2017 Centre for Ecosystem Management Research Prospectus

EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITYSchool of ScienceCentre for Ecosystem Management

Contents Centre for Ecosystem Management 1 Research Themes 2 Our Research 3 Research Output 5 SignificantGrants 6 Selected Publications 7 Equipment and Facilities 9

Centre for Ecosystem

ManagementECU’s Centre for Ecosystem Management (CEM) has made a longstanding contribution to ecological research within Australia. Established in 1995, the Centre continues to adopt a comprehensive approach to ecosystem research, with members of the Centre fostering an awareness and understanding of the environment, and demonstrating a commitment to the maintenance of biodiversity, sustainability, and the improvement in the quality of life through their research interests.

Our dedicated Centre members, research fellows, postgraduate students, and adjunct researchers work closely with national, state, and local government, conservation groups, and community, industry, consultants, and other research institutions with the aim of achieving effective ecosystem management, conservation and ecological research. Through our diversity, our researchers are able to gain a deeper understanding of ecological processes and the subsequent challenges imposed through human activity and, through our range of affiliations, communicate these to the wider community.

Pierre Horwitz, DirectorDecember 2016

1

SUSTAINABILITY &

HEALTH

ECOLOGICALRESTORATION

ECOLOGY&

ECOHYDROLOGY

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY

& BIODIVERSITY

Research Themes

The members of the Centre for Ecosystem Management are involved in both the collection of environmental data to facilitate ecosystem and biodiversity management, and the application of research findings within environmental and societal contexts. Research within the Centre contributes to a diverse range of topics, including freshwater ecosystems, ecological water requirements, resolving problems of habitat degradation, mine site rehabilitation, pollution, the ecology of forests and woodlands, conservation, and cultural perceptions of (valuing) the environment.

Our approach develops a partnership between ecology and natural resource management. We believe the best solutions for environmental problems can only be achieved through an interdisciplinary approach. The Centre’s research is largely conducted under four major themes: Ecology and Ecohydrology, Conservation Biology and Biodiversity, Ecological Restoration, and Sustainability and Health.

2

OUR RESEARCHEcology and Ecohydrology

The relationships between microbes, plants and animals and their environment lies at the base of a detailed understanding of ecosystems. CEM researchers have a range of diverse research interests that enable them to investigate inland and coastal ecosystems, arid and semi-arid environments, forests and woodlands, wetlands and other landscapes.

Researchers in the Centre explore the landscape ecology of urban, rural and regional habitats in Western Australia.

Particular expertise lies in contemporary and historical ecohydrology. Plants have physiological characteristics that are associated with water availability, which can allow some species to persist under hotter, drier conditions. Understanding the physiology of iconic plant species is essential to increasing our knowledge of the relationships between water availability (particularly groundwater) and the health of the ecological communities. Such knowledge is sought for the biodiverse Banksia woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain bioregion. Conducting research into these characteristics will inform the revegetation and management of Banksia woodland under an increasingly drier climate.

Conservation Biology and BiodiversityOur researchers have a deep understanding of Western Australian bioregions and their biodiversity – and that knowledge enables us to design and undertake surveys, establish monitoring protocols, conduct specific research on populations, species and communities, all to put in place adequate and appropriate measures to protect and/or restore biodiversity.

Research under this theme has wide-reaching consequences, as our ecosystems provide important resources such as food, medicine, industrial products, and ecosystem services; all of which are affected by the loss of biodiversity. Research disciplines within the CEM associated with conserving biodiversity include wildlife conservation and management, biogeography, systematics, molecular biology, and biochemistry.Molecular techniques are applied to investigate evolutionary relationships and assist conservation of rare and endangered species in inland waters of southern and western Australia. Genotyping, population genetics, environmental DNA (eDNA), metagenomics and functional genomics are some of the techniques utilised. The Centre has specific projects on freshwater ecological communities, subterranean faunas, and ancient communities, and is well known internationally for, among other things, its freshwater crustacean research.

3

Theme ContactsDr. Leisa ArmstrongDr. David BlakeDr. Melanie BlanchetteDr. Quinton Burnham Dr. Robert Davis Prof. Ray FroendProf. Pierre Horwitz

Dr. Annette Koenders A.Prof. Mark LundDr. Harriet Mills A.Prof. Richard SilbersteinProf. Will StockDr. Eddie van Etten

Theme ContactsDr. Quinton BurnhamDr. Robert DavisDr. Anna HopkinsProf. Pierre HorwitzDr. Annette KoendersDr. Kristina Lemson

Dr. Harriet MillsProf. Will Stock

OUR RESEARCHEcological Restoration

While protecting biodiversity and ecosystems from degradation is undoubtedly a major priority, restoration of damaged areas is equality crucial. Ecological restoration enables ecosystem services to be improved, benefiting both the ecological and human communities. Our researchers are engaged in the restoration of native vegetation following clearing, the ecological effects of reinstating hydrological regimes or the cessation of pollutant discharge, and the recovery of ecosystems post-fire and post-flood.

Of particular significance to the CEM is mine site rehabilitation, with extensive research being conducted in this area. Mining in Western Australia is a mainstay of the economy, and mine sites are common features of the landscape. Many of the mine sites operate with strict environmental conditions, emphasizing the challenging nature of rehabilitating land and water following (or during) mining activity. Many postgraduate opportunities exist in this field, and the CEM has an active research agenda in areas such as vegetation management, mine pit lakes, and closure criteria for river diversions.

Sustainability and HealthSustainability as it applies to water, air, and land.Research in this theme stretches from the specifics of environmental exposures, to the breadth of sustainability, health and well-being.

Research that involves economies, ecologies, cultures and societies, like those associated with sustainability and sustainable development, demand a particular interdisciplinary approach. The Centre has a well-developed capability in supervising interdisciplinary research, and much of this work is international in scope. Some examples include the social and environmental determinants of typhoid in Fiji, the useability of urban greenspaces and links to human health, biodiversity and human health and well-being, and developing payment for ecosystem services schemes to alleviate poverty.

The risks posed by exposures to toxic materials in air and water represents an important area of environmental research, and the Centre has the specialised analytical equipment, expertise and collaborations necessary to provide quality supervision for postgraduate studies, and research outcomes. Two current examples are: i) a project to characterize pollutants arising from the combustion of different vegetation types and investigating the associated toxicity using in vitro tests; and ii) improving exposure estimation techniques for particulate matter in rural and remote areas.

4

Theme ContactsDr. Melanie Blanchette Dr. Robert DavisProf. Ray FroendA.Prof. Mark LundProf. Will StockDr. Eddie van Etten

Theme ContactsDr. Leisa ArmstrongA.Prof. Mary Boyce Prof. David BroadhurstA.Prof. Andrea HinwoodProf. Pierre HorwitzA.Prof. Ute Mueller

Dr. Magda Wajrak

Distribution of publications across Research Themes

(2014-2016)

RESEARCH OUTPUT

Over the last 10 years, research output and publications by Centre members has been consistent, and the CEM continues to be recognised as one of the outstanding Research Centres at Edith Cowan University. Over just the last 5 years, the Centre has attracted almost $10 million in grants; a consequence of constructive engagement and research links between CEM researchers and State, National, and International government organisations and research agencies. The quality of research by the Centre has also been exceptional, with over 35 manuscripts published in high ranking journals in the last two years alone. The calibre of research achieved by our members has attracted a substantial increase in the value of grants received for research projects.

Sustainability & Health

Ecological Restoration

Conservation Biology & Biodiversity

Ecology &Ecohydrology

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

05

101520253035404550

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Impa

ct F

acto

r

Num

ber o

f pub

licat

ions

Year

Journal articles Books and book chapters Average Impact Factor

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

$3,500,000

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Gran

t val

ue

Num

ber o

f pro

ject

s

Year

Total number of projects Total grant value ($)

5

SIGNIFICANTGRANTSPROJECT TITLE FUNDINGBODY

High resolution mass spectrometry for metabolomics and proteomics research

Australian Research Council; Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities

OzFlux - measurement of atmospheric fluxes over a native vegetation at Gingin

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) / Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN)

Promoting socially inclusive and sustainable agricultural intensification in West Bengal and Bangladesh

Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research

Developing closure criteria for river diversions: an alternative to reference sites

Australian Coal Association

Coal pit lake closure by river flow-through: Risks and opportunities

Australian Coal Association

Biogeography and phylogenetics of the relictual, interstitial Bathynellidae (Crustacea: Malacostraca: Bathynellacea) in Australia

Department of the Environment / Australian Biological Resources Study

Research to inform the assessment of ecohydrological responses to coal seam gas extraction and coal mining

Department of the Environment / Office of Water Science

Integrated state-wide survey of recreational fishing Phase 2: boat- and shore based activity

Department of Fisheries WA

Chemical composition and toxicity of emissions from burning typical vegetation types of Western Australia under experimental combustion conditions

Department of Fire and Emergency Services / Collaborative Postgraduate Research Grant

Environmental Monitoring and Investigations for the Gnangara and Jandakot Mounds – Wetland Vegetation, Macroinvertebrate and Water Chemistry

Department of Water (WA)

The Development of Operational Rules for Management of Shallow Groundwater in Water Limited Ecosystems Project: Preliminary Works

Water Corporation

Ecohydrological Habitat Characterisation and Modelling to Improve Restoration Prioritisation and Outcomes within Former Pine Plantation Areas of the Gnangara Mound, Western Australia

Department of Parks and Wildlife WA

Designing water quality monitoring protocols in catchments after severe wildfires: the 2016 Harvey River Basin case study

Edith Cowan University Industry Collaboration Scheme / Department of Water / Peel Harvey Catchment Council

6

• Blanchette, M. L., & Lund, M. A. (2016). Pit lakes are a global legacy of mining: an integrated approach to achieving sustainable ecosystems and value for communities. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 23, 28-34.

• Brito, I. L., Yilmaz, S., Huang, K., Xu, L., Jupiter, S. D., Jenkins, A. P., Naisilisili, W., Tamminen, M., Smillie, C. S., Wortman, J. R., Birren, B. W., Xavier, R. J., Blainey, P. C., Singh, A. K., Gevers, D., & Alm, E. J. (2016). Mobile genes in the human microbiome are structured from global to individual scales. Nature, 535(7612), 435-439.

• Byrne, M., Koenders, A., Rogerson, K., Sampson, J., & van Etten, E. J. B. (2017). Genetic and morphological analysis of multi-stemmed plants of tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala). Australian Journal of Botany, 64(8), 704-714.

• Callan, A. C., Rotander, A., Thompson, K., Heyworth, J., Mueller, J. F., Odland, J. Ø., & Hinwood, A. L. (2016). Maternal exposure to perfluoroalkyl acids measured in whole blood and birth outcomes in offspring. Science of the Total Environment, 569, 1107-1113.

• Canham, C., Froend, R., & Stock, W., (2015). Rapid root elongation by phreatophyte seedlings does not imply tolerance of water table decline. Trees: Structure and Function, 29(3), 815-824.

• Davis, R. A., & Doherty, T. S. (2015). Rapid recovery of an urban remnant reptile community following summer wildfire. PloS one, 10(5), e0127925.

• Davis, R. A., Doherty, T. S., van Etten, E. J., Radford, J. Q., Holmes, F., Knuckey, C., & Davis, B. J. (2016). Conserving long unburnt vegetation is important for bird species, guilds and diversity. Biodiversity and Conservation, 25(13), 2709-2722.

• Dirgawati, M., Heyworth, J. S., Wheeler, A. J., McCaul, K. A., Blake, D., Boeyen, J., Cope, M., Yeap, B., Nieuwenhuijsen, M., Brunekreef, B., & Hinwood, A. (2016). Development of Land Use Regression models for particulate matter and associated components in a low air pollutant concentration airshed. Atmospheric Environment, 144, 69-78.

• Doherty, T. S., Davis, R. A., van Etten, E. J., Algar, D., Collier, N., Dickman, C. R., Edwards, G., Masters, P., Palmer, R., & Robinson, S. (2015). A continental-scale analysis of feral cat diet in Australia. Journal of Biogeography, 42(5), 964-975.

• Doherty, T. S., van Etten, E. J., Davis, R. A., Knuckey, C., Radford, J. Q., & Dalgleish, S. A. (2016). Ecosystem Responses to Fire: Identifying Cross-taxa Contrasts and Complementarities to Inform Management Strategies. Ecosystems, 1-13.

• Funk, J. L., Standish, R. J., Stock, W. D., & Valladares, F. (2016). Plant functional traits of dominant native and invasive species in mediterranean-climate ecosystems. Ecology, 97(1), 75-83.

• Garcia, E. A., Pettit, N. E., Warfe, D. M., Davies, P. M., Kyne, P. M., Novak, P., & Douglas, M. M. (2015). Temporal variation in benthic primary production in streams of the Australian wet–dry tropics. Hydrobiologia, 760(1), 43-55.

• Hamilton, S. H., ElSawah, S., Guillaume, J. H., Jakeman, A. J., & Pierce, S. A. (2015). Integrated assessment and modelling: overview and synthesis of salient dimensions. Environmental Modelling & Software, 64, 215-229.

• Hamilton, S. H., Pollino, C. A., & Jakeman, A. J. (2015). Habitat suitability modelling of rare species using Bayesian networks: Model evaluation under limited data. Ecological Modelling, 299, 64-78.

• Hinwood, A. L., Stasinska, A., Callan, A. C., Heyworth, J., Ramalingam, M., Boyce, M., McCafferty, P., & Odland, J. Ø. (2015). Maternal exposure to alkali, alkali earth, transition and other metals: Concentrations and predictors of exposure. Environmental Pollution, 204, 256-263.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

7

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

8

• Jardine, T. D., Bond, N. R., Burford, M. A., Kennard, M. J., Ward, D. P., Bayliss, P., Davies, P. M., Douglas, M. M., Hamilton, S. K., Melack, J. M., Naiman, R. J., Pettit, N. E., Pusey, B. J., Warfe, D. M., & Bunn, S. E. (2015). Does flood rhythm drive ecosystem responses in tropical riverscapes? Ecology, 96(3), 684-692.

• Jenkins, A.P., Jupiter, S., Mueller, U., Jenney, A., Vosaki, G., Rosa, V., Naucukidi, A., Mulholland, K., Strugnell, R., Kama, M., & Horwitz, P. (2016). Health at the Sub-catchment Scale: Typhoid and Its Environmental Determinants in Central Division, Fiji. Ecohealth, 13(4), 633-651.

• Kingsely, J., Patrick, R., Horwitz, P., Parkes, M., Jenkins, A., Massy, C., Henderson-Wilson, C., & Arabena, K., (2015). Exploring Ecosystems and Health by Shifting to a Regional Focus: Perspectives from the Oceania EcoHealth Chapter. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(10), 12706-12722.

• Knuckey, C. G., Van Etten, E. J., & Doherty, T. S. (2016). Effects of long-term fire exclusion and frequent fire on plant community composition: A case study from semi-arid shrublands. Austral Ecology, 41(8), 964-975.

• Kumar, R. N., McCullough, C. D., Lund, M. A., & Larranaga, S. A. (2016). Assessment of factors limiting algal growth in acidic pit lakes—a case study from Western Australia, Australia. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(6), 5915-5924.

• Liu, L., Urch, B., Poon, R., Szyszkowicz, M., Speck, M., Gold, D. R., Wheeler, A. J., Scott, J. A., Brook, J. R., Thorne, P. S., & Silverman, F. S. (2015). Effects of Ambient Coarse, Fine, and Ultrafine Particles and Their Biological Constituents on Systemic Biomarkers: A Controlled Human Exposure Study. Environmental Health Perspectives, 123(6), 534.

• Loxdale, H. D., Davis, B. J., & Davis, R. A. (2016). Known knowns and unknowns in biology. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 117(2), 386-398.

• McCullough, C. D. (2016). Mine Water Research: Enhancing Mining Industry and Academic Collaboration. Mine Water and the Environment, 35(1), 113-118.

• Molloy, S. W., Davis, R. A., & van Etten, E. J. (2016). Incorporating Field Studies into Species Distribution and Climate Change Modelling: A Case Study of the Koomal Trichosurus vulpecula hypoleucus (Phalangeridae). PloS one, 11(4), e0154161.

• Prober, S. M., Byrne, M., McLean, E. H., Steane, D. A., Potts, B. M., Vaillancourt, R. E., & Stock, W. D. (2015). Climate-adjusted provenancing: a strategy for climate-resilient ecological restoration. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 3, 65.

• Richman, N. I., Böhm, M., Adams, S. B, Alvarez, F., Bergey, E. A., Bunn, J. S., Burnham, Q.,...Horwitz, P.,... & Collen, B. (2015). Multiple drivers of decline in the global status of freshwater crayfish (Decapoda: Astacidea). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 370 (1662), Article No. 20140060.

• Schön, I., Shearn, R., Martens, K., Koenders, A., & Halse, S. (2015). Age and origin of Australian Bennelongia (Crustacea, Ostracoda). Hydrobiologia, 750(1), 125-146.

• Steane, D. A., Potts, B. M., McLean, E., Collins, L., Prober, S. M., Stock, W. D., Vaillancourt, R. E., & Byrne, M. (2015). Genome-wide scans reveal cryptic population structure in a dry-adapted eucalypt. Tree Genetics & Genomes, 11(3), 1-14.

• Sommer, B., Boggs, D. A., Boggs, G. S., Dijk, A., & Froend, R. (2016). Spatio-temporal patterns of evapotranspiration from groundwater-dependent vegetation. Ecohydrology, 9(8), 1620-1629.

• van den Boogaart, K. G., Mueller, U., & Tolosana-Delgado, R. (2016). An affine equivariant multivariate normal score transform for compositional data. Mathematical Geosciences, 1-21.

The Centre for Ecosystem Management and the School of Science provide state-of-the-art research facilities for researchers and postgraduate students.

• Aquatic laboratoriesResearchers maintain four separate laboratories to sort, analyse and interpret water chemistry, sediments, microbial assemblages, and fish and invertebrate assemblages. The Centre also has access to two fully services aquarium rooms, water storage and water supply facilities, and an outdoor mesocosm facility for experimental research.

• Terrestrial/plant biology laboratoriesThe Centre uses its glasshouses, plant nursery and soil analytics laboratory for ecological work, with specialised equipment for research in ecophysiology and behavioural ecology. Laboratory access to herbarium, specimen collection room, temperature controlled rooms, cold storage facilities, an autoclave, incubators and muffle furnaces is available to all researchers.

• Molecular biology laboratoriesOur facilities are well equipped for contemporary research in molecular biology, genetics, and bioinformatics. We have fully equipped pre- and post-PCR laboratories (e.g. PCR hood, tissue homogeniser, centrifuges, storage freezers, as well as thermal cyclers and a multiplex quantitative PCR cycler), incubators and constant temperature rooms for cloning, as well as access to super-computers. Current research includes; biodiversity and biogeography studies, microbial ecology, holobiont interactions, and environmental DNA for biodiversity monitoring.

EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

9

• MicroscopyMembers of the Centre have access to a dedicated microscopy laboratory, with Leica imaging software and super-computer facilities available. With multiple compound and dissecting microscopes available (all with digital camera attachment capabilities), a variety of taxonomic and anatomical research is currently being undertaken using this facility.

• Spatialmodellingsoftware&GISWe own an institutional license of ESRI ArcGIS geographical information software for the display and modelling of geo-referenced data and 2 floating research licenses of the state of the art geostatistical modelling software Isatis which is customised software for the estimation and simulation of data in 2- and 3-dimensional space. Software is directly accessible through super-computer facilities, allowing large and complex analyses to be undertaken.

• Chemical analyticsThe Analytical Facility can routinely analyse for targeted and untargeted polar and non-polar organic molecules, as well as trace elements (metals and heavy metals), inorganic ions, nutrients and physical-chemical bulk parameters, stable isotopes in a range of complex matrices across several multidisciplinary areas of research. This analysis is made possible by modern sophisticated and state-of-the-art instrumentation which include high resolution liquid and gas chromatography mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, isotope ratio mass spectrometry.

• Field equipmentThe School of Science Building at Joondalup has direct access to boats, four-wheel drive vehicles, and canoes in a compound, with field preparation rooms for processing samples, and for surveying and sampling equipment.

EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

10

CONTACT USFor additional information, or to find out more about collaboration and partnership opportunities:

email us at p.horwitz@ecu.edu.au

or visit cem.ecu.edu.au

Photographs courtesy of M. Blanchette,

Q. Burnham, R. Davis,

P. Horwitz, A. Jenkins,

B. Jones.