Capability Statement

Research capabilities range from macro to micro

AIMS has the expertise and capability to explore and examine the marine environment through studies ranging from regional ship-based investigations to state-of-the-art microbial and molecular analyses. Research includes:

• Assessing and mapping biodiversity of shallow and deeper water communities.
• Fish biodiversity surveys and demographic studies for assessing fisheries impacts, management strategies and effects of climate change.
• Studying coral reefs, mangroves and estuarine systems and monitoring responses and responses to climate change and other pressures. This work includes identifying signals of stress using molecular tools.
• Monitoring changes and investigating processes influencing marine ecosystem health and productivity. This enables scientists to gauge and develop ways to reduce human impacts such as sediments, pollutants and excess nutrients on coastal ecosystems.
• Microbial community analysis to determine the effects and responses of marine organisms to climate change and pathogenic attack (e.g. coral disease and larval rearing).
• Processing and analysing satellite data to provide information about shelf oceanography, current regimes, dispersal of fish and coral larvae, dispersal patterns of river discharges, carbon flux, primary productivity, nearshore-offshore connectivity and reef dynamics.
• Reconstructing climate histories from cores to track climate change and improve climate prediction.
• Assessing water quality and issues related to runoff from the land.
• Measuring, analysing and modelling oceanographic processes, including water circulation, wave mechanics and sediment dynamics in estuarine, coastal and continental shelf waters.
• Investigating geochemical processes and analysing marine sediments.
• Screening and analysing compounds from samples with potential for use in human health care as well as industrial and environmental applications.
• Developing aquaculture techniques for the production of food, materials and fine chemicals.
• Advancing prawn and rock lobster domestication. This includes hatchery management and looking for answers in the microbial communities that live in the animals, water column and aquaria biofilms.

November 13, 2007