Genomic vulnerability . Aims: This project aims to validate genomic predictions of species’ vulnerability to climate change.
Significance: Species are already responding to climate change, and many face high predicted rates of extinction. Some species will be able to avoid extinction via evolutionary adaptation. Yet we currently lack the ability to accurately predict which species do and do not have the capacity to adapt and avoid extinction.
Expected outcomes: Expected outcomes of this project ....Genomic vulnerability . Aims: This project aims to validate genomic predictions of species’ vulnerability to climate change.
Significance: Species are already responding to climate change, and many face high predicted rates of extinction. Some species will be able to avoid extinction via evolutionary adaptation. Yet we currently lack the ability to accurately predict which species do and do not have the capacity to adapt and avoid extinction.
Expected outcomes: Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced ability to predict species’ vulnerability to ongoing climate change.
Benefits: This project should significantly improve our capacity to manage threatened and keystone species by identifying those that will require targeted conservation management.
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The evolution of dispersal on range edges. The rate at which an invasive species spreads, and the ability of a native species to adapt to environmental change, are both contingent on the dispersal ability of the species. Dispersal ability, however, evolves rapidly on the edge of a species' range. The rapid evolution of dispersal, therefore, determines the eventual range-limits of invasive species, as well as of native species responding to changing conditions. This research will provide tools ....The evolution of dispersal on range edges. The rate at which an invasive species spreads, and the ability of a native species to adapt to environmental change, are both contingent on the dispersal ability of the species. Dispersal ability, however, evolves rapidly on the edge of a species' range. The rapid evolution of dispersal, therefore, determines the eventual range-limits of invasive species, as well as of native species responding to changing conditions. This research will provide tools with which to predict the direction and rate of dispersal evolution on range-edges. The results of this work will, thus, massively facilitate management of invasive species and climate change.Read moreRead less
Growing up to be supersonic: bat echolocation origins and mechanics. This project aims to address the unresolved evolutionary origins of bat echolocation. Using a unique combination of development, evolution and novel engineering testing, this project expects to generate new insights into how features of the skull have evolved to allow bats to use their senses to interact with the environment. Expected outcomes include the identification of skull features that are unique to echolocating bats and ....Growing up to be supersonic: bat echolocation origins and mechanics. This project aims to address the unresolved evolutionary origins of bat echolocation. Using a unique combination of development, evolution and novel engineering testing, this project expects to generate new insights into how features of the skull have evolved to allow bats to use their senses to interact with the environment. Expected outcomes include the identification of skull features that are unique to echolocating bats and tests of how these relate to the frequency and detection range of sounds produced. Benefits include improved conservation planning for urban and rural bat populations, and potential commercial advances through engineering applications that mimic the biological process of echolocation. Read moreRead less
Pheromone attenuation: signal perception in changing atmospheric landscapes. Insects use chemical signals, or pheromones, to communicate with conspecifics. To convey information, the pheromone molecules must pass through the atmosphere and physically interact with receptors, typically located on the antennae of the receiver. Pheromones, like other organic compounds, are degraded by ozone, UV light, and radicals. While we know that pheromone plumes attenuate through the dispersal of molecules, th ....Pheromone attenuation: signal perception in changing atmospheric landscapes. Insects use chemical signals, or pheromones, to communicate with conspecifics. To convey information, the pheromone molecules must pass through the atmosphere and physically interact with receptors, typically located on the antennae of the receiver. Pheromones, like other organic compounds, are degraded by ozone, UV light, and radicals. While we know that pheromone plumes attenuate through the dispersal of molecules, the additional impact of pheromone degradation has been ignored. Our project aims to highlight the significance of odour survival for insect chemical communication by examining how atmospheric conditions, including air pollution, affects signal integrity, antennal morphology and signal perception.Read moreRead less
Genomic diversity, tolerance and ecology of wildlife disease. This project aims to understand the regulation of viral disease by vertebrate hosts. Viruses are rapidly evolving threats to humans, agriculture and wildlife and understanding of these threats can be transformed by combining the latest genomic, ecological and immune-pathological approaches. This project expects to reveal how hosts manage the bad effects of viruses in natural populations and fill gaps in fundamental knowledge of virus- ....Genomic diversity, tolerance and ecology of wildlife disease. This project aims to understand the regulation of viral disease by vertebrate hosts. Viruses are rapidly evolving threats to humans, agriculture and wildlife and understanding of these threats can be transformed by combining the latest genomic, ecological and immune-pathological approaches. This project expects to reveal how hosts manage the bad effects of viruses in natural populations and fill gaps in fundamental knowledge of virus-host evolution. Anticipated benefits include improved management, risk assessment and decision-making for animal disease and biosecurity in Australia and globally.Read moreRead less