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
Climate change impacts on latitudinal diversity gradients in reef corals. This project will investigate the consequences of a warmer ocean that occurred during past intervals of global climate change on the latitudinal distribution of reef-building corals. This work will provide managers and industry with critical insight into the effects of ongoing climate change on the biodiversity and biogeography of living coral reefs.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101524
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Past and future dynamics in coastal ecosystems. This project aims to understand how humans and nature affect coastal ecosystems. Globally, billions of dollars are spent on understanding ecosystem services and responses to human and natural pressures, but contemporary datasets’ short time-span makes them inadequate, since ecosystems change at multiple spatial and temporal scales. This project will use seagrass archives to reconstruct the history of coastal ecosystems over millennia, identifying b ....Past and future dynamics in coastal ecosystems. This project aims to understand how humans and nature affect coastal ecosystems. Globally, billions of dollars are spent on understanding ecosystem services and responses to human and natural pressures, but contemporary datasets’ short time-span makes them inadequate, since ecosystems change at multiple spatial and temporal scales. This project will use seagrass archives to reconstruct the history of coastal ecosystems over millennia, identifying baseline conditions, the time-course of ecological change, cycles and thresholds of ecosystem dynamics driven by human and natural forces, and determining their role as biogeochemical sinks. Intended outcomes are to manage ecological change and remove constraints on sustainable coastal development.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL140100260
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,775,898.00
Summary
Using ancient microbiomes and genomes to reconstruct human history. Using ancient microbiomes and genomes to reconstruct human history. This project aims to generate unique insights into the processes and history that produced the current distribution of modern humans and the bacteria we carry with us (our microbiome). The project will use combined signals of bacterial, genomic and climate data to reconstruct the impacts of migrations, changes in diet, environment, and health in different parts ....Using ancient microbiomes and genomes to reconstruct human history. Using ancient microbiomes and genomes to reconstruct human history. This project aims to generate unique insights into the processes and history that produced the current distribution of modern humans and the bacteria we carry with us (our microbiome). The project will use combined signals of bacterial, genomic and climate data to reconstruct the impacts of migrations, changes in diet, environment, and health in different parts of the world. A key aspect will be the creation of a program to map the genetic history of indigenous Australia, and the impacts of colonisation on indigenous people around the world. Research advances will be transferred to Early Career Researchers through an innovative program of workshops, and the resulting data will be used to create a new format for Australian genetic databases.Read moreRead less
The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on trop ....The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on tropical reefs or rainforest communities, through careful temporal niche partitioning where reliance on other sensory systems takes over from vision and olfaction as the principal method of prey detection. This project aims to elucidate how the modern fish diversity was shaped by such significant early evolutionary events.Read moreRead less
Effect of climate boundary changes on the Southern Westerly Winds. This project aims to produce high quality data on how the Southern Westerly Winds (SWW) respond to largescale changes in climate boundary conditions over multiple glacial-interglacial cycles. Because the SWW are key drivers of Southern Hemisphere climate, Southern Ocean circulation and global carbon dioxide concentrations, it is important to understand how they respond to changes in boundary conditions. Uncertainty about how they ....Effect of climate boundary changes on the Southern Westerly Winds. This project aims to produce high quality data on how the Southern Westerly Winds (SWW) respond to largescale changes in climate boundary conditions over multiple glacial-interglacial cycles. Because the SWW are key drivers of Southern Hemisphere climate, Southern Ocean circulation and global carbon dioxide concentrations, it is important to understand how they respond to changes in boundary conditions. Uncertainty about how they do so limits attempts at accurate predictive climate modelling. This project will test conceptual models of SWW dynamics and provide essential boundary conditions for predictive climate models. The project intends to simultaneously build and support a research capacity and global network, and advance Australia’s knowledge and contribution in the area of global climate dynamics.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing past population dynamics to understand human and climatic impacts in prehistory. More than 100 species have become extinct since humans first colonised Australia, and over 1000 are considered threatened. This research will determine the factors most strongly governing the interaction between humans and native fauna in Australia over the last 46 millennia. Our approach is powerful and novel because it will effectively draw together multidisciplinary evidence on natural resource exp ....Reconstructing past population dynamics to understand human and climatic impacts in prehistory. More than 100 species have become extinct since humans first colonised Australia, and over 1000 are considered threatened. This research will determine the factors most strongly governing the interaction between humans and native fauna in Australia over the last 46 millennia. Our approach is powerful and novel because it will effectively draw together multidisciplinary evidence on natural resource exploitation and habitat alteration by ancient people, and the influence of dramatic climatic shifts on the Australian biota. Information on past biological responses to environmental change is critical to properly contextualising the current impact, and long-term consequences of, threats such as global warming, habitat loss and invasive species.Read moreRead less
Sustainable development in southwestern Victoria: construction of a baseline palaeoecological record for assessment of past and future human-environment interactions. A detailed, continuous, sediment-based, multi-proxy palaeoenvironment record, will be constructed to contribute to the goals of the innovative, community-based Lake Condah Sustainability Development Project that are informed management and heritage listing of the Mt Eccles lava flow region, southwestern Victoria. The record, coveri ....Sustainable development in southwestern Victoria: construction of a baseline palaeoecological record for assessment of past and future human-environment interactions. A detailed, continuous, sediment-based, multi-proxy palaeoenvironment record, will be constructed to contribute to the goals of the innovative, community-based Lake Condah Sustainability Development Project that are informed management and heritage listing of the Mt Eccles lava flow region, southwestern Victoria. The record, covering at least the last 20,000 years, is designed to (a) provide a dated framework for understanding past human-environment relationships, especially the development of a unique Aboriginal complex hunter-gatherer society based on aquaculture, (b) an historical basis for fire management of a nationally important vegetation community and (c) the provision of a palaeoclimate record of global significance.Read moreRead less
Resolving evolutionary problems at the fish-tetrapod transition. The project aims to investigate very early Australian tetrapod trackways and conduct fieldwork to resolve the place of origin and timing of the evolution of the first tetrapods. The evolution of fishes to tetrapods was one of the key events in evolution. Studies on Northern Hemisphere fossils place an origin for the group around 380 million years ago. Australian fossils suggest a much older origin. New micro computed tomography dat ....Resolving evolutionary problems at the fish-tetrapod transition. The project aims to investigate very early Australian tetrapod trackways and conduct fieldwork to resolve the place of origin and timing of the evolution of the first tetrapods. The evolution of fishes to tetrapods was one of the key events in evolution. Studies on Northern Hemisphere fossils place an origin for the group around 380 million years ago. Australian fossils suggest a much older origin. New micro computed tomography data from Australian 3-D fossil fishes, combined with study of rare tetrapod gill arch bones, would enable us to determine the origins of tetrapod air-breathing and its ecological setting. The project may facilitate a rewriting of vertebrate evolution's most significant first step.Read moreRead less
Testing our knowledge on the dawn of animal life: evidence from the fossil record against modern ecological and morphological analogues. The Cambrian 'Explosion', half a billion years ago, is regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the Earth, when most major animal groups first appear in the rock record, and for which South Australia has recently become a significant source of spectacular fossils. However, important questions remain regarding their Ediacaran roots, the spe ....Testing our knowledge on the dawn of animal life: evidence from the fossil record against modern ecological and morphological analogues. The Cambrian 'Explosion', half a billion years ago, is regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the Earth, when most major animal groups first appear in the rock record, and for which South Australia has recently become a significant source of spectacular fossils. However, important questions remain regarding their Ediacaran roots, the speed of evolution at the time, and the environments in which the radiation took place. Studying the fossil evidence in the light of present-day ecological frameworks, and in comparison with modern behavioural and morphological analogues, as well as living relatives, can help us better assess our understanding of this first radiation of animals.Read moreRead less