Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The pr ....Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The project will provide fundamental advances in our knowledge of the nutrient transport during pregnancy that is required to produce a healthy baby.Read moreRead less
Evolution. Morphodynamics and History of the Younghusband Peninsula. This project will examine the history and evolution of the Sir Richard-Younghusband Peninsula (SRYP) complex barrier in SA. The aims are to derive a understanding of how the influences of relative sea-level changes, neotectonics, and sediment supply, can produce remarkably different responses in barrier development. No complex barrier (i.e. foredune ridges in one portion, transgressive dunefields in another) has ever been compr ....Evolution. Morphodynamics and History of the Younghusband Peninsula. This project will examine the history and evolution of the Sir Richard-Younghusband Peninsula (SRYP) complex barrier in SA. The aims are to derive a understanding of how the influences of relative sea-level changes, neotectonics, and sediment supply, can produce remarkably different responses in barrier development. No complex barrier (i.e. foredune ridges in one portion, transgressive dunefields in another) has ever been comprehensively drilled, dated, modelled, or examined in the context of indigenous occupation and oral histories in Australia. The study provides excellent analogues for barrier and dune response, and shoreline translation to varying rates of sea level rise, paralleling pressures facing all coastlines today.Read moreRead less
Function and evolution of insect odorant receptors. This project aims to shed light on how insect odorant receptors function by using comparative genomic studies between the genetic model insect Drosophila melanogaster and a pest species, the Australian sheep blowfly. This project expects to generate knowledge of how specific chemicals activate specific receptors in order to excite sensory neurons and drive behaviour, which is not well understood. Expected outcomes include increased understandin ....Function and evolution of insect odorant receptors. This project aims to shed light on how insect odorant receptors function by using comparative genomic studies between the genetic model insect Drosophila melanogaster and a pest species, the Australian sheep blowfly. This project expects to generate knowledge of how specific chemicals activate specific receptors in order to excite sensory neurons and drive behaviour, which is not well understood. Expected outcomes include increased understanding of olfaction in insects, increased national and international collaboration, and outstanding graduate student training. This research will be of significant future benefit in deriving methods to modify the behaviour of insects of agricultural or medical importance, for example the sheep blowfly. Read moreRead less
Creating new stochastic models to understand the evolution of gene families. This project aims to extend stochastic modelling techniques in order to develop mathematically rigorous and biologically relevant models for the evolution of gene families. The project expects to model evolutionary processes such as gene retention, duplication and loss, and the generation of new gene functions. The duplication and subsequent re-purposing of genes is thought to be a key mechanism for generating evolution ....Creating new stochastic models to understand the evolution of gene families. This project aims to extend stochastic modelling techniques in order to develop mathematically rigorous and biologically relevant models for the evolution of gene families. The project expects to model evolutionary processes such as gene retention, duplication and loss, and the generation of new gene functions. The duplication and subsequent re-purposing of genes is thought to be a key mechanism for generating evolutionary novelty. By applying these models to genome data, the project expects to be able to quantify the importance of these different evolutionary mechanisms. The project will strengthen collaborative links between researchers in stochastic modelling and molecular evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
Is there a climatic tipping point for Antarctic Bottom Water formation? Antarctic Bottom Water plays an important role in global ocean circulation and climate and yet its formation is also highly sensitive to climate change. This project will analyse new seafloor, core and water samples from the understudied Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, collected on a voyage in early 2022. This new data will be used in combination with an improved high resolution regional ocean model, to understand modern and ....Is there a climatic tipping point for Antarctic Bottom Water formation? Antarctic Bottom Water plays an important role in global ocean circulation and climate and yet its formation is also highly sensitive to climate change. This project will analyse new seafloor, core and water samples from the understudied Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, collected on a voyage in early 2022. This new data will be used in combination with an improved high resolution regional ocean model, to understand modern and past Antarctic Bottom Water formation under different climate states (warmer and colder than present), to determine if there are climate tipping points for the shut down of Antarctic Bottom Water formation. The anticipated benefits include a better understanding of future climate change on this important water mass.Read moreRead less
Breaking Gondwana: interplay between tectonics, climate and resources. The project aims to reconstruct 250 million years of landscape evolution in response to rifting and break-up of the Gondwana supercontinent, using the innovative approach of combining regional thermochronology with global plate tectonic models. From these reconstructions, the time-integrated record of exhumation and erosion at the continental margins will be revealed at an unprecedented scale. The main expected outcome will b ....Breaking Gondwana: interplay between tectonics, climate and resources. The project aims to reconstruct 250 million years of landscape evolution in response to rifting and break-up of the Gondwana supercontinent, using the innovative approach of combining regional thermochronology with global plate tectonic models. From these reconstructions, the time-integrated record of exhumation and erosion at the continental margins will be revealed at an unprecedented scale. The main expected outcome will be a deep time archive of the relationships between tectonic forcing, continental erosion and the global climate, which may assist predictions and debate on future climate change. The outcomes will also provide economic benefits as they will inform on the exhumation and preservation of (critical) mineral resources.Read moreRead less
Improved electrophoretic analyser for water quality monitoring. This proposal will advance the Australian made Eco Detection portable electrophoretic analyser for autonomous monitoring of water chemistry - the Eco Sensor. We will re-design and miniaturise the fluidic manifold to reduce capital- and per-sample cost, increase the sensitivity of nutrients - nitrate and phospate - by 100-times in both fresh- and sea-waters, and develop new ultra-sensitive reagents for heavy metal detection at enviro ....Improved electrophoretic analyser for water quality monitoring. This proposal will advance the Australian made Eco Detection portable electrophoretic analyser for autonomous monitoring of water chemistry - the Eco Sensor. We will re-design and miniaturise the fluidic manifold to reduce capital- and per-sample cost, increase the sensitivity of nutrients - nitrate and phospate - by 100-times in both fresh- and sea-waters, and develop new ultra-sensitive reagents for heavy metal detection at environmentally regulated levels. This will provide a single platform for at-site near-real-time monitoring of water chemistry for agricultural, mining, water corporations and other industries that use and/or discharge water to the environment. Read moreRead less
Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of th ....Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation.Read moreRead less
When caring ends: Understanding and supporting informal care trajectories. This project aims to advance understandings of how, why, when, and for whom caring ends, including the socio-cultural and relational factors that shape experiences before, during, and after caring. Using an innovative, multi-method sociological approach, and foregrounding carers’ voices, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the meaning and experience of care and caring. This project is significant in bringing ....When caring ends: Understanding and supporting informal care trajectories. This project aims to advance understandings of how, why, when, and for whom caring ends, including the socio-cultural and relational factors that shape experiences before, during, and after caring. Using an innovative, multi-method sociological approach, and foregrounding carers’ voices, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the meaning and experience of care and caring. This project is significant in bringing together leading researchers and key carer-focused organisations, spanning service sectors and moving across care relationships, life stages and contexts. Expected outcomes include enhanced service capacity with tangible policy and practice benefits that will enable sustainable and fulfilling informal caring experiences.Read moreRead less