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New research alliance between UWA and AIMS to strengthen Australian tropical marine science
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Image: Dr James Gilmour, Research Scientist: Coral Ecology, Australian Institute of Marine Science
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The University of Western Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have joined forces to launch an exciting new initiative to develop the world’s best marine science leaders.
Championed for The University by the Oceans Institute, the AIMS@UWA Alliance is the next step in a long-standing collaboration between UWA and AIMS researchers, and will focus on improving capability in tropical marine science, particularly by providing support for postgraduate students and early career researchers.
The initial cohort of AIMS@UWA researchers includes 12 PhD students and four postdoctoral researchers, all co-supervised by AIMS and UWA academic staff. By offering joint supervision, the Alliance will allow these future leaders greater opportunities to learn, network, and collaborate.
In the coming months, these newly funded researchers will address topical issues with modern methods, such as marine molecular biology (including eDNA for marine monitoring), marine plastic mitigation, and machine learning applied to tropical marine data.
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UWA researchers awarded $12.5 million in Federal funding via ARC Discovery scheme
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We are proud to announce several Oceans Institute members featured among the UWA researchers who have been awarded $12.5 million in Federal funding under the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project scheme.
The scheme aims to expand the knowledge base and research capacity in Australia and support research that will provide economic, commercial, environmental or social benefits to Australians.
Successful marine projects featuring OI researchers in this round include:
Saving seagrass from climate change
Prof Gary Kendrick (Chief Investigator), Dr Martin Breed (Chief Investigator), Dr Siegfried Krauss (Partner Investigator)
Quantifying vertical and lateral ocean transport due to fronts and eddies
A/Prof Nicole Jones (Chief Investigator), Dr Matthew Rayson (Chief Investigator), Dr Shane Keating (Chief Investigator), Prof Gregory Ivey (Chief Investigator), Dr Aurélien Ponte (Partner Investigator)
Deep-sea coral records of Southern Ocean climate and nutrient dynamics
Prof Malcolm McCulloch (Chief Investigator), Dr Julie Trotter (Chief Investigator), Dr Paolo Montagna (Partner Investigator), Dr Marco Taviani (Partner Investigator)
Dynamic assessment of threats to marine megafauna in face of global change
Dr Ana Martins Sequeira (Chief Investigator), Prof Robert Harcourt (Chief Investigator), Dr Víctor Martinez Eguiluz (Partner Investigator), Prof David Sims (Partner Investigator)
A predictive framework for the flow control of environmental roughness
Dr Marco Ghisalberti (Chief Investigator), Prof Gregory Ivey (Chief Investigator)
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New Marine and Coastal Hub announced as part Australia’s National Environmental Science Program
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The Federal Government is backing a new era of environmental science, announcing the universities and research centres that will host four ‘mega’ research hubs in the next phase of Australia’s National Environmental Science Program (NESP).
With a total investment of $149 million, research at the new hubs will prioritise pressing environmental management and policy needs, with an emphasis on climate adaptation, threatened species, protected places, and waste impacts.
The new Marine and Coastal landscapes Hub will deliver research to underpin management of Australia’s marine and coastal environments harnessing a broad range of research expertise, across estuaries, coast, reefs, shelf and deep-water environments.
The Hub will be jointly hosted by the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre in Cairns and the University of Tasmania, with the Hub consortium to include The University of Western Australia, as well as CSIRO, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Integrated Marine Observing System, and other research institutions, government agencies and museums.
The new hubs will come into effect in early 2021, with the existing hubs running until mid-2021.
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Five UWA projects receive $2.5 million in national research funding via ARC Linkage
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Additionally, five projects from The University of Western Australia have received a combined $2.5 million in funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) as part of the ARC’s linkage project scheme.
This includes a successful application from a team comprising OI members and regular colloborations Dr Matthew Fraser, Professor Gary Kendrick, Professor Euan Harvey, Dr Benjamin Saunders. Associate Professor Brendan Burns, Dr Grzegorz Skyrzypek to investigate the resilience of the Shark Bay World Heritage Site to projected climate change for the future.
Awarded $324,006, this team aims to generate new knowledge for marine conservation through analysing habitat loss and the effects on nutrients and productivity in seagrass.
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Fiddler crabs show selective attention when faced with danger
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A new study by researchers from UWA's Oceans Institute and School of Biological Sciences has found Fiddler crabs use selective attention as a survival strategy when confronted with multiple threats. The study has been published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Prey animals are often exposed to multiple, simultaneous threats, which significantly complicates their decision-making process. Selective attention is one mechanism animals use to simplify their decisions. However, the use of selective attention is rarely studied in complex, natural environments.
Lead researcher Zahra Bagheri and a team of UWA scientists set out to find out how this relatively simple animal, the Fiddler crab, responds when faced with two different threatening stimuli - two objects moving towards them, with one on a direct collision course and the second approaching at an angle to produce an alarming near miss.
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Indigenous knowledge influences seagrass restoration
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Scientists from The University of Western Australia have partnered with Indigenous rangers in Shark Bay to develop a seagrass restoration program that combines traditional ecological knowledge with genetically informed science.
Senior Research Fellow Dr Elizabeth Sinclair from UWA’s School of Biological Sciences and Oceans Institute said there was increasing recognition of the value provided by Indigenous rangers to restoring damaged seagrass systems.
The Malgana people are saltwater people, living around the water for the majority of their history and have inhabited Shark Bay for more than 30,000 years. In 2018, they were recognised in the Federal Court as the Traditional Owners of Shark Bay.
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12 UWA researchers on Highly Cited Researchers 2020 list
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The University of Western Australia is proud to announce that 12 of our researchers have been named on the annual Highly Cited Researchers™ 2020 list from Clarivate.
This includes two Oceans Institute members: Thomas Wernberg from the School of Biological Sciences and Adjunct Professor Shaun Wilson.
The highly anticipated annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science™ citation index.
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Hello Oceans Community!
Despite a flood of cancelled events and social distancing this year, our calendar has been fuller than ever with a number of innovative and exciting community activities.
This includes the new livestream series, which featured over 20 marine researchers and ocean champions in 2020, as well as involvement in the Perth Library series, a range of Plastic Free July events, Fame Lab, National Science Week, a Pint of Science and more!
We would like to thank you all for demonstrating your commitment to sharing research and fostering stewardship for our oceans throughout the year, and look forward to bringing more opportunities and events in 2021!
Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable break,
Robert Pemberton
Business Support Manager
Tina Zhang
Communications Officer
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Here are just a few exciting events from this action-packed year!
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RV Falkor launches in January
While many of us are settling back into the new year at work, a team of Oceans Institute researchers are involved in a ground-breaking second expedition to the depths of the ocean off Western Australia.
Read more
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Busy year for Charlotte
PhD Student and shark enthusiast Charlotte Birkmanis has had a killer year, sharing sharky science with the public at FRINGEWORLD, FameLab and more!
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Celebrating female success stories this International Women's Day
The Oceans Institute proudly supported women in marine research at the IOMRC Women's Day celebrations this year in what turned out to be the last event in the IOMRC Building before shutdowns.
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Shutdown and Speak Up!
OI kept the community connected during COVID closures, launching the OI Livestream video series in April and a number of virtual events, seminars and workshops throughout the year.
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OI members take over World Ocean's Day
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Plastic Pollution Short Course first ever for UWA!
OI Researcher Julia Reisser and ocean plastic expert launched a short course tackling plastic pollution in September on UWA+, officially the first short course offered by UWA.
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UWA Rises in global rankings
This tremendous year saw UWA surging forward in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) lists, including several world-leading marine areas:
Marine/Ocean Engineering (5), Environmental Science and Engineering (21), Oceanography (22), Biological Sciences (34), Water Resources (46), Ecology (47), Earth Sciences (50).
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Top honours for UWA researchers at Premier's Science Awards
Five researchers from UWA have taken home honours in the 2020 Premier’s Science Awards, including OI member PhD student Todd Bond and geotechnical engineer Professor Mark Randolph.
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Robson and Robertson Awards boost young researchers
Thanks to the generous support of the Jock Clough Foundation, the OI have continued to provide funding for PhD students, awarding a total of $92,000 to eight students at the Robson and Robertson Awards 2020.
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The Preparedness Report
The UWA Public Policy Institute is pleased to announce its new major publication
The Preparedness Report – Climate change and the challenges facing universities and professions
A first of its kind, this report is concerned with the implications of climate change for academic disciplines and professional bodies. The report presents answers to questions such as:
- How will climate change impact on the feasibility, processes, sustainability and operations of a range of professions?
- How must these professions evolve and adapt in order to keep pace with those changes?
- How will future members of these professions need to be educated and trained?
- How will the underlying disciplines of the professions change?
- Which new fields of research and education will emerge?
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Wave Energy Research Centre Activity Report 2020
The Wave Energy Research Centre (WERC) was established as a new knowledge hub for the Australian and international ocean renewable energy community. With world-renowned research expertise in ocean engineering through an holistic ‘Surface to Seabed’ approach that includes Oceanography, Wave Energy Converter Hydrodynamics and Geotechnical Engineering, the WERC is positioned to support technology developers towards deployment of devices that are cost-competitive with traditional sources of energy.
The WERC 2020 Activity Report is now available.
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IMOS Marine Matters Issue 35, November 2020
The 35th issue of the IMOS newsletter, Marine Matters, is available to download.
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Blue Economy CRC PhD Scholarships currently open
The Blue Economy CRC places heavy emphasis on Education & Training, with an unprecedented scale of research opportunities on offer, including fully funded Higher Degree by Research (HDR) PhD scholarships across its five research programs. PhD scholarships will be funded up to 3.5 years in duration at the equivalent Research Training Program (RTP) full-time base stipend rates provided by the Australian Government Department of Education.
PhDs will be linked to industry-driven research topics and part of their candidacy will be embedded with industry and government partners. This will help ensure candidates are work-ready and are connected to potential employers.
Successful candidates will be enrolled with one of our University partners and will be supervised conjointly with research organisations, industry and government participants in the CRC.
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Subscribe to the monthly Oceans Institute Newsletter for more research stories, events and opportunities.
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