Ants, plants, diversity and function: trophic interactions and ecosystem function in a large-scale restoration experiment. Food and clean water are but two of the benefits we reap from functioning ecosystems, but we know little about how individual species contribute to making ecosystems work. This project capitalises on the diversity of Australia's ant fauna by using ants as a model taxon to explore the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
Resilience in biogeochemical pathways along a catchment-to-coast continuum. Aquatic systems have degraded more in the past 50 years than any other time in history. Global pressures are further threatening their sustainability, but their complexity makes it difficult to understand how they are responding. This project will combine numerous state-of-the-art approaches to unravel pathways that shape their response.
The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on trop ....The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on tropical reefs or rainforest communities, through careful temporal niche partitioning where reliance on other sensory systems takes over from vision and olfaction as the principal method of prey detection. This project aims to elucidate how the modern fish diversity was shaped by such significant early evolutionary events.Read moreRead less
Does coevolution drive speciation? This project aims to connect micro-evolutionary processes with macro-evolutionary patterns to test the extent to which tightly coupled co-evolutionary interactions between species drive evolutionary diversification. The project will use techniques including the most recent phylogenetic modelling methods, field experiments and molecular genetics. Expected outcomes include advancing understanding of the mechanisms that generate biodiversity and developing new tec ....Does coevolution drive speciation? This project aims to connect micro-evolutionary processes with macro-evolutionary patterns to test the extent to which tightly coupled co-evolutionary interactions between species drive evolutionary diversification. The project will use techniques including the most recent phylogenetic modelling methods, field experiments and molecular genetics. Expected outcomes include advancing understanding of the mechanisms that generate biodiversity and developing new techniques for acquisition of DNA from museum specimens. The project is expected to provide significant benefits, such as insights into the processes that promote new species in nature.Read moreRead less
Global change and food web structure: synergistic effects of multiple drivers of global change on species interaction networks. This project addresses the two great challenges facing scientists trying to predict the effects of global change on Australia's ecosystems: i) What factors most exacerbate the total impact of global change? ii) How do the complex responses of so many interacting species actually translate into altered structural properties of the web of life?
Is the extreme phosphate sensitivity found among Australian plants a consequence of their adaptation to a severely phosphate-limited environment? The phosphorus (P)-impoverished soils of south-western Australia have allowed the evolution of many plants that are amazingly efficient at retrieving P from dying tissues. This project will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism determining P efficiency and will contribute significantly to the development of crops that are less reliant on non ....Is the extreme phosphate sensitivity found among Australian plants a consequence of their adaptation to a severely phosphate-limited environment? The phosphorus (P)-impoverished soils of south-western Australia have allowed the evolution of many plants that are amazingly efficient at retrieving P from dying tissues. This project will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism determining P efficiency and will contribute significantly to the development of crops that are less reliant on non-renewable P fertilisers.Read moreRead less
Devising sophisticated computational comparative genomic analysis strategies for animal and plant genomes. Given the significance of comparative genomic analysis, this research proposal brings together Australian scientists with a track record in comparative genomic analysis, bioinformatics, molecular biology and statistics to work on consolidating a computational framework for comparative genomic analysis and investigating transcriptome data by capitalising on international collaborations and i ....Devising sophisticated computational comparative genomic analysis strategies for animal and plant genomes. Given the significance of comparative genomic analysis, this research proposal brings together Australian scientists with a track record in comparative genomic analysis, bioinformatics, molecular biology and statistics to work on consolidating a computational framework for comparative genomic analysis and investigating transcriptome data by capitalising on international collaborations and involvement. The outcomes of this research will be of benefit to the national community through technology transfer (such as the identification of novel and functional genomic non-coding sequences), training (in bioinformatics related activities) and national coordination (of bioinformatics activities).Read moreRead less
Species redundancy in response to multiple disturbances. This project aims to elucidate how the context within which disturbances occur affects food web linkages and how these map to responses in ecosystem function. There is a critical need to test the common assumption in environmental management that high biodiversity makes ecosystems resilient to disturbances. Studies that merely observe biodiversity change after disturbance cannot identify ecological processes connecting high diversity and e ....Species redundancy in response to multiple disturbances. This project aims to elucidate how the context within which disturbances occur affects food web linkages and how these map to responses in ecosystem function. There is a critical need to test the common assumption in environmental management that high biodiversity makes ecosystems resilient to disturbances. Studies that merely observe biodiversity change after disturbance cannot identify ecological processes connecting high diversity and ecosystem function, making experiments that manipulate identical disturbances in ecosystems with different biodiversity essential. This project will use field experiments that manipulate disturbances in streams replicated in low and high biodiversity regions and across gradients of chronic background stress to show how biodiversity sustains functional ecosystems, and how much diversity can be lost before ecosystems collapse.Read moreRead less
Hydroelasticity of compliant offshore structures. Australia's rich offshore oil and gas reserves are awaiting extensive deepwater extraction. However, there is still a lack of in-depth knowledge in the dynamic behavior of deepwater structures to ensure safe and cost-effective production. We hereby propose hydroelasticity theories and modelling techniques to investigate dynamic fluid-structure interaction problems for compliant offshore structures. We also propose innovative experiments to verify ....Hydroelasticity of compliant offshore structures. Australia's rich offshore oil and gas reserves are awaiting extensive deepwater extraction. However, there is still a lack of in-depth knowledge in the dynamic behavior of deepwater structures to ensure safe and cost-effective production. We hereby propose hydroelasticity theories and modelling techniques to investigate dynamic fluid-structure interaction problems for compliant offshore structures. We also propose innovative experiments to verify the theoretical work. One application is to configure a freestanding compliant tower to suit prospective deepwater oil and gas fields off North-West Australia. Expected outcomes include theoretical and experimental advances in deepwater offshore mechanics and practical computation tools for industry applications.Read moreRead less
Adaptive processes in normal and disordered face perception. Faces provide a wealth of social cues that guide interpersonal interactions, and most individuals are able to distinguish thousands of faces despite their perceptual similarity. This research investigates the foundations of these impressive face-perception skills and how they are disrupted in autism, a developmental disorder in which face perception is impaired. We focus on how the brain adaptively tailors its perceptual apparatus to ....Adaptive processes in normal and disordered face perception. Faces provide a wealth of social cues that guide interpersonal interactions, and most individuals are able to distinguish thousands of faces despite their perceptual similarity. This research investigates the foundations of these impressive face-perception skills and how they are disrupted in autism, a developmental disorder in which face perception is impaired. We focus on how the brain adaptively tailors its perceptual apparatus to interpret the structure of a face, for its identity, emotional content, and even intent. Uncovering how these processes function in normal and abnormal face perception could help develop effective interventions when these processes are disrupted in autism.Read moreRead less