Giant White-tailed Rat, picture courtesy Mike Trenerry and the Wet Tropics Management Authority

The Skyrail Rainforest Foundation (SRF) is pleased to announce a $30,000 commitment to support several PhD, masters and honours projects being undertaken by James Cook University students.

SRF Director Max Shepherd said funding had been allocated to projects with a specific focus on research with outcomes that add to environmental management and consequent protection of rare, threatened and vulnerable species and bio diversity.

"The Skyrail Rainforest Foundation is committed to supporting projects which will provide definite outcomes facilitating a greater understanding of tropical rainforests, their flora, fauna, ongoing conservation and protection," Mr Shepherd said.

The successful projects are:

• Peter Byrnes: Impact of roads on medium-sized, ground-dwelling rainforest mammals in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
• Andres Merino Viteri: Physiological tolerances of Microhylid frogs of the Wet Tropics Rainforest - the potential impact of climate change.
• Kyran Staunton: Altitudinal distribution and ecophysiology of epigaeic carabids beetles within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. What will the impacts of climate change be on this ecologically important functional group?
• Jeremy Little: Predicting climate change impacts on fire and rainforest-savanna boundary dynamics of the Wet Tropics of north-eastern Australia.
• Moni Carlisle: Socio-Ecological Resilience to Water Quality Changes (receiving waters to Great Barrier Reef) across the Greater Cairns Region Catchments.
• Yumiko Baba: Systematics, origins and evolution of the rainforest canopy tree genus Elaeocarpus (Elaeocarpaceae) in Australasia.

The Skyrail Rainforest Foundation was established in 2005 with the primary objective of raising and distributing funds to support tropical rainforest research and education projects. Registered as a tax deductible recipient, the Foundation raises money through membership and donations.

Each year students are invited to submit funding applications, which are assessed by the SRF's Public Fund Management Committee with representatives from James Cook University, the Environmental Protection Agency, Conservation International and Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.

For more information on Skyrail Rainforest Foundation funding, please visit: http://www.skyrailfoundation.org/funding.html