Research grants
Program 2Our research grants support important and often time-sensitive coral reef research projects. They may range from a single grant for a particular purpose to a series of grants offered over multiple years that are united by a research theme.
Unlike the fellowships programs, grants are not limited to a particular research demographic and applicants may be from any level within the research community.
Current topics supported by our research grants are: mitigation of the impacts of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish outbreaks, plastics pollution, long-term change on reefs, and using eDNA to determine biodiversity on reefs.
Our current research grants are supported by the following generous donors.
The Ian Potter Foundation
Charles Warman Foundation
Banyer family
Rossi Foundation
Sally White OAM and Geoffrey White OAM
Ian Darling AO and Min Darling
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish research grants
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) research grants are aimed at finding practical methods to reduce the impact of COTS on their coral prey.
They are supported by an Ian Potter Foundation 50th Anniversary Commemorative Grant. This program has operated since 2015 and 20 grants were awarded up to the final one in 2020. Research funded under this program continues in 2021.
The next Crown-of-Thorns Starfish outbreak is coming
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) are natural members of coral reef communities and their numbers...
Testing new methods to study Crown-of-Thorns Starfish populations
Crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster cf. solaris, are natural inhabitants of the Great Barrier...
Detecting Crown-of-Thorns Starfish at pre-outbreak levels using new dipstick tests
Mitigating the devastating effects of coral eating Crown of Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf....
Plastic pollution research grants
Pollution of the oceans by plastic waste is a relatively recent impact on marine environments. Very little is known about its prevalence in coral reef areas and its effect on marine life in that environment. Our grants are taking groundbreaking steps into this field of research thanks to donations from the Banyer family and the Rossi Family Foundation.
Microplastics ingestion by larval fish
The impact of plastic in our oceans is a growing threat to the marine ecosystem and a new study...
The effects of microplastic contamination on mesozooplankton: a unique threat?
Human activity has caused plastics to contaminate marine ecosystems around the world. Plastic...
Microplastics and DEHP in coral reef fish
Marine life is detrimentally affected by human pollution; including by plastic waste and...
Long-term change research grants
Increasingly, coral reefs are affected by cyclones, bleaching and many other impacts. It is only with accurate baseline data and careful monitoring that we can understand these changes – including recovery – and such data and studies are rare.
Our Foundation is supporting a 3-year grant to Dr Maria Dornelas (University of St Andrews, UK) and Dr Joshua Madin (University of Hawaii, USA) to build on their existing long-term data set of coral communities at Lizard Island: Understanding coral reef recovery from extreme disturbances using 3D maps. This is critical research at a time when these reefs are recovering from devastating damage that occurred between 2014 and 2017.
This work is funded with a generous donation from the Charles Warman Foundation.
How many coral species exist at Lizard Island?
That apparently simple question is not so easy to answer. Not only are corals notoriously...
Deconstructing coral colonies
Dr Kyle Zawada is a humble man, but show him just a glimpse of Acropora loripes and he’ll give you...
Nooks, crannies and critters
Drawing on field work conducted at the Lizard Island Research Station, a large team of ecologists...
eDNA research grant
DNA that is shed into the environment (eDNA) is an exciting new tool that has great potential for discovering biodiversity in an area. In the marine environment, a seawater sample contains traces of the many thousands of species that live nearby. The trick is knowing which DNA signal belongs to which species.
Our grant to Dr Joseph DiBattista (Australian Museum) is helping to develop the emerging field of eDNA and provides an opportunity to make Lizard Island a major reference point for fish diversity on the east coast of Australia.
This work is funded with a generous donation from the Charles Warman Foundation.
Ichthyology, eDNA and barcoding
Joseph DiBattista is a Research Fellow in the TrEnD Lab at Curtin University. Via a joint...
Our Other Programs
Program 1 - Fellowships
We provide fellowships that support field-intensive coral reef research by PhD students and early-career researchers.
Learn more >
Program 3 - Research facilities
We provide the facilities and equipment that underpin coral reef research and education at Lizard Island Research Station.
Learn more >
Program 4 - Education
We provide educational opportunities for future researchers and their mentors at Lizard Island Research Station.
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Contact
Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation
c/- Australian Museum
1 William Street, Sydney NSW 2010
admin@lirrf.org
Lizard Island Research Station
lizard@australian.museum
+61 (0)7 4060 3977
Weather & Ocean Observations
Latest Lizard Island Weather & Oceanic Observations from the AIMS Data Centre
We acknowledge Dingaal and Ngurrumungu Traditional Owners of the lands, seas and skies of the Lizard Island region.