Dark canaries: new multidisciplinary understanding about the origins, radiation and response to environmental change of southern hemisphere bats. This project will overhaul global understanding of the origins of bats, their flight patterns and the role of echolocation in resource partitioning in an environmentally changing Australia. It will also provide information vital for conservation and novel biomimetic understanding of the modulation of ultrasound for medical and engineering purposes.
Size matters: evolution of body size of species in deep time. Global warming is predicted to form 'sick seas' and cause widespread stunted growth of taxa and ecosystem-wide dwarfism. Exactly how this works requires substantiation of both short-term empirical and experimental research as well as evidence from the deep-time fossil record. Using the high-resolution marine fossil record from the Permian-Triassic mass extinction ~252 million years ago, the most severe in the history of animals, this ....Size matters: evolution of body size of species in deep time. Global warming is predicted to form 'sick seas' and cause widespread stunted growth of taxa and ecosystem-wide dwarfism. Exactly how this works requires substantiation of both short-term empirical and experimental research as well as evidence from the deep-time fossil record. Using the high-resolution marine fossil record from the Permian-Triassic mass extinction ~252 million years ago, the most severe in the history of animals, this project will investigate how body size of marine species and communities evolved in response to the mass extinction and rapid global warming. It is expected that the project findings will help better understand the links between global warming, anoxia, hypercapnia, euxinia, ocean acidification, and species adaptation and evolution.Read moreRead less
Reconstruction of marine ecosystems following the greatest mass extinction during the Phanerozoic history of Earth life: Lessons for the present. Frequent defaunation events strongly threaten sustainable development of marine resources and human environments especially in countries that are surrounded by oceans such as Australia. By analysing recovery mechanisms of marine ecosystems following the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, the greatest crisis of Earth life, we will develop predictive tool ....Reconstruction of marine ecosystems following the greatest mass extinction during the Phanerozoic history of Earth life: Lessons for the present. Frequent defaunation events strongly threaten sustainable development of marine resources and human environments especially in countries that are surrounded by oceans such as Australia. By analysing recovery mechanisms of marine ecosystems following the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, the greatest crisis of Earth life, we will develop predictive tools for analysing restoration of modern marine defaunated ecosystems. Understanding biotic extinction and recovery is crucial to understanding the evolution of the Earth's biosphere. This study increases Australia's research profile on this global issue. The target strata are quality oil source rocks in Perth Basin, and thus this project is beneficial to the Australian petroleum industry.Read moreRead less
Evolving landscapes of our early South African ancestors. This project aims to reconstruct the early evolution of our genus, from 2.6 to 1.8 million years ago. This was a time of faunal and environmental change, the extinction of apelike human ancestors (Australopithecus), the speciation of a specialised human genus, Paranthropus, and the origin of our own genus, Homo. This project will study South African cave sites, the surrounding karst, and the oldest known Homo ergaster fossil to model chan ....Evolving landscapes of our early South African ancestors. This project aims to reconstruct the early evolution of our genus, from 2.6 to 1.8 million years ago. This was a time of faunal and environmental change, the extinction of apelike human ancestors (Australopithecus), the speciation of a specialised human genus, Paranthropus, and the origin of our own genus, Homo. This project will study South African cave sites, the surrounding karst, and the oldest known Homo ergaster fossil to model changing dietary patterns and landscape use by hominins. This project expects to reconstruct the early evolution of our genus and to address how species reacted to changing environmental conditions and increasing aridity.Read moreRead less
Improved management of coastal plankton systems by ancient DNA technology. This project aims to assemble comprehensive long term Australian plankton records spanning 50 to 1000 years, by applying ancient DNA technology to dated sediment depth cores. Long-term data for Australian coastal and estuarine waters are sparse, so cannot be used for management of fisheries, tourism or urban development. Long-term records are essential to understand how disruptive algal and jellyfish blooms, introduced sp ....Improved management of coastal plankton systems by ancient DNA technology. This project aims to assemble comprehensive long term Australian plankton records spanning 50 to 1000 years, by applying ancient DNA technology to dated sediment depth cores. Long-term data for Australian coastal and estuarine waters are sparse, so cannot be used for management of fisheries, tourism or urban development. Long-term records are essential to understand how disruptive algal and jellyfish blooms, introduced species and increased human use of coastal resources affect dynamic plankton ecosystems. This project’s findings are expected to explore cyclical patterns, define range expansions and understand and manage how dynamic coastal ecosystems respond to multistressor anthropogenic change. Findings will improve understanding of how dynamic marine environments retain their biodiversity values and critical ecological functions.Read moreRead less
Marine Geological Investigation of the Naturaliste Plateau and Diamantina Zone - the tectono-magmatic development of a non-volcanic passive margin. Australia's continental margins impact enormously on our major industries including tourism, hydrocarbon production and fisheries, and are particularly significant with respect to biodiversity and hazard planning (both long and short term), yet knowledge of the seafloor of our margins is desperately poor. To contribute to alleviating this problem, we ....Marine Geological Investigation of the Naturaliste Plateau and Diamantina Zone - the tectono-magmatic development of a non-volcanic passive margin. Australia's continental margins impact enormously on our major industries including tourism, hydrocarbon production and fisheries, and are particularly significant with respect to biodiversity and hazard planning (both long and short term), yet knowledge of the seafloor of our margins is desperately poor. To contribute to alleviating this problem, we will use the R/V Southern Surveyor research vessel to produce swath mapping imagery and dredge samples from the seafloor of a geologically fascinating part of the southern section of the Western Australian margin dominated by the Naturaliste Plateau and Diamantina Zone. Read moreRead less
The mighty ape’s last stand. This project aims to study the fate of primates in southern Asia, where evidence for megafaunal extinction is rare. Why Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever primate, disappeared is unknown, while humans in the region survived. This project will model dating techniques across sites to identify a precise extinction window and compare behaviour and past environmental conditions to determine why the ape failed and man persevered. Outcomes will generate a new understa ....The mighty ape’s last stand. This project aims to study the fate of primates in southern Asia, where evidence for megafaunal extinction is rare. Why Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever primate, disappeared is unknown, while humans in the region survived. This project will model dating techniques across sites to identify a precise extinction window and compare behaviour and past environmental conditions to determine why the ape failed and man persevered. Outcomes will generate a new understanding of past environmental change as a driver of megafaunal extinction in comparison with human adaption and survival.Read moreRead less
Survival stategies and dynamics of stromatolite-associated microbial populations. Biogenic stromatolites are formed by the accretion of carbonates and entrapment of sediments by benthic cyanobacteria, algae and other microorganisms. Stromatolites have been present on Earth for more than three billion years and the biogeochemical processes involved in their formation are indicators of the earliest life on this planet. The applicant proposes to study, at the level of molecular genetics, the divers ....Survival stategies and dynamics of stromatolite-associated microbial populations. Biogenic stromatolites are formed by the accretion of carbonates and entrapment of sediments by benthic cyanobacteria, algae and other microorganisms. Stromatolites have been present on Earth for more than three billion years and the biogeochemical processes involved in their formation are indicators of the earliest life on this planet. The applicant proposes to study, at the level of molecular genetics, the diversity of stromatolite-associated microorganisms. The defined microbial populations will be correlated with the prevailing environmental conditions to elucidate the effect of biological and physical factors in determining stromatolite structure.Read moreRead less
The Eocene high latitude Australasian 'tropics' in a changing climate: resolving conflicting evidence. Between 45 to 30 million years ago, high latitude subtropical floras in Australia and New Zealand experienced significant climate change, leading to the evolution of present day vegetation. Understanding the effects of this climate change on extinction and speciation will produce more accurate predictions about modern floras when faced with climate change.
Extricating extinction histories at Lake Callabonna’s megafauna necropolis. This project aims to determine the nature, timing and causes of megafaunal extinction in arid Australia using an extensive fossil necropolis at Lake Callabonna. An approach combining geochronology, morphology and histology studies will be used to generate novel understanding of both the life and death of Australia’s most iconic megafaunal species. Expected outcomes of the project include generating critical new insights ....Extricating extinction histories at Lake Callabonna’s megafauna necropolis. This project aims to determine the nature, timing and causes of megafaunal extinction in arid Australia using an extensive fossil necropolis at Lake Callabonna. An approach combining geochronology, morphology and histology studies will be used to generate novel understanding of both the life and death of Australia’s most iconic megafaunal species. Expected outcomes of the project include generating critical new insights into the globally significant megafauna extinction debate, and enhancing institutional and international collaborations in palaeoecological research. By providing a deep time perspective on Australia’s extinction dynamics, this project will benefit future conservation management strategies.Read moreRead less