Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL100100080
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,859,732.00
Summary
Evolutionary ecology of vegetation. A more fundamental understanding will be developed about the architecture and ecology of vegetation and why it varies around the world. Understanding confers benefits for land management as well as cultural value. Under a high carbon dioxide future scenario, models will be needed that operate through fundamental mechanisms of evolution, competition and physiology, rather than through extrapolation from present-day plants. Australia is a leader in globalising p ....Evolutionary ecology of vegetation. A more fundamental understanding will be developed about the architecture and ecology of vegetation and why it varies around the world. Understanding confers benefits for land management as well as cultural value. Under a high carbon dioxide future scenario, models will be needed that operate through fundamental mechanisms of evolution, competition and physiology, rather than through extrapolation from present-day plants. Australia is a leader in globalising plant trait ecology, and the program will develop that role further. Through intensive short courses within the Sydney basin and at national scale, research capacity will be developed towards the coming four-way fusion among functional ecology, earth system science, comparative genomics and palaeobiology.Read moreRead less
Dimensions of ecological strategy for plants. A more fundamental understanding will be sought about the architecture and ecology of vegetation and why it varies around the world. Under a high- CO2 future, models will be needed that operate through fundamental mechanisms of evolution, competition and physiology, rather than through extrapolation from present-day plants.
Integrating ecoimmunology and population ecology to understand how tropical reptiles deal with novel challenges. Using tropical reptiles as a study system, the project will investigate the extent to which human-induced stressors, such as climate change and invasive species, affect stress levels and immunocompetence of wild animals.
Putting adaptation into vegetation models: towards a predictive theory of trait diversity and stand structure. By incorporating natural selection into models of vegetation, this project will help to predict what sorts of plants are found where and why. This will greatly improve the ability to predict the likely outcomes of human impacts (changing climates, increased disturbance, logging) for future vegetation and species diversity.
Australian and global plant diversity from first principles. This project aims to explain the composition of vegetation in Australia and worldwide using ecological and evolutionary first principles. Researchers have studied how climate shapes vegetation for centuries, but still lack a basic quantitative theory predicting what types of plants should be found where and why. Combining first principles models, statistics and large Australian data synthesis, this project will determine whether vegeta ....Australian and global plant diversity from first principles. This project aims to explain the composition of vegetation in Australia and worldwide using ecological and evolutionary first principles. Researchers have studied how climate shapes vegetation for centuries, but still lack a basic quantitative theory predicting what types of plants should be found where and why. Combining first principles models, statistics and large Australian data synthesis, this project will determine whether vegetation structure and diversity is predictable and thus improve predictive models. Predicting the long term effects of evolutionary adaptation and humans on ecosystems could enable the management of terrestrial carbon and underpin effective ecosystem management and restoration.Read moreRead less
Escalating the arms race: Understanding when and how trees get really tall. Australia's giant Eucalypt trees are an amazing phenomenon and resource; underpinning unique ecosystems, rich in timber, stored carbon, and animal habitat. While tree height generally arises via an evolutionary arms race for light, the race has escalated dramatically in some locations and species. Using a computational framework that simulates adaptation driven by size-structured competition, this project will quantify h ....Escalating the arms race: Understanding when and how trees get really tall. Australia's giant Eucalypt trees are an amazing phenomenon and resource; underpinning unique ecosystems, rich in timber, stored carbon, and animal habitat. While tree height generally arises via an evolutionary arms race for light, the race has escalated dramatically in some locations and species. Using a computational framework that simulates adaptation driven by size-structured competition, this project will quantify how distinct factors-including climate, recruitment, and disturbance-enhance the race for light and can thereby explain the origins of Australia's giant Eucalypt. With calibrated models of species evolution, coupled with targeted fieldwork and big data, this project clarifies key forces shaping present and future vegetation.Read moreRead less