Phyloinformatics and biodiversity: developing bioinformatic tools for understanding the dynamics of extinction and invasion within species assemblages. DNA sequence data provides an exciting new way to study biodiversity, because the genome of each organism records its evolutionary history. By analysing DNA sequences co-existing species, we can reconstruct the ecological and evolutionary history of a biological community. This allows us to track biodiversity changes over time, and examine how th ....Phyloinformatics and biodiversity: developing bioinformatic tools for understanding the dynamics of extinction and invasion within species assemblages. DNA sequence data provides an exciting new way to study biodiversity, because the genome of each organism records its evolutionary history. By analysing DNA sequences co-existing species, we can reconstruct the ecological and evolutionary history of a biological community. This allows us to track biodiversity changes over time, and examine how the state of a species assemblage determines which species are lost through extinction or gained through the invasion of exotic species. Understanding the factors that govern changes in biodiversity over time is essential for planning for future conservation in the face of a rapidly changing environment. Read moreRead less
Exploring evolvability: its causes, consequences and practical applications in a changing environment. Are some species better able to adapt to a changing world? This question has been the focus of theoretical debate, but, as the scale of current environmental change becomes apparent, it has increasing practical importance, because it concerns the ability of biological communities to respond to climate change and the potential for agriculture to adapt a changing landscape. This project is the fi ....Exploring evolvability: its causes, consequences and practical applications in a changing environment. Are some species better able to adapt to a changing world? This question has been the focus of theoretical debate, but, as the scale of current environmental change becomes apparent, it has increasing practical importance, because it concerns the ability of biological communities to respond to climate change and the potential for agriculture to adapt a changing landscape. This project is the first of its kind, because it translates theoretical concepts into practical information needed for the development of salt-tolerant crops, new strategies for avoiding the growing problem of resistance in parasites, and new ways of detecting biological communities at risk of extinction and invasion. Read moreRead less
Reconstructing landscapes for biodiversity: From predictive modelling to future scenarios. Many landscapes around the world have been effectively denuded of natural vegetation, causing precipitous declines in native biodiversity. Mitigation of such effects in the near/medium-term future requires substantial ecological advice. We will employ our skills developed in modelling distributions of species across landscapes based on terrain, soils and climate to assess alternative landscape-reconstructi ....Reconstructing landscapes for biodiversity: From predictive modelling to future scenarios. Many landscapes around the world have been effectively denuded of natural vegetation, causing precipitous declines in native biodiversity. Mitigation of such effects in the near/medium-term future requires substantial ecological advice. We will employ our skills developed in modelling distributions of species across landscapes based on terrain, soils and climate to assess alternative landscape-reconstruction scenarios. This links use of existing data sets for initial modelling, a validation phase for testing model reliability and for refining models, and a subsequent GIS-based modelling phase in which alternative options for reconstructing landscapes are evaluated for their effectiveness in sustaining landscape-scale native biodiversity.Read moreRead less
ARC Research Network for Understanding and Managing Australian Biodiversity. Biodiversity research is strong in Australia but is highly uncoordinated and, along with recent major breakthroughs in both theory and techniques, has highlighted the need for a Network to properly integrate research and focus it on the most appropriate scale. This Network aims to bring together a diverse spectrum of highly experienced and early career researchers to pool their ideas and expertise to allow them to deter ....ARC Research Network for Understanding and Managing Australian Biodiversity. Biodiversity research is strong in Australia but is highly uncoordinated and, along with recent major breakthroughs in both theory and techniques, has highlighted the need for a Network to properly integrate research and focus it on the most appropriate scale. This Network aims to bring together a diverse spectrum of highly experienced and early career researchers to pool their ideas and expertise to allow them to determine how best to describe Australia's current biodiversity and the biological and environmental history leading up to the present. A major outcome will be the ability to predict the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity to assist management decisions across Australia, with lessons of global importance.Read moreRead less
The role of ecological specialisation in insect-plant macroevolutionary processes: a molecular phylogenetic approach across three kingdoms. Flowering plants and phytophagous insects are major components of the world's biodiversity and their evolution has been closely linked. This project will increase our knowledge of insect-endosymbiont-plant interactions and enhance our understanding of the origin, generation and maintenance of much of the world's biodiversity. A broader understanding of how i ....The role of ecological specialisation in insect-plant macroevolutionary processes: a molecular phylogenetic approach across three kingdoms. Flowering plants and phytophagous insects are major components of the world's biodiversity and their evolution has been closely linked. This project will increase our knowledge of insect-endosymbiont-plant interactions and enhance our understanding of the origin, generation and maintenance of much of the world's biodiversity. A broader understanding of how insects, their symbionts and plants have co-evolved should improve our understanding of why and how some insects are able to become pests whereas others do not. Scale insects (the model system in this study) are important pests, both ecologically (Christmas Island interaction between coccids, rainforest plants and crazy ants) and economically (e.g. citrus mealybug).Read moreRead less
A multidisciplinary research program to assess limiting factors and predict impacts of climate change for endangered Australian orchids. Climate change poses a significant threat to biodiversity. Australian sexually deceptive orchids are dependent on obligate and specialised interactions with pollinators and fungi. Consequently, they may face a high risk of extinction if climate change uncouples these interactions. Thus orchids provide an important bio-indicator of change. The tools and expertis ....A multidisciplinary research program to assess limiting factors and predict impacts of climate change for endangered Australian orchids. Climate change poses a significant threat to biodiversity. Australian sexually deceptive orchids are dependent on obligate and specialised interactions with pollinators and fungi. Consequently, they may face a high risk of extinction if climate change uncouples these interactions. Thus orchids provide an important bio-indicator of change. The tools and expertise developed will contribute directly to the conservation of endangered Australian orchids, and will take into account the risks of climate change. The project will contribute to the priority research goals of sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity as well as responding to climate change and variability. The project will also provide high quality, cross-disciplinary training.Read moreRead less
Understanding “reinforcement”, an evolutionary process that can lead to the origin of new species and generate species diversity. Understanding how species are formed is of broad significance. National benefit will come from internationally competitive research and collaborations with leading international researchers. Benefits will also come under the ARC Priority Goals of 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' as I will (i) provide genetic data that will be invaluable for the conservation ....Understanding “reinforcement”, an evolutionary process that can lead to the origin of new species and generate species diversity. Understanding how species are formed is of broad significance. National benefit will come from internationally competitive research and collaborations with leading international researchers. Benefits will also come under the ARC Priority Goals of 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' as I will (i) provide genetic data that will be invaluable for the conservation of a highly threatened species, (ii) determine the importance of contact zones for generating new species and maintaining the evolutionary potential of regions, and (iii) address the role of climate change in shaping diversity over recent evolutionary time, an understanding of which is essential for predicting the impact of future change. Read moreRead less
Molecular Phylogenetics of Australian Myobatrachid Frogs and the Evolution of Reproductive Strategies. The Family Myobatrachidae (22 genera, 120+ species) is wholly endemic to the Australo-Papuan region, represents 57% of the Australian frog fauna and displays more diversity in reproductive strategies than any other group of frogs. We will recover a robust molecular phylogeny for all species in this family and use it to exploit existing ecological and behavioural data sets to provide powerful te ....Molecular Phylogenetics of Australian Myobatrachid Frogs and the Evolution of Reproductive Strategies. The Family Myobatrachidae (22 genera, 120+ species) is wholly endemic to the Australo-Papuan region, represents 57% of the Australian frog fauna and displays more diversity in reproductive strategies than any other group of frogs. We will recover a robust molecular phylogeny for all species in this family and use it to exploit existing ecological and behavioural data sets to provide powerful tests of alternative hypotheses concerning the evolution of diverse reproductive strategies. This multi-disciplinary research project will provide detailed phylogenetic information for one of the most diverse vertebrate radiations in Australia and address important questions in historical ecology.Read moreRead less
Diversity out of a hybrid zone: the interplay of reinforcement and sexual selection in the formation of new species. How are there so many different species? Understanding how new species arise is a fundamental question because it explains current biodiversity and reveals the processes that will continue to give rise to new species in the future. An integral part of any animal species is who they choose to mate with, but how mate choice evolves to create new species remains poorly understood. He ....Diversity out of a hybrid zone: the interplay of reinforcement and sexual selection in the formation of new species. How are there so many different species? Understanding how new species arise is a fundamental question because it explains current biodiversity and reveals the processes that will continue to give rise to new species in the future. An integral part of any animal species is who they choose to mate with, but how mate choice evolves to create new species remains poorly understood. Here I will be studying the processes that affect the evolution of mate choice in an Australian rainforest frog hybrid zone. This system is uniquely suitable for providing internationally important insights into the evolutionary processes that form new species.Read moreRead less
Life history responses to habitat heterogeneity and implications for conservation. This exciting new research project will provide a novel understanding of how animals respond and adapt to environmental variation. This will fill a critical gap between ecological theory and real-world populations and initiate a major shift in how we view the relationship between environments and the species that inhabit them. Natural resource use practices like forestry are rarely considered compatible with biodi ....Life history responses to habitat heterogeneity and implications for conservation. This exciting new research project will provide a novel understanding of how animals respond and adapt to environmental variation. This will fill a critical gap between ecological theory and real-world populations and initiate a major shift in how we view the relationship between environments and the species that inhabit them. Natural resource use practices like forestry are rarely considered compatible with biodiversity conservation. This research will provide on-the-ground management recommendations to integrate such land uses with conservation, thereby providing both economic and conservation benefits to the Australian community.Read moreRead less