How are visual gene pathways lost and restored during reptile evolution? This project aims to investigate how complex traits are lost during evolution, and once lost if they can be regained. The project will use the diverse visual systems of snakes and lizards to shed light on the process of gene loss in degenerative lineages, and discover the mechanisms that compensate for gene losses in taxa with secondarily evolved visual capabilities- providing a case of evolutionary re-innovation in complex ....How are visual gene pathways lost and restored during reptile evolution? This project aims to investigate how complex traits are lost during evolution, and once lost if they can be regained. The project will use the diverse visual systems of snakes and lizards to shed light on the process of gene loss in degenerative lineages, and discover the mechanisms that compensate for gene losses in taxa with secondarily evolved visual capabilities- providing a case of evolutionary re-innovation in complex traits.Read moreRead less
Evolution in tooth and claw: exploring the relationship between the radiation of marsupial herbivores and late Cenozoic climate change. Establishing how animals responded to past environmental changes is essential for understanding the ecology of modern species and managing them in light of contemporary climatic trends. By applying several novel analytical methods this project will unravel the links between the radiation of Australian marsupials and key stages in climatic evolution.
Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si a ....Silicon: a novel solution to reduce water use and pest damage in wheat. The project aims to improve Australian wheat production by increasing drought resilience and reducing reliance on pesticides. This is achieved by incorporating amorphous silicon (Si), an abundant national resource. Si uptake by wheat has been proven to alleviate stress from drought and pests, but mechanisms and agronomic feasibility remain to be fully assessed. The project will deliver a mechanistic understanding of how Si alleviates stress in wheat, from gene to farm scale, providing cost-benefit analysis and a best–practice toolbox for implementation by farmers. Outcomes are anticipated to provide a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable solution to issues of water scarcity and yield losses to pests in Australia’s leading crop.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100624
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
The role of epigenetic modifications in tiger snake adaptation. This project aims to investigate mechanisms underlying animal adaptation to future environmental change by examining the molecular basis for phenotypic plasticity in snakes. This project will specifically examine variation in genetic/epigenetic profiles and compare against important fitness traits, such as variable head size, bite force and swallowing performance to identify relationships between molecular change and physiology. Suc ....The role of epigenetic modifications in tiger snake adaptation. This project aims to investigate mechanisms underlying animal adaptation to future environmental change by examining the molecular basis for phenotypic plasticity in snakes. This project will specifically examine variation in genetic/epigenetic profiles and compare against important fitness traits, such as variable head size, bite force and swallowing performance to identify relationships between molecular change and physiology. Such research is a critical first step in improving our knowledge of the mechanisms whereby animal populations may adapt to environmental change, allowing us to facilitate such processes or concentrate conservation effort where species are unable to adapt via epigenetic modification.Read moreRead less
ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ....ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ecoinformatics and evolutionary theory. Across this span, working groups will target nine identified opportunities for breakthrough research. Each research target needs input from two or more disciplines. Together, the nine targets link across disciplines, as a network that spans from genomic to planetary scales.Read moreRead less
Range dynamics and demographics of spatially structured populations under global change. Why are particular species present in some locations, but not others? This is a simple, fundamental ecological question, yet surprisingly, our answers on this point remain far from complete. Using an integrated, systems-based approach, we will determine the interplay between: (i) birth, death and movement rates, (ii) species interactions, and (iii) the constraints of the physical environment (temperature, ra ....Range dynamics and demographics of spatially structured populations under global change. Why are particular species present in some locations, but not others? This is a simple, fundamental ecological question, yet surprisingly, our answers on this point remain far from complete. Using an integrated, systems-based approach, we will determine the interplay between: (i) birth, death and movement rates, (ii) species interactions, and (iii) the constraints of the physical environment (temperature, rainfall, soil type), which determine the limits of species' ranges. Our models will provide Australian conservation managers with a novel, validated toolbox to explore the trade-offs, and synergies, inherent in trying to adapt to climate change and other stressors on biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100177
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$290,000.00
Summary
A regional optical dating facility in Australia. This project aims to establish an open access, end-user friendly optical dating facility in Australia. This will address shortcomings in the capacity and geographical coverage of the existing national geochronology infrastructure and enable Australian researchers to reconstruct past records of climate change, human evolution, ecological vulnerabilities, natural and man-made hazards and environmental disturbance over historical to near-million-year ....A regional optical dating facility in Australia. This project aims to establish an open access, end-user friendly optical dating facility in Australia. This will address shortcomings in the capacity and geographical coverage of the existing national geochronology infrastructure and enable Australian researchers to reconstruct past records of climate change, human evolution, ecological vulnerabilities, natural and man-made hazards and environmental disturbance over historical to near-million-year timeframes. This project is expected to increase commercial demand for geoscience services and lead to better understanding of Australia’s natural heritage and its long-term vulnerabilities.Read moreRead less
Adapting to a changing world: mothers as drivers of evolutionary change. This project will improve our understanding of how organisms will adapt to the unprecedented speed and magnitude of human-induced environmental change. By identifying how mothers modify their offspring to better match the prevailing environment, it will address the role of mothers in directing and accelerating adaptation in our changing world.
Genomics for persistence of Australian freshwater fish. Biodiversity faces an unpredictable cocktail of impacts and global environmental change, against which the best insurance is genetic diversity. We will develop genomic measures of ecological-genetic functions and evolutionary potential for managing Australian freshwater fish.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101069
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$390,000.00
Summary
Adaptation and diversification of the first peoples of Sahul. This project aims to further advance work on the genetic history of Indigenous Australians and Papuans that has revealed that Aboriginal Australians have inhabited a variety of diverse and challenging environments for approximately 50,000 years. Using novel techniques for extraction of human DNA from soil and the use of cutting-edge graph-based methods, hundreds of Indigenous Australian and Papuan genomes will be analysed. This projec ....Adaptation and diversification of the first peoples of Sahul. This project aims to further advance work on the genetic history of Indigenous Australians and Papuans that has revealed that Aboriginal Australians have inhabited a variety of diverse and challenging environments for approximately 50,000 years. Using novel techniques for extraction of human DNA from soil and the use of cutting-edge graph-based methods, hundreds of Indigenous Australian and Papuan genomes will be analysed. This project expects to generate new knowledge by filling in the gaps in the Australian genetic record via ancient human DNA from sediments. Expected outcomes from this project are producing a detailed picture of genomic adaptation in Indigenous Australians and Papuans and creating a comprehensive genetic history of the First Peoples of Sahul.Read moreRead less