Testing links between genomic and morphological evolutionary rates. This project aims to identify, understand, and characterise patterns of evolutionary rates across different levels of biological variation. The project expects to generate knowledge about the tempo and mode of evolution by using a phylogenetic approach to test fundamental models of evolutionary rates, including the link between rates of genomic and morphological evolution. Expected outcomes of this project include detailed insig ....Testing links between genomic and morphological evolutionary rates. This project aims to identify, understand, and characterise patterns of evolutionary rates across different levels of biological variation. The project expects to generate knowledge about the tempo and mode of evolution by using a phylogenetic approach to test fundamental models of evolutionary rates, including the link between rates of genomic and morphological evolution. Expected outcomes of this project include detailed insights into the tempo and mode of macroevolution, better modelling of genomic and phenotypic evolution, and improved design of studies in evolutionary genomics. Benefits of the project include greater understanding of the evolutionary processes that have generated the diversity of the Australian biota.Read moreRead less
The role of genome reorganisation in adaptation and speciation. Local adaptation and speciation are fundamental evolutionary processes that rely on changes to the genome. However, the role of genome architecture (e.g. chromosomal rearrangements, gene duplications) in driving these processes is poorly understood. This project will use advanced comparative genomics and bioinformatics to examine the role of chromosome rearrangements in driving adaptation and speciation, and evaluate rates of molec ....The role of genome reorganisation in adaptation and speciation. Local adaptation and speciation are fundamental evolutionary processes that rely on changes to the genome. However, the role of genome architecture (e.g. chromosomal rearrangements, gene duplications) in driving these processes is poorly understood. This project will use advanced comparative genomics and bioinformatics to examine the role of chromosome rearrangements in driving adaptation and speciation, and evaluate rates of molecular evolution between the X-chromosome and autosomes. Utilising Australia’s endemic mammalian fauna as a tractable model system, I will link population processes with macro-evolutionary outcomes to show how genome architecture underpins biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Fossils, rocks and early Cambrian clocks: calibrating body plan assembly and lineage splits in ancestral animals from Gondwana. The precise timing of when animal body plans evolved and rapidly diversified during the Cambrian Explosion remains mysterious. This project will investigate vast collections of exquisitely preserved early-middle Cambrian fossils from Australia to determine the precise order of evolutionary events at the root of the animal tree of life.
Coevolution of sundew bugs and sundews. This project aims to conduct a study of insect-plant interactions to determine if insects and plants coevolve or if they diversify by other evolutionary processes. Insect-plant coevolution is a hotly contested field in evolutionary biology. In Australia, a remarkable interaction exists between carnivorous plants and a group of bugs that steal the plant’s prey. This system offers a great opportunity to test competing coevolutionary theories through a combin ....Coevolution of sundew bugs and sundews. This project aims to conduct a study of insect-plant interactions to determine if insects and plants coevolve or if they diversify by other evolutionary processes. Insect-plant coevolution is a hotly contested field in evolutionary biology. In Australia, a remarkable interaction exists between carnivorous plants and a group of bugs that steal the plant’s prey. This system offers a great opportunity to test competing coevolutionary theories through a combination of historical and ecological approaches. The project expects to showcase the evolution and uniqueness of Australia’s native biota.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100957
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Using ancient fossils and new methods to unravel Australian mammal evolution in deep time. This project will explore the evolution of Australia's unique mammal fauna by studying fossil mammals recently discovered at Tingamarra, a 55 million year old fossil site in north-eastern Queensland. In particular, it will help us understand the origin, radiation and diversification of Australia's iconic marsupials.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101879
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$309,660.00
Summary
Dispersal, diversity and survival: lessons from the fossil record. The ability of organisms to spread their genes may be key to their long-term survival. For example, birds survived the mass extinction of 65 million years ago, but their non-flying dinosaurian relatives did not. This project will use the fossil record to establish whether swimming or flying are key traits in long-term survival. This will be done by producing the first family tree for all extinct terrestrial vertebrates onto which ....Dispersal, diversity and survival: lessons from the fossil record. The ability of organisms to spread their genes may be key to their long-term survival. For example, birds survived the mass extinction of 65 million years ago, but their non-flying dinosaurian relatives did not. This project will use the fossil record to establish whether swimming or flying are key traits in long-term survival. This will be done by producing the first family tree for all extinct terrestrial vertebrates onto which geographic data will be mapped before a novel computational analysis shows how species moved between continents over the last 400 million years. The results may inform modern conservation issues, as changing climate means an organism's survival could be dependent on its ability to physically track shifting environments.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120102034
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
How did mammals evolve large brains? A multidisciplinary view from the pouch. This project applies novel data collection techniques to explain how the large brain sizes of today's mammals (including humans) are possible. The focus will be on brain structure, development, and evolution in the mostly Australian marsupials, whose ancestral mode of brain development makes them an ideal group for studies of brain size evolution.
Latitudinal gradients and beyond: understanding the drivers of global patterns in plant ecology. There are astonishing gaps in our understanding of global patterns in the way plants grow, and the factors that underlie these patterns. We don’t know whether mean climatic conditions or extreme events are more important in shaping plant traits. We don’t know which environmental variables are most important in shaping most aspects of plant ecological strategy, and we don’t know what shape the relatio ....Latitudinal gradients and beyond: understanding the drivers of global patterns in plant ecology. There are astonishing gaps in our understanding of global patterns in the way plants grow, and the factors that underlie these patterns. We don’t know whether mean climatic conditions or extreme events are more important in shaping plant traits. We don’t know which environmental variables are most important in shaping most aspects of plant ecological strategy, and we don’t know what shape the relationship between latitude and most plant traits takes. This project will address these knowledge gaps, substantially improving our ability to predict the potential impacts of climate change on plants, and providing the basis for exciting new theory about the mechanisms driving the evolution of plant form and function in Australia, and around the world.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL100100080
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,859,732.00
Summary
Evolutionary ecology of vegetation. A more fundamental understanding will be developed about the architecture and ecology of vegetation and why it varies around the world. Understanding confers benefits for land management as well as cultural value. Under a high carbon dioxide future scenario, models will be needed that operate through fundamental mechanisms of evolution, competition and physiology, rather than through extrapolation from present-day plants. Australia is a leader in globalising p ....Evolutionary ecology of vegetation. A more fundamental understanding will be developed about the architecture and ecology of vegetation and why it varies around the world. Understanding confers benefits for land management as well as cultural value. Under a high carbon dioxide future scenario, models will be needed that operate through fundamental mechanisms of evolution, competition and physiology, rather than through extrapolation from present-day plants. Australia is a leader in globalising plant trait ecology, and the program will develop that role further. Through intensive short courses within the Sydney basin and at national scale, research capacity will be developed towards the coming four-way fusion among functional ecology, earth system science, comparative genomics and palaeobiology.Read moreRead less