Demographic consequences of environmental change for wild bird populations. The project intends to improve our understanding of how climate drives shifts in body size and shape in wildlife populations, and the implications of such responses for population viability. Populations of plants and animals are showing a range of responses to recent, rapid shifts in the Earth’s climate. The ecological and evolutionary significance of these responses and the mechanisms that drive them remain largely unkn ....Demographic consequences of environmental change for wild bird populations. The project intends to improve our understanding of how climate drives shifts in body size and shape in wildlife populations, and the implications of such responses for population viability. Populations of plants and animals are showing a range of responses to recent, rapid shifts in the Earth’s climate. The ecological and evolutionary significance of these responses and the mechanisms that drive them remain largely unknown. Focusing on Australian birds, the project plans to integrate long-term records from citizen science, museum collections and field studies to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the pattern and process of morphological change. Understanding the processes driving change may help in developing strategies to manage our biodiversity as climate changes. Read moreRead less
Getting smaller as temperatures rise? Body size responses of Australian birds to climate change. Many animals appear to be declining in size as climate change occurs, but why this is so is unclear. Using historical records and museum specimens we will determine the factors underlying body size reductions in Australian birds, and especially the role of changing temperature and ecosystem productivity.
Testing the links between ecological processes and evolutionary radiations. This project aims to apply recent analytical advances to massive databases of the phylogeny and spatial distributions of mammals, birds and plants, to explore the role of small-scale ecological processes in generating large-scale macroevolutionary patterns. The processes involved in generating large-scale patterns of biodiversity are still not fully understood, but large new biodiversity databases and recent advances in ....Testing the links between ecological processes and evolutionary radiations. This project aims to apply recent analytical advances to massive databases of the phylogeny and spatial distributions of mammals, birds and plants, to explore the role of small-scale ecological processes in generating large-scale macroevolutionary patterns. The processes involved in generating large-scale patterns of biodiversity are still not fully understood, but large new biodiversity databases and recent advances in analytical methods put us in a good position to make significant progress. By integrating two separate research fields, community ecology and macroevolution, this project aims to make a significant contribution to biodiversity theory, and help to develop a more robust scientific foundation for long-range, process-based conservation planning.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101773
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$369,536.00
Summary
Bayesian Hierarchical Model for Biogeography. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are crucial tools for conservation and planning, but they assume that environmental variables (e.g. temperature) are the only controls on distributions, when historical factors, like dispersal limitation and phylogenetic niche conservatism, are also important. A Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) will be constructed to jointly estimate dispersal history, niche evolution, and present-day SDMs for each species in a cla ....Bayesian Hierarchical Model for Biogeography. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are crucial tools for conservation and planning, but they assume that environmental variables (e.g. temperature) are the only controls on distributions, when historical factors, like dispersal limitation and phylogenetic niche conservatism, are also important. A Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) will be constructed to jointly estimate dispersal history, niche evolution, and present-day SDMs for each species in a clade. BHMs will be tested against traditional SDMs using Australian clades (e.g. frogs) and simulations. BHMs will advance scientific understanding of how species and biogeography coevolve and provide practical improvements in predictions for species that are rare, data-poor, or in changed climates.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing the impact of climate change on Australian native species. This project will explore the impact of past climate change on Australian native animals to identify species and ecosystems at greatest potential risk, and to help predict and minimise the effects of future change.
Phenotypic plasticity and plant water use in a changing climate: a multi-species, multi-site investigation. Plants are highly responsive to the conditions under which they grow, but the combination of conditions they experience will be altered under climate change. This research into plant responses to the novel environments posed by climate change will examine plasticity in water-use-traits to better predict native plant tolerance of climate change.
Diversification and conservation of Australian frogs. Australia's 216 known species of frogs are exceptionally diverse, 98 per cent are found nowhere else in the world and many of them are in trouble. This project will test ideas concerning the tempo of Australian frog diversification, identify previously cryptic new species and provide information critical to the conservation of Australia's declining frogs.
Multi-trait plasticity in response to a changing climate. This project aims to understand the effect of climate change on natural populations. Phenotypic plasticity (the ability to change phenotype with environment) determines natural populations’ immediate response to environmental change. However, studies of plasticity frequently rely on simplifying assumptions, and understanding the genomic and epigenomic mechanisms underlying plasticity is only just emerging. This project will combine a fine ....Multi-trait plasticity in response to a changing climate. This project aims to understand the effect of climate change on natural populations. Phenotypic plasticity (the ability to change phenotype with environment) determines natural populations’ immediate response to environmental change. However, studies of plasticity frequently rely on simplifying assumptions, and understanding the genomic and epigenomic mechanisms underlying plasticity is only just emerging. This project will combine a fine-scale temperature-manipulation experiment with genomic and multivariate statistical analyses of a native Australian alpine plant. The intended outcome is a comprehensive analysis of whether multi-trait phenotypic plasticity is adaptive; whether it can evolve; and the epigenomic mechanisms that drive it. The project will predict the likely effect of temperature change on alpine plants, and so generate information internationally relevant to the management of populations adapting to climate change and locally relevant to the conservation of Australian montane flora.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101715
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
Volcanoes as safe-havens for Antarctic species during ice ages. Understanding how plants and animals responded to past changes in climate can help us to predict what might happen in the future, yet there are key gaps in our knowledge of past processes. Genetic evidence shows that many Antarctic species have been isolated on the continent for millions of years, but during the last Ice Age, Antarctica was blanketed in glaciers. How could species have survived such extreme conditions and how did th ....Volcanoes as safe-havens for Antarctic species during ice ages. Understanding how plants and animals responded to past changes in climate can help us to predict what might happen in the future, yet there are key gaps in our knowledge of past processes. Genetic evidence shows that many Antarctic species have been isolated on the continent for millions of years, but during the last Ice Age, Antarctica was blanketed in glaciers. How could species have survived such extreme conditions and how did they respond to past global warming? This project will analyse genetic diversity patterns to test whether Antarctic species survived ice ages on ice-free land near volcanoes and, capitalising on the unique setting of Antarctica, will give insights into the role of volcanoes in promoting biodiversity in cold regions.Read moreRead less
Cuckoo - host coevolution: a model system for investigating the impact of climate change on interspecific interactions and biodiversity. Climate change is causing alterations to the timing of breeding and migration in Australian birds, resulting in mismatches in timing between closely interacting species. This project will assess the impact of climate change on interactions between parasitic cuckoos, hosts and prey and formulate predictions about the long-term viability of these species.