Biodiversity

Monitoring for biodiversity gains in novel systems

Project size (& length): 12.5, 25 or 50

There is an emerging trend towards biodiversity net positive, evidenced by new policies that require developments to deliver biodiversity gains, and calls to bring nature back into our cities. Biodiversity net positive will require gains in heavily modified and novel environments, such as urban and agricultural systems. Current environmental assessment processes are designed to measure and predict potential losses of biodiversity, and restoration activities are typically evaluated against ‘natural’ systems benchmarks. Neither of these processes is designed to assess biodiversity gains in novel ecosystems. This project would identify current best practice for monitoring for and evaluating biodiversity gains (12.5 points) and/or design a monitoring strategy for biodiversity gains for a specific case study (25 or 50 points). There is opportunity for students to apply this work to on-ground case studies to biodiversity positive urban developments, and/or regenerative forestry projects.

Prof Brendan Wintle, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences
b.wintle@unimelb.edu.au

Making rivers great again! Assessing the potential of environmental flows to restore native plant communities

Managing the impacts of feral deer in Australia

Project size (& length): 25 or 50

Populations of feral deer in Australia are increasing and so are their impacts to our native forests and revegetation efforts. We have several opportunities for students to develop a project investigating impacts caused by introduced deer and how best to manage them. Projects may include field-based surveys, analyses of existing datasets and working with land managers such as Melbourne Water, Parks Victoria and community groups. Projects will be co-supervised by Drs Ami Bennett and Joe Greet and be based within the Waterway Ecosystem Research Group, a supportive and collegiate research group. Please get in touch for a chat about these research opportunities.

Dr Joe Greet, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences
greetj@unimelb.edu.au

Biodiversity and abundance of native and introduced earthworms under different land uses

Project size (& length): 50

In 1992, a citizen science project “mapped” earthworm biodiversity across Australia. They found that earthworm biodiversity in urban gardens included a number of native species.  Since then, there has been little published research on our native earthworms.  This project will survey soil from a range of different land uses (e.g., garden, agriculture, recreational park and nature reserve) to determine earthworm abundance and diversity.  A greater understanding of where native earthworms are present can be used to help protect these species from climate change, pollution and other human impacts.

This project would be best suited to a student with some experience in invertebrate biology/ecology and who likes field work and species identification.

A/Prof Suzie Reichman, School of BioSciences
suzie.reichman@unimelb.edu.au

Native bee reintroductions

Project size (& length): 25 or 50

Bees provide important pollination services to crops and wild plants, but many species are declining in response to agricultural and urban expansion. Reintroductions are necessary where bees fail to recolonise restored habitats. 

Native reed bees (Exoneura sp.) are ideal candidates for reintroductions. They are rare outside of (semi)natural vegetation, so require conservation efforts. They visit a wide range of crops and native plants and have been shown to act as effective crop pollinators. They have also been successfully translocated and housed in artificial nests for social evolution research, but not yet for reintroduction purposes.

The most important factor for reintroduction success is the number of individuals released, but sourcing large numbers of individuals from the wild may impact negatively on wild populations. It would therefore be valuable to establish a breeding population for reintroduction purposes, and conduct experiments to better understand factors that influence successful establishment.