Future Keepers: impacts of climate change on ecosystem function providers. The aim of this project is to predict how key ecosystem service providers may change under resource limitation and thermal stress. The project seeks to assess how common species respond to climatic fluctuations and resource limitations when competing for resources in familiar and novel environments along six biogeographic transects throughout Australia. In combination with hypothesis-driven field, laboratory and transplan ....Future Keepers: impacts of climate change on ecosystem function providers. The aim of this project is to predict how key ecosystem service providers may change under resource limitation and thermal stress. The project seeks to assess how common species respond to climatic fluctuations and resource limitations when competing for resources in familiar and novel environments along six biogeographic transects throughout Australia. In combination with hypothesis-driven field, laboratory and transplant experiments, citizen science will be used to create a longitudinal data set of the constraints put on dominant and functionally important species. The project also seeks to enable more robust forecasting of biological responses to environmental change by integrating both empirical and theoretical capabilities.Read moreRead less
Temperature-dependent toxicity of plant secondary compounds to mammalian herbivores. Changes in the toxicity of plant secondary compounds is an unexplored consequence of rises in ambient temperatures. Evidence from agricultural and laboratory studies suggests that temperature dependent toxicity can have major effects on the intake and metabolism of plant secondary metabolites by mammals. These effects are mediated by a decrease in liver metabolism and by the effects of plant secondary metabolite ....Temperature-dependent toxicity of plant secondary compounds to mammalian herbivores. Changes in the toxicity of plant secondary compounds is an unexplored consequence of rises in ambient temperatures. Evidence from agricultural and laboratory studies suggests that temperature dependent toxicity can have major effects on the intake and metabolism of plant secondary metabolites by mammals. These effects are mediated by a decrease in liver metabolism and by the effects of plant secondary metabolites on mitochondrial function which leads to greater heat production. The project will quantify the importance of temperature dependent toxicity and measures the changes in the cost of detoxification to better model the effects of climate change on marsupial herbivores.Read moreRead less
Leaf and wood physiology and biomass allocation as drivers of plant growth. This project will build new understanding of how physiological and morphological traits of plants drive growth rates and reflect evolutionary adaptation to different environments. This is significant because growth rates are pivotal in vegetation ecology and a core element of plant ecological strategies. Expected outcomes include new cost-benefit theory for plant form and function considered at whole-canopy scale, with e ....Leaf and wood physiology and biomass allocation as drivers of plant growth. This project will build new understanding of how physiological and morphological traits of plants drive growth rates and reflect evolutionary adaptation to different environments. This is significant because growth rates are pivotal in vegetation ecology and a core element of plant ecological strategies. Expected outcomes include new cost-benefit theory for plant form and function considered at whole-canopy scale, with empirical tests from Australian and Chinese ecosystems and via global trait datasets. Benefits include new approaches for predicting plant physiological properties and growth rates, and new knowledge crucial for understanding links between species traits, plant strategies and, ultimately, ecosystem productivity.Read moreRead less
Causes and consequences of biogeochemical mismatches during drought. This project aims to provide improved understanding of biogeochemical cycling. Drought is one of the main threats to Earth’s ecosystems, but our ability to predict the consequences of drought remain limited. There is strong evidence that drought impacts critical carbon and nutrient cycles, with substantial impacts on ecosystem functioning. This project will provide insights into carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous cycles essential ....Causes and consequences of biogeochemical mismatches during drought. This project aims to provide improved understanding of biogeochemical cycling. Drought is one of the main threats to Earth’s ecosystems, but our ability to predict the consequences of drought remain limited. There is strong evidence that drought impacts critical carbon and nutrient cycles, with substantial impacts on ecosystem functioning. This project will provide insights into carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous cycles essential to generalise patterns of biogeochemical cycling under current and future conditions. The project will assist scientists, policymakers and landholders make better-informed management decisions to reduce the risks of drought impacts on ecosystem functioning.Read moreRead less
How does your garden grow? Scaling functional traits to whole-plant growth. Understanding how the traits of leaves and stems influence plant growth is important because plant growth drives emergent ecosystem properties such as rates of water use and carbon and nitrogen cycling. The project will build a new understanding of trait-growth relationships, focusing on species from four Australian forest types.
The legacy of rainfall patterns in dryland ecosystems. This project aims to use an experimental approach to determine how rainfall regime structures dryland communities and ecosystem properties and potential responses to altered rainfall regime. Ecosystem functioning in drylands is governed by complex interactions between microbes, invertebrates and plants. Biological activity however is constrained by the availability of water and altered rainfall regimes that could moderate how organisms inter ....The legacy of rainfall patterns in dryland ecosystems. This project aims to use an experimental approach to determine how rainfall regime structures dryland communities and ecosystem properties and potential responses to altered rainfall regime. Ecosystem functioning in drylands is governed by complex interactions between microbes, invertebrates and plants. Biological activity however is constrained by the availability of water and altered rainfall regimes that could moderate how organisms interact, potentially causing trophic cascades and even ecosystem state changes. By linking observed responses with soil microbial functional attributes using newly developed molecular techniques the project seeks to provide a mechanistic insight into ecosystem responses to climate variability and extreme climatic events.Read moreRead less
Fires, black carbon, greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon balance of southern sclerophyll forests. Ecologically sustainable forest management requires an understanding of the role of fire in the carbon balance of native forests, and in Australia's overall carbon balance. Fires are crucial to both this carbon balance and to the ecology of the forests. This project will help forest managers make decisions about using prescribed fire to manage fuels while at the same time managing carbon. An ....Fires, black carbon, greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon balance of southern sclerophyll forests. Ecologically sustainable forest management requires an understanding of the role of fire in the carbon balance of native forests, and in Australia's overall carbon balance. Fires are crucial to both this carbon balance and to the ecology of the forests. This project will help forest managers make decisions about using prescribed fire to manage fuels while at the same time managing carbon. An aim of management is to identify fire regimes that will optimise the carbon outcome as well as provide protection to life and property. This project will help managers meet that aim by developing a quantitative understanding of how much stable, black carbon (charcoal) is produced and how it affects other soil processes.Read moreRead less
Integrating ecoimmunology and population ecology to understand how tropical reptiles deal with novel challenges. Using tropical reptiles as a study system, the project will investigate the extent to which human-induced stressors, such as climate change and invasive species, affect stress levels and immunocompetence of wild animals.
Australian and global plant diversity from first principles. This project aims to explain the composition of vegetation in Australia and worldwide using ecological and evolutionary first principles. Researchers have studied how climate shapes vegetation for centuries, but still lack a basic quantitative theory predicting what types of plants should be found where and why. Combining first principles models, statistics and large Australian data synthesis, this project will determine whether vegeta ....Australian and global plant diversity from first principles. This project aims to explain the composition of vegetation in Australia and worldwide using ecological and evolutionary first principles. Researchers have studied how climate shapes vegetation for centuries, but still lack a basic quantitative theory predicting what types of plants should be found where and why. Combining first principles models, statistics and large Australian data synthesis, this project will determine whether vegetation structure and diversity is predictable and thus improve predictive models. Predicting the long term effects of evolutionary adaptation and humans on ecosystems could enable the management of terrestrial carbon and underpin effective ecosystem management and restoration.Read moreRead less
Escalating the arms race: Understanding when and how trees get really tall. Australia's giant Eucalypt trees are an amazing phenomenon and resource; underpinning unique ecosystems, rich in timber, stored carbon, and animal habitat. While tree height generally arises via an evolutionary arms race for light, the race has escalated dramatically in some locations and species. Using a computational framework that simulates adaptation driven by size-structured competition, this project will quantify h ....Escalating the arms race: Understanding when and how trees get really tall. Australia's giant Eucalypt trees are an amazing phenomenon and resource; underpinning unique ecosystems, rich in timber, stored carbon, and animal habitat. While tree height generally arises via an evolutionary arms race for light, the race has escalated dramatically in some locations and species. Using a computational framework that simulates adaptation driven by size-structured competition, this project will quantify how distinct factors-including climate, recruitment, and disturbance-enhance the race for light and can thereby explain the origins of Australia's giant Eucalypt. With calibrated models of species evolution, coupled with targeted fieldwork and big data, this project clarifies key forces shaping present and future vegetation.Read moreRead less