Climate change and adaptation

Climate change and adaptation

The climate change and adaptation research focuses on managing the risks of climate change through evidence-based policy development. It covers adaptation strategies, risk assessment, and sustainable management practices to support resilience in ecosystems, communities, and industries.

About

Reconstruction of historical patterns of species movement, colonisation, extinction and speciation and understanding the genomic basis of climate adaptation may help understand future dynamics and the potential of evolutionary processes to intensify or moderate the effects of global change.

Protecting landscapes that act as refugia from climate change, and protecting and rehabilitating habitat corridors to allow species to reach these areas will enable species to respond to rapid climate change.

For information on Australia's biodiversity policies see the Department of the Environment and Energy​:

See also:

Projects

The Ignition Grant Round 2 aims to explore how climate change affects ecosystems. A series of workshops will develop testable propositions linking climatic regimes to ecosystem changes. The research will enhance understanding of ecosystem dynamics, aiding biodiversity conservation and regional livelihoods.

The pilot project aims to use genetic approaches to study the Mountain Ash forest's response to disturbances. By analysing genetic relatedness and potential adaptive responses, researchers will develop methods for large-scale genomic analyses to predict ecosystem changes due to contemporary logging and climate challenges.

Eucalypts, particularly Yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora), are crucial to Australian ecosystems but have declined significantly due to land clearing. A project is genotyping Yellow box to improve seed sourcing for restoring Box-Gum Grassy Woodlands, aiming to enhance resilience to future environmental changes.

The project, involving CSIRO and ANU, aims to explore the diversity of frog skin microbiomes across Australia. It will use high-throughput DNA sequencing to investigate genetic, morphological, and evolutionary influences on microbiomes, assess chytridiomycosis impacts, and identify potential disease-resistant microbial elements in Uperoleia frogs.

The Ignition Grant Round 7 aims to study Coolibah trees in the Lake Eyre Basin, focusing on their genetic variability and hydrological influences. Collaborating with ANU and CSIRO, the project will use genomic analysis to understand genetic patterns and environmental adaptations, enhancing conservation efforts.

The Ignition Grant Round 5 aims to develop a genomic data resource linking Australia's biodiversity data to the Atlas of Living Australia. This initiative will enhance access, visualisation, and analysis of genetic, spatial, and environmental data, supporting research and conservation efforts across Australia's biota.

News

Over 100 ACT Government mangers and policy makers and ANU, CSIRO and UCanberra researchers met today to plan for climate change adaptation in the ACT.

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Research funded by a CBA Ignition Grant has found linkages with infections disease risk and rainfall and land-use changes.

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The ACT Science Plan will provide structure to support and deliver scientific research in environmental conservation across the region.

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During the Australian Native Bee Conference held in Brisbane in December 2019, native-bee researchers from around Australia held a working group to explore the

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A major objective of the CBA is to exchange knowledge, perspectives and challenges amongst scientists and policy makers, and find ways to effectively engage, now and into the future.

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Long term monitoring has revealed that the rainforest biodiversity of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area is declining, largely due to climate change.

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