Theme 1C: Development of new methodologies of measurement of ecological structure and function.

Full description

Research is focussed on the processes causing and maintaining patterns of distribution and abundance of animals and plants in coastal habitats (Program 1 - Ecology in Coastal Habitats). Without a good understanding of the ecology of species in these habitats, the interactions among the species and the relationships among patches of similar or different habitat, it is not possible to solve problems in the management of coastal change.

Current research efforts are focused on methods for understanding spatial scales of variation in abundances of single species and of complex sets of species. Without this research, it is impossible to predict the consequences of human changes to coastal habitats, nor is it possible to make coherent plans for marine reserves.

The Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities (EICC) is also very active in experimental analyses of biodiversity in different habitats and, particularly, how to measure changes through time and differences in space in the complex, interacting assemblages of species that make up coastal biodiversity. Other research projects are testing hypotheses from models about the processes linking ecological functions in a habitat and the local variations in diversity of the animals that bring about these functions. Without this research, conservation of biodiversity, restoration of habitats and understanding and managing impacts are impossible goals for Australian coastal communities.

The (EICC) has generated many scientific papers and theses from research projects aimed at developing and improving the methods used to investigate ecological patterns and processes. The link to the URL provided in this record provides a link to this research.

Notes

Credit
Centre for Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities

Purpose
To understand ecological changes in response to urban development and human use of the coast, it is crucially necessary to be able to understand ecological processes that bring about or cause a lack of, change in response to disturbances. The Centre is a major focus for international efforts to develop and improve the methods used to investigate ecological patterns and processes.