How does habitat complexity drive motor ageing and fitness in wild mammals? This project aims to demonstrate how habitat complexity shapes motor ageing in wild dasyurid marsupials, and to improve these animals’ motor function, slow its decline and increase reproductive output via behavioural and physiological changes. Motor decline should dramatically impact an animal growth, survival and reproduction by affecting how it moves through habitats when foraging, seeking mates, or escaping from preda ....How does habitat complexity drive motor ageing and fitness in wild mammals? This project aims to demonstrate how habitat complexity shapes motor ageing in wild dasyurid marsupials, and to improve these animals’ motor function, slow its decline and increase reproductive output via behavioural and physiological changes. Motor decline should dramatically impact an animal growth, survival and reproduction by affecting how it moves through habitats when foraging, seeking mates, or escaping from predators. However, little is known about the environmental drivers of motor ageing in wild animals. Our project addresses an important gap in the field of evolutionary ecology. Since decline in muscle function affects the quality of Australian's life, our work could lead to important economic and health implications.Read moreRead less
The evolution of periodic ventilation in insects. The primary outcome of this research initiative is a new approach to the understanding of the evolution of periodic ventilation in insects. It involves researchers from four Australian universities, and will showcase the strength of Australian research and the diversity of the Australian insect fauna, and demonstrate the utility of the Australian environment as a model system for the study of fundamental biological problems. The research deals wi ....The evolution of periodic ventilation in insects. The primary outcome of this research initiative is a new approach to the understanding of the evolution of periodic ventilation in insects. It involves researchers from four Australian universities, and will showcase the strength of Australian research and the diversity of the Australian insect fauna, and demonstrate the utility of the Australian environment as a model system for the study of fundamental biological problems. The research deals with the influence of microclimate on the physiology of insects. This will lead to an appreciation of the ability of these species to respond to climate change.Read moreRead less
Cell-free immune reactions and suppression. Insects pests and insect vectors of diseases are managed by toxic substances, but insects have a cunning ability to persist. How pesticide-tolerant insect pests recognise and inactivate chemical and biological toxins is poorly understood. While vertebrates with a closed circulatory system use coagulation reactions mainly for wound-healing, invertebrates employ cell-free aggregation reactions for the sequestration and inactivation of potentially damagin ....Cell-free immune reactions and suppression. Insects pests and insect vectors of diseases are managed by toxic substances, but insects have a cunning ability to persist. How pesticide-tolerant insect pests recognise and inactivate chemical and biological toxins is poorly understood. While vertebrates with a closed circulatory system use coagulation reactions mainly for wound-healing, invertebrates employ cell-free aggregation reactions for the sequestration and inactivation of potentially damaging objects and substances. We use insect plasma to dissect recognition and inactivation of damaging objects and substances with the aim to understand tolerance and its inhibition to design novel strategies in delaying tolerance to pesticides in insect pests.Read moreRead less
Molecular control of postnatal heart development. This project aims to improve our understanding of how the heart develops after birth and the molecules that control this process. Recent advances in tissue engineering have opened up opportunities for the generation of synthetic tissues but these studies have also highlighted a fundamental knowledge gap in our understanding of how complex tissues mature to prepare for life as an adult. Much is known about the molecules that control early embryoni ....Molecular control of postnatal heart development. This project aims to improve our understanding of how the heart develops after birth and the molecules that control this process. Recent advances in tissue engineering have opened up opportunities for the generation of synthetic tissues but these studies have also highlighted a fundamental knowledge gap in our understanding of how complex tissues mature to prepare for life as an adult. Much is known about the molecules that control early embryonic development but little is known about the molecules that control maturation after birth. This project aims to build new knowledge that is expected to improve our ability to generate mature heart muscle cells for stem cell applications, tissue repair and regeneration.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the sub-nuclear complexity of the brain. Understanding the function of the brain is a major frontier of scientific research. The ability to increase knowledge of brain function is reliant upon the development of novel methods. This application will develop a novel approach for understanding the function of particular nerve cells. One outcome will be demonstration of the applicability of a novel method of benefit to all brain researchers. Another outcome will be increased understandin ....Unravelling the sub-nuclear complexity of the brain. Understanding the function of the brain is a major frontier of scientific research. The ability to increase knowledge of brain function is reliant upon the development of novel methods. This application will develop a novel approach for understanding the function of particular nerve cells. One outcome will be demonstration of the applicability of a novel method of benefit to all brain researchers. Another outcome will be increased understanding of one brain region that is known to contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease. It is expected that increased knowledge of brain function will lead to novel theories of brain disease and therapeutic strategies.Read moreRead less
How does the interaction between environmental drivers determine the impact of global change on animals? There is an urgent need to determine how vulnerable natural populations are to simultaneous changes in more than one environmental driver. This project will take an integrative approach, using molecular, physiological and ecological tools, to determine whether cellular responses to the interaction between UV-B radiation and temperature vary between populations, and within individuals over tim ....How does the interaction between environmental drivers determine the impact of global change on animals? There is an urgent need to determine how vulnerable natural populations are to simultaneous changes in more than one environmental driver. This project will take an integrative approach, using molecular, physiological and ecological tools, to determine whether cellular responses to the interaction between UV-B radiation and temperature vary between populations, and within individuals over time. This project will bridge the gap between physiology and ecology by testing whether molecular responses translate into fitness benefits for the organism to gain an understanding at a level that is relevant for conservation. Read moreRead less
Biocontrol of crown-of-thorns starfish using genomics and proteomics. This project aims to address destructive outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), a voracious predator of corals and a major threat to coral reefs. This project builds upon recent sequencing of COTS genome and proteomes to identify communication factors that attract COTS to each other. Based on these natural attractants, the project will fabricate COTS-specific baits for future large scale deployment. Currently COTS a ....Biocontrol of crown-of-thorns starfish using genomics and proteomics. This project aims to address destructive outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), a voracious predator of corals and a major threat to coral reefs. This project builds upon recent sequencing of COTS genome and proteomes to identify communication factors that attract COTS to each other. Based on these natural attractants, the project will fabricate COTS-specific baits for future large scale deployment. Currently COTS are culled using expensive diver-based approaches. Outcomes for this project are expected to augment, if not alleviate, these inefficient biocontrol approaches and provide an environmentally-benign and scalable solution to one of the biggest threats to the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef and reefs worldwide.Read moreRead less
The evolution of breathing patterns in animals. Although breathing is usually regarding as a continuous process, many species voluntarily hold their breath for up to several hours at a time. This pattern of periodic breathing is shown by a range of animals including mammals, reptiles, and insects, yet the reasons why they hold their breath is unknown. This project will examine the evolution of breathing patterns in the context of climate and atmospheric conditions. The outcomes of this project w ....The evolution of breathing patterns in animals. Although breathing is usually regarding as a continuous process, many species voluntarily hold their breath for up to several hours at a time. This pattern of periodic breathing is shown by a range of animals including mammals, reptiles, and insects, yet the reasons why they hold their breath is unknown. This project will examine the evolution of breathing patterns in the context of climate and atmospheric conditions. The outcomes of this project will provide insight into the evolution of fundamental characteristic of animals (breathing), describe the role of climate in shaping how animals breathe, and demonstrate how animals will cope with climate change.Read moreRead less
Seeing without eyes: the evolution of non-visual photoreceptors in vertebrates. Australia's underwater biodiversity is second to none with endemic species representing the earliest stages in vertebrate evolution, many of them relying heavily on vision for survival. Tracing the evolution of light detection and image formation will provide crucial information about the lifestyles of our vertebrate ancestors, the environmental selection pressures driving speciation and colour communication. Charact ....Seeing without eyes: the evolution of non-visual photoreceptors in vertebrates. Australia's underwater biodiversity is second to none with endemic species representing the earliest stages in vertebrate evolution, many of them relying heavily on vision for survival. Tracing the evolution of light detection and image formation will provide crucial information about the lifestyles of our vertebrate ancestors, the environmental selection pressures driving speciation and colour communication. Characterisation of optimal light environments and extra-ocular light detection will also help protect and manage endemic species in wild and captive environments. Read moreRead less
Assessing animal exposure to urticating caterpillar hairs and developing management strategies to reduce the consequence of foetal abortion in mares. Equine Amnionitis and Foetal Loss (EAFL) accounts for about a third of mares aborting in thoroughbred horse studs in southern Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Previous studies have shown that processionary caterpillars and their irritating setae (hairs) can cause EAFL. This project aims to determine the likelihood that other caterpillar sp ....Assessing animal exposure to urticating caterpillar hairs and developing management strategies to reduce the consequence of foetal abortion in mares. Equine Amnionitis and Foetal Loss (EAFL) accounts for about a third of mares aborting in thoroughbred horse studs in southern Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Previous studies have shown that processionary caterpillars and their irritating setae (hairs) can cause EAFL. This project aims to determine the likelihood that other caterpillar species are involved based on hair morphology and a surrogate model system. A full risk assessment of the exposure of mares to these hairs in situ will be undertaken, based on the ecology and biology of the species. Outcomes include a management strategy for EAFL-causing insects and a reduction of EAFL within the industry.Read moreRead less