Global climate change and the impacts of temperature extremes on terrestrial biodiversity. Increasing severity of climate extremes is a disturbing implication of global climate change; yet little is known about the effects of such extremes on the natural world. This project aims to understand the vulnerability of biodiversity to current and future extremes, and to inform conservation efforts and minimise future impacts.
Annual rainfall variability and extreme drought over the late Holocene. This project aims to understand long-term rainfall variability for Australia by developing a network of extended, high resolution rainfall records from tree rings. How anthropogenic changes to the atmosphere have influenced changing rainfall patterns across Australia is unclear. By extracting climatic information from tree growth rings across a latitudinal gradient from the subtropical north to the south coast of western Aus ....Annual rainfall variability and extreme drought over the late Holocene. This project aims to understand long-term rainfall variability for Australia by developing a network of extended, high resolution rainfall records from tree rings. How anthropogenic changes to the atmosphere have influenced changing rainfall patterns across Australia is unclear. By extracting climatic information from tree growth rings across a latitudinal gradient from the subtropical north to the south coast of western Australia, the project will extend hydroclimatic records by several centuries, to identify the frequency and extent of extreme droughts across the continent. Outcomes are expected to provide appropriate context for evaluating and adapting to climate change, allowing climate modellers, agricultural producers and other industries to improve forecasts of likely change for risk management.Read moreRead less
Consequences of temporal community turnover. This project aims to understand how environmental change affects compensatory dynamics of species. Species numbers do not change over time in local ecological communities, but species composition is changing at an unprecedented level across the globe. The implications of these compensatory dynamics for the resilience of ecological communities and how they affect ecosystems are important for community ecology and conservation. This project could reveal ....Consequences of temporal community turnover. This project aims to understand how environmental change affects compensatory dynamics of species. Species numbers do not change over time in local ecological communities, but species composition is changing at an unprecedented level across the globe. The implications of these compensatory dynamics for the resilience of ecological communities and how they affect ecosystems are important for community ecology and conservation. This project could reveal the functional consequences of temporal community change, contributing new insights into the effects of environmental change especially on soil ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101484
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$379,500.00
Summary
How will Australian rainforest species cope with climate warming? This project plans to investigate how, and how much, rainforest tree species will adjust to warmer temperatures. Understanding the temperature dependence of physiological processes of Australian rainforest trees and how they are related to climate variation is critical. This should enable prediction of how species will adjust to warmer temperatures, what their thermal tolerances are and how future species distribution ranges may c ....How will Australian rainforest species cope with climate warming? This project plans to investigate how, and how much, rainforest tree species will adjust to warmer temperatures. Understanding the temperature dependence of physiological processes of Australian rainforest trees and how they are related to climate variation is critical. This should enable prediction of how species will adjust to warmer temperatures, what their thermal tolerances are and how future species distribution ranges may change.Read moreRead less
Extreme Heat: A new driver of desert mammal assemblages . Heat waves cause more deaths than any other severe weather event and are becoming longer, more frequent and more intense. Consequently, extreme heat may soon rival predation and rainfall as a major driver of desert mammal assemblages. This project will investigate how heat wave attributes (duration, intensity, frequency), species attributes (physiology, behaviour, plasticity) and landscape features (refuges, fire, grazing) interact and co ....Extreme Heat: A new driver of desert mammal assemblages . Heat waves cause more deaths than any other severe weather event and are becoming longer, more frequent and more intense. Consequently, extreme heat may soon rival predation and rainfall as a major driver of desert mammal assemblages. This project will investigate how heat wave attributes (duration, intensity, frequency), species attributes (physiology, behaviour, plasticity) and landscape features (refuges, fire, grazing) interact and contribute to lethal and sublethal effects of extreme heat on desert mammals. Modelling will predict changes in desert mammal assemblages under different climatic and land management scenarios. Results will inform fire and grazing management, threatened species recovery programs and arid zone restoration. Read moreRead less
Do marine reserve networks work? Larval connectivity, sustainable harvesting and ecological resilience. The Great Barrier Reef is a globally iconic marine ecosystem and benefits from the world's largest network of no-take reserves. While we know reserves contain more and bigger fish, several key questions about how reserves contribute to sustainable harvesting, protecting biodiversity and resisting climate change remain unanswered. Answers depend on a new understanding of the degree to which fis ....Do marine reserve networks work? Larval connectivity, sustainable harvesting and ecological resilience. The Great Barrier Reef is a globally iconic marine ecosystem and benefits from the world's largest network of no-take reserves. While we know reserves contain more and bigger fish, several key questions about how reserves contribute to sustainable harvesting, protecting biodiversity and resisting climate change remain unanswered. Answers depend on a new understanding of the degree to which fish population on different reefs are connected, and whether or not reserve networks help sustain these linkages. This project will use new technologies to measure the transport of fish larvae between reefs, to assess strengths and weaknesses of the reserve network, and examine ways to improve species protection and sustainable harvesting in a changing climate.Read moreRead less
The role of common species in biodiversity turnover and function . This project aims to understand how common species change across regions and how this affects the functions that biodiversity provides across natural and built landscapes. Using a novel, information-rich approach and metric, the project aims to combine simulation experiments, and empirical data using organisms with low (plants) and high mobility (birds). Expected outcomes include new theory and improved biodiversity models, polic ....The role of common species in biodiversity turnover and function . This project aims to understand how common species change across regions and how this affects the functions that biodiversity provides across natural and built landscapes. Using a novel, information-rich approach and metric, the project aims to combine simulation experiments, and empirical data using organisms with low (plants) and high mobility (birds). Expected outcomes include new theory and improved biodiversity models, policy and management-relevant insights, new institutional collaborations, and student training. The research aims to provide significant benefits for understanding and monitoring the dynamics of common species, including problem species and common native species in rapid decline.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.
Forty million Australians: the future of our biodiversity. Many countries have experienced rapid increases in human numbers and natural-resource use. The project will use measured effects on biodiversity from such countries, combined with models of potential changes in Australia's population and climate, to forecast how our biodiversity may be affected up to 2050, and then to plan how to minimize negative impacts.
Habitat fragmentation: critical role in the decline and recovery of coral reef fish biodiversity. Preserving biodiversity in the face of environmental degradation and climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. Although habitat fragmentation is considered a key cause of the current extinction crisis, the effects of changing habitat configuration on species persistence and recovery is almost completely unknown. Coral reefs are among the most diverse and threatened ecosystems on the plan ....Habitat fragmentation: critical role in the decline and recovery of coral reef fish biodiversity. Preserving biodiversity in the face of environmental degradation and climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. Although habitat fragmentation is considered a key cause of the current extinction crisis, the effects of changing habitat configuration on species persistence and recovery is almost completely unknown. Coral reefs are among the most diverse and threatened ecosystems on the planet and this project will provide the first insights into how coral reef fish diversity responds to increased subdivision and isolation of reef habitat. It will identify critical aspects of habitat change that either enhance local diversity or threaten populations with extinction and provide new ecological data to refine conservation strategies.Read moreRead less