Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101481
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$390,000.00
Summary
Integrating ecology and evolution: how does sexual selection affect population fitness and extinction? Improving our understanding of population fitness could produce important new advances in evolutionary and conservation biology. Sexual selection has been proposed to both help and harm population fitness, but unfortunately these opposing effects have been studied in isolation. This project will develop new theory to resolve confusion over the definition of population fitness and its relationsh ....Integrating ecology and evolution: how does sexual selection affect population fitness and extinction? Improving our understanding of population fitness could produce important new advances in evolutionary and conservation biology. Sexual selection has been proposed to both help and harm population fitness, but unfortunately these opposing effects have been studied in isolation. This project will develop new theory to resolve confusion over the definition of population fitness and its relationship with sexual selection. It also proposes ambitious experimental evolution and quantitative genetic studies that will empirically measure the net effect of sexual selection on population fitness and extinction. This project aims to catalyse a change in the study of population fitness and address a conspicuous gap in contemporary evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
Above and below-ground specialisation in Australian orchids and its implications for diversification and vulnerability. Many of Australia's unique terrestrial orchids may face heightened extinction risk because of their obligate dependence on pollinators and fungi. This project will investigate the consequences of these interactions for orchid speciation and vulnerability. The outcomes will inform both evolutionary theory and future conservation programs.
Genomic signatures of adaptive diversification in woodland Eucalyptus. This project aims to map the sources of adaptive alleles underlying diversification is to reveal insights into the mechanisms of speciation. The source of the raw material for evolution can have significant impacts on the speed with which populations can adapt. An emerging pattern in speciation research is the importance of ancient alleles and introgressed genes, which differ in the genomic signatures left by selection. Eucal ....Genomic signatures of adaptive diversification in woodland Eucalyptus. This project aims to map the sources of adaptive alleles underlying diversification is to reveal insights into the mechanisms of speciation. The source of the raw material for evolution can have significant impacts on the speed with which populations can adapt. An emerging pattern in speciation research is the importance of ancient alleles and introgressed genes, which differ in the genomic signatures left by selection. Eucalyptus offers a unique opportunity to explore these modes of evolution using the latest genomic tools. Improving our understanding of adaptation and genetic variation in woodland eucalypts is expected to make a significant contribution to their conservation, management and restoration.Read moreRead less
Genetics of species differentiation and hybridisation in Eucalyptus. This project aims to use state-of-the-art genomic technologies to characterise genes and genomic regions important for speciation and adaptation in Australia’s iconic eucalypts, and study the importance of hybridisation between species, especially during range expansion and contraction. A major international effort has seen a eucalypt become the second forest tree genome sequenced. This project aims to link the expanding intern ....Genetics of species differentiation and hybridisation in Eucalyptus. This project aims to use state-of-the-art genomic technologies to characterise genes and genomic regions important for speciation and adaptation in Australia’s iconic eucalypts, and study the importance of hybridisation between species, especially during range expansion and contraction. A major international effort has seen a eucalypt become the second forest tree genome sequenced. This project aims to link the expanding international knowledge on the eucalypt genome to the evolutionary dynamics of wild populations in Australia to provide unprecedented insights into the nature of species and processes which have shaped their evolution. These insights may inform their breeding as well as their conservation and management in Australia.Read moreRead less