Macroecology and phylogeny: the effects of evolutionary history on rarity and extinction risk in Australian vertebrates. We will combine ecological and phylogenetic analysis of Australian vertebrates to show how abundance and geographic range in living species has been shaped by the historical processes of speciation, transformations of range and abundance in relation to species age, and selective extinction. Our analysis will throw new light on the processes that have generated species diversit ....Macroecology and phylogeny: the effects of evolutionary history on rarity and extinction risk in Australian vertebrates. We will combine ecological and phylogenetic analysis of Australian vertebrates to show how abundance and geographic range in living species has been shaped by the historical processes of speciation, transformations of range and abundance in relation to species age, and selective extinction. Our analysis will throw new light on the processes that have generated species diversity in Australian vertebrates. We will also gain new understanding of the causes of rarity and vulnerability to extinction among living species, which will result in better identification and management of species at risk of extinction.Read moreRead less
Resolving insect evolution. Our poor understanding of the evolution of insects, life’s most successful group, is a huge gap in our knowledge of nature. By analysing genomic data the project will resolve the insect evolutionary tree and discover what drove insect evolution. This will expand our knowledge of how evolution works - a vital part of conserving our biological diversity.
The ancient symbiosis of crayfish and temnocephalan flatworms in Australian freshwaters investigated using molecules, morphology and biogeography. Freshwater parastacid crayfish are widespread and diverse in Australia's freshwaters. Associated with them (living on external surfaces) since their origins on Gondwana are very many species of temnocephalan flatworms. We will elucidate the molecular, morphological and biogeographic history of this association which appears to be ancient and specific. ....The ancient symbiosis of crayfish and temnocephalan flatworms in Australian freshwaters investigated using molecules, morphology and biogeography. Freshwater parastacid crayfish are widespread and diverse in Australia's freshwaters. Associated with them (living on external surfaces) since their origins on Gondwana are very many species of temnocephalan flatworms. We will elucidate the molecular, morphological and biogeographic history of this association which appears to be ancient and specific. The study will shed light on Australia's biological links with New Zealand and South America. It will also use the association between crayfish and temnocephalans as a model to investigate general features of symbioses, including molecular and morphological evolutionary responses and phenomena such as host-switching and cospeciation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100516
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Biodiversity, biogeography and molecular evolution on tropical reefs. This project aims to discover how evolutionary processes, biogeography and molecular change drive biodiversity patterns. Coral reefs support over 800,000 plant and animal species on <0.1% of the ocean. This project will examine how this biodiversity was formed by generating genomic data for reef building corals and reef associated fishes to reconstruct their evolutionary history. It will compare models of speciation, extinctio ....Biodiversity, biogeography and molecular evolution on tropical reefs. This project aims to discover how evolutionary processes, biogeography and molecular change drive biodiversity patterns. Coral reefs support over 800,000 plant and animal species on <0.1% of the ocean. This project will examine how this biodiversity was formed by generating genomic data for reef building corals and reef associated fishes to reconstruct their evolutionary history. It will compare models of speciation, extinction and range change among regions to determine how those processes contribute to the formation of biodiversity gradients and regional assemblage differences. The project expects that better understanding of evolutionary dynamics will inform conservation priorities.Read moreRead less
Evolution of Australia's globally unique hotspot of floral diversity. Australia has a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot, the southwest of Western Australia, but this unique eucalypt-dominated flora is threatened. This project will gain new insights into the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain such diversity, their vulnerability; and how the iconic eucalypts came to dominate the Australian landscape.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101150
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$362,000.00
Summary
Using sponge transcriptomes to understand ancestral animal development. The invention of a basic developmental program was likely a key step in the transition to multicellularity in animals, one of the major transitions in the tree of life. By combining next-generation sequencing of a representative panel of sponges and functional studies on an oviparous sponge, this project aims to identify gene interactions and networks that built the first animal embryos over 680 million years ago. Furthermor ....Using sponge transcriptomes to understand ancestral animal development. The invention of a basic developmental program was likely a key step in the transition to multicellularity in animals, one of the major transitions in the tree of life. By combining next-generation sequencing of a representative panel of sponges and functional studies on an oviparous sponge, this project aims to identify gene interactions and networks that built the first animal embryos over 680 million years ago. Furthermore, the role of Wingless (Wnt) signalling in patterning these ancestral embryos along a primordial anterior-posterior axis will be investigated. Piecing together the fundamental molecular machinery shared by all animal embryos will shed light on the molecular basis for the complex development of most animals on Earth.Read moreRead less
The role of ecological specialisation in insect-plant macroevolutionary processes: a molecular phylogenetic approach across three kingdoms. Flowering plants and phytophagous insects are major components of the world's biodiversity and their evolution has been closely linked. This project will increase our knowledge of insect-endosymbiont-plant interactions and enhance our understanding of the origin, generation and maintenance of much of the world's biodiversity. A broader understanding of how i ....The role of ecological specialisation in insect-plant macroevolutionary processes: a molecular phylogenetic approach across three kingdoms. Flowering plants and phytophagous insects are major components of the world's biodiversity and their evolution has been closely linked. This project will increase our knowledge of insect-endosymbiont-plant interactions and enhance our understanding of the origin, generation and maintenance of much of the world's biodiversity. A broader understanding of how insects, their symbionts and plants have co-evolved should improve our understanding of why and how some insects are able to become pests whereas others do not. Scale insects (the model system in this study) are important pests, both ecologically (Christmas Island interaction between coccids, rainforest plants and crazy ants) and economically (e.g. citrus mealybug).Read moreRead less
Australia's Distinctive Succulent Flora. The project plans to investigate why Australia, the driest vegetated continent, has no landscape dominated by large succulents but nevertheless supports a distinctive, diverse and widespread succulent flora. Focusing on terrestrial succulents and epiphytic orchids, the project plans to explore the evolution, assembly and biodiversity of Australia’s succulent flora, evaluating the roles of genetic composition, photosynthetic physiology, aridity, fire, soil ....Australia's Distinctive Succulent Flora. The project plans to investigate why Australia, the driest vegetated continent, has no landscape dominated by large succulents but nevertheless supports a distinctive, diverse and widespread succulent flora. Focusing on terrestrial succulents and epiphytic orchids, the project plans to explore the evolution, assembly and biodiversity of Australia’s succulent flora, evaluating the roles of genetic composition, photosynthetic physiology, aridity, fire, soil nutrients and salinity in its historical expansion, and assessing the resilience of the assemblages to changing climate. Of particular interest will be how the most water-use efficient type of photosynthesis, crassulacean acid metabolism, is expressed across the succulent landscape.Read moreRead less
Fitting non-Gaussian diffusion models to evolutionary data: towards a generalized framework for phylogenetic comparative analyses. This project aims to develop cutting-edge statistical methods for evolutionary biology in order to answer big questions using data derived from multiple species. Such methods are needed because of the variety of multi-species data that are becoming available, which cannot be dealt with correctly using current methods. The research is significant because it will provi ....Fitting non-Gaussian diffusion models to evolutionary data: towards a generalized framework for phylogenetic comparative analyses. This project aims to develop cutting-edge statistical methods for evolutionary biology in order to answer big questions using data derived from multiple species. Such methods are needed because of the variety of multi-species data that are becoming available, which cannot be dealt with correctly using current methods. The research is significant because it will provide a new way of fitting a wide class of statistical models to evolutionary data, in a very general setting. Further, this project will unite current methodology in a broader framework so that the proposed new methods are a generalisation of currently accepted theory. The outcomes will include a freely-available software package that implements the methods in a user-friendly form.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary origin of stem cells and the emergence of animal complexity. The project aims to decipher the fundamental mechanisms governing stem cell specification and formation. All animals rely on stem cells to replenish, repair and regenerate tissues. Stem cells are also often a conduit to malignant tumours. This project seeks to uncover the rules governing stem cell formation through the study of a simple and ancient animal – the marine sponge Amphimedon queenslandica. The project plans to c ....Evolutionary origin of stem cells and the emergence of animal complexity. The project aims to decipher the fundamental mechanisms governing stem cell specification and formation. All animals rely on stem cells to replenish, repair and regenerate tissues. Stem cells are also often a conduit to malignant tumours. This project seeks to uncover the rules governing stem cell formation through the study of a simple and ancient animal – the marine sponge Amphimedon queenslandica. The project plans to combine insights from the simple, experimentally-tractable sponge stem cell system with existing knowledge of stem cell specification in humans and other animals, to reveal the essential features of stem cell formation. These insights may inform future pursuits to generate, control and use stem cells in cancer and regenerative medicines.Read moreRead less