A multidisciplinary research program to assess limiting factors and predict impacts of climate change for endangered Australian orchids. Climate change poses a significant threat to biodiversity. Australian sexually deceptive orchids are dependent on obligate and specialised interactions with pollinators and fungi. Consequently, they may face a high risk of extinction if climate change uncouples these interactions. Thus orchids provide an important bio-indicator of change. The tools and expertis ....A multidisciplinary research program to assess limiting factors and predict impacts of climate change for endangered Australian orchids. Climate change poses a significant threat to biodiversity. Australian sexually deceptive orchids are dependent on obligate and specialised interactions with pollinators and fungi. Consequently, they may face a high risk of extinction if climate change uncouples these interactions. Thus orchids provide an important bio-indicator of change. The tools and expertise developed will contribute directly to the conservation of endangered Australian orchids, and will take into account the risks of climate change. The project will contribute to the priority research goals of sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity as well as responding to climate change and variability. The project will also provide high quality, cross-disciplinary training.Read moreRead less
How are weeds adapting to life in Australia? Quantifying the rate and direction of evolution in introduced species. Introduced plants are a major problem throughout Australia. Introduced species are listed as one of the most severe threats to biodiversity in Australia, and managing them costs Australia around $4 billion per annum. The information we gather in this project will tell us what sort of changes introduced plants undergo when they arrive in Australia; how quickly plants can adapt to a ....How are weeds adapting to life in Australia? Quantifying the rate and direction of evolution in introduced species. Introduced plants are a major problem throughout Australia. Introduced species are listed as one of the most severe threats to biodiversity in Australia, and managing them costs Australia around $4 billion per annum. The information we gather in this project will tell us what sort of changes introduced plants undergo when they arrive in Australia; how quickly plants can adapt to a new environment, and what sort of species are best able to adapt to new conditions. We will also ask whether introduced species are still adapting to Australian conditions. If so, then we might expect even more naturalised species to become problem weeds in the future. This sort of knowledge is fundamental to our ability to develop appropriate control programs.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the adaptive potential of organisms to respond to environmental change. The program utilizes technological advances to develop a gene inventory for climatic change adaptation, using, as model system, the vinegar fly from divergent climates along eastern Australia. The inventory will result in new methods for monitoring climatic change impact on populations, and for testing adaptive potential of organisms from threatened habitats. A key hypothesis is that these organisms have restricte ....Evaluating the adaptive potential of organisms to respond to environmental change. The program utilizes technological advances to develop a gene inventory for climatic change adaptation, using, as model system, the vinegar fly from divergent climates along eastern Australia. The inventory will result in new methods for monitoring climatic change impact on populations, and for testing adaptive potential of organisms from threatened habitats. A key hypothesis is that these organisms have restricted genetic options to counter environmental change, increasing extinction risk. The program investigates genetic adaptation to pollutants in midges, a key group for monitoring water health. By assessing evolutionary potential and DNA species markers, biological signatures of aquatic pollutants should result.Read moreRead less
Climate change and ocean acidification: will southern ocean coccolithophorids be winners or losers? Implications for the global carbon pump. This proposal brings skills on morphotaxonomy, microalgal culturing, physiology and biogeochemistry into the flurry of international activity focusing on consequences of ocean acidification. Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is predicted to reduce calcification in the phytoplankton Emiliania huxleyi, notably in the Southern Ocean. In contrast, hi ....Climate change and ocean acidification: will southern ocean coccolithophorids be winners or losers? Implications for the global carbon pump. This proposal brings skills on morphotaxonomy, microalgal culturing, physiology and biogeochemistry into the flurry of international activity focusing on consequences of ocean acidification. Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is predicted to reduce calcification in the phytoplankton Emiliania huxleyi, notably in the Southern Ocean. In contrast, higher CO2 may stimulate photosynthesis and enhanced stratification may also select for E. huxleyi. These changes will affect foodwebs and the ability of the ocean to absorb CO2. Predicting the future success of this key organism is vital to understand the consequences of global change in Australian and Southern Ocean waters and to set targets for carbon emissions.Read moreRead less
Evolution of the unique fauna of the Great Artesian Basin mound springs: the impact of aridification and climate change. The mound springs of the Great Artesian Basin represent one of Australia's most unique environments and are of national biodiversity, cultural and economic significance. Their conservation is a major issue following listing of the springs as a threatened ecological community. As economic productivity in the GAB intensifies, the mound springs are under increasing threat from es ....Evolution of the unique fauna of the Great Artesian Basin mound springs: the impact of aridification and climate change. The mound springs of the Great Artesian Basin represent one of Australia's most unique environments and are of national biodiversity, cultural and economic significance. Their conservation is a major issue following listing of the springs as a threatened ecological community. As economic productivity in the GAB intensifies, the mound springs are under increasing threat from escalating groundwater use. The results of this study on the evolution of two crustacean groups will provide significant biological information for management plans, facilitating conservation of mound springs communities, and helping to understand the impacts of water extraction and climate change on this unique habitat.Read moreRead less
Understanding “reinforcement”, an evolutionary process that can lead to the origin of new species and generate species diversity. Understanding how species are formed is of broad significance. National benefit will come from internationally competitive research and collaborations with leading international researchers. Benefits will also come under the ARC Priority Goals of 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' as I will (i) provide genetic data that will be invaluable for the conservation ....Understanding “reinforcement”, an evolutionary process that can lead to the origin of new species and generate species diversity. Understanding how species are formed is of broad significance. National benefit will come from internationally competitive research and collaborations with leading international researchers. Benefits will also come under the ARC Priority Goals of 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' as I will (i) provide genetic data that will be invaluable for the conservation of a highly threatened species, (ii) determine the importance of contact zones for generating new species and maintaining the evolutionary potential of regions, and (iii) address the role of climate change in shaping diversity over recent evolutionary time, an understanding of which is essential for predicting the impact of future change. Read moreRead less
Maternal effects and sex allocation: an integrated approach. This project will produce research of a high international standard combining a number of key fields in evolution and ecology. The team we have assembled provides a link between Australian-based researchers and leading overseas theoreticians facilitating integration between evolutionary theory and empirical research on the unique Australian fauna. Furthermore, while climate change is identified as a priority area for research, Australi ....Maternal effects and sex allocation: an integrated approach. This project will produce research of a high international standard combining a number of key fields in evolution and ecology. The team we have assembled provides a link between Australian-based researchers and leading overseas theoreticians facilitating integration between evolutionary theory and empirical research on the unique Australian fauna. Furthermore, while climate change is identified as a priority area for research, Australia typically lacks the history of long-term phenological monitoring that is required to understand climate change impacts. This project takes an important step towards addressing this shortcoming.Read moreRead less