James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2001

SCHOOL OF TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT STUDIES AND GEOGRAPHY

These can be grouped into the following 11 major programs and their subsets.

1. Ecology and Management of Wildlife
   Ecology and management of macropods;
   Distribution and habitat use of dugongs;
   Status of dugong populations;
   Indigenous hunting;
   Environmental impacts on seagrass;
   Causes, recovery and rehabilitation of impacts on wildlife;
   Anthropogenic impacts on sea birds.
   Seagrass genetics and reproduction.
2. Human Geography Development Issues
   International migration;
   Socio-economic impact of mining in developing countries;
   The historical geography of the Australian sugar industry.
   Population studies;
   Disaster studies;
   Rural and urban development;
3. Spatial Analysis, Geographic Information Systems and Modelling in the Tropical Environment
   Application of spatial modelling in natural resource information and landuse;
   Natural hazards;
   Modelling of environmental phenomena;
   Remote sensing;
   Long term impacts of human activity on the Great Barrier Reef;
   Landscape ecology and karst terrains;
   Landscape ecology and spatial concepts in ecology.
4. Palaeoenvironmental Change and Contemporary Geomorphic Processes
   Landscape evolution and development;
   Glacial ice fluctuations in the Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica;
   Palynological evidence of environmental change;
   The geomorphology and management of North Queensland rivers;
   Sclerochronological evidence of environmental (sea-level and climate) change;
   Contemporary geomorphic processes in the tropics;
   Tsunamis;
   Cave geomorphology and hydrology.
5. Urban Planning Issues, Regional and Community Planning
   Queensland population analysis;
   Small towns of Northern Australia;
   Urban sustainable energy use;
   Urbanisation and urban policy in the South Pacific island states.
6. Physical and Biological Processes in Rainforests
   Climatology;
   Paleocology;
   Environmental parameters influencing vertebrate biodiversity;
   Effects of linear barriers and corridors;
   Synoptic and meso-scale rainfall climatology of Queensland’s wet tropical coast;
   Micrometerology of tropical rainforests;
   Dieback in rainforests;
   Lateral shading effects and rainforest canopy dynamics;
   Environmental gradients across rainforest — wet sclerophyll forest boundaries.
7. Effects of Fishing on the Environment
   Effect of trawling on bycatch;
   Impact of line-fishing in the Great Barrier Reef;
   Recreational fishing in the Great Barrier Reef;
   Social impact assessment of changing commercial access to Queensland fishing.
8. Socially and Ecologically Acceptable Use of Natural Environments and Social Impact Assessments
   Acceptable tourist use of the Great Barrier Reef;
   Acceptable tourist use of Wet Tropics Rain Forests;
   Application of GIS to social indicator analysis;
   Patterns of change in human use of the land.
9. Sustainable Landuse and Environmental Economics
   Community and regional scale management in northern Australia;
   Ecological economics;
   Development of socio-economics in developing countries;
   Rural land degradation factors;
   Soil erosion.
10. Indigenous Resource Management and Social Issues
    Traditional hunting — social and ecological issues;
    Environmental planning for Indigenous communities;
    Community ranger program;
    Recognition of Indigenous interests in resource management.
11. Natural Resource and Environmental Management
    Research impact assessment;
    Conservation issues;
    Adaptive management
    Sustainable land use;
    Human impacts on the environment;
    Coastal zone management;
    Cave management.