The failure-threshold of leaves in drought. This project aims to reveal how specific water-stress thresholds damage the leaves of Australian crop and forest species during drought. Water stress affects agricultural productivity and plant survival in drought-prone regions such as Australia. Using optical and X-ray techniques, this project seeks to visualise and quantify the dynamic processes of damage and repair in leaves under stress. Anticipated outputs include a practical basis to predict drou ....The failure-threshold of leaves in drought. This project aims to reveal how specific water-stress thresholds damage the leaves of Australian crop and forest species during drought. Water stress affects agricultural productivity and plant survival in drought-prone regions such as Australia. Using optical and X-ray techniques, this project seeks to visualise and quantify the dynamic processes of damage and repair in leaves under stress. Anticipated outputs include a practical basis to predict drought-induced canopy death; identification of threats to ecologically sensitive plants; and selection and screening tools to improve the drought resilience of agriculturally important crop species.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms and evolution of plant water management. This project proposes a new approach to understand the evolution and physiology of stomatal function, and how this interacts with xylem evolution to determine whole-plant water management. Using a combination of membrane-level, and whole-leaf physiological techniques, this project will focus on mechanisms of stomatal closure in diverse plant species. Specific stomatal and xylem responses to water stress will be mapped together onto the gymnospe ....Mechanisms and evolution of plant water management. This project proposes a new approach to understand the evolution and physiology of stomatal function, and how this interacts with xylem evolution to determine whole-plant water management. Using a combination of membrane-level, and whole-leaf physiological techniques, this project will focus on mechanisms of stomatal closure in diverse plant species. Specific stomatal and xylem responses to water stress will be mapped together onto the gymnosperm clade to reveal co-evolutionary linkages between xylem and stomatal physiology. By combining physiological data with evolutionary patterns among major land plant lineages this project will produce a mechanistic framework for interpreting the drought ecology of all plant species.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
Fire, air, water and earth: Using fossils to discover the evolution of Australia’s open vegetation. How Australia came to be dominated by open, tough-leaved vegetation is an old but still highly controversial question, especially with recent developments in molecular biology that challenge paradigms established from the fossil record. The project will test this new molecular paradigm with innovative use of characteristics of fossil leaves to identify the timing and drivers of the evolution of Au ....Fire, air, water and earth: Using fossils to discover the evolution of Australia’s open vegetation. How Australia came to be dominated by open, tough-leaved vegetation is an old but still highly controversial question, especially with recent developments in molecular biology that challenge paradigms established from the fossil record. The project will test this new molecular paradigm with innovative use of characteristics of fossil leaves to identify the timing and drivers of the evolution of Australia’s open vegetation. The integration of new and rigorous evidence derived from living and fossil plants will provide the clearest evidence yet for the origins of Australian environments. This has ramifications for understanding plant responses to past and future climate changes.Read moreRead less
The role of leaf veins in vascular plant evolution. Leaves are continuously irrigated by a system of internal plumbing that defines their maximum photosynthetic output, and angiosperms are the most productive plants on earth largely by virtue of a uniquely efficient system of leaf plumbing. This project will identify how such an important modification of leaf water transport came to evolve.
Capturing Proteus: 65 million years of ecosystem change revealed through evolution of Proteaceae in Australasia. By assessing past changes in the iconic Australian plant family Proteaceae, this research will show how the Australasian vegetation has responded to 65 million years of profound landscape and climate changes. This knowledge from the past will give important insights into how ecosystems can be expected to change under future climate scenarios.
Governing during an ocean climate crisis: Building integrative capacity . This project aims to investigate how strengthening institutional integrative capacity will lead to more effective integrated oceans management (IOM). Integration across sectors and jurisdictions will enhance cooperation, coordination and policy coherence. This project expects to identify new and innovative approaches to implement IOM by identifying which components of integrative capacity can be improved. Expected outcomes ....Governing during an ocean climate crisis: Building integrative capacity . This project aims to investigate how strengthening institutional integrative capacity will lead to more effective integrated oceans management (IOM). Integration across sectors and jurisdictions will enhance cooperation, coordination and policy coherence. This project expects to identify new and innovative approaches to implement IOM by identifying which components of integrative capacity can be improved. Expected outcomes of this project include practical new directions for IOM in Australia and Canada that will increase collaboration between governments, industry, Indigenous groups and communities. This study will improve oceans governance and benefit countries' efforts to mitigate climate change impacts on the marine environment. Read moreRead less
How plants open up: revealing the evolution of stomatal opening mechanisms. This project aims to identify novel and conserved mechanisms that drive the opening of stomata – plant pores that enable CO2 acquisition for photosynthesis. Stomatal movements strongly affect plant productivity and water use efficiency and have profoundly influenced the earth’s climate and terrestrial ecology. This project will address critical gaps in our understanding of how plants open stomata in response to their env ....How plants open up: revealing the evolution of stomatal opening mechanisms. This project aims to identify novel and conserved mechanisms that drive the opening of stomata – plant pores that enable CO2 acquisition for photosynthesis. Stomatal movements strongly affect plant productivity and water use efficiency and have profoundly influenced the earth’s climate and terrestrial ecology. This project will address critical gaps in our understanding of how plants open stomata in response to their environment and the evolutionary history of the genes controlling this fundamental process. A major expected outcome is knowledge of the diversity of stomatal opening pathways, which should ultimately lead to improved predictions of plant responses to environmental change and assist future targeted modification of plant growth.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing the evolution of climatic tolerances in conifers. This project aims to trace the evolution of climate tolerance in conifers by combining evidence from fossils, phylogenies, physiology and mathematics. The project plans to use innovative methods to overcome the biases in methods currently used to trace evolutionary change. The project plans to integrate data from three sources: the global fossil record, new models of current climatic tolerances of conifers, and mathematical simulat ....Reconstructing the evolution of climatic tolerances in conifers. This project aims to trace the evolution of climate tolerance in conifers by combining evidence from fossils, phylogenies, physiology and mathematics. The project plans to use innovative methods to overcome the biases in methods currently used to trace evolutionary change. The project plans to integrate data from three sources: the global fossil record, new models of current climatic tolerances of conifers, and mathematical simulations of how and when methods of reconstructing ancestral ecology fail. The combined results should show how this important group of organisms has responded to past climate change and how they will respond in the future. It should also provide improved estimates of past terrestrial climates.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