Origins of invertebrate fauna in Australia since the Cretaceous: a molecular approach using bees as a model taxon. Australia's unique biota is vital for ecological, recreational, and economic reasons, and is a major resource that we need to understand and manage. This project is aimed at understanding the genesis of this biota, and will help us anticipate what lies ahead, in terms of the impact of exotic species and climate change. Benefits also include developing world class scientific profiles ....Origins of invertebrate fauna in Australia since the Cretaceous: a molecular approach using bees as a model taxon. Australia's unique biota is vital for ecological, recreational, and economic reasons, and is a major resource that we need to understand and manage. This project is aimed at understanding the genesis of this biota, and will help us anticipate what lies ahead, in terms of the impact of exotic species and climate change. Benefits also include developing world class scientific profiles with consequent flow-on effects, including international collaboration, and enhanced teaching and awareness of native biota. The project will maintain our already strong track record for training a large number of postgraduate and honours students in benchmark evolutionary research techniques. Read moreRead less
How are visual gene pathways lost and restored during reptile evolution? This project aims to investigate how complex traits are lost during evolution, and once lost if they can be regained. The project will use the diverse visual systems of snakes and lizards to shed light on the process of gene loss in degenerative lineages, and discover the mechanisms that compensate for gene losses in taxa with secondarily evolved visual capabilities- providing a case of evolutionary re-innovation in complex ....How are visual gene pathways lost and restored during reptile evolution? This project aims to investigate how complex traits are lost during evolution, and once lost if they can be regained. The project will use the diverse visual systems of snakes and lizards to shed light on the process of gene loss in degenerative lineages, and discover the mechanisms that compensate for gene losses in taxa with secondarily evolved visual capabilities- providing a case of evolutionary re-innovation in complex traits.Read moreRead less
Sea Snake Diversification: Why Are Certain Taxa And Regions Species-Rich? By generating new knowledge of ecologically and medically important Australasian organisms, this project will benefit biodiversity management, snakebite therapy and pharmaceutical research. Sea snakes reach peak diversity in the Indo-Australian hotspot and are threatened by habitat degradation, fisheries bycatch and rising sea temperatures. Sea snake conservation and marine reserve management strategies will directly ben ....Sea Snake Diversification: Why Are Certain Taxa And Regions Species-Rich? By generating new knowledge of ecologically and medically important Australasian organisms, this project will benefit biodiversity management, snakebite therapy and pharmaceutical research. Sea snakes reach peak diversity in the Indo-Australian hotspot and are threatened by habitat degradation, fisheries bycatch and rising sea temperatures. Sea snake conservation and marine reserve management strategies will directly benefit from a better understanding of local endemism, species boundaries and possible cryptic species. Sea snakes are highly venomous and pose a significant health risk in fishing communities; venom variation has a strong phylogenetic component and is of vital importance in antivenom preparation and bioprospecting. Read moreRead less
Major Evolutionary Events in Reptiles (Including Birds). Evolutionary patterns among the major groups of reptiles (including birds) will be resolved using new information from multiple (>6) nuclear genes combined with existing phenotypic and (mainly mitochondrial) genetic traits. This will simultaneously resolve several high-profile questions, such as: the origin and affinities of turtles, snakes and flightless birds; and the prevalence of phenotypic convergence generated by paedomorphosis and ....Major Evolutionary Events in Reptiles (Including Birds). Evolutionary patterns among the major groups of reptiles (including birds) will be resolved using new information from multiple (>6) nuclear genes combined with existing phenotypic and (mainly mitochondrial) genetic traits. This will simultaneously resolve several high-profile questions, such as: the origin and affinities of turtles, snakes and flightless birds; and the prevalence of phenotypic convergence generated by paedomorphosis and fossoriality. The multiple genetic and phenotypic data sets will also reveal any broad links between genetic and phenotypic evolution (e.g. rate correlations), and the differing abilities of nuclear genes, mitochondrial genes, and phenotypic traits to track (and thus reflect) deep evolutionary branchings.Read moreRead less
Assessment of the diversity, distribution and uniqueness of subterranean animals from calcrete aquifers in central western Australia. Recently a rich and diverse subterranean invertebrate fauna (stygofauna) was unexpectedly discovered from numerous isolated calcrete aquifers associated with palaeodrainage channels in central Western Australia. Our recent taxonomic and molecular studies have suggested that stygofaunas within each aquifer may be highly endemic. We aim to test this hypothesis by in ....Assessment of the diversity, distribution and uniqueness of subterranean animals from calcrete aquifers in central western Australia. Recently a rich and diverse subterranean invertebrate fauna (stygofauna) was unexpectedly discovered from numerous isolated calcrete aquifers associated with palaeodrainage channels in central Western Australia. Our recent taxonomic and molecular studies have suggested that stygofaunas within each aquifer may be highly endemic. We aim to test this hypothesis by investigating the diversity, distribution and uniqueness of stygofauna from three major calcrete regions. We further aim to document the environmental conditions and variability within the aquifers and to develop rigorous sampling protocols. Such data are essential for the development of appropriate strategies for sustainable management of subterranean water and their ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing the impact of climate change on Australian native species. This project will explore the impact of past climate change on Australian native animals to identify species and ecosystems at greatest potential risk, and to help predict and minimise the effects of future change.