Integrative Ecology Education
The Grampians long-term fire, climate and small mammal’s project
About the project
The Grampians project is a long-term continuous project that has been in effect since 2008. Originally only planned to be a 1-year project, Dr John White and Parks Victoria came to an agreement to continue the research for years to come as it was a gold mine for data. 11 years later and it is still a yearly research project that John and his team undertakes. The aims of this project are trying to answer two main questions, how will our southern Australian ecosystems respond to climate change? And how will small mammals cope under hyper-variable rainfall conditions and increased fire activity? The data for this research provides amazing insight of how climate change is affecting the Grampians and how small mammals are responding both positively and negatively to these changes.
Victorian Curriculum Links
Science Understanding: Biological Sciences
Levels 7/8
Interactions between organisms can be described in terms of food chains and food webs and can be affected by human activity (VCSSU093)
Levels 9/10​
Ecosystems consist of communities of interdependent organisms and abiotic components of the environment; matter and energy flow through these systems (VCSSU121)
Science Inquiry Skills:​
Construct and use a range of representations including graphs, keys and models to record and summarise data from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and to represent and analyse patterns and relationships (VCSIS110)
Use scientific knowledge and findings from investigations to identify relationships, evaluate claims and draw conclusions (VCSIS111)
Communicate ideas, findings and solutions to problems including identifying impacts and limitations of conclusions and using appropriate scientific language and representations (VCSIS113)
Dr John White's Symposium Presentation
How Little Critters Cope With Climate Change? The Grampians Long-Term Fire, Climate and Small Mammal's Project.
In the video below Dr John White discusses the impacts of climate change on rainfall, fire and vegetation and the response of ecosystems in particular small mammals. The Grampians National Park is used as a model landscape to study and report the effects of climate change on ecosystems. Small mammals are used as a model to study these changes and their impacts.