Understanding the mechanisms of thermal acclimation in the symbiotic algae (Symbiodinium) within cnidarian corals. Global warming is a major threat to coral reefs, contributing to devastating coral bleaching. This project will provide new insight into how coral reefs can respond to rising global temperature through clarifying the thermal acclimation mechanisms in corals using molecular techniques.
Coping with temperature extremes: morphological constraints on leaf function in a warmer, drier climate. This project will determine how hydraulic properties of temperate, evergreen leaves affect their capacity to cope with seasonal variation in temperature extremes. The results will enhance mechanistic understanding of temperature tolerance, and inform prediction of vegetation change in response to climate warming and increasing CO2 concentrations.
Fiddling while home burns: climate change and fiddler crabs. Climate change is already affecting many Australian animals, including fiddler crabs. This project will use extensive knowledge of fiddler crab biology to determine whether they can behaviourally compensate for the rapid changes that are occurring by using experiments and observations conducted under natural conditions in the mangroves of Darwin harbour.
Adapting to climate change: does enhanced metabolism provide heritable protection against ocean acidification and increasing temperature in oysters? By the end of this century, our oceans will have much higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and will be several degrees warmer. We have developed a population of oysters that can survive in these conditions, and the project will examine these oysters at the molecular level to determine whether increased metabolism is responsible for their survival ....Adapting to climate change: does enhanced metabolism provide heritable protection against ocean acidification and increasing temperature in oysters? By the end of this century, our oceans will have much higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and will be several degrees warmer. We have developed a population of oysters that can survive in these conditions, and the project will examine these oysters at the molecular level to determine whether increased metabolism is responsible for their survival.Read moreRead less
To grow or to store: Do plants hedge their bets? This project aims to resolve a long-standing question about the function of perennial plants: how much of the carbon taken up by photosynthesis is used immediately for growth, and how much is kept in reserve as insurance against future stress? This question is important to our understanding of how plants respond to stresses such as severe drought, and yet lack of data and theoretical modelling currently hampers our ability to answer it. By applyin ....To grow or to store: Do plants hedge their bets? This project aims to resolve a long-standing question about the function of perennial plants: how much of the carbon taken up by photosynthesis is used immediately for growth, and how much is kept in reserve as insurance against future stress? This question is important to our understanding of how plants respond to stresses such as severe drought, and yet lack of data and theoretical modelling currently hampers our ability to answer it. By applying novel data analysis and modelling tools to recent experimental results, the project plans to test hypotheses for how plants allocate carbon between growth and storage in response to stress. Insights from the project may underpin better management of Australia’s vulnerable ecosystems.Read moreRead less
How does the interaction between environmental drivers determine the impact of global change on animals? There is an urgent need to determine how vulnerable natural populations are to simultaneous changes in more than one environmental driver. This project will take an integrative approach, using molecular, physiological and ecological tools, to determine whether cellular responses to the interaction between UV-B radiation and temperature vary between populations, and within individuals over tim ....How does the interaction between environmental drivers determine the impact of global change on animals? There is an urgent need to determine how vulnerable natural populations are to simultaneous changes in more than one environmental driver. This project will take an integrative approach, using molecular, physiological and ecological tools, to determine whether cellular responses to the interaction between UV-B radiation and temperature vary between populations, and within individuals over time. This project will bridge the gap between physiology and ecology by testing whether molecular responses translate into fitness benefits for the organism to gain an understanding at a level that is relevant for conservation. Read moreRead less
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
Resilience of eucalypts to future droughts. This project aims to examine how resilient Eucalyptus species are to future droughts by combining data synthesis, manipulative experiments and modelling. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency, magnitude and duration of future droughts, with major environmental and socio-economic consequences for Australia. Current predictive capacity is extremely limited: experiments are limited in scale and cannot capture important global change interac ....Resilience of eucalypts to future droughts. This project aims to examine how resilient Eucalyptus species are to future droughts by combining data synthesis, manipulative experiments and modelling. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency, magnitude and duration of future droughts, with major environmental and socio-economic consequences for Australia. Current predictive capacity is extremely limited: experiments are limited in scale and cannot capture important global change interactions, whilst models do not represent the functional characteristics and adaptions of eucalypts. This project will develop a strong evidence- and process-based understanding to quantify the functional behaviour of drought-adapted Eucalyptus species and leverage this insight to make future model projections.Read moreRead less
Avoiding coral bleaching: investigation into the repair of damaged photosynthetic machinery in symbiotic algae (symbiodinium) within corals. Photosynthesis in symbiotic algae within corals is essential for a healthy alga-coral symbiotic relationship. This project will provide new insights into how symbiotic algae maintain higher photosynthetic performance in corals through elucidating the mechanism associated with the repair of photodamaged photosynthetic machinery.
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL180100036
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,011,916.00
Summary
Engineering microbes that increase coral climate resilience. This project aims to develop microbes which are able to enhance the climate resilience of corals. Coral reefs around the world are being lost at an alarming rate. Developing microbial symbionts to enhance coral climate resilience will give Australian and other coral reef ecosystems an increased chance of surviving the impact of climate change. The project will also enhance understanding of the functional roles of microbial symbionts of ....Engineering microbes that increase coral climate resilience. This project aims to develop microbes which are able to enhance the climate resilience of corals. Coral reefs around the world are being lost at an alarming rate. Developing microbial symbionts to enhance coral climate resilience will give Australian and other coral reef ecosystems an increased chance of surviving the impact of climate change. The project will also enhance understanding of the functional roles of microbial symbionts of corals, and advance the microbial symbiosis discipline globally. Expected outcomes include healthier coral reefs through the use of more climate resilient coral stock in reef conservation and restoration initiatives.Read moreRead less