Comparative phylogeography and patterns of diversification in Amazonian fishes. I anticipate that this project will increase the research profile of Australia in the international scientific community by answering fundamental questions about the origin of biodiversity in the world's most diverse ecosystem, the lowland forests of central Amazonia. This will be achieved by analysing what will be the most comprehensive phylogeographic data set ever generated for Amazonian organisms. The project wil ....Comparative phylogeography and patterns of diversification in Amazonian fishes. I anticipate that this project will increase the research profile of Australia in the international scientific community by answering fundamental questions about the origin of biodiversity in the world's most diverse ecosystem, the lowland forests of central Amazonia. This will be achieved by analysing what will be the most comprehensive phylogeographic data set ever generated for Amazonian organisms. The project will provide information for comparing with patterns seen in the Australian wet tropics and will be inspirational for studies on population diversification of Australian fishes. Read moreRead less
The diversity and assembly of optics in nature. Optics, such as the design of new coloured reflectors, is a research strength for Australia. A reason for this is the potential for application - optical devices can be found far and wide in our everyday lives, from security devices on banknotes (holograms), to computer monitors (LCDs). An interesting parallel exists in nature - animals possess similar optical devices to those we use. So it makes sense to examine the animals' devices in a search fo ....The diversity and assembly of optics in nature. Optics, such as the design of new coloured reflectors, is a research strength for Australia. A reason for this is the potential for application - optical devices can be found far and wide in our everyday lives, from security devices on banknotes (holograms), to computer monitors (LCDs). An interesting parallel exists in nature - animals possess similar optical devices to those we use. So it makes sense to examine the animals' devices in a search for new reflectors, and that's an aim of this project. And since reflectors are often difficult to make, why not let animals make reflectors for us? That is a further aim of this project. Soon we may have genetically-altered butterfly scales embedded in our credit cards that cannot be counterfeited.Read moreRead less