Mechanisms of colour production and the evolution of animal signals. This project aims to reveal how diverse colours are produced in reptiles and the information these colours convey about individual health, condition and performance. The project evaluates how stress affects both pigment deposition and the nano-structure of cells and tissues, which together produce colour. By comparing similar colours generated by two entirely different classes of pigment (carotenoids and pteridines), this proje ....Mechanisms of colour production and the evolution of animal signals. This project aims to reveal how diverse colours are produced in reptiles and the information these colours convey about individual health, condition and performance. The project evaluates how stress affects both pigment deposition and the nano-structure of cells and tissues, which together produce colour. By comparing similar colours generated by two entirely different classes of pigment (carotenoids and pteridines), this project will provide new insights into the evolution of animal coloration, and will significantly enhance our understanding of pteridines, one of the most prevalent but least understood classes of pigment in vertebrates.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the molecular diversity and evolution of centipede venoms. The project intends to improve understanding of venom evolution in centipedes. Venoms have emerged as a rich source of pharmacological tools with potential for development into therapeutics and bioinsecticides. However, venoms-based discovery has been limited by the narrow taxonomical range of animals studied, with many groups of venomous animals overlooked. One such group is centipedes, whose venoms contain diverse toxins th ....Unravelling the molecular diversity and evolution of centipede venoms. The project intends to improve understanding of venom evolution in centipedes. Venoms have emerged as a rich source of pharmacological tools with potential for development into therapeutics and bioinsecticides. However, venoms-based discovery has been limited by the narrow taxonomical range of animals studied, with many groups of venomous animals overlooked. One such group is centipedes, whose venoms contain diverse toxins that differ between taxa. This project aims to provide an insight into centipede venom evolution, and how it might be constrained by venom-gland morphology. This study seeks to contribute to our understanding of protein evolution and direct biodiscovery efforts around centipede venom.Read moreRead less
Evolution at extremes: Macroevolutionary responses to harsh environments. The project seeks to investigate the capacity of iconic Australian plant groups (Eucalyptus, Acacia, Banksia, Grevillea, Hakea) to adapt to increases in extreme conditions. Australia presents many extreme conditions for plant survival, such as drought, heat, or salt-affected soils. Are some lineages better able to adapt and diversify in these conditions? This project aims to develop new methods to identify lineages most to ....Evolution at extremes: Macroevolutionary responses to harsh environments. The project seeks to investigate the capacity of iconic Australian plant groups (Eucalyptus, Acacia, Banksia, Grevillea, Hakea) to adapt to increases in extreme conditions. Australia presents many extreme conditions for plant survival, such as drought, heat, or salt-affected soils. Are some lineages better able to adapt and diversify in these conditions? This project aims to develop new methods to identify lineages most tolerant of extreme environments, detect enabling traits that contribute to stress resistance, and test whether plant assemblages in extreme environments are formed from colonisation by specialist tolerators, or by local species adapting. These methods may allow the prediction of species or communities best able to adapt to conditions expected under global environmental change.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100220
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,149.00
Summary
How do time, climate change and adaptation shape the assembly and evolution of a diverse continental biota? This project will use new statistical techniques for analysing patterns of biological diversification to test how time, environmental change and evolutionary adaptation shape the accumulation of biodiversity in a continental setting. A supermatrix of genetic and ecological data for Australia's most diverse terrestrial vertebrate group (lizards and snakes) will be compiled. This will allow ....How do time, climate change and adaptation shape the assembly and evolution of a diverse continental biota? This project will use new statistical techniques for analysing patterns of biological diversification to test how time, environmental change and evolutionary adaptation shape the accumulation of biodiversity in a continental setting. A supermatrix of genetic and ecological data for Australia's most diverse terrestrial vertebrate group (lizards and snakes) will be compiled. This will allow the testing of the macroevolutionary responses to key environmental changes through the Cainozoic (rapid climatic transgressions and aridification), the relationship between lineage age and species diversity and the effects of major ecological shifts on rates of speciation, extinction and morphological diversification.Read moreRead less
Phenotypic plasticity and plant water use in a changing climate: a multi-species, multi-site investigation. Plants are highly responsive to the conditions under which they grow, but the combination of conditions they experience will be altered under climate change. This research into plant responses to the novel environments posed by climate change will examine plasticity in water-use-traits to better predict native plant tolerance of climate change.