Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101019
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$414,331.00
Summary
Mechanisms determining ecological resilience to climate change. This project aims to improve our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms by which organisms adapt to climate change, and how this may lead to ecological resilience. It will test how rapid adaptation can occur in response to stressful environments predicted under climate change scenarios. By understanding the genetic mechanisms by which organisms adapt to environmental stresses, we can better forecast the effects of climate cha ....Mechanisms determining ecological resilience to climate change. This project aims to improve our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms by which organisms adapt to climate change, and how this may lead to ecological resilience. It will test how rapid adaptation can occur in response to stressful environments predicted under climate change scenarios. By understanding the genetic mechanisms by which organisms adapt to environmental stresses, we can better forecast the effects of climate change on natural systems. Expected outcomes include an improved ability to make informed conservation and management decisions, with resulting benefits including the protection of human health, agricultural industries, and our iconic flora and fauna. Read moreRead less
Evolution and role of neo-sex chromosomes in mitonuclear co-evolution. This project aims to characterize the evolution of novel, extended sex chromosomes in an Australian bird, then elucidate their role in climate-associated adaptive evolution. The species falls into two lineages bearing distinct mitochondrial genomes and nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes carried on sex chromosomes. The project aims to test whether this extraordinary genome arrangement is splitting the species into two forms: ....Evolution and role of neo-sex chromosomes in mitonuclear co-evolution. This project aims to characterize the evolution of novel, extended sex chromosomes in an Australian bird, then elucidate their role in climate-associated adaptive evolution. The species falls into two lineages bearing distinct mitochondrial genomes and nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes carried on sex chromosomes. The project aims to test whether this extraordinary genome arrangement is splitting the species into two forms: one adapted to hotter, drier environments, one to milder ones. This would be tackled using an innovative combination of genomics, cytogenetics, and metabolic data. Understanding the mechanisms at play would represent a major advance in ecology and evolution, with potential implications for conservation management.Read moreRead less
Multiple stressors and vulnerability to global change. This project aims to develop a framework for accurately predicting species responses to environmental change. Future environments will involve shifts in many environmental factors, and species will evolve. Yet we lack understanding of how multiple environmental factors affect the ability of species to evolve and adapt to environmental change. The intended outcome is a tool for predicting the impact of environmental change on the distribution ....Multiple stressors and vulnerability to global change. This project aims to develop a framework for accurately predicting species responses to environmental change. Future environments will involve shifts in many environmental factors, and species will evolve. Yet we lack understanding of how multiple environmental factors affect the ability of species to evolve and adapt to environmental change. The intended outcome is a tool for predicting the impact of environmental change on the distribution and abundance of organisms. The benefits include improved conservation outcomes and better pest/disease vector control.Read moreRead less
Frayed at the edges? Integrating evolutionary genetics into the study of species distributional limits. Restricted species, like those in rainforests, represent the vast majority of biodiversity, but they face high risks of extinction due to climate change unless they can adapt. Using butterflies as a model, this project will examine whether rainforest restricted species are able to adapt to future climate change and provide insight into their extinction risk.
Are the sexes really equal? Sex-specific adaptation to environmental change. This project aims to develop a framework for accurately predicting species responses to global change. Many environmental factors will change, and species will evolve, but in a sex-specific manner. Yet understanding of how the sexes vary in their ability to evolve and adapt to such complex environmental change is lacking. This project aims to integrate environmental data with the sex-specific evolutionary potential of o ....Are the sexes really equal? Sex-specific adaptation to environmental change. This project aims to develop a framework for accurately predicting species responses to global change. Many environmental factors will change, and species will evolve, but in a sex-specific manner. Yet understanding of how the sexes vary in their ability to evolve and adapt to such complex environmental change is lacking. This project aims to integrate environmental data with the sex-specific evolutionary potential of organisms in response to multiple stressors in a spatially explicit context. The intended outcome is a powerful and general tool for predicting the impact of environmental change on the distribution and abundance of organisms. The benefits include improved conservation outcomes and better pest/disease vector control.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100507
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$352,454.00
Summary
Is adaptation to climate change really constrained in niche specialists? Accurately predicting the vulnerability of species to climate change is of paramount importance for managing biodiversity for conservation, agricultural and human health-related purposes. Mounting evidence indicates that adaptive responses to climate changes may be highly constrained, particularly in the biodiverse tropics. However, this is based on studies that do not reflect projected climatic variations. This project aim ....Is adaptation to climate change really constrained in niche specialists? Accurately predicting the vulnerability of species to climate change is of paramount importance for managing biodiversity for conservation, agricultural and human health-related purposes. Mounting evidence indicates that adaptive responses to climate changes may be highly constrained, particularly in the biodiverse tropics. However, this is based on studies that do not reflect projected climatic variations. This project aims to provide the first assessment of the capacity to adapt to climate change in widespread and tropical species using ecologically realistic conditions that reflect projected changes. The data will be used to develop accurate models predicting species vulnerability and serve to better guide conservation strategies.Read moreRead less
The evolutionary genetics of adaptation in species with separate sexes. This project aims to provide new theory and analysis methods for studying the genetic basis of female and male fitness. The project expects to provide new insights into the evolutionary, genetic and demographic mechanisms that influence evolutionary genetic diversity within populations. The project will reveal how sex differences in selection affect adaptation, and provide a framework for predicting whether populations with ....The evolutionary genetics of adaptation in species with separate sexes. This project aims to provide new theory and analysis methods for studying the genetic basis of female and male fitness. The project expects to provide new insights into the evolutionary, genetic and demographic mechanisms that influence evolutionary genetic diversity within populations. The project will reveal how sex differences in selection affect adaptation, and provide a framework for predicting whether populations with separate sexes are able to persist under changing environmental conditions. By developing a rigorous theoretical foundation for sex-specific adaptation – including genome inference methods that follow logically from the theory – the proposal will define new approaches for studying evolutionary processes in natural populations.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100141
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,219.00
Summary
Buffering climate change - Predicting the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Environmental change is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity and may ultimately drive many species to extinction. Limiting biodiversity losses will require an understanding of species climate change responses. Phenotypic plasticity will be central to these responses, yet assessments of risk ignore the potential for phenotypic plasticity to buffer species from negative effects of environmental change. This project ....Buffering climate change - Predicting the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Environmental change is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity and may ultimately drive many species to extinction. Limiting biodiversity losses will require an understanding of species climate change responses. Phenotypic plasticity will be central to these responses, yet assessments of risk ignore the potential for phenotypic plasticity to buffer species from negative effects of environmental change. This project will investigate the extent to which phenotypic plasticity mediates responses across species and environments. The outcome will be a better understanding of species’ responses to climate change, more accurate risk predictions and more effective protection of vulnerable environments.Read moreRead less
Will life be tougher in the tropics? The evidence for latitudinal variation in vulnerability to climate change. There is an urgent need to accurately assess the vulnerability of species to climate change. Tropical species, which make up the vast majority of the world’s biodiversity, are predicted to be most at risk from climate change. These predictions of risk and vulnerability ignore the ameliorating factors of evolutionary adaptation and phenotypic plasticity, making them inherently uncertai ....Will life be tougher in the tropics? The evidence for latitudinal variation in vulnerability to climate change. There is an urgent need to accurately assess the vulnerability of species to climate change. Tropical species, which make up the vast majority of the world’s biodiversity, are predicted to be most at risk from climate change. These predictions of risk and vulnerability ignore the ameliorating factors of evolutionary adaptation and phenotypic plasticity, making them inherently uncertain. This project will address this uncertainty by assessing the importance of evolutionary adaptation and phenotypic plasticity for responses to climate change in tropical and temperature species. This will provide a spatially explicit framework for the accurate assessment of risk and vulnerability to climate change.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100354
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
How adaptation increases the intensity of sexual conflict. This project aims to test a theory that a species’ adaptation to its environment may cause sexual conflicts where gene variants increase the fitness of one sex but decrease it in the other. When populations harbour large numbers of these sexually antagonistic genes, adaptation is hampered and extinction becomes more likely. This project will fuse experimental evolution with quantitative genetic approaches to test this theory. Understandi ....How adaptation increases the intensity of sexual conflict. This project aims to test a theory that a species’ adaptation to its environment may cause sexual conflicts where gene variants increase the fitness of one sex but decrease it in the other. When populations harbour large numbers of these sexually antagonistic genes, adaptation is hampered and extinction becomes more likely. This project will fuse experimental evolution with quantitative genetic approaches to test this theory. Understanding sex differences in adaptation and the evolution of sexual dimorphism could enable scientists to predict levels of sexually deleterious variation under changing environmental conditions. Its findings are expected to provide new insights into sex differences in adaptation.Read moreRead less