Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101393
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Genetic and epigenetic drivers of the Australian cane toad invasion. Although invasive species are a massive threat to biodiversity, and costly to society, we still do not understand the evolutionary processes that shape invasions. Invasive populations often show rapid evolutionary change in novel environments but attempts to identify the underlying genetic mechanisms have been largely unsuccessful. This project aims to explore an innovative and untested alternative possibility: that invader evo ....Genetic and epigenetic drivers of the Australian cane toad invasion. Although invasive species are a massive threat to biodiversity, and costly to society, we still do not understand the evolutionary processes that shape invasions. Invasive populations often show rapid evolutionary change in novel environments but attempts to identify the underlying genetic mechanisms have been largely unsuccessful. This project aims to explore an innovative and untested alternative possibility: that invader evolution is primarily driven by epigenetic change. Using an iconic Australian invasive species, the cane toad, the project aims to quantify genetic and epigenetic change across the invasion and use manipulative experiments to determine the influence of epigenetic change on the evolution of phenotypic traits important to invasion.Read moreRead less
Genomic signatures of adaptive diversification in woodland Eucalyptus. This project aims to map the sources of adaptive alleles underlying diversification is to reveal insights into the mechanisms of speciation. The source of the raw material for evolution can have significant impacts on the speed with which populations can adapt. An emerging pattern in speciation research is the importance of ancient alleles and introgressed genes, which differ in the genomic signatures left by selection. Eucal ....Genomic signatures of adaptive diversification in woodland Eucalyptus. This project aims to map the sources of adaptive alleles underlying diversification is to reveal insights into the mechanisms of speciation. The source of the raw material for evolution can have significant impacts on the speed with which populations can adapt. An emerging pattern in speciation research is the importance of ancient alleles and introgressed genes, which differ in the genomic signatures left by selection. Eucalyptus offers a unique opportunity to explore these modes of evolution using the latest genomic tools. Improving our understanding of adaptation and genetic variation in woodland eucalypts is expected to make a significant contribution to their conservation, management and restoration.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. The ARC CoE for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture will discover the adaptive strategies underpinning productivity and resilience in diverse plants and deepen knowledge of the genetic and physiological networks driving key traits. Using novel quantitative and computational approaches, the Centre will link gene networks with traits across biological levels, giving breeders an unparalleled predictive capacity. The Centre wi ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. The ARC CoE for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture will discover the adaptive strategies underpinning productivity and resilience in diverse plants and deepen knowledge of the genetic and physiological networks driving key traits. Using novel quantitative and computational approaches, the Centre will link gene networks with traits across biological levels, giving breeders an unparalleled predictive capacity. The Centre will accelerate technologies to transfer successful networks into crops and build legal frameworks to secure this knowledge. With a uniquely multidisciplinary team, the Centre will deliver new strategies to address the problems of food security and climate change, establishing Australia as a global leader in these areas.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL100100066
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,523,582.00
Summary
New approaches for pest control and maintaining healthy environments under climate change. Natural environments are rapidly changing due to climate and human population pressure, affecting food supply and natural heritage. Insects and other invertebrates perform essential services like pollination, pest control and soil turnover, and provide food for wildlife. These services are under threat, and ways of maintaining them and protecting biodiversity need to be developed. This project will identif ....New approaches for pest control and maintaining healthy environments under climate change. Natural environments are rapidly changing due to climate and human population pressure, affecting food supply and natural heritage. Insects and other invertebrates perform essential services like pollination, pest control and soil turnover, and provide food for wildlife. These services are under threat, and ways of maintaining them and protecting biodiversity need to be developed. This project will identify the genetic and evolutionary mechanisms that insects use to deal with environmental changes and the processes that promote evolutionary resilience to safeguard environmental services. This should lead to guidelines for sustainable agricultural production and biodiversity protection in threatened environments like the Australian Alps.Read moreRead less
Evolution in action or the demise of iconic Australian flora? The project aims to investigate the evolutionary history and conservation status of a group of closely related Grevillea species, in the light of increasing pressure from landscape modification. This project will incorporate leading methodologies for massively parallel sequencing, pollinator preference and breeding capacity in order to detect the patterns and processes underpinning divergence in widely distributed species. A phylogene ....Evolution in action or the demise of iconic Australian flora? The project aims to investigate the evolutionary history and conservation status of a group of closely related Grevillea species, in the light of increasing pressure from landscape modification. This project will incorporate leading methodologies for massively parallel sequencing, pollinator preference and breeding capacity in order to detect the patterns and processes underpinning divergence in widely distributed species. A phylogenetic framework will provide the evolutionary relationships among taxa. This project is expected to inform requirements for long-term species persistence and, for threatened species within the group, guide the decision making of biodiversity managers as to what actions are required and where best to invest limited funds.Read moreRead less
The origins of Australia's non-Pama-Nyungan speaking people. This project aims to test the likelihood of multiple migrations into Australia before European arrival and determine if the phylogenetic relationships among non-Pama-Nyungan languages is mirrored by their speakers’ genomic phylogenetic relationships. The non-Pama-Nyungan First People of Australia speak an extraordinary number and diversity of Aboriginal languages, but the origins of these languages and the genomic diversity of the peop ....The origins of Australia's non-Pama-Nyungan speaking people. This project aims to test the likelihood of multiple migrations into Australia before European arrival and determine if the phylogenetic relationships among non-Pama-Nyungan languages is mirrored by their speakers’ genomic phylogenetic relationships. The non-Pama-Nyungan First People of Australia speak an extraordinary number and diversity of Aboriginal languages, but the origins of these languages and the genomic diversity of the people who speak them are only now starting to be understood. There is a remarkable concordance between the Pama-Nyungan languages and the genomic diversity of their speakers. This research could show whether genomes change languages or vice versa, or whether they evolve together over time.Read moreRead less
Can parasites cause host population divergence? . Parasites have been proposed to be drivers of population divergence, and ultimately speciation, yet the dynamics of this process are not well understood. This project will utilise new genomic techniques, novel hybrid zone analyses, and data on mate choice, to investigate the hypothesis that parasites drive population divergence through an interaction with immune response genes in the sleepy lizard Tiliqua rugosa. This species provides an unpreced ....Can parasites cause host population divergence? . Parasites have been proposed to be drivers of population divergence, and ultimately speciation, yet the dynamics of this process are not well understood. This project will utilise new genomic techniques, novel hybrid zone analyses, and data on mate choice, to investigate the hypothesis that parasites drive population divergence through an interaction with immune response genes in the sleepy lizard Tiliqua rugosa. This species provides an unprecedented system, backed by 37 years of long term host-parasite and behavioural data, and recent genetic analyses. This project intends to produce significant data to allow an examination of the early stages of host-parasite evolution in action, providing novel insights into the speciation process. Read moreRead less
From genes to ecosystems: does genetic divergence in eucalyptus alter biodiversity and ecosystem function? The project will use a dominant tree species of south-eastern Australia to examine how genetic based variation in its traits influences community organisation, biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Outcomes from this research will be important for responding to an uncertain future environment and maintaining the services ecosystems provide.
The genetics of four ancient 'Kings' of Sahul and Sunda. This project aims to recover all the genetic information from four ancient humans. Two of these iconic specimens come from Australia and two from Malaysia. We will sequence the entire DNA (genomes) and proteins (proteome) of Mungo Man (Willandra), the Yidinji King (Cairns), the Deep Skull (Borneo) and the Bewah specimen (Malaysian Peninsula). This will provide a better understanding of the settlement of Australia and new knowledge about th ....The genetics of four ancient 'Kings' of Sahul and Sunda. This project aims to recover all the genetic information from four ancient humans. Two of these iconic specimens come from Australia and two from Malaysia. We will sequence the entire DNA (genomes) and proteins (proteome) of Mungo Man (Willandra), the Yidinji King (Cairns), the Deep Skull (Borneo) and the Bewah specimen (Malaysian Peninsula). This will provide a better understanding of the settlement of Australia and new knowledge about the ancient people of Australasia and their relationship to other human populations worldwide. The research will use cutting-edge methods of DNA and protein sequencing of ancient human material and will provide critical reference genomes / proteomes that will anchor future research.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101141
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$366,000.00
Summary
Critical regions and network connectivity of coral reef ecosystems. This project aims to measure the degree of connectivity between isolated reefs in Australia's Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef and identify the biological and environmental mechanisms that enhance management strategies or mitigate against disturbances. The movement of individuals in fragmented landscapes plays a central role in the ecology and evolution of species. The project seeks to measure connectivity at multiple scales ....Critical regions and network connectivity of coral reef ecosystems. This project aims to measure the degree of connectivity between isolated reefs in Australia's Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef and identify the biological and environmental mechanisms that enhance management strategies or mitigate against disturbances. The movement of individuals in fragmented landscapes plays a central role in the ecology and evolution of species. The project seeks to measure connectivity at multiple scales and identify critical regions for the design of networks of marine protected areas. This is anticipated to improve our understanding of connectivity in marine seascapes and benefit management of important fishery species and current efforts in coral reef conservation.Read moreRead less