Abstract: We examined phylogenetic relationships within the genus Brachylophus, which comprises t... more Abstract: We examined phylogenetic relationships within the genus Brachylophus, which comprises two endangered iguana species endemic to the South Pacific islands of Fiji and Tonga. Genetic variation among Fijian Crested Iguanas B. vitiensis and Fijian and Tongan Banded ...
Alpine ecosystems are globally at risk from climate change. We use the International Union for th... more Alpine ecosystems are globally at risk from climate change. We use the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Criteria for ecosystems to assess the risk of ecosystem collapse in Australian alpine snow patch herbfields. These ecosystems occur on both mainland Australia and Tasmania. They are restricted to steep, south-easterly slopes where snow pack persists well into the summer growing season. Consequently, they are rare, and have high conservation significance. We evaluated the risk of snow patch herbfield ‘ecosystem collapse’ against criteria that accounted for the ecosystem's restricted distribution, projected decline in the snowpack and increased rates of invasion by taller growing native species of shrub and grass. Our analyses revealed considerable uncertainty in estimates of risk based on some criteria, particularly those related to thresholds of ecosystem collapse caused by biotic change. On the basis of the IUCN Red List criteria, we conclude...
Substantial advances have been made in our understanding of the movement of species, including pr... more Substantial advances have been made in our understanding of the movement of species, including processes such as dispersal and migration. This knowledge has the potential to improve decisions about biodiversity policy and management, but it can be difficult for decision makers to readily access and integrate the growing body of movement science. This is, in part, due to a lack of synthesis of information that is sufficiently contextualized for a policy audience. Here, we identify key species movement concepts, including mechanisms, types, and moderators of movement, and review their relevance to (1) national biodiversity policies and strategies, (2) reserve planning and management, (3) threatened species protection and recovery, (4) impact and risk assessments, and (5) the prioritization of restoration actions. Based on the review, and considering recent developments in movement ecology, we provide a new framework that draws links between aspects of movement knowledge that are likel...
Mitigating the environmental effects of global population growth, climatic change and increasing ... more Mitigating the environmental effects of global population growth, climatic change and increasing socio-ecological complexity is a daunting challenge. To tackle this requires synthesis: the integration of disparate information to generate novel insights from heterogeneous, complex situations where there are diverse perspectives. Since 1995, a structured approach to inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary collaboration around big science questions has been supported through synthesis centres around the world. These centres are finding an expanding role due to ever-accumulating data and the need for more and better opportunities to develop transdisciplinary and holistic approaches
to solve real-world problems. The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS
bhttp://www.aceas.org.auN) has been the pioneering ecosystem science synthesis centre in the Southern Hemisphere.
Such centres provide analysis and synthesis opportunities for time-pressed scientists, policy-makers and
managers. They provide the scientific and organisational environs for virtual and face-to-face engagement, impetus
for integration, data and methodological support, and innovative ways to deliver synthesis products.
We detail the contribution, role and value of synthesis using ACEAS to exemplify the capacity for synthesis centres to
facilitate trans-organisational, transdisciplinary synthesis.We compare ACEAS to other international synthesis centres,
and describe how it facilitated project teams and its objective of linking natural resource science to policy to management. Scientists and managers were brought together to actively collaborate in multi-institutional, crosssectoral and transdisciplinary research on contemporary ecological problems. The teams analysed, integrated and synthesised existing data to co-develop solution-oriented publications and management recommendations that might otherwise not have been produced. We identify key outcomes of some ACEAS working groups which used synthesis to tackle important ecosystem challenges. We also examine the barriers and enablers to synthesis, so that risks can be minimised and successful outcomes maximised. We argue that synthesis centres have a crucial role in developing, communicating and using synthetic transdisciplinary research.
o the best of our collective knowledge, this book is the first time there has been a compilation ... more o the best of our collective knowledge, this book is the first time there has been a compilation of findings of long-term ecological research across many major ecosystems in Australia. The chapters provide a fasci- nating overview of some of the largest and/or most ecologically important ecosystems in Australia. They show how elements of the biota and environmental processes are changing over time, including in response to management interventions (e.g. vegeta- tion restoration and invasive species control) and disturbance regimes such as fire, grazing and log- ging. In all chapters, there are new analyses and pres- entations of temporal trends that have not previously been published. These new insights, together with the detailed background on the natural and human- derived drivers of each ecosystem, means that the work reported here is a valuable resource for those wishing to begin to learn more about a particular ecosystem or recent trends in Australian flora and fauna. This reso...
ABSTRACT We applied an ecosystem risk assessment to the mountain ash forest ecosystem of the Cent... more ABSTRACT We applied an ecosystem risk assessment to the mountain ash forest ecosystem of the Central Highlands of Victoria (hereafter ‘mountain ash forest’), south-eastern Australia, using the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems criteria. Using this methodology, we quantified: (i) key aspects of the ecosystem's historical, current and future decline in spatial distribution; (ii) the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy for the mountain ash ecosystem; and (iii) the decline in key abiotic and biotic processes and features for historical, current and future time periods. We developed a probabilistic model of tree growth stages to estimate the risk of ecosystem collapse within 50 to 100 years in the mountain ash forest. There was uncertainty in our estimates of risk under the various IUCN criteria, with two sub-criteria being categorized as ‘Data Deficient’. Our overall ranking of risk of collapse for the ecosystem was Critically Endangered. We are confident that this risk category is appropriate because all 39 scenarios modelled indicated a ≥92% chance of ecosystem collapse by 2067. Our findings highlight the important need for timely policy reform to facilitate improved management of the mountain ash ecosystem in Victoria. In particular, there needs to be greater protection of remaining areas of unburned forest, and restoration activities in parts of the forest estate. Implementation of these strategies will require a significant reduction in logging pressure on the mountain ash ecosystem.
ABSTRACT In 2050, which aspects of ecosystem change will we regret not having measured? Long-term... more ABSTRACT In 2050, which aspects of ecosystem change will we regret not having measured? Long-term monitoring plays a crucial part in managing Australia's natural environment because time is a key factor underpinning changes in ecosystems. It is critical to start measuring key attributes of ecosystems - and the human and natural process affecting them - now, so that we can track the trajectory of change over time. This will facilitate informed choices about how to manage ecological changes (including interventions where they are required) and promote better understanding by 2050 of how particular ecosystems have been shaped over time. There will be considerable value in building on existing long-term monitoring programmes because this can add significantly to the temporal depth of information. The economic and social processes driving change in ecosystems are not identical in all ecosystems, so much of what is monitored (and the means by which it is monitored) will most likely target specific ecosystems or groups of ecosystems. To best understand the effects of ecosystem-specific threats and drivers, monitoring also will need to address the economic and social factors underpinning ecosystem-specific change. Therefore, robust assessments of the state of Australia's environment will be best achieved by reporting on the ecological performance of a representative sample of ecosystems over time. Political, policy and financial support to implement appropriate ecosystem-specific monitoring is a perennial problem. We suggest that the value of ecological monitoring will be demonstrable, when plot-based monitoring data make a unique and crucial contribution to Australia's ability to produce environmental accounts, environmental reports (e.g. the State of the Environment, State of the Forests) and to fulfilling reporting obligations under international agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. This paper suggests what must be done to meet Australia's ecological information needs by 2050.
Abstract: We examined phylogenetic relationships within the genus Brachylophus, which comprises t... more Abstract: We examined phylogenetic relationships within the genus Brachylophus, which comprises two endangered iguana species endemic to the South Pacific islands of Fiji and Tonga. Genetic variation among Fijian Crested Iguanas B. vitiensis and Fijian and Tongan Banded ...
Alpine ecosystems are globally at risk from climate change. We use the International Union for th... more Alpine ecosystems are globally at risk from climate change. We use the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Criteria for ecosystems to assess the risk of ecosystem collapse in Australian alpine snow patch herbfields. These ecosystems occur on both mainland Australia and Tasmania. They are restricted to steep, south-easterly slopes where snow pack persists well into the summer growing season. Consequently, they are rare, and have high conservation significance. We evaluated the risk of snow patch herbfield ‘ecosystem collapse’ against criteria that accounted for the ecosystem's restricted distribution, projected decline in the snowpack and increased rates of invasion by taller growing native species of shrub and grass. Our analyses revealed considerable uncertainty in estimates of risk based on some criteria, particularly those related to thresholds of ecosystem collapse caused by biotic change. On the basis of the IUCN Red List criteria, we conclude...
Substantial advances have been made in our understanding of the movement of species, including pr... more Substantial advances have been made in our understanding of the movement of species, including processes such as dispersal and migration. This knowledge has the potential to improve decisions about biodiversity policy and management, but it can be difficult for decision makers to readily access and integrate the growing body of movement science. This is, in part, due to a lack of synthesis of information that is sufficiently contextualized for a policy audience. Here, we identify key species movement concepts, including mechanisms, types, and moderators of movement, and review their relevance to (1) national biodiversity policies and strategies, (2) reserve planning and management, (3) threatened species protection and recovery, (4) impact and risk assessments, and (5) the prioritization of restoration actions. Based on the review, and considering recent developments in movement ecology, we provide a new framework that draws links between aspects of movement knowledge that are likel...
Mitigating the environmental effects of global population growth, climatic change and increasing ... more Mitigating the environmental effects of global population growth, climatic change and increasing socio-ecological complexity is a daunting challenge. To tackle this requires synthesis: the integration of disparate information to generate novel insights from heterogeneous, complex situations where there are diverse perspectives. Since 1995, a structured approach to inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary collaboration around big science questions has been supported through synthesis centres around the world. These centres are finding an expanding role due to ever-accumulating data and the need for more and better opportunities to develop transdisciplinary and holistic approaches
to solve real-world problems. The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS
bhttp://www.aceas.org.auN) has been the pioneering ecosystem science synthesis centre in the Southern Hemisphere.
Such centres provide analysis and synthesis opportunities for time-pressed scientists, policy-makers and
managers. They provide the scientific and organisational environs for virtual and face-to-face engagement, impetus
for integration, data and methodological support, and innovative ways to deliver synthesis products.
We detail the contribution, role and value of synthesis using ACEAS to exemplify the capacity for synthesis centres to
facilitate trans-organisational, transdisciplinary synthesis.We compare ACEAS to other international synthesis centres,
and describe how it facilitated project teams and its objective of linking natural resource science to policy to management. Scientists and managers were brought together to actively collaborate in multi-institutional, crosssectoral and transdisciplinary research on contemporary ecological problems. The teams analysed, integrated and synthesised existing data to co-develop solution-oriented publications and management recommendations that might otherwise not have been produced. We identify key outcomes of some ACEAS working groups which used synthesis to tackle important ecosystem challenges. We also examine the barriers and enablers to synthesis, so that risks can be minimised and successful outcomes maximised. We argue that synthesis centres have a crucial role in developing, communicating and using synthetic transdisciplinary research.
o the best of our collective knowledge, this book is the first time there has been a compilation ... more o the best of our collective knowledge, this book is the first time there has been a compilation of findings of long-term ecological research across many major ecosystems in Australia. The chapters provide a fasci- nating overview of some of the largest and/or most ecologically important ecosystems in Australia. They show how elements of the biota and environmental processes are changing over time, including in response to management interventions (e.g. vegeta- tion restoration and invasive species control) and disturbance regimes such as fire, grazing and log- ging. In all chapters, there are new analyses and pres- entations of temporal trends that have not previously been published. These new insights, together with the detailed background on the natural and human- derived drivers of each ecosystem, means that the work reported here is a valuable resource for those wishing to begin to learn more about a particular ecosystem or recent trends in Australian flora and fauna. This reso...
ABSTRACT We applied an ecosystem risk assessment to the mountain ash forest ecosystem of the Cent... more ABSTRACT We applied an ecosystem risk assessment to the mountain ash forest ecosystem of the Central Highlands of Victoria (hereafter ‘mountain ash forest’), south-eastern Australia, using the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems criteria. Using this methodology, we quantified: (i) key aspects of the ecosystem's historical, current and future decline in spatial distribution; (ii) the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy for the mountain ash ecosystem; and (iii) the decline in key abiotic and biotic processes and features for historical, current and future time periods. We developed a probabilistic model of tree growth stages to estimate the risk of ecosystem collapse within 50 to 100 years in the mountain ash forest. There was uncertainty in our estimates of risk under the various IUCN criteria, with two sub-criteria being categorized as ‘Data Deficient’. Our overall ranking of risk of collapse for the ecosystem was Critically Endangered. We are confident that this risk category is appropriate because all 39 scenarios modelled indicated a ≥92% chance of ecosystem collapse by 2067. Our findings highlight the important need for timely policy reform to facilitate improved management of the mountain ash ecosystem in Victoria. In particular, there needs to be greater protection of remaining areas of unburned forest, and restoration activities in parts of the forest estate. Implementation of these strategies will require a significant reduction in logging pressure on the mountain ash ecosystem.
ABSTRACT In 2050, which aspects of ecosystem change will we regret not having measured? Long-term... more ABSTRACT In 2050, which aspects of ecosystem change will we regret not having measured? Long-term monitoring plays a crucial part in managing Australia's natural environment because time is a key factor underpinning changes in ecosystems. It is critical to start measuring key attributes of ecosystems - and the human and natural process affecting them - now, so that we can track the trajectory of change over time. This will facilitate informed choices about how to manage ecological changes (including interventions where they are required) and promote better understanding by 2050 of how particular ecosystems have been shaped over time. There will be considerable value in building on existing long-term monitoring programmes because this can add significantly to the temporal depth of information. The economic and social processes driving change in ecosystems are not identical in all ecosystems, so much of what is monitored (and the means by which it is monitored) will most likely target specific ecosystems or groups of ecosystems. To best understand the effects of ecosystem-specific threats and drivers, monitoring also will need to address the economic and social factors underpinning ecosystem-specific change. Therefore, robust assessments of the state of Australia's environment will be best achieved by reporting on the ecological performance of a representative sample of ecosystems over time. Political, policy and financial support to implement appropriate ecosystem-specific monitoring is a perennial problem. We suggest that the value of ecological monitoring will be demonstrable, when plot-based monitoring data make a unique and crucial contribution to Australia's ability to produce environmental accounts, environmental reports (e.g. the State of the Environment, State of the Forests) and to fulfilling reporting obligations under international agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. This paper suggests what must be done to meet Australia's ecological information needs by 2050.
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to solve real-world problems. The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS
bhttp://www.aceas.org.auN) has been the pioneering ecosystem science synthesis centre in the Southern Hemisphere.
Such centres provide analysis and synthesis opportunities for time-pressed scientists, policy-makers and
managers. They provide the scientific and organisational environs for virtual and face-to-face engagement, impetus
for integration, data and methodological support, and innovative ways to deliver synthesis products.
We detail the contribution, role and value of synthesis using ACEAS to exemplify the capacity for synthesis centres to
facilitate trans-organisational, transdisciplinary synthesis.We compare ACEAS to other international synthesis centres,
and describe how it facilitated project teams and its objective of linking natural resource science to policy to management. Scientists and managers were brought together to actively collaborate in multi-institutional, crosssectoral and transdisciplinary research on contemporary ecological problems. The teams analysed, integrated and synthesised existing data to co-develop solution-oriented publications and management recommendations that might otherwise not have been produced. We identify key outcomes of some ACEAS working groups which used synthesis to tackle important ecosystem challenges. We also examine the barriers and enablers to synthesis, so that risks can be minimised and successful outcomes maximised. We argue that synthesis centres have a crucial role in developing, communicating and using synthetic transdisciplinary research.
to solve real-world problems. The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS
bhttp://www.aceas.org.auN) has been the pioneering ecosystem science synthesis centre in the Southern Hemisphere.
Such centres provide analysis and synthesis opportunities for time-pressed scientists, policy-makers and
managers. They provide the scientific and organisational environs for virtual and face-to-face engagement, impetus
for integration, data and methodological support, and innovative ways to deliver synthesis products.
We detail the contribution, role and value of synthesis using ACEAS to exemplify the capacity for synthesis centres to
facilitate trans-organisational, transdisciplinary synthesis.We compare ACEAS to other international synthesis centres,
and describe how it facilitated project teams and its objective of linking natural resource science to policy to management. Scientists and managers were brought together to actively collaborate in multi-institutional, crosssectoral and transdisciplinary research on contemporary ecological problems. The teams analysed, integrated and synthesised existing data to co-develop solution-oriented publications and management recommendations that might otherwise not have been produced. We identify key outcomes of some ACEAS working groups which used synthesis to tackle important ecosystem challenges. We also examine the barriers and enablers to synthesis, so that risks can be minimised and successful outcomes maximised. We argue that synthesis centres have a crucial role in developing, communicating and using synthetic transdisciplinary research.