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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101231
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$390,295.00
Summary
The effect of nutrition on male life history traits in humans. This project will provide answers to fundamental questions in evolutionary biology while identifying diet compositions that will benefit human health and well-being. Using a longitudinal public-health database, the Raine Study, and a theoretical framework from the field of Nutritional Ecology, the project will provide new knowledge on how nutrition affects key life-history traits in humans including immune function, reproductive heal ....The effect of nutrition on male life history traits in humans. This project will provide answers to fundamental questions in evolutionary biology while identifying diet compositions that will benefit human health and well-being. Using a longitudinal public-health database, the Raine Study, and a theoretical framework from the field of Nutritional Ecology, the project will provide new knowledge on how nutrition affects key life-history traits in humans including immune function, reproductive health, physical appearance, and healthy ageing. A systematic literature review on how diet impacts these life-history traits in animals generally, and an experimental study of the effect of diet on health and reproduction in the house mouse (a lab analog species for humans) will complement the Raine Study findings.Read moreRead less
Microcosm Experiments for Improved Species Distribution Models. This project aims to use a spatially-explicit experimental system based on protists (microscopic organisms) to evaluate the predictive performance of dynamic distribution models, which are a newly-emerging class of species distribution models. Species distribution models are a fundamental part of ecological science, and underpin a range of applications related to managing threatened and invasive species. The project is expected to p ....Microcosm Experiments for Improved Species Distribution Models. This project aims to use a spatially-explicit experimental system based on protists (microscopic organisms) to evaluate the predictive performance of dynamic distribution models, which are a newly-emerging class of species distribution models. Species distribution models are a fundamental part of ecological science, and underpin a range of applications related to managing threatened and invasive species. The project is expected to provide insights into when these models are likely to work better than more traditional correlative models in non-lab environments. The experiments will inform further development of dynamic distribution models, and help determine whether dynamic distribution models can be usefully applied to species management.Read moreRead less
Maintenance of high plant diversity in phosphorus-impoverished ecosystems. This project aims to determine the role of soil-inhabiting pathogens and symbiotic fungi in the maintenance of plant diversity in Australia’s hyperdiverse shrublands. These are among the world’s most species-rich systems, yet occur on extremely poor soils. This project tests the hypothesis that plants that are best adapted to acquire phosphorus in these extremely infertile soils are most susceptible to soil pathogens. Thi ....Maintenance of high plant diversity in phosphorus-impoverished ecosystems. This project aims to determine the role of soil-inhabiting pathogens and symbiotic fungi in the maintenance of plant diversity in Australia’s hyperdiverse shrublands. These are among the world’s most species-rich systems, yet occur on extremely poor soils. This project tests the hypothesis that plants that are best adapted to acquire phosphorus in these extremely infertile soils are most susceptible to soil pathogens. This trade-off would equalise differences in competitive abilities among plant species and promote high plant diversity. The project will help elucidate how pathogens and symbiotic fungi together drive plant diversity in a globally significant biodiversity hotspot in Australia, with relevance to other biodiverse regions.Read moreRead less
Quantifying the threat posed by feral cats to Australian reptiles. This project aims to provide the first quantification of the impact of feral cats on Australian reptiles, the country’s most diverse vertebrate lineage. This project expects to provide crucial missing pieces of the puzzle by adopting an innovative behavioural approach to determine how cats hunt for lizards, and how lizards respond to cat predation risk. The expected outcomes are an improved understanding of the capacity of native ....Quantifying the threat posed by feral cats to Australian reptiles. This project aims to provide the first quantification of the impact of feral cats on Australian reptiles, the country’s most diverse vertebrate lineage. This project expects to provide crucial missing pieces of the puzzle by adopting an innovative behavioural approach to determine how cats hunt for lizards, and how lizards respond to cat predation risk. The expected outcomes are an improved understanding of the capacity of native lizards to recognise cats as predators and respond appropriately, and a determination of the magnitude of threat that cats pose to native lizards. Importantly, our study aims to trial management strategies to mitigate the impact of cat predation on native reptiles.Read moreRead less
Brains frozen in time: vertebrate neural adaptations to invading land . The evolution of terrestrial animals from fish was one of the most significant events in our evolution, yet little is known about how the brain evolved during this transition. This project aims to investigate the major novelties acquired in the evolution of the early vertebrate brain in order to determine the functional reasons for such changes, as well as identifying the timing and environmental factors driving such changes ....Brains frozen in time: vertebrate neural adaptations to invading land . The evolution of terrestrial animals from fish was one of the most significant events in our evolution, yet little is known about how the brain evolved during this transition. This project aims to investigate the major novelties acquired in the evolution of the early vertebrate brain in order to determine the functional reasons for such changes, as well as identifying the timing and environmental factors driving such changes. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the anatomy of the vertebrate brain with improved methods for reconstructing fossil brains to better understand our own neurological evolution. Expected outcomes include enhanced institutional collaborations within Australia, and between Australia, Canada and the USA.Read moreRead less
Understanding the impact of heat stress on cognition in a changing world. Our research will determine how anthropogenic climate change effects the ability of animals to process information in their environment. This research is significant because it directly addresses the growing issue of wildlife adaptation to climate change. If heat stress, reported widely in wildlife both in Australia and globally, impairs an animal's ability to respond to stimuli in its surrounding environment, then this ma ....Understanding the impact of heat stress on cognition in a changing world. Our research will determine how anthropogenic climate change effects the ability of animals to process information in their environment. This research is significant because it directly addresses the growing issue of wildlife adaptation to climate change. If heat stress, reported widely in wildlife both in Australia and globally, impairs an animal's ability to respond to stimuli in its surrounding environment, then this may cause lower reproductive success (eg lower predator detection rates) and population declines. We aim to identify critical temperature points beyond which the cognitive responses of animals decline rapidly - a significant finding for effective wildlife management priorities in the face of rapid climate change. Read moreRead less
Manipulating foraging by mammalian herbivores with plant odours. This project aims to reveal how mammalian herbivores exploit leaf odour to detect plants while foraging. Insects track plant odour to find host plants, yet how mammalian herbivores use olfaction to forage and how this can be harnessed is unknown. This project will provide new perspectives on foraging ecology, and will pioneer novel ways to help protect plants using chemical camouflage, and to help protect animals from road collisio ....Manipulating foraging by mammalian herbivores with plant odours. This project aims to reveal how mammalian herbivores exploit leaf odour to detect plants while foraging. Insects track plant odour to find host plants, yet how mammalian herbivores use olfaction to forage and how this can be harnessed is unknown. This project will provide new perspectives on foraging ecology, and will pioneer novel ways to help protect plants using chemical camouflage, and to help protect animals from road collisions by attracting them to safety.Read moreRead less
Sex chromosomes and speciation: chromosome inversion and the large Z-effect. This project aims to understand the divergence of species and the importance of two genomic features of often disproportionately large effect between young taxa – the sex chromosomes, and chromosome inversions. The research will integrate genomics and transcriptomics with the study of traits closely aligned to speciation in birds – song, colour, and sperm morphology and protein composition. The project will provide sign ....Sex chromosomes and speciation: chromosome inversion and the large Z-effect. This project aims to understand the divergence of species and the importance of two genomic features of often disproportionately large effect between young taxa – the sex chromosomes, and chromosome inversions. The research will integrate genomics and transcriptomics with the study of traits closely aligned to speciation in birds – song, colour, and sperm morphology and protein composition. The project will provide significant benefits such as enhancing Australia’s strength in the field of evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
Choosing to persist: sexual selection in the wild. This project aims to investigate the role of sexual selection in maintaining healthy wild populations. The prevailing story of sexual selection, in which the sexes either compete for or choose the other sex, has been of extravagant ornaments and displays that drive species to extinction. However, an opposing story has emerged, with elaborate ornaments reflecting a healthy genome and sexual selection instead sweeping away damaging genetic mater ....Choosing to persist: sexual selection in the wild. This project aims to investigate the role of sexual selection in maintaining healthy wild populations. The prevailing story of sexual selection, in which the sexes either compete for or choose the other sex, has been of extravagant ornaments and displays that drive species to extinction. However, an opposing story has emerged, with elaborate ornaments reflecting a healthy genome and sexual selection instead sweeping away damaging genetic material. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the potential for sexual selection to remove harmful mutations in the wild. Expected outcomes include determining if sexual selection can help prevent extinction in wild populations, with direct benefits for conservation programs.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240101131
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$460,537.00
Summary
Animal cultures and anthropogenic change. This project aims to investigate the impacts of anthropogenic change on the elaborate song cultures of declining Australian songbirds. Culture is fundamental to the biology of social animals, and has profound implications for biodiversity conservation; however, the drivers of animal cultural change are unclear. This project will analyse how lyrebird song cultures respond to anthropogenic environmental change, including Australia’s 2019-20 megafires. Furt ....Animal cultures and anthropogenic change. This project aims to investigate the impacts of anthropogenic change on the elaborate song cultures of declining Australian songbirds. Culture is fundamental to the biology of social animals, and has profound implications for biodiversity conservation; however, the drivers of animal cultural change are unclear. This project will analyse how lyrebird song cultures respond to anthropogenic environmental change, including Australia’s 2019-20 megafires. Furthermore, it will assess the mechanisms linking environmental and cultural change, and examine the utility of vocal cultures as bioindicators of ecological health. This project will advance fundamental research in animal culture and enhance the conservation of cultural diversity in the wild.Read moreRead less