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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
Transforming Cultural & Natural Resource Management workforce capabilities. This project aims to implement a transformative program of transdisciplinary cultural and natural resource management and workforce development research in Northern Australia’s Arnhem Plateau region. This project expects to create new knowledge in the areas of cultural knowledges, wildfire, feral animal, invasive plants, mine-site rehabilitation, and climate change, as well as Indigenous training effectiveness. Expected ....Transforming Cultural & Natural Resource Management workforce capabilities. This project aims to implement a transformative program of transdisciplinary cultural and natural resource management and workforce development research in Northern Australia’s Arnhem Plateau region. This project expects to create new knowledge in the areas of cultural knowledges, wildfire, feral animal, invasive plants, mine-site rehabilitation, and climate change, as well as Indigenous training effectiveness. Expected outcomes of the project include practical learnings for application in broader Indigenous community/First Nations capability and supportive policy development contexts. The expected benefits are a long-term platform for enhancing cultural and environmental landscape management and sustainable employment opportunities.Read moreRead less
Using RNA interference to combat the worst emerging disease of wildlife. This project aims to develop a novel method of disease control in wildlife. It will use recent advances in RNA interference technology to knockdown virulence genes in an emerging pathogen that threatens biodiversity. Pathogens such as the amphibian chytrid fungus continue to cause widespread extinction and urgently require better control methods. RNA interference has been used to increase disease resistance to fungi in plan ....Using RNA interference to combat the worst emerging disease of wildlife. This project aims to develop a novel method of disease control in wildlife. It will use recent advances in RNA interference technology to knockdown virulence genes in an emerging pathogen that threatens biodiversity. Pathogens such as the amphibian chytrid fungus continue to cause widespread extinction and urgently require better control methods. RNA interference has been used to increase disease resistance to fungi in plants but adapting this approach for animals will have wide relevance in combatting fungi and other pathogens. The specific outcomes of this method will be to increase survival rates in a broad range of frog species to improve the success of captive release programs worldwide and hence save frogs from extinction.Read moreRead less
Using species distribution models to make robust conservation decisions. Species distribution models inform numerous conservation decisions, from planning reserves and managing biological invasions to assessing climate change impacts. While it is often vital to predict where suitable conditions for a species occur, many applications disregard uncertainty, leading to unexpected and potentially unacceptable outcomes. This project aims to provide a definitive guide to using species distribution mod ....Using species distribution models to make robust conservation decisions. Species distribution models inform numerous conservation decisions, from planning reserves and managing biological invasions to assessing climate change impacts. While it is often vital to predict where suitable conditions for a species occur, many applications disregard uncertainty, leading to unexpected and potentially unacceptable outcomes. This project aims to provide a definitive guide to using species distribution models in conservation decision-making by integrating ecological and statistical thinking with decision theory. It seeks to describe how to explore the sources of uncertainty and their impact, develop approaches to reducing uncertainty, and evaluate the effects of uncertainty from the decision viewpoint in order to assist more robust conservation decision making.Read moreRead less
Enhanced natural insecticidal activity against a pest of national priority . This project aims to deliver environmentally friendly, non-genetically modified crop protection tools against a catastrophic pest, the fall armyworm. This project expects to generate new knowledge of natural plant protection strategies and their application in targeted crop protection using a combination of unconventional, but cleverly integrated, cutting-edge technologies and approaches. Expected outcomes include compr ....Enhanced natural insecticidal activity against a pest of national priority . This project aims to deliver environmentally friendly, non-genetically modified crop protection tools against a catastrophic pest, the fall armyworm. This project expects to generate new knowledge of natural plant protection strategies and their application in targeted crop protection using a combination of unconventional, but cleverly integrated, cutting-edge technologies and approaches. Expected outcomes include comprehensive new technologies to fight against the most damaging global crop pest, improved Australian agritech capacity and strengthened international collaborations. This should provide significant benefits, such as added security for Australia’s most important agricultural crops and regions, and global food production.Read moreRead less
Eco-evolutionary drivers of niche dynamics in invasive weeds. The project aims to understand how and why invasive species become invasive. Many exotic species are known to expand their ecological niches in their novel range, exploiting habitats that ancestral populations never used. Using a unique approach that combines field transplant and quantitative genetics experiments, this study will identify the drivers of niche expansion in invasive Australian capeweed, and predict if the invasive popul ....Eco-evolutionary drivers of niche dynamics in invasive weeds. The project aims to understand how and why invasive species become invasive. Many exotic species are known to expand their ecological niches in their novel range, exploiting habitats that ancestral populations never used. Using a unique approach that combines field transplant and quantitative genetics experiments, this study will identify the drivers of niche expansion in invasive Australian capeweed, and predict if the invasive populations are likely to further expand their niches. By delivering key insights into mechanisms of adaptive evolution in invasive species, this research should benefit efforts to effectively limit the spread of invasive plants that threaten the native environment. Read moreRead less
An evolutionary approach to understanding chemical cues used in mate choice. This project will combine evolutionary biology with molecular and chemical ecology to gain a fundamental understanding of the role chemicals play in animal communication. By drawing on novel and innovative techniques, this project will place Australia at the forefront of this discipline and contribute to Australia's capacity to control pests.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101389
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,898.00
Summary
Impacts on wildlife populations of infection by multiple, interacting pathogens and the implications for disease management. Simultaneous infection by multiple pathogens is common in nature and interactions among pathogens within a host can profoundly alter the susceptibility of hosts to infection, disease severity and the probability of further transmission. This project aims to understand the consequences of these interactions on both wildlife populations and the communities of pathogens that ....Impacts on wildlife populations of infection by multiple, interacting pathogens and the implications for disease management. Simultaneous infection by multiple pathogens is common in nature and interactions among pathogens within a host can profoundly alter the susceptibility of hosts to infection, disease severity and the probability of further transmission. This project aims to understand the consequences of these interactions on both wildlife populations and the communities of pathogens that infect them. This knowledge will improve our ability to manage disease in wild populations, which is critical for protecting people, livestock and species of conservation concern from emerging disease threats. The application of these findings to koalas will enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of disease management and improve long term population persistence.Read moreRead less
Systematic prioritisation of action for confronting invasive vertebrates in Australia. This project will use novel scientific approaches to effectively prioritise action for mitigating the threats invasive vertebrate pests pose to humans and to biodiversity in Australia. Results will inform policy and management, substantially advancing our understanding of the key factors shaping spatial invasion sources, hotspots, drivers and impact.
Haplodiploidy: the great evolutionary innovation of the Hymenoptera. This project aims to identify a key gene that causes thelytokous parthenogenesis. Thelytoky is the ability of a female to clone herself (virgin birth), and is wide spread in the Hymenoptera which include bees, wasps and ants. Hymenopteran thelytoky is important because it facilitates some major transitions in life history, particularly social parasitism. The capacity for virgin birth is central to the invasiveness of many ant s ....Haplodiploidy: the great evolutionary innovation of the Hymenoptera. This project aims to identify a key gene that causes thelytokous parthenogenesis. Thelytoky is the ability of a female to clone herself (virgin birth), and is wide spread in the Hymenoptera which include bees, wasps and ants. Hymenopteran thelytoky is important because it facilitates some major transitions in life history, particularly social parasitism. The capacity for virgin birth is central to the invasiveness of many ant species, and enables social cancers (parasitic workers that kill colonies) in bees. The benefit of this project is that the identification of the gene should help identify potentially invasive ant species and help prevent the social cancers that affect commercial beekeeping in South Africa from spreading world-wide.Read moreRead less