Australian Innovation System Report 2012 Compendium of Program Updates

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE (AIMS)

Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) is Australia’s tropical marine research agency. Its specialised laboratories and modern research fleet together with highly skilled multidisciplinary research capacity – from microbiology to broad scale ecology and oceanography - provide a unique capacity to improve understanding of these complex ecosystems and position Australia to tackle the challenges facing them. The capacity provided by world renowned staff is enhanced by well-developed national and international partnerships and an active postdoctoral and postgraduate training program. These have secured AIMS’ position as a global leader in tropical marine science. Looking forward AIMS will continue to deliver research that supports marine policy, evidence-based decisions, and regional industry development and will work with stakeholders and research-users to ensure relevance and transfer of its research outputs. An overview of AIMS research is provided in the 2011-2015 Research Plan.

Website for further information:

www.aims.gov.au/

AIMS has strong links with users of its research and builds critical mass through an effective network of collaborators (national and global). It delivers a substantial portion of its science through joint ventures, strategic alliances and collaboration, building critical mass and increasing the Institute’s capacity. Examples include:

Arafura Timor Research Facility (ATRF)

The Arafura Timor Research Facility (ATRF) is a joint venture between AIMS and the Australian National University (ANU) that consists of an office and laboratory complex located in Darwin, adjacent to the campus of Charles Darwin University (CDU). The building was funded by the Australian Government as a Major National Research Facility. It opened in 2006 with a mission to support marine science across northern Australia and other countries bordering the Arafura and Timor Seas (Indonesia, New Guinea, and Timor).

Website for further information:

www.atrf.org.au

ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies was established by the ARC in 2005 creating a partnership among AIMS, ANU, GBRMPA, JCU, the University of Queensland (UQ) and UWA. Following a mid-term review, the Centre was extended to 2013 representing a total investment of almost $22 million by the ARC in this joint venture.

Website for further information:

www.coralcoe.org.au

Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program (MMP)

The Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program (MMP) supports the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (Reef Plan), which is a $375 million decadal investment (2003-2013) by the Australian and Queensland Governments intended to halt and reverse the decline in water quality entering the GBR Lagoon and, in the long term, to ensure no detrimental impact of this water quality on the health and resilience of the GBR ecosystems. The MMP is coordinated by GBRMPA as a partnership between AIMS, CSIRO, JCU, the Northern Fisheries Centre of the Queensland Government, and the National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox) based at UQ.

Website for further information:

www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/info_services/science_management/marine_monitoring_program

NERP Tropical Ecosystems (NERP TE) Hub

The NERP Tropical Ecosystems (NERP TE) Hub is the largest of five science programs undertaking applied environmental science research as a part of NERP established by SEWPaC. The NERP TE Hub delivers research for north Queensland designed to improve environmental decision-making processes in regionally-based natural resource management agencies (TSRA, Wet Tropics Management Authority, GBRMPA) and/or to influence the formation of environmental policy by Australian Governments. With co-investment from the major research partners (AIMS, CSIRO, JCU, UQ), this joint venture represents expenditure between 2011-2014 of more than $60 million on environmental research for North Queensland. Peter Doherty (AIMS) was nominated by the research partners to lead the science program. The NERP TE Hub is administered by the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC) in Cairns.

Website for further information:

www.nerptropical.edu.au/

AIMS is also a partner in the Marine Biodiversity and Northern Australia Hubs.

The Integrated Marine Observing System

The Integrated Marine Observing System is a national system of sustained observations on ocean variability, conducted throughout the Australian marine jurisdiction. Established in 2006 by the Australian Government with five years of funding as part of its National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) and matching co-investment from partners (including AIMS) it has been a highly successful NCRIS program, bringing together universities and publicly-funded research agencies in the marine sector in a cooperative model without precedent.

Since becoming operational in 2007, the Queensland Government has co-invested over $7 million in data streams to monitor the marine climate affecting the GBR, and in its 2011-2012 budget the Government of Western Australia committed an additional $6 million over four years for ocean observing. As a core partner in IMOS, AIMS manages the Queensland node of IMOS and collects data from more than a dozen deep water oceanographic moorings in the north-west of WA providing critical information for the World Heritage listed Ningaloo Marine Park, the remote and pristine Kimberley region, and the vast amount of infrastructure deployed by the offshore oil and gas industry.

Website for further information:

www.imos.org.au/

Western Australia Marine Science Institution (WAMSI)

Western Australia Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) is a partnership to improve knowledge and understanding of Western Australia’s marine environment for better resource development, management and conservation outcomes. It was launched in May 2007 with an initial investment of $21 million over five years from the State Treasury. In 2011, the Western Australian Government Office of the Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) was admitted as a sixteenth partner joining four Perth Universities, two major resource companies, two publicly-funded research agencies (CSIRO, AIMS), three State Government Departments, the Western Australian Museum, the Bureau of Meteorology, a specialist Chemistry Centre, and a regional ocean observing network for the Indian Ocean. A review of performance in 2011 showed that WAMSI had enlisted 250 scientists, directly employed four postdoctoral fellows and supervised 35 doctoral students in activity worth over $90 million over the first five years and producing a high return on the initial investment.

AIMS@JCU

AIMS@JCU is a joint venture between AIMS and James Cook University to facilitate the sharing of research infrastructure in Townsville and to provide enhanced opportunities for the training of postgraduate students in tropical marine sciences.

Website for further information:

http://aims.jcu.edu.au/AIMS-JCU/home.htm