Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will ....Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will for the first time collect a vast comparative data base which will yield clues on the early evolution of the ear, eye and brain. Read moreRead less
Stable isotopes in marsupials: reconstruction of environmental change in Australia. This project will establish the application of stable isotope analysis of marsupial bones for the reconstruction of past environments, a key area to advance Australian prehistory. On a continental scale, it will establish the relationship between stable isotopes (C, O, N) in bones and environmental factors (e.g., plant distribution, humidity, temperature); on a local scale, the relationship between stable isotope ....Stable isotopes in marsupials: reconstruction of environmental change in Australia. This project will establish the application of stable isotope analysis of marsupial bones for the reconstruction of past environments, a key area to advance Australian prehistory. On a continental scale, it will establish the relationship between stable isotopes (C, O, N) in bones and environmental factors (e.g., plant distribution, humidity, temperature); on a local scale, the relationship between stable isotopes and aboriginal land management. The project will provide a late Quaternary environmental reconstruction along a transect from the coastal regions in South Australia into the Lake Eyre Basin and explore the methodological limitations at sites with long fossil records.Read moreRead less
New Molecular Approaches to Comparative Phylogeography. Funds are requested to gather data to test new molecular and analytical approaches in the field of molecular phylogeography. We will generate phylogeographic hypotheses from mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA for six species and evaluate the utility of microsatellite data for the reconstruction of phylogeographic history. We will borrow powerful analytical techniques from the field of evolutionary ecology and use them in a completely nove ....New Molecular Approaches to Comparative Phylogeography. Funds are requested to gather data to test new molecular and analytical approaches in the field of molecular phylogeography. We will generate phylogeographic hypotheses from mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA for six species and evaluate the utility of microsatellite data for the reconstruction of phylogeographic history. We will borrow powerful analytical techniques from the field of evolutionary ecology and use them in a completely novel way to test hypotheses of microsatellite diversity. Our research is inter-disciplinary in that we will bridge the gap between molecular phylogenetics and molecular evolution and in so doing make a major advancement in this emerging field.Read moreRead less
Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray ....Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray computer tomography, and the Australian synchrotron, will be used to investigate ancient cells and preserved soft tissue structures, to search for evidence that copulation and internal fertilization, as in modern mammals, might have originated when jaws first evolved. Read moreRead less
Distinguishing among patterns of extinction and speciation through geological and climatic change: a molecular modelling approach. This research will enhance our understanding of the ancient origins of Australia's unique floral heritage. By developing new molecular modelling methods, it will strengthen Australia's position at the cutting edge of evolutionary phylogenetics. When Australia separated from Gondwana by continental drift 32 million years ago, the changed ocean circulation patterns tri ....Distinguishing among patterns of extinction and speciation through geological and climatic change: a molecular modelling approach. This research will enhance our understanding of the ancient origins of Australia's unique floral heritage. By developing new molecular modelling methods, it will strengthen Australia's position at the cutting edge of evolutionary phylogenetics. When Australia separated from Gondwana by continental drift 32 million years ago, the changed ocean circulation patterns triggered global climate change. The result was turnover of biota world-wide and dramatic changes within Australia. We will develop new insights into the rate and mode of these changes that will have international significance. Understanding the long-term turnover of flora from previous global climate changes will help to predict the impact of current and future climate change.Read moreRead less