Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL110100104
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,939,883.00
Summary
New approaches to discovering biodiversity and understanding its response to past climate change. New technologies will be used to predict and discover biodiversity hotspots in Australia, especially in the monsoonal tropics. New capacity will be built in biodiversity science, and the results used to improve conservation policy and the effectiveness of conservation planning.
Snake fangs: insights into evolution, palaeoclimate and biodesign . This project aims to generate unprecedented insights into the fangs of venomous snakes, focusing on elapids (taipans, tiger snakes etc). We will examine fang shape diversity, correlation with behavior and ecology, evolutionary history, and biomechanical properties. Data will be collected using cutting-edge micro-CT technology and analysed using 3D geometric morphometrics, computer simulations, and advanced phylogenetic techniqu ....Snake fangs: insights into evolution, palaeoclimate and biodesign . This project aims to generate unprecedented insights into the fangs of venomous snakes, focusing on elapids (taipans, tiger snakes etc). We will examine fang shape diversity, correlation with behavior and ecology, evolutionary history, and biomechanical properties. Data will be collected using cutting-edge micro-CT technology and analysed using 3D geometric morphometrics, computer simulations, and advanced phylogenetic techniques. This should greatly improve understanding of the evolution of venom fangs in all snakes. Other benefits include a large 3D reference database allowing identification of fossil fangs, with applications for studies of past climates, and a characterisation of fang biomechanics, relevant to biodesign and biomimicry.Read moreRead less
Where currents collide: tracking the biological impacts of climate change. This project will track the effects of climate change on Australia's unique marine biodiversity. Understanding the impacts of changing ocean currents on our coastal communities underpins the conservation and management of our valuable coastal resources.
Predicting genetic exchange between species under climate change. This project aims to resolve the factors that lead to the mixing of species’ gene pools, with a focus on whether climate change will increase such mixing, possibly leading to extinction by genetic swamping.
The significance is that the project would improve our understanding of speciation and species’ vulnerability to rapid climate change through genetic mixing; a largely overlooked process.
Key outcomes would be to generate new k ....Predicting genetic exchange between species under climate change. This project aims to resolve the factors that lead to the mixing of species’ gene pools, with a focus on whether climate change will increase such mixing, possibly leading to extinction by genetic swamping.
The significance is that the project would improve our understanding of speciation and species’ vulnerability to rapid climate change through genetic mixing; a largely overlooked process.
Key outcomes would be to generate new knowledge of a fundamental evolutionary process and extend the toolbox of biodiversity managers facing rapid environmental change.
The project would benefit Australia by highlighting our unique biodiversity and scientific capability, and by training early career researchers in advanced evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
The Impact of Water Stress on Early Humans in the Kalahari Desert. This project aims to understand the impacts of water stressed environments for early modern human behaviour through state-of-the-art excavation techniques and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at two new archaeological sites in the Kalahari. How humans mitigated water stress during a major technological transition is significant because adaptability to arid environments was crucial for humans expanding beyond Africa and into Aus ....The Impact of Water Stress on Early Humans in the Kalahari Desert. This project aims to understand the impacts of water stressed environments for early modern human behaviour through state-of-the-art excavation techniques and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at two new archaeological sites in the Kalahari. How humans mitigated water stress during a major technological transition is significant because adaptability to arid environments was crucial for humans expanding beyond Africa and into Australia. The expected outcome of this project is creation of new knowledge on the origins of human resilience to water stress. The benefit lies in the potential to gain insights into meeting future climate challenges by exploring the adaptive strategies developed by early modern humans in the southern Kalahari.Read moreRead less
Drought and death: past, present and future survival limits in the Australian vegetation landscape. Science cannot predict the point at which water stress becomes lethal for plants. This research into plant water transport aims to find a new way to understand whether plant species will die or adapt to a future drier climate.
Demographic consequences of environmental change for wild bird populations. The project intends to improve our understanding of how climate drives shifts in body size and shape in wildlife populations, and the implications of such responses for population viability. Populations of plants and animals are showing a range of responses to recent, rapid shifts in the Earth’s climate. The ecological and evolutionary significance of these responses and the mechanisms that drive them remain largely unkn ....Demographic consequences of environmental change for wild bird populations. The project intends to improve our understanding of how climate drives shifts in body size and shape in wildlife populations, and the implications of such responses for population viability. Populations of plants and animals are showing a range of responses to recent, rapid shifts in the Earth’s climate. The ecological and evolutionary significance of these responses and the mechanisms that drive them remain largely unknown. Focusing on Australian birds, the project plans to integrate long-term records from citizen science, museum collections and field studies to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the pattern and process of morphological change. Understanding the processes driving change may help in developing strategies to manage our biodiversity as climate changes. Read moreRead less
Getting smaller as temperatures rise? Body size responses of Australian birds to climate change. Many animals appear to be declining in size as climate change occurs, but why this is so is unclear. Using historical records and museum specimens we will determine the factors underlying body size reductions in Australian birds, and especially the role of changing temperature and ecosystem productivity.
Predicting adaptive responses to climate change in Australian native bees. This project aims to understand how insects will adapt to climate change by examining a largely overlooked but economically important group of species: Australian native bees. Native bees are important pollinators of both crops and native plants, but their sensitivity to changes in climate are unknown. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of the resilience of native bees to climate change, and new effective tools for p ....Predicting adaptive responses to climate change in Australian native bees. This project aims to understand how insects will adapt to climate change by examining a largely overlooked but economically important group of species: Australian native bees. Native bees are important pollinators of both crops and native plants, but their sensitivity to changes in climate are unknown. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of the resilience of native bees to climate change, and new effective tools for predicting climate change resilience that can be applied to many species. The intended benefits include increasing our understanding of the potential for native bees to act as future pollinators in Australia’s natural and agro-ecosystems, and guide policy and management decisions to better protect and conserve our bee fauna.Read moreRead less
Interacting with change: inter-specific competition and climate change . The project aims to understand how species will adapt to climate change by examining a largely overlooked process: how competition shapes evolutionary responses. Rising temperatures will fundamentally alter where species live, re-shuffling communities. Yet, how changes in community composition will affect the way current assessments of species vulnerability to climate change is generally unknown. Expected outcomes include i ....Interacting with change: inter-specific competition and climate change . The project aims to understand how species will adapt to climate change by examining a largely overlooked process: how competition shapes evolutionary responses. Rising temperatures will fundamentally alter where species live, re-shuffling communities. Yet, how changes in community composition will affect the way current assessments of species vulnerability to climate change is generally unknown. Expected outcomes include improved species models for predicting responses to climate change through the integration of competitive effects with environmental data. The benefit will be an increased accuracy in predictions of species at risk to climate change which will guide policy and management decisions to protect vulnerable environments better.Read moreRead less