The legacy of rainfall patterns in dryland ecosystems. This project aims to use an experimental approach to determine how rainfall regime structures dryland communities and ecosystem properties and potential responses to altered rainfall regime. Ecosystem functioning in drylands is governed by complex interactions between microbes, invertebrates and plants. Biological activity however is constrained by the availability of water and altered rainfall regimes that could moderate how organisms inter ....The legacy of rainfall patterns in dryland ecosystems. This project aims to use an experimental approach to determine how rainfall regime structures dryland communities and ecosystem properties and potential responses to altered rainfall regime. Ecosystem functioning in drylands is governed by complex interactions between microbes, invertebrates and plants. Biological activity however is constrained by the availability of water and altered rainfall regimes that could moderate how organisms interact, potentially causing trophic cascades and even ecosystem state changes. By linking observed responses with soil microbial functional attributes using newly developed molecular techniques the project seeks to provide a mechanistic insight into ecosystem responses to climate variability and extreme climatic events.Read moreRead less
Regime change: when and how do ecological subordinates turn dominant? This project aims to bridge the gap between physiology and ecology in kelp forest species by developing mechanistic models to predict change and, in an unprecedented step, test them in long-term experiments at naturally acidified sites to understand the consequences of ocean acidification (OA) and warming for kelp forests. Ecosystem change is a frequent outcome of decadal modifications of the physical and chemical environment. ....Regime change: when and how do ecological subordinates turn dominant? This project aims to bridge the gap between physiology and ecology in kelp forest species by developing mechanistic models to predict change and, in an unprecedented step, test them in long-term experiments at naturally acidified sites to understand the consequences of ocean acidification (OA) and warming for kelp forests. Ecosystem change is a frequent outcome of decadal modifications of the physical and chemical environment. Whilst these changes often involve degradation from productive states, we have a poor understanding of the mechanisms which drive change. Key stressors in marine systems, OA and warming are predicted to drive loss of kelp forests but we still don't understand the reality of these predictions.Read moreRead less
Advances in biodiversity modelling - analysis of high-dimensional counts. The aim is to develop flexible models for the analysis of high-dimensional count data, in particular, for studying species interactions and the response of communities to environmental factors. This project is significant because increasingly, important research questions are answered using data with many response variables, with a particular need when studying ecological communities and their response to environmental imp ....Advances in biodiversity modelling - analysis of high-dimensional counts. The aim is to develop flexible models for the analysis of high-dimensional count data, in particular, for studying species interactions and the response of communities to environmental factors. This project is significant because increasingly, important research questions are answered using data with many response variables, with a particular need when studying ecological communities and their response to environmental impacts. This project aims to develop the first models that can be used directly to draw valid community-level conclusions for common ecological data types. The expected outcome is a powerful toolset for fully model-based inference from high-dimensional counts, introducing modern approaches to a high-impact area of ecology.Read moreRead less
New insights from point event data in ecology. This project aims to develop new tools for analysing point event data from multiple species and sources, to better predict species distribution and potential response to climate change. The project proposes joint statistical models for such multivariate data, for greater accuracy and for insights about which species are related in distribution and in environmental response. The new toolset expects to provide significant benefits including improved u ....New insights from point event data in ecology. This project aims to develop new tools for analysing point event data from multiple species and sources, to better predict species distribution and potential response to climate change. The project proposes joint statistical models for such multivariate data, for greater accuracy and for insights about which species are related in distribution and in environmental response. The new toolset expects to provide significant benefits including improved understanding of the drivers of species distribution and interaction, and potential response to a changing climate.Read moreRead less
A general theory for ecological trait-strategy dimensions. This project aims to bridge the gap in understanding of ecological strategies between plant and animal ecology, globally, using ants. It will test how environmental change influences the success of species, based on ecological strategies, and the consequences for ecosystem function. This project is expected to make a significant contribution to generality and prediction in ecology. Expected outcomes of this project include theory deve ....A general theory for ecological trait-strategy dimensions. This project aims to bridge the gap in understanding of ecological strategies between plant and animal ecology, globally, using ants. It will test how environmental change influences the success of species, based on ecological strategies, and the consequences for ecosystem function. This project is expected to make a significant contribution to generality and prediction in ecology. Expected outcomes of this project include theory development and application and enhanced global networks of trait researchers. Intended benefits include improved ecological theory, an enhanced capacity to predict how global change will affect organisms and increased understanding of the cascading effects of changes for ecosystem function.Read moreRead less
Species and gene turnover across environmental gradients - a landscape-level approach to quantify biodiversity and resilience for climate adaptation. Biodiversity corridor planning in Australia desperately needs to progress beyond the simple linking up of remnant vegetation, based on aerial maps and start incorporating ecosystem features which will promote climate adaptation. This project will develop a new genomics method to assess ecosystem resilience for use in national biodiversity corridor ....Species and gene turnover across environmental gradients - a landscape-level approach to quantify biodiversity and resilience for climate adaptation. Biodiversity corridor planning in Australia desperately needs to progress beyond the simple linking up of remnant vegetation, based on aerial maps and start incorporating ecosystem features which will promote climate adaptation. This project will develop a new genomics method to assess ecosystem resilience for use in national biodiversity corridor planning.Read moreRead less