The historical environment of Angkor: an investigation of synergy between people and landscape. Understanding the complex inter-relationship between humans and the natural environment is of critical importance. The use of geo-scientific techniques to interpret historical environmental records provides a useful tool for obtaining this knowledge. Using the medieval city of Angkor, Cambodia, as a case study, the proposed research will employ well-established analytical techniques in a new and innov ....The historical environment of Angkor: an investigation of synergy between people and landscape. Understanding the complex inter-relationship between humans and the natural environment is of critical importance. The use of geo-scientific techniques to interpret historical environmental records provides a useful tool for obtaining this knowledge. Using the medieval city of Angkor, Cambodia, as a case study, the proposed research will employ well-established analytical techniques in a new and innovative manner to reconstruct environmental change and cultural adaptation. This research, the first of its kind undertaken at Angkor, will revolutionise our understanding of this World Heritage site, and contribute to a better understanding of the synergy between human culture and its environmental context.Read moreRead less
Climate change impacts on latitudinal diversity gradients in reef corals. This project will investigate the consequences of a warmer ocean that occurred during past intervals of global climate change on the latitudinal distribution of reef-building corals. This work will provide managers and industry with critical insight into the effects of ongoing climate change on the biodiversity and biogeography of living coral reefs.
Reconstructing the historical frequency and intensity of Australian droughts: A multi-species dendrochronological approach. Drought directly and indirectly impacts every Australian. Severe droughts devastate rural communities, lead to increased water restrictions and bushfire activity, slows the national economy and threatens diverse ecosystems. Our research will improve understanding of where, when, and how intensely droughts have occurred across eastern Australia in the past. The results will ....Reconstructing the historical frequency and intensity of Australian droughts: A multi-species dendrochronological approach. Drought directly and indirectly impacts every Australian. Severe droughts devastate rural communities, lead to increased water restrictions and bushfire activity, slows the national economy and threatens diverse ecosystems. Our research will improve understanding of where, when, and how intensely droughts have occurred across eastern Australia in the past. The results will provide unique insights into the processes that generate Australian droughts and how future droughts might be anticipated. The results will provide farmers, hydrologists, and policy-makers with better data on long-term variability in water supplies to improve local, regional, and national water planning initiatives and infrastructure development.Read moreRead less
Responses of southern Australian mammal faunas to climate change before and after human arrival. In the past 170 years, southern Australia mammals have suffered one of the worst extinction rates in the world. More losses are predicted in the face of global warming. This recent extinction wave follows a major extinction event that saw 90% of Australia's large animals disappear 60,000-40,000 years ago. The causes are hotly debated. Some researchers argue for a human cause, others suggest that clim ....Responses of southern Australian mammal faunas to climate change before and after human arrival. In the past 170 years, southern Australia mammals have suffered one of the worst extinction rates in the world. More losses are predicted in the face of global warming. This recent extinction wave follows a major extinction event that saw 90% of Australia's large animals disappear 60,000-40,000 years ago. The causes are hotly debated. Some researchers argue for a human cause, others suggest that climate change was to blame. This study will refine our knowledge of the timing and causes of these extinctions in southern Australia by assessing how communities responded to climate change in the lead-up to human arrival. It will provide vital information for managing the conservation of many modern species and guide us in limiting future losses.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL140100260
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,775,898.00
Summary
Using ancient microbiomes and genomes to reconstruct human history. Using ancient microbiomes and genomes to reconstruct human history. This project aims to generate unique insights into the processes and history that produced the current distribution of modern humans and the bacteria we carry with us (our microbiome). The project will use combined signals of bacterial, genomic and climate data to reconstruct the impacts of migrations, changes in diet, environment, and health in different parts ....Using ancient microbiomes and genomes to reconstruct human history. Using ancient microbiomes and genomes to reconstruct human history. This project aims to generate unique insights into the processes and history that produced the current distribution of modern humans and the bacteria we carry with us (our microbiome). The project will use combined signals of bacterial, genomic and climate data to reconstruct the impacts of migrations, changes in diet, environment, and health in different parts of the world. A key aspect will be the creation of a program to map the genetic history of indigenous Australia, and the impacts of colonisation on indigenous people around the world. Research advances will be transferred to Early Career Researchers through an innovative program of workshops, and the resulting data will be used to create a new format for Australian genetic databases.Read moreRead less
Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosys ....Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosystems will allow us to make better decisions when trying to establish sustainable and 'natural' mainland and island sanctuaries. Ancient DNA is well preserved in some dry environments; this project will assess DNA preservation from sites all across Australia and use the DNA sequences to discover information about extinct animals and how past climate changes effected the native biota.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354582
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
Australia-NZ Network for Vegetation Function and Futures. Plants shape our landscapes and drive ecosystem processes from local to global scale. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits. Global datasets about functional variation are emerging, with Australian and NZ leadership. A network would be supported in both Australia and NZ and with strong links elsewhere. It would target seven ambitious but achievable research developments. Each of them demands intensive conversation be ....Australia-NZ Network for Vegetation Function and Futures. Plants shape our landscapes and drive ecosystem processes from local to global scale. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits. Global datasets about functional variation are emerging, with Australian and NZ leadership. A network would be supported in both Australia and NZ and with strong links elsewhere. It would target seven ambitious but achievable research developments. Each of them demands intensive conversation between separate disciplines. Networking across all seven strands will create a broader linkage, spanning across palaeobiology, ecosystem function, vegetation structure, global change, ecophysiology, phylogeny, genomics, ecoinformatics and evolutionary theory.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing past population dynamics to understand human and climatic impacts in prehistory. More than 100 species have become extinct since humans first colonised Australia, and over 1000 are considered threatened. This research will determine the factors most strongly governing the interaction between humans and native fauna in Australia over the last 46 millennia. Our approach is powerful and novel because it will effectively draw together multidisciplinary evidence on natural resource exp ....Reconstructing past population dynamics to understand human and climatic impacts in prehistory. More than 100 species have become extinct since humans first colonised Australia, and over 1000 are considered threatened. This research will determine the factors most strongly governing the interaction between humans and native fauna in Australia over the last 46 millennia. Our approach is powerful and novel because it will effectively draw together multidisciplinary evidence on natural resource exploitation and habitat alteration by ancient people, and the influence of dramatic climatic shifts on the Australian biota. Information on past biological responses to environmental change is critical to properly contextualising the current impact, and long-term consequences of, threats such as global warming, habitat loss and invasive species.Read moreRead less
Sustainable development in southwestern Victoria: construction of a baseline palaeoecological record for assessment of past and future human-environment interactions. A detailed, continuous, sediment-based, multi-proxy palaeoenvironment record, will be constructed to contribute to the goals of the innovative, community-based Lake Condah Sustainability Development Project that are informed management and heritage listing of the Mt Eccles lava flow region, southwestern Victoria. The record, coveri ....Sustainable development in southwestern Victoria: construction of a baseline palaeoecological record for assessment of past and future human-environment interactions. A detailed, continuous, sediment-based, multi-proxy palaeoenvironment record, will be constructed to contribute to the goals of the innovative, community-based Lake Condah Sustainability Development Project that are informed management and heritage listing of the Mt Eccles lava flow region, southwestern Victoria. The record, covering at least the last 20,000 years, is designed to (a) provide a dated framework for understanding past human-environment relationships, especially the development of a unique Aboriginal complex hunter-gatherer society based on aquaculture, (b) an historical basis for fire management of a nationally important vegetation community and (c) the provision of a palaeoclimate record of global significance.Read moreRead less
Human Impact and Environmental Change in the Lower Yangtze Delta, China. Based upon a combination of sediment-based proxies of palaeoenvironmental conditions this project attempts to link existing models of geomorphological and climatic variability for the Yangtze Delta to cultural changes evident in archaeological and historical records. The Yangtze valley was the home of agriculture in Asia and hence for the beginnings of village life and Chinese culture. The delta region has prograded over 10 ....Human Impact and Environmental Change in the Lower Yangtze Delta, China. Based upon a combination of sediment-based proxies of palaeoenvironmental conditions this project attempts to link existing models of geomorphological and climatic variability for the Yangtze Delta to cultural changes evident in archaeological and historical records. The Yangtze valley was the home of agriculture in Asia and hence for the beginnings of village life and Chinese culture. The delta region has prograded over 100 km since the early Holocene and there is a well- preserved succession of Neolithic and modern cultures across its surface. The project investigates the relative impact of Holocene river migration, sealevel and climate change on societies, and also the relative impact of societies on vegetation, eutrophication and erosion while the region was converted to an anthropogenic landscape. The results will enable models of human-environmental interactions to be compared with those developed for
Europe, Africa, Australia and the Middle East.Read moreRead less