23 May
2006 - Research on fungi, ladybird beetles and
zooplankton are among 57 projects to share $1.87
million in funding from the Australian Government,
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the
Environment and Heritage Greg Hunt announced today.
"Australia is home to two
million species of plants and animals, with 80
per cent found nowhere else in the world,"
Mr Hunt said. "But we have huge gaps in our
scientific knowledge of these species - many of
them newly discovered".
"This national grants programme
provides critical support for taxonomists to describe
and classify little-known plants, animals and
micro-organisms. There are a vast range of exciting
projects," Mr Hunt said.
"This work is fundamental
to protecting our rich biodiversity from threats
such as invasive species. It also has significant
economic spin-offs for industry, from farmers
managing weeds and diseases to miners rehabilitating
oil and gas fields."
"It is the essential knowledge
base for the use of plants and animals in medicines
and vaccines."
The funding is made though the Australian Biological
Resources Study (ABRS), an Australian Government
research agency which leads the world in providing
species information for biodiversity management.
The grants are awarded annually under the ABRS
Participatory Programme to private researchers
and to scientists in universities, museums and
herbaria.
"Researchers are investigating
organisms which might poison cattle, parasites
that infect coral reef fish and a mayfly family
which is an important indicator of water quality."
"Projects will enable identification
of native thrips that will assist Quarantine in
recognition of newly introduced, potential pest
species, and research on spider mites to identify
native species will also strengthen our ability
to detect new exotic species."
Grant projects will contribute
to the development of publications, databases,
CD ROMs and web-based interactive identification
keys.
Significant grants include:
$28,000 to the University of Tasmania to develop
a web-based key for the identification of south
eastern marine zooplankton - sensitive indicators
of climate change and nutrient enrichment.
$25,000 to CSIRO Entomology to develop an interactive
key for the identification of a subfamily of ladybird
beetles that are biological control agents of
scale insects.
$30,000 to Dr Anthony Young, an independent researcher
from Queensland, to complete research on the fungus
genus Ramaria, which is of immense economic significance
to Australia's forestry industry.
