What's On at UWA

It is a great pleasure to invite you to participate in the very 1st Symposium on Plant Signalling & Behaviour (SPSB 2012) to be held at the University of Western Australia on 16th-21st September 2012.

The SPSB 2012 was conceived out of a desire to support and advance this new and exciting research area by bringing together a diverse group of researchers who are working and are concerned with plants, but who are doing so from very different perspectives. The aim of the symposium is to build a transdisciplinary bridge for the new emergent knowledge and view of the plant world to be shared widely and flourish into rewarding collaborative explorations.

Within a hot cauldron of creative thinking, the SPSB 2012 aims at providing you with the opportunity to showcase your recent research findings, to advance our current knowledge and understanding of plants and to exchange ideas with colleagues on themes ranging from Plant Cell Biology & Signalling to Plant Sensory & Behavioural Ecology, and Theoretical Botany.

SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS - now OPEN!!

All welcome!

Title: “Nitrogen – future challenges for agricultural science”

ABSTRACT: Fertilisers currently represent 15-20 per cent of the cost of production wheat grain. This cost will rise with the shortage of raw materials used to make fertiliser, the increasing costs in energy to mine and produce fertiliser, raising concerns as to the cost effectiveness of fertilisers, as observed following the spike in fertiliser prices in 2008/09. Over use of N can lead to eutrophication of waterways and to greater release of nitrous oxide, a key greenhouse gas, through unnecessary cycling of N through the nitrification and denitrification processes known to produce nitrous oxide. While most understand the concept of direct nitrous oxide loss, less is understood about the concept of indirect nitrous oxide release that is presumed to occur after fertiliser N leaves point of application on farm. Loss mechanisms that are factored into the indirect estimate N2O release include ammonia volatilisation, runoff of mineral and organic N and nitrate leached into groundwater. Because of the difficulties in determining indirect nitrous oxide emission these are likely to be based on estimates of on-farm N efficiency. For productivity including profitability, and improved environment outcomes the challenge is to better tailor fertiliser N inputs to ensure that soil plus fertiliser inputs more closely match crop demand for N. The talk will discuss new knowledge on a key nitrogen transformation that may have implications for managing N. It will consider recent developments in characterising soil organic matter that are expected to provide more robust estimates of net N mineralisation. The challenge is get new approaches for assessing properties of soil organic matter used as part of routine soil testing. In the case of N loss processes, a challenge is to produce simple calculators

'What Matters to me and why' is a series of lunch time talks and conversations with UWA Academics. The talks explore personal stories of family, place, formative influences and how these things continue to shape people's lives and academic work.

The next conversation is with Paul Flatau, Director of the Centre for Social Impact. The Centre for Social Impact (UWA), thought leader in social investment and sustainable communities, is a joint venture between the national Centre for Social Impact and The University of Western Australia Business School.

Paul will share some of his story and then there will be the opportunity for questions/conversation. BYO lunch. Tea/Coffee is available in the meeting room (at the request of the Science Library, please do not carry coffee through the library).

The Science Library is towards the southern end of the campus just south of the Chemistry and Psychology buildings.

Fuel your stomach and not your petrol tank by cycling or catching the bus to UWA.

Friday 21 September, 7:30am - 9am All coffees made from Fairtrade and organic certified beans

BUSES: Our friendly voluteers will meet you at UWA's major bus stops on Stirling Highway. Flash your Smart Rider card or bus ticket to receive your tasty treats.

CYCLISTS: Ride past the Central Bike Station outside Hackett Hall. Bring your bike to receive your tasty treats.

So avoid the hassle of traffic and parking, increase your activity levels and lower your carbon footprint. Ditch your car on the UWA Bike and Bus Day for World Car Free Day.

The past ten years have seen considerable shifts in the patterns of land use and land management practices in the UK, driven mainly by changes in the European Union Common Agricultural Policy, climate change policy in the UK, and wider economic and world food price issues. As the drivers for change continue to evolve and changes will continue to occur, the need to resolve potential conflicts and offer options for future land use becomes increasingly important. Prof Milne’s lecture explores how the future of pastoral agriculture may develop under different policy scenarios to meet (competing) societal demands.

Identifying structure in aquatic environments and showing the relationship to phytoplankton diversity is challenging because it is difficult to make direct measurements of all relevant variables at the necessary temporal and spatial scales. Two new approaches are demonstrated, which allow relationships between phytoplankton distribution and the aquatic environment to be better understood.

The first approach involved the use of numerical modelling to resolve structures in the aquatic environment at smaller spatial and temporal scales than traditional field sampling allows. A three-dimensional, coupled physical-biological numerical model (ELCOM-CAEDYM) was used to reconcile a range of different unsteady processes that influenced the spatial distribution of motile phytoplankton in a medium sized reservoir located in central Argentina. It was determined that physical processes (with some influence from phytoplankton migration) control the habitat of the motile phytoplankton rather than biological/chemical gradients. The results suggest that numerical models can be used to characterise the spatial habitat of other motile phytoplankton species in similar settings.

The second approach involved the use of fluorescence spectral measurements as a proxy indicator of phytoplankton diversity. As fluorescence spectra can be measured rapidly in situ, in principle, spectral measurements can be made at a resolution that should allow many scales of phytoplankton patchiness to be resolved. However, decoding the information contained within the spectral measurements presents a challenge. Therefore, a method based on principal component analysis (PCA) was developed for identifying patches of distinct fluorescent groupings of phytoplankton from in situ spectral data. A series of idealised spectral data sets were used to explain the conceptual basis of the approach. To demonstrate the method, a profiling multi-wavelength fluorometer was cast at numerous locations throughout Winam Gulf, Kenya.

Processing the spectral data with PCA revealed that linear combinations of four fundamental base spectra could explain almost all of the variation in the spectral measurements. Three of the base spectra were associated with spatially distinct patches of phytoplankton containing different species assemblages, while the fourth base spectrum was due to fluorescence of coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Strong relationships were found between the gradients in spectral data and other environmental variables, which suggested several underlying explanations for the phytoplankton and CDOM patchiness. The PCA processing method has the capacity to summarise critical features contained with large spectral data sets and can facilitate better optimisation of traditional water sampling.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

A. Kimberley Lema1,2, Bette L. Willis1, and David G. Bourne2

1ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville 4811, Australia ([email protected]; [email protected]) 2Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Townsville 4810, Australia ([email protected];[email protected])

Scleractinian corals live in a close symbiotic relationship with a diverse group of dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium or zooxanthellae), but corals also harbour highly diverse, abundant, and stable, microbial communities. The discovery of bacterial communities as symbiotic partners in corals is surprisingly recent and the ecological function of these bacterial communities is still poorly understood.

Elucidating the functional role these mutualistic bacterial communities play in the corals’ multi-partner symbiosis (i.e. the holobiont) is essential to understand their importance in coral health. One important proposed functional role for coral associated bacteria is nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation can only be accomplished by diazotrophic bacteria and is fundamentally important because it makes gaseous dinitrogen (N2) available for nitrogen limited ecosystems such as coral reefs.

In this study, we investigated the diversity of diazotrophic bacterial communities associated with corals of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) by profiling the conserved subunit of the nifH gene, which encodes the dinitrogenase iron protein. We looked at the diversity of diazotrophs in different: coral species, coral microhabitats (mucus and tissue), life stages and geographical regions. Coral mucus nifH sequences displayed high heterogeneity, and many bacterial groups overlapped with those found in seawater.

In contrast, the dominant diazotrophic bacteria in tissue samples in all coral species, through all life stages and at different locations were closely related to the bacterial group rhizobia, which represented over 67% of the total sequences in all cases. Our results suggest that, as in terrestrial plants, rhizobia have developed a mutualistic relationship with corals and may contribute fixed nitrogen to Symbiodinium.

Bio,

Kim was born and grew up in Mexico City. She completed her BSc in Marine Science at the Centre d’Océanologie de Marseille, Université Aix-Marseille II (Marseille, France), with a thesis on a mathematical model for marine protected areas.

Stayed in France for some months after completing her BSc and worked with deep-sea bioluminescent bacteria at the LMGEM Marine microbiology and biogeochemistry laboratory, CNRS (National Centre of Scientific Research). Then, returned to Mexico, Yucatan Peninsula, and worked on migration models of marine turtles and whale sharks at the CINVESTAV (Centre of Advanced Research, Mexico) and PRONATURA(NGO).

Finally, felt ready to go further from home and flew to Australia. Completed a Master of Applied Sciences at James Cook University (Townsville, QLD) and went on to do a PhD. Kim is currently finalizing her PhD on “ Coral nitrogen Fixing bacteria” under the supervision of Prof. Bette Willis (JCU) and David Bourne (AIMS). One component of her thesis is through collaboration with Prof. Peta Clode at the CMCA (Centre of Microscopy) at UWA.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

The next Soil&Water Seminar will be Prof. Matthew Tonts from SEE, at 12pm on Weds, Oct 3rd. All welcome!

Title: “The Staples Economy and Regional Development in Western Australia”

Abstract: In the 1930s, Canadian historian Harold Innis developed his 'staples thesis' to explain the ways in which a high level of dependence on primary industries (notably agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining) had led to a distinctive form of regional development within Canada. Innis was particularly concerned with understanding why staples dependence is often associated with a volatile and often truncated form of economic development. Given some of the economic, political and geographical similarities between Canada and Australia, it is perhaps surprising that the staples thesis has not been applied to systematic assessment of regional development in Australia. This seminar draws reflects on the experience of two regions, the Goldfields and Wheatbelt, to examine the relevance of the staples thesis to understanding the pattern of regional development in Australia.

Extreme rainfall over the south and north-west of Western Australia and the Sydney region of NSW over the last fifty years has been modelled using a Bayesian hierarchical approach based on statistical extreme value theory. Spatial variability of the extreme rainfall distribution is modelled using a Gaussian process, derived from a convolution kernel approach.

This is a flexible approach, accommodating rainfall measured over different durations (from sub- to super-daily) and also allowing for the possibility of linking the extremes to external drivers.

The approach can be used to characterize the behaviour of extremes under present day and projected future conditions. It can be used to derive intensity-frequency-duration curves • together with estimates of their associated uncertainties, • for specific locations that can be either gauged or ungauged, and • provide information for the design of engineering structures such as culverts, bridges, and stormwater and sewerage systems. Extensions to model extremes of areal rainfall, with applications to depth-area curves for example, will be described.

This talk will focus more on the methodology than the application.

Bio,

Mark is a senior statistician with CSIRO, in the Division of Mathematics, Informatics and statistics. He has applied statistics to problems of spatial modelling for many years, in particular the modelling sediment composition in rivers, estuaries and dams. Recently he has been developing spatial approaches to the analysis of extreme rainfall for the Indian Ocean Climate Initiative,

The Upper Parramatta River Catchment Trust and the federal government Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. His statistical interest also include the application of Bayesian methodologies and hierarchical modelling.



PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

Physical processes in lakes are the result of a large number of different mechanisms occurring over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales affecting ecosystem function in a variety of ways. Hence, a deep understanding of the lake hydrodynamics and its variability is essential in understanding lake ecosystem function and in managing water quality.

In this talk I will present a detailed analysis of the annual thermal regime of Lake Kinneret based on high-resolution thermistor chain and meteorological data collected by CWR during the period April 2007 - April 2008. Periods taking along the yearly cycle will be used to discuss the main physical aspects of the lake hydrodynamics and their effects on ecological processes.

Part of the material to be presented in this seminar constitutes a book chapter entitled “The seasonal hydrodynamic habitat of Lake Kinneret” by Imberger, J. and Marti, C. L., contained within the book “Lake Kinneret - Ecology and Management” to be published in 2013.

Bio,

Clelia is a field-oriented Physical Limnologist and provides scientific leadership to real time field investigation in aquatic environments. Her research interests lie in transport and mixing processes in lakes, rivers, estuaries and coastal seas.

She has made substantial contribution to the understanding of the benthic boundary layer in stratified lakes and its central role in setting up a volume flux that is responsible for transporting nutrient rich water from the deepest part of the lake into the thermocline where it becomes available for primary production in the surface layer.

Clelia performs basic and applied research and has been involved in several projects that have a problem oriented and interdisciplinary focus. She has conducted field work in a number of sites around the world including Lake Kinneret (Israel), Thomson Reservoir (Australia), Cockburn Sound (Australia), Lake Valle de Bravo (Mexico), Setubal Lagoon (Argentina), Parana River (Argentina), Lake Coeur d'Alene (USA), and Lake Constance (Germany).

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

Find out why your bike makes noises, is hard to ride, or why the gears and brakes aren't that great.

Doctor Bike will fix minor mechanical problems and give advice on what's wrong and how to fix it.

Macroecological theory predicts that along direct physiological gradients there will be unimodal abundance distributions of species and consistent rates of assemblage turnover. However, the majority of marine studies that have investigated the realised distribution of species along latitudinal or temperature gradients have generally found unimodal distributions to be rare.

We asses fish distributions along a temperature gradient in a stable oligotrophic seascape and suggest that unimodal distributions will be more common. The high diversity and percentage of endemic species in terrestrial and marine habitats of southwestern Australia is likely due to the stable geological and oceanographic history of the region.

In comparison, studies of abundance distribution in other marine systems have been conducted in relatively heterogeneous and productive environments. The old, climatically buffered, oligotrophic seascape of southwestern Australia has provided a simple system in which the consistent influence of physiological gradients on the abundance distribution of fish species can be observed.

short Bio,

Timothy Langlois is a research fellow in the School of Plant Biology and Oceans Institute at the University Western Australia, Perth.

His research examines continental-scale changes in macroecological patterns as revealed by analyses of non-destructive video surveys of fish assemblages and concurrent physical and biological time series. Tim also works within the West Australian Marine Science Institute to develop monitoring programmes to investigate changes in fish assemblages associated with environmental variation and human pressure.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

The branch of limnology often referred to as ‘Tropical’ limnology is represented by lake studies as diverse as those from alpine, high elevation lakes in Papua New Guinea to athallasic saline lakes located in tropical desert climes.

Thus it can be argued that the internal variability in the limnological characteristics of tropical lakes may well be as great as that found between tropical lakes and temperate and sub-temperate lakes. We will discuss the properties that are assumed when we discuss ‘tropical’ limnology and whether the assumption of their jurisprudence or ‘special’ characteristics is sound. These will include:

- Water Temperature and Density

- Gas solubilities and their implications

- Nutrient cycling and primary production

- Metabolic rates

Bio:

Kevin Boland obtained his Ph.D. from James Cook University. He spent many years as Principal Scientist (Water Quality) with the Northern Territory Government and for the past 17 years has been the Managing Director of Tropical Water Solutions Pty. Ltd., a small, specialist company working in the field of tropical limnology and water quality management.

He has studied tropical limnology for 35 years and is internationally recognised as a leader in this field. He has been involved in studies that encompass most of the lakes located in tropical North Australia and many in South-east Asia and further abroad. His insight into tropical lakes includes both the technical and social issues that affect contemporary attitudes to lakes of the tropical belt.

In recent years Kevin has observed a renewal of respect for the value of tropical lakes not only as resources but also as a source for social cohesion within indigenous and non-indigenous communities. In his words paraphrased from Ivan Illyich ‘ We now talk about H2O and water as separate entities and are starting to understand their interactions and future roles for communities and social well-being’.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

Nutrient loss from terrestrial ecosystems causes nutrient enrichment in receiving waterways (eutrophication) threatening their water quality and biodiversity values. The Peel-Harvey estuary (WA), RAMSAR-listed wetlands and their contributing waterways in coastal plain catchments in the Peel-Harvey area are an example of the above issues. Fertilizer application on sandy soils has been targeted for Best Management Practices (BMPs) for phosphorus (P) due to their poor nutrient retention ability. Traditionally, conceptual and numerical models for catchment hydrology and P transport processes have been used to assess and implement BMPs that achieve “targeted P loading” at the catchment’s outlet. Validity of the model results is often questioned as model internal structures and process representations cannot be contrasted due to lack of comprehensive datasets.

New field sampling strategies, based on eco-hydrological concepts, have recently become a stepping stone in unlocking key first-order control processes in nutrient cycling (nutrient availability, pathways and transport mechanisms) in catchments by simultaneously monitoring water movement and nutrient cycle processes along a topo-sequence (from uplands to riparian and stream zones). In this talk, I will present results of the implementation of such approaches to investigate the effect that the seasonality on rainfall inputs, plants, and soil types exert on hydrological and biogeochemical pathways for P within hillslopes of coastal plain landscapes (Mayfield drain catchment, Harvey River, WA). Detailed documentation of water movement in surface and shallow subsurface pathways, passive tracers, biogeochemical parameters and P concentrations (total, total dissolved, and soluble reactive P) was undertaken from April 2011-October 2012 at several hillslopes representative of different land uses and soil types in the area.

The preliminary results highlighted: 1) significant differences in the way and timing at which the hydrological connectivity of upland-riparian zones via shallow subsurface flow takes place in different landscapes, 2) seasonal changes on the interaction of shallow subsurface flow in riparian zones with surface water in the drains, and 3) changes on biogeochemical functioning of upland and riparian zones in relation to P cycle and P forms (organic or inorganic). The implications of the findings for our current understanding and previously proposed conceptual models for hydrological and P pathways in coastal plain catchments in the Peel-Harvey area will be discussed.

This work was conducted within a trans-disciplinary project (plant-soil-water sciences) during 2011-2012 founded by Greening Australia-ALCOA Foundation US to investigate the use of novel plants to mitigate P losses towards sustainable landscapes in the Peel-Harvey catchment, and it will continue (2012-2015) under an ARC Linkage Project “Farming in a biodiversity hotspot – harnessing native plants to reduce deleterious off-site phosphorus flows” (J. Lambers and M Ryan, School of Plant Biology, UWA).

Bio

Dr Carlos Jorge Ocampo is a Research Assistant Professor at the Centre for Ecohydrology (UWA). Carlos holds an Engineering Degree in Water Resources (Hydrology/Hydraulic) from the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL, Argentina) and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from UWA on the topic of hydrological and biogeochemical controls on catchment nitrate response.

On completion of his PhD, Carlos returned to Argentina where he was an Assistant Professor at UNL and a Research Scientist at the National Research Council (CONICET). He returned to UWA in 2010. Carlos is a field-oriented hydrologist (hillslope-catchment hydrology) but he has a strong background in numerical modelling in urban hydrology, catchment hydrology, and historical flood reconstruction in large river systems.

His research interests lie in linking hydrology and biogeochemistry (nutrient cycles) at catchment scale, by using a combined approach of hydrometric, passive and isotopic tracers, and numerical modelling. He has conducted field work in a number of sites in Australia and Argentina on nitrogen and phosphorus cycling, hydrological connectivity of shallow-transient groundwater systems, and surface/groundwater interactions.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

As the world population grows and we are facing a 70% increase of food demand over the next four decades,the need to retain versatile and productive soils for food production and to maximise the output from the land is one of the most important issues of our time. This symposium will bring together world leading soil scientists to highlight the importance of soil health, from a national and global food security perspective. They will examine the role which science, technology and innovation can play in supporting Australian farmers in maintaining and developing healthy soils to achieve productivity gains and sustainable agricultural production. To participate in this workshop register online via www.soilhealthwa.eventbrite.com.au

The present ecological situation of the Black Sea in relation to increased shipping from ports in the Black Sea, the prospect of considerably high tanker traffic carrying Caspian and Central Asian oil through the Aegean and the excessive loads of nutrients and other harmful substances flowing from rivers such as Danube, Dniper and Dnister has generated fears in Greece and Turkey, as well as among environmentalists throughout the world, of still more acute threats to the ecosystem and cleanliness of the Aegean Sea.

A numerical simulation of the surface buoyant mega plume that is formed from the Black Sea brackish water discharge into the North Aegean Sea, through the Dardanelles Straits, has been performed using the ELCOM hydrodynamic model after validation with laboratory model results and available field and remote sensing data. Important climatological factors, such as air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure and rainfall that affect the water circulation in North Aegean as well as the Coriolis force effect, are taken into account. The choice of the 3D hydrodynamic model ELCOM was made due to its advanced ability to monitor and predict the Black Sea pollutants that outflow in the North Aegean Sea using passive non-dimensional computational tracers.

The simulation was conducted for a total flow time of 16 years. Suitable tracers are introduced in order to predict the long term fate and distribution of pollutants that are transported from the Black sea into the North Aegean. The overall results of the present investigation indicate that the BSP concentration is very high at the coastal waters of Thassos, Samothraki, and Limnos islands, as well as along the mainland coastal waters between Alexandroupolis and Strymonikos Gulf, during summer and autumn when strong water column stratification occurs. In general, the BSP concentration in the North Aegean surface waters reaches considerable high values (47– 58 % of the initial pollutant concentration at Dardanelles outflow) within 16 years. Even for depths more than 500 m the BSP concentration is still remarkable, slightly increasing with time. The increase of the BSP concentration with respect to time at various depths (from free surface up to 750 m) was also investigated.

Biography

Kyriakos received the BEng Degree of Civil Engineering in 2000 and the MSc Degree in Concrete Technology, Construction and Management in 2002 from the Department of Civil Engineering at Dundee University in Scotland. He then received his MSc Degree in Hydraulic Mechanics in 2007 and his Ph.D. Degree in 2012 from the Department of Civil Engineering at Democritus University of Thrace in Greece. He is currently working as a researcher at Democritus University of Thrace and he is member of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE) and the ECRR (European Center for River Restoration).

His research interests are mainly in the area of Environmental Fluid Mechanics, CFD Modelling, Experimental Modelling and Physical and Chemical Oceanography and Limnology.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

There are two glaring omissions from orthodox models and theories of economic growth: the planet and the human families and communities which live within it. These models neglect the fact that the human economy is embedded in the biosphere which consists of living things, the products of living things and the necessary resources and conditions for living things to survive and thrive. This lecture will explore whether women have a special role to play in remedying this neglect.

Inland aquatic ecosystems, including rivers, lakes, ponds and reservoirs, occupy a small part of the landscape, but play a key role as a conduit for gas exchange with the atmosphere.

This is dependent on a much larger active surface that previously recognised, intense metabolism in aquatic ecosystems, and imports of carbon from adjacent land ecosystems derived from groundwater and runoff.

Here I will report on the rates and drivers of gas exchange between inland aquatic ecosystems and the atmosphere and identify a number of questions that need be addressed in order to further our understanding of this role.

Biography

Professor Carlos M. Duarte is Director of the Oceans Institute at The University of Western Australia and Research Professor with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA) in Mallorca, Spain.

Professor Duarte’s research focuses on understanding the effects of global change in aquatic ecosystems, both marine and freshwater. He has conducted research across Europe, South-East Asia, Cuba, México, USA, Australia, the Amazonia, the Arctic, the Southern Ocean, and the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, spanning most of the marine ecosystem types, from near-shore to the deep sea.

Professor Duarte currently leads the Malaspina 2010 Expedition, a Spanish circumnavigation expedition that sailed the world's oceans to examine the impacts of global change on ocean ecosystems and explore their biodiversity (see http://www.expedicionmalaspina.es).

He is co-leader of a large EU-funded project on Arctic Tipping Points. He is also working closely with the United Nations (the United Nations Environment Programme and FAO) to develop strategies to increase the sustainable production of marine aquaculture, as well as the restoration and conservation of coastal habitats to mitigate climate change and protect coastlines.

Professor Duarte served as President of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography between 2007 and 2010. In 2009, was appointed member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC), the highest-level scientific committee at the European Level.

He has published more than 400 scientific papers and two books, and was editor-in-chief of Estuaries and Coasts, as well as associate editor for a number of journals.

He has received many honours for his work including the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography in 2001, the National Science Award of Spain (2007) and the King James I Award for Research on Environmental Protection (2009). In 2009, he received the Silver Medal Cross of Merit from the Guardia Civil, Spain, for his service to environmental protection. In 2011, he also received the Prix d’Excellence, the highest honour awarded by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES). He has received honorary doctorates from the Université de Québec a Montrèal (Canada) in 2010 and Utrecht University (The Netherlands) in 2012.PS.

* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

A target to reduce phosphorus flows into the Gippsland Lakes in south-eastern Australia by 40% in order to improve water quality has previously been established by stakeholders. This target, like many others worldwide, has been set mostly on the basis of environmental concerns, with limited consideration of issues such as technical feasibility and socio-economic constraints.

This talk will outline an integrated analysis at the catchment scale to assess the agricultural land management changes required to achieve this target, and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these changes. It appears technically feasible to achieve a 40% reduction in P load entering the Lakes. However, there is little or no chance of investment in a 40% reduction being cost-effective. On the other hand, a 20% P reduction could be achieved at much lower cost.

The major implications of this work for agriculturally induced diffuse-source pollution include the need for feedback between goal setting and program costs, and consideration of factors such as the levels of landholder adoption of new practices that are required and the feasibility of achieving those adoption levels.

Short Bio,

David Pannell is Winthrop Professor in the School of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Western Australia, Director of the Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy, and a Federation Fellow of the Australian Research Council.

His research includes the economics of land and water conservation; environmental policy; farmer adoption of land conservation practices; risk management; and economics of farming systems. He was President of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society in 2000.

Author of 170 journal articles and book chapters, David’s research has won awards in the USA, Australia, Canada and the UK, including the 2009 Eureka Prize for Interdisciplinary Research.

PS* This seminar is free and open to the public & no RSVP required.

****All Welcome****

What does corporate social responsibility really mean? And why is social impact becoming increasingly important? Join Winthrop Professor Paul Flatau as he examines the accelerating economic relationship between government, business and the not-for-profit sector in delivering social and environmental value in communities.

Held as part of the Alumni and Friends Weekend, Centenary Celebrations