Balancing water needs for humans and nature
Quantify the relationships between ecosystem services and hydrological flows, including the needs of floodplains and coastal areas in face of the accelerated changes in freshwater ecosystems.
Coordinators: Michael Douglas (University of Western Australia), Ph.D.
Addressing fragmentation and restoration of river connectivity
Work for the effective rehabilitation of river ecosystems functioning by enhancing our understanding of the complexity and trade-offs of stream barriers, as well as by identifying and creating priority processes.
Coordinators: Rosilene Luciana Delariva (UNIOESTE), Ph.D. and Hamish Campbell (Charles Darwin University), Ph.D.
Land use influences on freshwater ecosystems
Include an integrated approach aiming to (i) understanding the spatial scale of land use influence in aquatic ecosystems to guide the protection of riparian lands, and (ii) understanding how changes in land use influence aquatic food webs, through changes to the quality and quantity of basal food resources.
Coordinators: Alexandro Marques Tozetti (UNISINOS), Ph. D. and Fran Sheldon (Griffith University), Ph.D.
Water security
Develop the capacity of the population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of water of acceptable quality for their livelihood, human well-being and socioeconomic development, and to guarantee protection against water pollution and water-related disasters and preservation of ecosystems.
Coordinators: Antonio Carlos Zuffo (Unicamp), Ph.D. and Anik Bhaduri (Griffith University, Water Future), Ph.D.
Conservation planning and biodiversity assessment
Undertake aquatic biodiversity assessments (mapping and modelling biodiversity) and determine the structural and functional patterns of freshwater ecosystems with different conservation leves, that is, influenced by different disturbances.
Coordinators: Paula Caroline dos Reis Oliveira (ESALQ/USP), Ph.D. and Mark Kennard (Griffith University), Ph.D.
Social and cultural dimension of water
Help synthesize natural and social sciences to better inform practical decision-making and effective management of socio-ecological systems and engage policy-makers and local communities in the research activities.
Coordinator: Juliana Silva França (Universidade Vila Velha – UVV/Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica – INMA), Ph.D. and Sue Jackson (Griffith University), Ph.D.
Improving tools for monitoring, assessment and reporting
Determine which components of aquatic ecosystems are affected by which stressors and estimate the magnitude of these effects to propose programs for monitoring ecosystem health that respond to changing perceptions and values of stakeholders.
Coordinator: Camila Aida Campos Couto (ADASA), Ph.D. and Fran Sheldon (Griffith University), Ph.D.
Modelling and prediction
Design and implement a database and platforms in the cloud, allowing upload, management, processing and presentation of data in agile way and quick recovery.
Coordinators: Carlos Dias Maciel, Ph.D.(USP), Marcos Eduardo Cordeiro Bernardes, Ph.D. (UFSB) and David Hamilton (Griffith University), Ph.D.