CLIMATE CHANGE DETECTIVES TAKE TO QLD RAINFOREST TREETOPS
Published Tuesday, 19 December, 2006 at 05:00 AM
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
The next edition of Catalyst magazine uncovers more world-first Queensland research including a project looking for signs of global warming in the sub tropical treetops of Lamington National Park, Premier Peter Beattie said.
Led by Queensland Smithsonian Fellow and Griffith University Professor of Ecology Roger Kitching, the climate change project has received Smart State funding of $356,000.
“This research is developing warning indicators for global warming so it’s a project of international significance,” Mr Beattie said.
For the next four months, up to 40 ecologists, entomologists, botanists and taxonomists from around the world will be scouring 20 different sites in the national park to collect samples at different attitudes.
The experts are from Australia, USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Norway, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Brazil.
The brainchild of Professor Kitching, this international collaboration is identifying insects that are the best predictors of climate change, as well as mapping them to see if there are any changes.
"The rainforest is a great place to measure the impact of global warming on biodiversity because much of what happens in the rainforest is driven by the local climate," Professor Kitching said.
Professor Kitching said the project team is collecting the data from sites between the canopy floor and the treetops.
Managed by Griffith University, partners in the Biodiversity at the Heights Project are the Queensland Museum, Queensland Herbarium, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water, Pro-Natura International, and National Parks Association of Queensland.
A spinoff of the Griffith research is ongoing development by French-based Pro-Natura International of a Canopy Glider –a 25 metre tall hot-air balloon which can cruise over the rainforest and provide researchers with direct access to the treetops.
Other projects in the December edition of Catalyst include boosting nutrients in bananas to help children in Uganda and research into a new malaria vaccine aiming to go into clinical trials in the New Year
http://www.smartstate.qld.gov.au/resources/publications/catalyst/index.shtm
Media Contacts: Premier’s Office 07 3224 4500
Led by Queensland Smithsonian Fellow and Griffith University Professor of Ecology Roger Kitching, the climate change project has received Smart State funding of $356,000.
“This research is developing warning indicators for global warming so it’s a project of international significance,” Mr Beattie said.
For the next four months, up to 40 ecologists, entomologists, botanists and taxonomists from around the world will be scouring 20 different sites in the national park to collect samples at different attitudes.
The experts are from Australia, USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Norway, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Brazil.
The brainchild of Professor Kitching, this international collaboration is identifying insects that are the best predictors of climate change, as well as mapping them to see if there are any changes.
"The rainforest is a great place to measure the impact of global warming on biodiversity because much of what happens in the rainforest is driven by the local climate," Professor Kitching said.
Professor Kitching said the project team is collecting the data from sites between the canopy floor and the treetops.
Managed by Griffith University, partners in the Biodiversity at the Heights Project are the Queensland Museum, Queensland Herbarium, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water, Pro-Natura International, and National Parks Association of Queensland.
A spinoff of the Griffith research is ongoing development by French-based Pro-Natura International of a Canopy Glider –a 25 metre tall hot-air balloon which can cruise over the rainforest and provide researchers with direct access to the treetops.
Other projects in the December edition of Catalyst include boosting nutrients in bananas to help children in Uganda and research into a new malaria vaccine aiming to go into clinical trials in the New Year
http://www.smartstate.qld.gov.au/resources/publications/catalyst/index.shtm
Media Contacts: Premier’s Office 07 3224 4500