Aaron Davis ~ Principal Research Officer
TropWater
- About
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- Research Disciplines
- Socio-Economic Objectives
My research broadly focuses on catchment water quality in northern Australia, particularly the role of anthropogenic stressors in aquatic communities. One key area of interest is in identification of progressive agricultural practices that offer improvements from a natural resource management perspective to industry, while also ensuring the long-term social and economic viability of farming enterprises. I am also interested in better quantifying the temporal and spatial extent of water quality contamination in coastal freshwater and estuarine wetlands, particularly with regard to chronic, sub-lethal exposure to pollutants.
Other areas of research interest broadly include fish ecology, particularly size-related trophic ecology and the evolutionary processes influencing the present-day Australasian fish fauna. This includes the biogeographic, phylogenetic and paleoecological drivers that have shaped the unique contemporary fish assemblage structure evident in Australian freshwaters. Other research interests include landscape ecology in relation to wetland connectivity, and the identification of primary production sources for aquatic communities and relationships to flow regime (i.e. dietary and isotopic ecology).
- Honours
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- Awards
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- 2013 - Dean's List for Higher Research Degree Excellence
- Fellowships
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- 2014 - Queensland Smithsonian Fellowship
- Publications
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These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.
- Journal Articles
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- Fielke S, Taylor B, Coggan A, Jakku E, Davis A, Thorburn P, Webster A and Smart J (2022) Understanding power, social capital and trust alongside near real-time water quality monitoring and technological development collaboration. Journal of Rural Studies, 92. pp. 120-131
- Pearson R, Davis A and Birtles R (2022) Enhancing whole-of-river conservation. Marine and Freshwater Research, 73 (6). pp. 729-741
- Warne M, Turner R, Davis A, Smith R and Huang A (2022) Temporal variation of imidacloprid concentration and risk in waterways discharging to the Great Barrier Reef and potential causes. Science of the Total Environment, 823.
- Boyero L, Pérez J, López-Rojo N, Tonin A, Correa-Araneda F, Pearson R, Bosch J, Albariño R, Anbalagan S, Barmuta L, Beesley L, Burdon F, Caliman A, Callisto M, Campbell I, Cardinale B, Jesús Casas J, Chará-Serna A, Ciapa?a S, Chauvet E, Colón-Gaud C, Cornejo A, Davis A, Degebrodt M, Dias E, Díaz M, Douglas M, Elosegi A, Encalada A, De Eyto E, Figueroa R, Flecker A, Fleituch T, Frainer A, França J, García E, García G, García P, Gessner M, Giller P, Gómez J, Gómez S, Gonçalves J, Graça M, Hall R, Hamada N, Hepp L, Hui C, Imazawa D, Iwata T, Junior E, Kariuki S, Landeira-Dabarca A, Leal M, Lehosmaa K, M’Erimba C, Marchant R, Martins R, Masese F, Camden M, McKie B, Medeiros A, Middleton J, Muotka T, Negishi J, Pozo J, Ramírez A, Rezende R, Richardson J, Rincón J, Rubio-Ríos J, Serrano C, Shaffer A, Sheldon F, Swan C, Tenkiano N, Tiegs S, Tolod J, Vernasky M, Watson A, Yegon M and Yule C (2021) Latitude dictates plant diversity effects on instream decomposition. Science Advances, 7 (13).
- Boyero L, López-Rojo N, Tonin A, Pérez J, Correa-Araneda F, Pearson R, Bosch J, Albariño R, Anbalagan S, Barmuta L, Basaguren A, Burdon F, Caliman A, Callisto M, Calor A, Campbell I, Cardinale B, Jesús Casas J, Chará-Serna A, Chauvet E, Ciapa?a S, Colón-Gaud C, Cornejo A, Davis A, Degebrodt M, Dias E, Díaz M, Douglas M, Encalada A, Figueroa R, Flecker A, Fleituch T, García E, García G, García P, Gessner M, Gómez J, Gómez S, Gonçalves J, Graça M, Gwinn D, Hall R, Hamada N, Hui C, Imazawa D, Iwata T, Kariuki S, Landeira-Dabarca A, Laymon K, Leal M, Marchant R, Martins R, Masese F, Maul M, McKie B, Medeiros A, Erimba C, Middleton J, Monroy S, Muotka T, Negishi J, Ramírez A, Richardson J, Rincón J, Rubio-Ríos J, dos Santos G, Sarremejane R, Sheldon F, Sitati A, Tenkiano N, Tiegs S, Tolod J, Venarsky M, Watson A and Yule C (2021) Impacts of detritivore diversity loss on instream decomposition are greatest in the tropics. Nature Communications, 12 (1).
- Boyero L, López-Rojo N, Pérez J, Tonin A, Correa-Araneda F, Davis A and Pearson R (2021) Effects of gamma irradiation on instream leaf litter decomposition. Hydrobiologia, 848 (21). pp. 5223-5232
- Davis A, Webster A, Fitch P, Fielke S, Taylor B, Morris S and Thorburn P (2021) The changing face of science communication, technology, extension and improved decision-making at the farm-water quality interface. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 169.
- Fielke S, Taylor B, Jakku E, Mooij M, Stitzlein C, Fleming A, Thorburn P, Webster A, Davis A and Vilas M (2021) Grasping at digitalisation: turning imagination into fact in the sugarcane farming community. Sustainability Science, 16. pp. 677-690
- Le Feuvre M, Dempster T, Shelley J, Davis A and Swearer S (2021) Range restriction leads to narrower ecological niches and greater extinction risk in Australian freshwater fish. Biodiversity and Conservation, 30 (11). pp. 2955-2976
- Book Chapters
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- Lewis S, McCloskey G, Bainbridge Z, Davis A, Bartley R and Turner R (in press) Sediment and nutrient flux from land. In: Oceanographic Processes of Coral Reefs: Physical and Biological Links in the Great Barrier Reef. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA
- Conference Papers
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- Fillois E and Davis A (2021) Soil-binding adjuvants can reduce herbicide loss via runoff. Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists. In: ASSCT 2020: 42nd Annual Conference of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, 20-23 April 2021, Bundaberg, QLD, Australia
- Fillols E and Davis A (2021) Effect of the soil-binding adjuvant Grounded® on herbicide efficacy and runoff losses in bare soil in ratoons. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists. In: 42nd Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Conference, 20-23 April 2021, Bundaberg, QLD, Australia
- More
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ResearchOnline@JCU stores 67+ research outputs authored by Aaron Davis from 2007 onwards.
- Current Funding
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Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.
Queensland Government - Contract Research
DES - JCU GBRCLMP Collaborative Agreement
- Indicative Funding
- $189,970 over 1 year
- Summary
- Collaborate and support the Water Quality and Investigations? GBR Catchments Loads Monitoring Program under a regionally based science partnership.
- Investigators
- Zoe Bainbridge and Aaron Davis (TropWater)
- Keywords
- Great Barrier Reef; Water Quality; Sensor Networks; River Monitoring
Great Barrier Reef Foundation - Contract Research
Review of water quality monitoring and evaluation for DIN-focused projects.
- Indicative Funding
- $544,619 over 2 years
- Summary
- Our team will coordinate and provide technical support across all the Reef Trust Partnership (RTP) dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and pesticide projects that involve water quality (WQ) monitoring managed by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. The purpose of the work is to ensure that the overall approach - including project design, equipment selection, sampling methods and analysis - is fit-for purpose and (to the extent appropriate) consistent across projects and programs. We will also ensure that project findings are communicated effectively and consistently.
- Investigators
- Stephen Lewis, Cassandra James, Zoe Bainbridge, Molly McShane and Aaron Davis (TropWater)
- Keywords
- Dissolved inorganic nitrogen; Pesticides; Monitoring; Communication; Water Quality
Herbert Cane Productivity Services Ltd (HCPSL) - Great Barrier Reef Foundation
Project CaNE
- Indicative Funding
- $2,391,954 over 3 years
- Summary
- The CaNE? project will work with farmers to drive productive, financially, and environmentally sustainable farming systems. The project will address the issue of DIN being exported from the farm into freshwater and marine ecosystems within the Catchment area, while maintaining cane productivity. TropWATER is to provide local water quality monitoring support to local agronomic extension providers to facilitate farming practice change to produce water quality benefits in the lower Herbert River canegrowing region. The water quality monitoring program will involve scientific engagement, communication and education surrounding local water quality processes associated with agriculture.
- Investigators
- Aaron Davis in collaboration with Damien Burrows (TropWater)
- Keywords
- Great Barrier Reef; Agriculture; Water Quality; Nitrate; Stakeholder; Sugarcane
Department of the Environment and Energy - National Environmental Science Program (NESP) - Tropical Water Quality Hub (TWQ Hub)
NESP Tropical Water Quality Research Plan 7
- Indicative Funding
- $189,600
- Summary
- The National Environmental Science Program Tropical Water Quality Hub, funded by the federal government, has funded a wide variety of research projects during its operations from 2015-2021. As this programme draws to a close, there is a need to repatriate the knowledge and learnings from these research projects to relevant stakeholders and end-users. This project will undertake a series of meetings and workshops with end-users to enable the outcomes of research to be adopted. This engagement process will include analysis and synthesis of data collected to date.
- Investigators
- Damien Burrows, Aaron Davis, Katie Chartrand and Nathan Waltham (TropWater)
- Keywords
- Water Quality; Great Barrier Reef; Cane Farming; Citizen Science; Wetlands
Department of the Environment and Energy - National Environmental Science Program (NESP) - Tropical Water Quality Hub (TWQ Hub)
NESP 7.1 - Continuity Proposal for `Project 25? ? Farmers, Water Quality and On-Farm Decision-Making
- Indicative Funding
- $50,000 (administered by Reef and Rainforest Research Centre)
- Summary
- Landholder concerns surrounding the credibility of broad-scale water quality monitoring and modelling initiatives in the GBR catchment area has emerged as one of the major cane industry engagement challenges for promoting significant farming practice change, and delivering water quality improvements. Based around small, sub-catchment scale water quality monitoring in a key cane growing region of the GBR catchment, Project 25 successfully utilised a bottom-up approach to integrated sub-catchment monitoring and intervention to identify `hot spot? sub-catchments through localised water quality monitoring. In a collaborative programs between scientists from a range of organisations (JCU, CSIRO) and cane farming stakeholders, the Project emphasised industry ownership and control of monitoring design, and delivery of locally targeted water quality data and extension effort to provide confidence in on-farm decision making and facilitate practice change.
- Investigators
- Aaron Davis (TropWater)
- Keywords
- Continuity Proposal; water quality; land management; Natural resource management
Sugar Research Australia - Research Grant
Keeping our chemicals in their place - in the field
- Indicative Funding
- $55,602 over 4 years (administered by Sugar Research Australia)
- Summary
- The study assesses on-farm management practices in relation to minimising off-farm losses of pesticides in the Australian sugar industry. The study will involve a series of integrated short-term and long-term paddock-scale studies of pesticide movement in runoff to identify best management practices for pesticide management.
- Investigators
- Aaron Davis (TropWater)
- Keywords
- Great Barrier Reef; Water Quality; Sugarcane; Pesticides
Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment - National Environment Science Program (NESP) - Total Water Quality (TWQ)
Influencing agriculture practice behaviour change and trust frameworks.
- Indicative Funding
- $13,500 over 1 year (administered by Reef & Rainforest Research Centre)
- Summary
- The ecologically-determined water quality improvement targets for the Great Barrier Reef can only be met with significant improvement in farm management practices. Numerous programs over many years, utilising a variety of approaches, have worked with land managers and representative farmer groups, seeking to achieve high levels of uptake of recommended farming practices. However, these have only met with low-moderate success. There has been significant work encouraging and facilitating behaviour and practice change in recent years, including through, but certainly not limited to, the NESP TWQ Hub. Programs encouraging behaviour and practice change are set to remain a feature of contemporary reef funding programs. Thus it is timely to coordinate a synthesis of learnings in this domain. Increasing understanding of, and improving trust frameworks and behaviour change of land managers will lead to improved water quality to the Great Barrier Reef. Understanding the impetus, benefits and barriers of behaviour change for agricultural practice is a large step in improving water quality to the Great Barrier Reef.
- Investigators
- Suzanne Long, Rachel Hay, Aaron Davis, Allan Dale, Norman Duke, Bruce Taylor, Marie Vitelli and Julie Carmody in collaboration with Damien Burrows, Peter Thorburn and Jim Smart (Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, College of Business, Law & Governance, TropWater, Cairns Institute, Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation, College of Science & Engineering and Griffith University)
- Keywords
- Farming; Agriculture; Behaviour Change; Best practice; Culture
Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment - National Environment Science Program (NESP) - Total Water Quality (TWQ)
Reducing nitrogen runoff without reducing industry productivity
- Indicative Funding
- $14,805 over 1 year (administered by Reef & Rainforest Research Centre)
- Summary
- Many NESP TWQ Hub projects have contributed to an improved understanding of nitrogen (N) management in sugarcane farming leading to reduced dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) losses via improved management advice and practical solutions. The synthesis project will bring together a range of approaches that are addressing mechanisms for reducing N-losses, with a particular focus on real-time water quality monitoring, detection of N- loss hot-spots, on-farm N management, reef credit trading and other economic levers that incentivise improved farm management practices.
- Investigators
- Johanna Johnson, Aaron Davis, Yvette Everingham, Jane Waterhouse, Jim Smart, Mike Bell, John Rolfe, Peter Thorburn, Tony Webster and Michael Warne in collaboration with Weijin Wang, Chris Johnson, Phil Moody and Sheridan Morris (Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, TropWater, College of Science & Engineering, Griffith University, The University of Queensland, Central Queensland University, Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation and QLD Department of Environment and Science)
- Keywords
- Nitrogen; Runoff; Catchment; sugarcane farming; credits
Department of the Environment and Energy - National Environmental Science Program (NESP) - Tropical Water Quality Hub (TWQ Hub)
'Project 25' - farmers, water quality and on-farm decision-making
- Indicative Funding
- $400,000 over 3 years
- Summary
- Landholder concerns surrounding the credibility of broad-scale water quality monitoring and modelling initiatives in the GBR catchment area are one of the key cane industry engagement challenges for promoting significant farming practice change, and water quality improvements. Based around small, sub-catchment water quality monitoring in a key GBR cane growing region, Project 25 utilises a bottom-up approach to integrated sub-catchment monitoring and intervention to identify 'hot spot' sub-catchments through localised water quality monitoring. The Project emphasises industry ownership and control of monitoring design, and delivery of locally targeted water quality data and extension effort to facilitate practice change.
- Investigators
- Aaron Davis in collaboration with Bruce Taylor, Tony Webster and Simon Fielke (TropWater and Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation)
- Keywords
- Farming; Great Barrier Reef; Stakeholder; sugarcane; Monitoring; Nutrient
- Data
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These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit Research Data Australia.
- Lewis, S. (2011) Herbicides: a new threat to the Great Barrier Reef. James Cook Univeristy
- Collaboration
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The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.- 5+ collaborations
- 4 collaborations
- 3 collaborations
- 2 collaborations
- 1 collaboration
- Indicates the Tropics (Torrid Zone)
My research areas
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Dr Rachel HayCairns Institute