Maternal effects and sex allocation: an integrated approach. This project will produce research of a high international standard combining a number of key fields in evolution and ecology. The team we have assembled provides a link between Australian-based researchers and leading overseas theoreticians facilitating integration between evolutionary theory and empirical research on the unique Australian fauna. Furthermore, while climate change is identified as a priority area for research, Australi ....Maternal effects and sex allocation: an integrated approach. This project will produce research of a high international standard combining a number of key fields in evolution and ecology. The team we have assembled provides a link between Australian-based researchers and leading overseas theoreticians facilitating integration between evolutionary theory and empirical research on the unique Australian fauna. Furthermore, while climate change is identified as a priority area for research, Australia typically lacks the history of long-term phenological monitoring that is required to understand climate change impacts. This project takes an important step towards addressing this shortcoming.Read moreRead less
From developmental stability to organismic senility: Hox genes and telomere impact on life history evolution. Australia benefits from training researchers and technicians in new, break-through biotechnology and from applying this knowledge to relevant, cutting-edge questions in highly publicized research fields. This project contains both these ingredients. Our model species (a lizard) has a relatively high level of offspring malformations (ca 15%), which makes it much more likely to detect thei ....From developmental stability to organismic senility: Hox genes and telomere impact on life history evolution. Australia benefits from training researchers and technicians in new, break-through biotechnology and from applying this knowledge to relevant, cutting-edge questions in highly publicized research fields. This project contains both these ingredients. Our model species (a lizard) has a relatively high level of offspring malformations (ca 15%), which makes it much more likely to detect their underlying genetic mechanism. Furthermore, we can also assess how these animals survive and reproduce in relation to how quickly they age, which can be measured by assessing the shortening of telomeres per unit time. Thus, this collaboration provides an opportunity to train Australian researchers and in that process generate very high profile research.Read moreRead less
Flexibility in the timing of parturition: the key to viviparity in lizards? Embryos of viviparous lizards usually gain adequate nutrients from yolk. Why then has placentotrophy evolved in some species, and what new opportunities has it opened up? The answer may lie in the advantages gained from flexibility in the timing of birth, made possible by supplementary transfer of storage lipids to embryos during gestation. We argue that this provides a pivotal opportunity for evolutionary divergence: so ....Flexibility in the timing of parturition: the key to viviparity in lizards? Embryos of viviparous lizards usually gain adequate nutrients from yolk. Why then has placentotrophy evolved in some species, and what new opportunities has it opened up? The answer may lie in the advantages gained from flexibility in the timing of birth, made possible by supplementary transfer of storage lipids to embryos during gestation. We argue that this provides a pivotal opportunity for evolutionary divergence: some alpine species exploit flexible parturition; other species replace optional placentotrophy with obligate transfer. Our unique experimental approach, using two well-researched clades of viviparous skinks, will result in new testable hypotheses about the evolution of viviparity.Read moreRead less
Inbreeding and Amphibian Decline: from an Individual to a Global Perspective. Amphibian decline is not a phenomenon unique to overseas continents and countries. In the long line of research papers addressing this issue in the best science journals (e.g., Nature and Science), Australian frog decline has even been singled out for specific coverage. This project targets the interplay between habitat fragmentation, loss of genetic variation (inbreeding), and its effects on UV and pathogen resistance ....Inbreeding and Amphibian Decline: from an Individual to a Global Perspective. Amphibian decline is not a phenomenon unique to overseas continents and countries. In the long line of research papers addressing this issue in the best science journals (e.g., Nature and Science), Australian frog decline has even been singled out for specific coverage. This project targets the interplay between habitat fragmentation, loss of genetic variation (inbreeding), and its effects on UV and pathogen resistance in a laboratory model system. It integrates three disciplines (immunobiology, evolutionary genetics, and conservation biology) to resolve fundamental aspects of the drastic, ongoing disappearance of the most significant ecological indicator taxa known today (amphibians). Read moreRead less
Molecular aggression: variation and heritability of the levels of reactive oxygen species, and their effects on the evolution of life histories in the wild. Three areas of biology have intrigued every generation since Aristotle (c. 300 BC)- sex, embryology, and ageing. This proposal targets all three of these areas with a special focus on aspects of ageing. In particular, we assess how 'free radicals', so often identified in our food and wine for good and bad, exert selection on living organisms ....Molecular aggression: variation and heritability of the levels of reactive oxygen species, and their effects on the evolution of life histories in the wild. Three areas of biology have intrigued every generation since Aristotle (c. 300 BC)- sex, embryology, and ageing. This proposal targets all three of these areas with a special focus on aspects of ageing. In particular, we assess how 'free radicals', so often identified in our food and wine for good and bad, exert selection on living organisms and whether resistance (and defense) towards free radicals may drive evolution of ageing in the wild, its trade offs with fertility and fecundity, and how it is influenced by sexual or non-sexual reproduction. In spite of excellent work in the laboratory, this is the first attempt to do this in 'the real world' and will extend Australia's excellent reputation in evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less