Science Program Update - June 2025

2/07/2025

The Research Centre is delivering 29 projects involving more than 150 project team members, covering a broad range of topics to improve our understanding of the impacts of climate change on the region and how we can respond.

With the Science Program in full swing, there’s plenty happening. Here are just a few highlights:

Surveys, surveys and more surveys! We currently have a survey open for our ‘How does scientific engagement benefit community and management?’ project. The survey and ‘Science by the Shore’ community event (on the 25 July 2025) will explore the communities’ relationship with science and the natural environment. Surveys to capture community and stakeholder perspectives are also coming soon for the Landscape Revegetation, Optimising Water, Ocean Beach Ecology and Threats, Climate Adaptation, and Horizon Scan projects—stay tuned for ways to get involved!

Two-way sharing on climate adaptation for the region. Our Community Adaptation to Worsening Droughts and Floods project is gaining real momentum within the community. The group has already held three workshops and developed a creative plan to tell the story of how the local environment may respond to climate change. We’ll keep you posted on the progress of this exciting project.

Let’s learn more about the iconic Rakali. Hannah McKennall, an Honours student from Flinders University is researching the behaviour and ecology of Rakali in the Goolwa region. Hannah recently set up camera traps - including right outside the CLLMM Research Centre - to observe this fascinating species. We can’t wait to see what she’s captured. Stay tuned!

As always, if you want to learn more about the projects and how you can get involved, please contact our Science Program Manager, Nick Whiterod nick.whiterod@goyderinstitute.org

Research Outputs

Our Waterbirds Scoping project, led by Tom Prowse from the University of Adelaide, is the first of our projects to be completed. The report can be found here.

Building on past research and consultation, Tom and colleagues conducted targeted stakeholder workshops with First Nations and community, ‘Friends’ groups, Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations (eNGOs), management agencies, and scientists to identify key topics for waterbird conservation in the region. These topics were then prioritised to determine which would best support future decision-making.

Priority topics included waterbird telemetry, waterbird condition monitoring, conservation modelling and disturbances to shorebirds. These priorities guided development of our main Waterbirds Conservation project.

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Last month, our Science Program Manager, Nick Whiterod, co-authored a publication in Biological Conservation highlighting that half of the habitat remaining for Australia’s most at-risk plant and animal species is outside of protected areas.

“Australia must do more to conserve its threatened species, and protecting their remaining habitat is critical to this” said Nick.

Relevantly for the CLLMM, the study highlights that, whilst the region does contain several protected areas, it is important to remember that the habitat for threatened species is often outside of these areas. The study, led by Michelle Ward from Griffith University, produced a series of species habitat maps that can guide land management decisions, identify opportunities to expand protected areas, and help prioritise biodiversity stewardship programs. More information can be found in The Conservation article and the publication can be found here or ask Nick for a copy.