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Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si a ....Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si alleviates stress in wheat, from gene to farm scale, providing cost-benefit analysis and a best–practice toolbox for implementation by farmers. Outcomes are anticipated to provide a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable solution to issues of water scarcity and yield losses to pests in Australia’s leading crop.Read moreRead less
Do hotter and drier regions harbour adaptive variation for climate change? This project aims to improve our understanding of the capacity of trees to respond to climate change. This is essential for the maintenance of biodiversity, forest health and productivity. In south-west Australia, climate variation has increased the frequency and intensity of droughts, which has resulted in tree death and negatively affected essential ecosystem services. Adaptive land management is urgently needed to miti ....Do hotter and drier regions harbour adaptive variation for climate change? This project aims to improve our understanding of the capacity of trees to respond to climate change. This is essential for the maintenance of biodiversity, forest health and productivity. In south-west Australia, climate variation has increased the frequency and intensity of droughts, which has resulted in tree death and negatively affected essential ecosystem services. Adaptive land management is urgently needed to mitigate the risk of large-scale drought mortality in a rapidly changing climate. This project seeks to deliver a scientific basis for the adoption of assisted gene migration in south-west forests, through a detailed understanding of genetic adaptation and physiological tolerance, to improve drought-resilience under future hotter and drier climates.Read moreRead less
Sex determination in dragons: Genetics, epigenetics and environment. This project aims to discover the master sex-determining gene in a reptile, how that gene is differentially regulated in males and females and by temperature, and to identify evolutionary drivers of transitions between genetic and environmental sex determination. In many reptiles, like mammals, chromosomes determine sex. In others, the temperature at which their eggs are incubated determines sex. This project will study how tem ....Sex determination in dragons: Genetics, epigenetics and environment. This project aims to discover the master sex-determining gene in a reptile, how that gene is differentially regulated in males and females and by temperature, and to identify evolutionary drivers of transitions between genetic and environmental sex determination. In many reptiles, like mammals, chromosomes determine sex. In others, the temperature at which their eggs are incubated determines sex. This project will study how temperature reverses chromosomal sex determination in dragon lizards. This could show how climatic extremes affect the biology of climate sensitive reptiles, and understand their vulnerability to climate change.Read moreRead less
Ecosystem resilience of Shark Bay under changing ocean climate. This project aims to investigate the resilience of the Shark Bay World Heritage Site to projected climate change. This project will generate new knowledge for marine conservation through analyses of habitat loss on nutrient budgets and productivity in seagrass and microbialite ecosystems. Expected outcomes are an improved understanding of climate-driven shifts on ecosystem processes in Shark Bay, incorporating science-based evidence ....Ecosystem resilience of Shark Bay under changing ocean climate. This project aims to investigate the resilience of the Shark Bay World Heritage Site to projected climate change. This project will generate new knowledge for marine conservation through analyses of habitat loss on nutrient budgets and productivity in seagrass and microbialite ecosystems. Expected outcomes are an improved understanding of climate-driven shifts on ecosystem processes in Shark Bay, incorporating science-based evidence for better conservation and management. This will provide significant benefits by contributing to the future-proofing of Shark Bay’s World Heritage values to climate change, and more broadly by demonstrating the consequences of the continued tropicalisation of Australia’s coastline.Read moreRead less
Climate-related regime shifts in inland semi-arid ecosystems through ecohydrological proxies. This project will investigate the dynamics of climate, especially rainfall, of the northwest of Australia over the last few thousand years. Our findings will increase understanding of climate variability and contribute to sustainable management of water and biodiversity in semi-arid Australia.
Turf Wars: fighting the new battle facing blue forests. This project aims to use ecological models and field experiments to uncover drivers and critical thresholds for turf expansion. Habitat loss is a leading threat to goods and services from the oceans. Globally, kelp forests are collapsing and being replaced by persistent unwanted algal ‘turfs’. Understanding of this habitat shift is rudimentary, and solutions to mitigate the impacts virtually non-existent. Through stress experiments and geno ....Turf Wars: fighting the new battle facing blue forests. This project aims to use ecological models and field experiments to uncover drivers and critical thresholds for turf expansion. Habitat loss is a leading threat to goods and services from the oceans. Globally, kelp forests are collapsing and being replaced by persistent unwanted algal ‘turfs’. Understanding of this habitat shift is rudimentary, and solutions to mitigate the impacts virtually non-existent. Through stress experiments and genomic analyses, this project aims to discover resilient kelps that promote forest persistence under stress. By expanding our understanding of critical habitat transitions, and exploring new solutions, this project aims to enhance our capacity to respond to the ongoing degradation of Australia’s Great Southern Reef.Read moreRead less
Global threats to kelp forests from heatwaves, herbivores and diseases. This project aims to understand the mechanisms behind climate-mediated declines in kelp. Ocean warming causes the collapse of valuable temperate kelp forests globally and on both sides of Australia, but it is unknown if this is because of direct physiological effects from temperature or the indirect effects of changes in species interactions. This project will compare the direct effects of marine heatwaves to the indirect ef ....Global threats to kelp forests from heatwaves, herbivores and diseases. This project aims to understand the mechanisms behind climate-mediated declines in kelp. Ocean warming causes the collapse of valuable temperate kelp forests globally and on both sides of Australia, but it is unknown if this is because of direct physiological effects from temperature or the indirect effects of changes in species interactions. This project will compare the direct effects of marine heatwaves to the indirect effects of range-shifting tropical herbivores and pathogens for the kelp forests of the Great Southern Reef, one of Australia’s largest coastal ecosystems. This project will generate knowledge underpinning adaptation strategies for these critical ecosystems, and could enhance the capacity to respond to degradation of these natural assets.Read moreRead less
Marine heatwaves drive loss of genetic diversity and selection in kelps. This project aims to unravel where and when marine heatwaves drive loss of genetic diversity and rapid directional selection in kelp forests. Although the devastating ecological impacts of marine heatwaves are well studied, empirical understanding of how marine heatwaves impact underlying evolutionary processes including adaptive capacity and resilience is lacking. This research will use a powerful combination of innovative ....Marine heatwaves drive loss of genetic diversity and selection in kelps. This project aims to unravel where and when marine heatwaves drive loss of genetic diversity and rapid directional selection in kelp forests. Although the devastating ecological impacts of marine heatwaves are well studied, empirical understanding of how marine heatwaves impact underlying evolutionary processes including adaptive capacity and resilience is lacking. This research will use a powerful combination of innovative heatwave analyses, cutting-edge genomics and physiological experiments to fill these knowledge gaps and represents a step change in our understanding of how kelp respond and adapt in multi-stressor seascapes. Results will pave the way for development of novel mitigation strategies to future-proof marine management. Read moreRead less
Origin and evolution of plant functional traits in relation to fire. This project addresses the fundamental question as to what extent the Australian flora is adapted to fire by tracing the evolutionary history of the iconic family Proteaceae over the last 100 million years. The answer to this question has significant implications for informing Australia’s fire management and nature conservation policies.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100219
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$170,000.00
Summary
A multi-institutional environmental radioactivity research centre. This project aims to establish an environmental radioactivity research centre, equipped with ultra-low background and high-resolution alpha and gamma spectrometry systems, radon detectors and radium delayed coincidence counters. The centre will address a critical demand in Australia for precise analysis of a large suite of natural and artificial radionuclides, which will be used as tracers and chronological tools to investigate k ....A multi-institutional environmental radioactivity research centre. This project aims to establish an environmental radioactivity research centre, equipped with ultra-low background and high-resolution alpha and gamma spectrometry systems, radon detectors and radium delayed coincidence counters. The centre will address a critical demand in Australia for precise analysis of a large suite of natural and artificial radionuclides, which will be used as tracers and chronological tools to investigate key questions in oceanography and the mining and energy, archaeological, agricultural, and forestry sectors. The facility is expected to substantially increase expertise and training in radionuclides in Australia, and promote high-level research collaborations and outputs of both national and international significance. Major outcomes of the proposed facility include better understanding of how oceans regulate climate and improved capacity to assess effects of radiation on natural ecosystems.Read moreRead less