Current activities

These are the projects the team is currently involved with.

Adaptation Pathways

Adaptation pathways for threatened, endangered, and protected species are strategies aimed at improving the resilience and survival of species facing environmental changes, habitat loss, and other threats. These pathways involve a combination of management actions, policy interventions, and scientific research that evolve over time in response to new information and changing conditions.

• Developing adaptation pathways for albatross

   

Little Penguins

The TEPS project has a focus on developing monitoring tools and modelling approaches for seabird populations.
As part of these activities, the project has compiled data on dog attacks on penguin colonies and modelled their effect on viability of populations. More details are available here:

• Modelling dog attacks on Little Penguin Factsheet

 

CRAGS – Testing adaptation options in response to climate change

In partnership with managers working for the Tasmanian conservation agency (DPIPWE), the TEPS project is developing and testing adaptation options to help the vulnerable Shy Albatross cope with climate change. The CSIRO Remote Autonomous Gigapixel System (CRAGS) is being used to collect data on how effective the adaption options are.

• CRAGS – Testing adaptation options in response to climate change

 

Handfish

The TEPS project helps support the safeguarding of the critically endangered Spotted Handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) by monitoring & habitat restoration.

• Safeguarding the critically endangered Spotted Handfish.

Sharks & sawfish

CSIRO has been leading population research into various sharks and ray populations in Australian waters. Much of this is focused on the use of close kin mark recapture to estimate population sizes. We are also conducting research into eDNA approaches to detect these species and using satellite tagging to estimate post-release survival rates after entanglement in fishing gears.
The following links detail projects being lead in CSIRO Environment.

White shark 

• White shark research findings
• NESP Project A3 – A national assessment of the status of white sharks

Grey nurse shark

• NESP Project A9 – Grey Nurse Shark population estimate: east coast

Sawfish

• NESP Project 1.25 – Sawfish bycatch reporting in northern Australian fisheries
• Conservation hope for sawfish population (video)
• FRDC – Peeking into the secret lives of Sawfish

River sharks

• Rapid assessment of adult abundance and demographic connectivity from juvenile kin pairs in a critically endangered species
• Bycatch of a Critically Endangered Shark Glyphis glyphis in a Crab Pot Fishery: Implications for Management

 

 

Ecosystem monitoring with MVT

Marine Visual Technologies (MVT) are at the forefront of developing AIML technologies for monitoring the impacts of offshore activities on Threatened Endangered and Protected Species (TEPS).

 

Ningaloo Outlook

• Ningaloo Outlook

 

 Flatback turtles

• Flatback Futures (2018-2023) – Mapping outcomes and developing adaptation pathways for the NWSFTCP