystems. This project aims to measure the degree of connectivity between isolated reefs in Australia's Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef and identify the biological and environmental mechanisms that enhance management strategies or mitigate against disturbances. The movement of individuals in fragmented landscapes plays a central role in the ecology and evolution of species. The project seeks to measure connectivity at multiple scales and identify critical regions for the design of networks of marine protected areas. This is anticipated to improve our understanding of connectivity in marine seascapes and benefit management of important fishery species and current efforts in coral reef conservation. Field of research: 0501 - Ecological Applications

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Reactive metal-organics embracing the rare earth and alkaline earth metals. This project aims to study the structure and reactions of highly reactive rare earth/lanthanoid and heavy alkaline earth (calcium, strontium, barium) organometallic and metal–organic compounds. The target systems include pseudo-Grignard reagents Ln(Ae)R(X) including the rare fluorides, intermediates from use of lanthanoid reagents in organic synthesis, compounds in unusual high oxidation states, complexes primed for carbon–fluorine activation, and Ln(Ae)/Al bimetallics as isoprene polymerisation catalysts. Abundant rare earth resources position Australia to be a major supplier of these strategic elements. The project aims to develop the knowledge base and expertise needed to underpin the use of Australia's abundant rare earth and calcium resources in chemical manufacture, catalysis and recycling. Field of research: 0302 - Inorganic Chemistry

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Australia's Distinctive Succulent Flora. The project plans to investigate why Australia, the driest vegetated continent, has no landscape dominated by large succulents but nevertheless supports a distinctive, diverse and widespread succulent flora. Focusing on terrestrial succulents and epiphytic orchids, the project plans to explore the evolution, assembly and biodiversity of Australia’s succulent flora, evaluating the roles of genetic composition, photosynthetic physiology, aridity, fire, soil nutrients and salinity in its historical expansion, and assessing the resilience of the assemblages to changing climate. Of particular interest will be how the most water-use efficient type of photosynthesis, crassulacean acid metabolism, is expressed across the succulent landscape. Field of research: 0603 - Evolutionary Biology