Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosys ....Ancient DNA as a tool to study Australia's paleome: exploring climatic change, past biodiversity, extinctions and long-term survival of DNA. Restoration of Australian ecosystems can only occur if we know what plants, animals and insects used to live in the area before 'pest' species were introduced. This project will use ancient DNA obtained from 'poo' and cave sediments, that is thousands of years old, to discover what species used to live where and when. The ancient DNA profiles of past ecosystems will allow us to make better decisions when trying to establish sustainable and 'natural' mainland and island sanctuaries. Ancient DNA is well preserved in some dry environments; this project will assess DNA preservation from sites all across Australia and use the DNA sequences to discover information about extinct animals and how past climate changes effected the native biota.Read moreRead less
Inbreeding: what are the reproductive costs and how are they avoided? Inbreeding in animal populations will undoubtedly become more prevalent in the face of increased habitat fragmentation brought on by human activities and climate change. By increasing our understanding of how inbreeding influences reproductive traits, my research will be directly applicable to conservation programs, specifically by providing insights into how Australia's rich biodiversity will respond to climate change and var ....Inbreeding: what are the reproductive costs and how are they avoided? Inbreeding in animal populations will undoubtedly become more prevalent in the face of increased habitat fragmentation brought on by human activities and climate change. By increasing our understanding of how inbreeding influences reproductive traits, my research will be directly applicable to conservation programs, specifically by providing insights into how Australia's rich biodiversity will respond to climate change and variability. This project also addresses critical issues in evolutionary biology, thereby contributing towards Australia's reputation as a world leader in this field. Australian science will further benefit through international collaborations and from the training of young scientists.Read moreRead less
Effects of ants and ant-mediated dispersal on speciation rates, biogeography and diversity of angiosperms. This work seeks to improve our general understanding of longstanding questions in ecology in evolution, namely what are the processes that have allowed some groups to become diverse and others not, why does dispersal mode vary with geography, and how do speciation and extinction vary across space, time and taxon? In answering these questions, we will address some of the most fundamental que ....Effects of ants and ant-mediated dispersal on speciation rates, biogeography and diversity of angiosperms. This work seeks to improve our general understanding of longstanding questions in ecology in evolution, namely what are the processes that have allowed some groups to become diverse and others not, why does dispersal mode vary with geography, and how do speciation and extinction vary across space, time and taxon? In answering these questions, we will address some of the most fundamental questions in conservation, including what are the factors that make species geographically rare, which species are most at risk for climate change, and what are the factors that have led habitats like the Kwongan Heath and Fynbos to be so exceptionally biodiverse.Read moreRead less
Life and times of Beringian biota from luminescence and radiocarbon dating of sedimentary DNA: chronologies for palaeoenvironmental and archaeological archives. This study will yield important new data on the time of entry of humans into a previously uninhabited continent (North America) and the record of subsequent human-environment interactions. The same broad issues apply to Australia, so understanding the sequence and causes of events in Beringia will provide insights into human disruption o ....Life and times of Beringian biota from luminescence and radiocarbon dating of sedimentary DNA: chronologies for palaeoenvironmental and archaeological archives. This study will yield important new data on the time of entry of humans into a previously uninhabited continent (North America) and the record of subsequent human-environment interactions. The same broad issues apply to Australia, so understanding the sequence and causes of events in Beringia will provide insights into human disruption of the Australian ecosystem. The development of improved techniques in palaeogenetics and geochronology will benefit researchers worldwide, increase the capacity for commercial services, and enhance Australia's international standing in cutting edge science. We will train high-quality graduate students and create new collaborative initiatives and opportunities for research, exchange, training and education.Read moreRead less
Linkages between productivity and consistent behavioural traits in fish: implications for harvesting, climate impacts, and selective breeding for aquaculture. The extent to which behavior, growth and reproduction are genetically linked in fish populations is unknown, but critical for predicting the impacts of fish harvesting and climate warming, and developing fish stains for aquaculture. If strongly linked, fish harvest will always remove aggressive, large and productive fish, requiring their p ....Linkages between productivity and consistent behavioural traits in fish: implications for harvesting, climate impacts, and selective breeding for aquaculture. The extent to which behavior, growth and reproduction are genetically linked in fish populations is unknown, but critical for predicting the impacts of fish harvesting and climate warming, and developing fish stains for aquaculture. If strongly linked, fish harvest will always remove aggressive, large and productive fish, requiring their protection; in aquaculture, selecting for productive fish will also increase aggression-related injuries. If not strongly linked, we may be able to select for high productivity and low aggression in fish, or high productivity and low metabolism, thus reducing feed costs in aquaculture associated with aggressive behaviour leading to injury and infection, and reduced growth at warmer temperatures.Read moreRead less
Advances in statistical methods for analysing high dimensional count data. This project will lay the methodological foundations for future studies of ecological communities world-wide: whether studying biodiversity; monitoring and testing for an environmental impact of human activities (such as mining or pollution); studying drivers of ecosystem change such as land use, feral animals or climate change. This project will develop and make available new analysis methods that are more readily interp ....Advances in statistical methods for analysing high dimensional count data. This project will lay the methodological foundations for future studies of ecological communities world-wide: whether studying biodiversity; monitoring and testing for an environmental impact of human activities (such as mining or pollution); studying drivers of ecosystem change such as land use, feral animals or climate change. This project will develop and make available new analysis methods that are more readily interpreted, more powerful and more flexible, and that enable the study of some research questions which are difficult or impossible to answer using current methods (e.g. understanding higher-order interactions at the community level). Future biostatisticians will be trained, partly addressing our critical national shortage.Read moreRead less
Uncovering the evolutionary history of Australasian marsupials: combining molecular phylogenetics and ecological inference. Marsupials are symbolic of the uniqueness of Australia's biological systems and there is widespread public interest in their natural history. Yet we know little of the evolutionary mechanisms that have shaped their biodiversity. This is a critical problem when considered in the context of Australian marsupials having suffered the highest extinction rate of any continental m ....Uncovering the evolutionary history of Australasian marsupials: combining molecular phylogenetics and ecological inference. Marsupials are symbolic of the uniqueness of Australia's biological systems and there is widespread public interest in their natural history. Yet we know little of the evolutionary mechanisms that have shaped their biodiversity. This is a critical problem when considered in the context of Australian marsupials having suffered the highest extinction rate of any continental mammal fauna over the past 200 years. This project will make a major contribution to understanding the origins, timescale and ecological nature of Australasian marsupial evolution. In doing so, it will inform conservation strategy, promote Australasian marsupials as a model system for studying faunal coevolution and develop widely applicable bioinformatic tools.Read moreRead less
The genetic basis of differentiation: Towards a predictive understanding of evolution in the wild. Given that Australia cannot escape the effects of, among others, climate change and habitat deterioration, the question of how this is going to impact Australia's unique flora and fauna is an important one. Since extinction is the final consequence of the inability to adapt with sufficient speed to changing environmental conditions, this raises the issue of how well we understand the processes unde ....The genetic basis of differentiation: Towards a predictive understanding of evolution in the wild. Given that Australia cannot escape the effects of, among others, climate change and habitat deterioration, the question of how this is going to impact Australia's unique flora and fauna is an important one. Since extinction is the final consequence of the inability to adapt with sufficient speed to changing environmental conditions, this raises the issue of how well we understand the processes underlying evolutionary adaptation. This project will provide insight into the process of population divergence and the role of genetics therein, and will enhance our understanding of the effects of environmental change, habitat fragmentation and population bottlenecks on population viability and Australia's biodiversity in general. Read moreRead less
Understanding “reinforcement”, an evolutionary process that can lead to the origin of new species and generate species diversity. Understanding how species are formed is of broad significance. National benefit will come from internationally competitive research and collaborations with leading international researchers. Benefits will also come under the ARC Priority Goals of 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' as I will (i) provide genetic data that will be invaluable for the conservation ....Understanding “reinforcement”, an evolutionary process that can lead to the origin of new species and generate species diversity. Understanding how species are formed is of broad significance. National benefit will come from internationally competitive research and collaborations with leading international researchers. Benefits will also come under the ARC Priority Goals of 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia' as I will (i) provide genetic data that will be invaluable for the conservation of a highly threatened species, (ii) determine the importance of contact zones for generating new species and maintaining the evolutionary potential of regions, and (iii) address the role of climate change in shaping diversity over recent evolutionary time, an understanding of which is essential for predicting the impact of future change. Read moreRead less
Evaluating the adaptive potential of organisms to respond to environmental change. The program utilizes technological advances to develop a gene inventory for climatic change adaptation, using, as model system, the vinegar fly from divergent climates along eastern Australia. The inventory will result in new methods for monitoring climatic change impact on populations, and for testing adaptive potential of organisms from threatened habitats. A key hypothesis is that these organisms have restricte ....Evaluating the adaptive potential of organisms to respond to environmental change. The program utilizes technological advances to develop a gene inventory for climatic change adaptation, using, as model system, the vinegar fly from divergent climates along eastern Australia. The inventory will result in new methods for monitoring climatic change impact on populations, and for testing adaptive potential of organisms from threatened habitats. A key hypothesis is that these organisms have restricted genetic options to counter environmental change, increasing extinction risk. The program investigates genetic adaptation to pollutants in midges, a key group for monitoring water health. By assessing evolutionary potential and DNA species markers, biological signatures of aquatic pollutants should result.Read moreRead less